Ken Garff

To whom this concerns,        I'm the general manager at Ken "Garff" Hyundai Southtowne and have spoken on the phone with Mr. [redacted] last week, I advised him that I would look at the deal and review with those involved the details of this specific deal and have...

done so, after purchasing(2-7-2017) the vehicle Mr. [redacted] had some concerns regarding the suspension on the Navigator and returned to the store(2-10-2017) and we inspected the vehicle and replace all tie rods and ball joints on the Navigator, we also replaced brake pads and did a 4 wheel alignment on the navigator at no cost the Mr. [redacted].       We have tried to work through the issues on the 152k mile Navigator with him, but it wont ever be like a new vehicle.  I am not aware of any additional moneys he has spent at other dealerships.  Please feel free to contact me as I'm at the store and have the recorded phone calls between Mr. [redacted] and my sales advisor and the managers that were here during the purchase of the vehicle.  Thank you Mike T[redacted] GM 801-912-9900

To whom it may concern,  This truly does sound like an unfortunate experience. The customer on this vehicle has serviced their vehicle numerous times at our dealership. The majority of these services are regular maintenance interval oil changes and tire rotations. We have had a few mechanical...

repairs as well on this vehicle such as replacing drive belts, fluid exchanges, etc. The customer has only mentioned performance issues with this vehicle twice before. The first time was in September 2016 at 55k miles. Customer stated the vehicle would shake at idle and actually died one time. The vehicle did start right back up and they brought it in for service. We then proceeded with our diagnosis on the vehicle which involved a test drive, computer diagnosis, and basic overall inspection of the vehicle. At this time, no fault codes were stored in the vehicles ECU and the vehicle drove as it was designed for the technician. We performed an idle reset at the time which is a procedure that we do on occasion just to reset the idle speed. The vehicle was then released back to the customer. The customer then returned 4 additional times over the course of 9k miles for oil changes, manufacture campaigns, and an alignment. In July of 2017, at 77k miles, vehicle now out of warranty by 17k miles, the customer came in saying the vehicle felt as though it was driving heavy, and would shake at stop lights. We proceeded with our diagnostic again, which found that there was a Nissan TSB (technical service bulletin) that related to this concern on the vehicle. The TSB suggested reprogramming the vehicle ECU to the newest part number. We reprogrammed the ECU at no charge to the customer at this time. We test drove, found the vehicle to drive as per design. Customer then returned in Feb of 2018 at just shy of 87k with a check engine light on. Customer requested a loaner vehicle at this time while we diagnosed the vehicle. We made the customer aware that based on the mileage, the vehicle would be subject to the $120.00 diagnostic fee. The customer agreed to this and we issued a loaner and began work. However, at the time of write up on the vehicle, our power was cut to the building on 02/07/18 for a period of 4 hours due to a construction incident in front of our dealer. We were unable to have the customer sign electronically on the advisor's tablet. When the diagnostic was returned from the tech, it was deemed that a mass airflow meter would need replaced. When the customer came to pick up the vehicle, we provided the estimate. The customer declined the work on the vehicle and stated they would have it fixed elsewhere due to cost. We stated that was fine, but they still are responsible for the $120.00 diagnostic fee. The customer that came to pick up the vehicle was not the same person that dropped it off originally. He stated he was not going to pay the diagnostic fee and he never agreed to that. We politely reminded him at the time of write up that they had agreed on the diagnostic charge. He continued to argue and stated we were ripping him off, he was not going to pay the diagnostic fee because we couldn't prove he agreed on it, and he then proceeded to call our advisor's some names that I would rather not type on here. At this point, my assistant manager realized that nothing was going to come of this and told the customer to take his vehicle and leave. We took care of the diagnostic charge. As the customer was leaving with his friend, they stopped at the front of our service drive doors and yelled some profanity back into our drive while other customers were present. He was then asked again to please leave our property. I confirmed the physical actions of this conversation the following day by watching this unfold on my cameras. While there is no audio, you can see the motions of the customer and his friend and my assistant manager asking them to leave. The customer then called in the next day and spoke with me to let me know how poorly he was treated the prior day by the advisor. I apologized but did remind him that I reviewed the camera footage and said that it didn't appear that my advisor was the only one at fault. He then started to argue with me stating how unprofessional we were and that he would never be coming back. I stated I was sorry to hear that and wanted to know what the customer wanted out of this whole situation. He stated he was going to buy the sensor himself and repair the vehicle. I told him fine and I even had my parts department sell him the sensor at a discounted price.   I do feel that we did everything as we should have on this vehicle. We followed our repair processes every time the vehicle was here and provided accurate diagnosis and repair recommendations. I do not feel that this customer bought a faulty vehicle from the start, given it has driven nearly 90k miles before having a severe issue. Lots of factors could play into the transmission going out. Lack of service on the transmission fluid, overheat concerns, or unfortunately just a general failure of an internal component of the transmission. I am sorry for the customers frustrations, but I do feel we have done everything we could do from out dealerships standpoint.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/09/23) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted] GM
Contact Phone: XXXXXXXXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@kengarff.com
On December 16th 2013 we fixed the trunk release on [redacted] VW that had 1,423 miles on it. [redacted] claims that someone from our dealership said...

they confused his car with another car in service and may have worked on his car. [redacted] claims they inspected what they thought might have been done to make sure it was corrected. 10 months later nothing has failed and we have no record of this event. [redacted] complains of the time spent at the dealership waiting for his trunk latch to be replaced. Simply taking time to fix a car doesn't mean something is wrong. There are many factors that contribute to the time it takes to diagnose and fix a car.
On the next visit [redacted] brought his car in with a crack in his windshield. [redacted] wanted it replaced under Volkswagen warranty so we took a few photos of the crack. We informed [redacted] that we would need to contact Volkswagen and submit the photographs to get warranty authorization since broken glass is generally not covered as a manufacturer defect by Volkswagen. Our Volkswagen field representative declined the claim. [redacted] then called our manager [redacted] who tried to explain this situation. During this conversation [redacted] offered to have [redacted] speak in person with our VW representative. [redacted] met with [redacted] from Volkswagen and [redacted] then decided to replace [redacted] window under warranty. This was a fortunate outcome for [redacted] as he did not have to purchase a windshield for his car unfortunately for us we had no control over the situation as we are simply a Volkswagen dealership and have to abide by the decisions Volkswagen provides us.
The next visit was to have the windshield installed. Prior to the appointment our service manager [redacted] offered a loaner vehicle while their vehicle would be with us. This offer was declined. We use a third party to install windshields. In this case we subcontracted Safelite Glass. We had an appointment window with Safelite from 9-11 am on this day. We used this time frame as a basis to inform Mrs. [redacted] that the car would be ready at noon. This would give Safelite enough time to install the glass and us to wash the car. Safelite was late for the appointment due to an issue with their installer. The car did not get completed until 1:30pm. Our mistake on this appointment was we failed to contact them to inform them of the delay, they had to call us. When they called our service manager overheard the conversation with our service advisor. He immediately called Mrs. [redacted] back and apologized for the lack of communication and offered to bring the car to her instead of her having to come pick up the car. This offer was declined. When Mrs. [redacted] came to pick up the car [redacted] noticed that the car had not been dried thoroughly after being washed. He sent the car back to be touched up delaying her by 10 minutes or so.
All said [redacted] was not charged for any service. He spent no money. As a way to make amends for his frustration I offered [redacted] a [redacted] gift card to Ruth Chris Steak house, Flemings or a restaurant of his choosing and Garff Care which includes three oil changes, tire rotations and car washes. These are in addition to the three oil changes he will receive from Volkswagen for his car. These certificates can be redeemed at any Ken Garff Service location. [redacted] has declined this offer.
The warranty and the three services [redacted] refers to in his case are offered by Volkswagen. All can be handled by any Volkswagen dealership in the USA. He does not need to bring it to our facility.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/09/24) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
This response claims a few inconsistencies:
1) With regards to the first incident, it was never communicated to me why things were taking so long, nor what was done to my car exactly to warrant things taking so long. I do not doubt that there are "many factors that contribute to the time it takes to diagnose and fix a car." I only ask that there be communication with regards to that time. The fact their is no record of this shows a certain degree of negligence on their part as well.
2) With the second incident, the claim that a VW representative had viewed and declined the claim was never communicated to me at any point. Had I not called two days after bringing the car in, I never would have known whether the car was covered or not. It should also be noted that [redacted] quoted me prices on a new windshield and was not actively interested in having a VW rep actually view the car. That process was initiated solely by myself.
3) [redacted]'s claim that [redacted] offered my wife a "loaner vehicle," is not entirely true and misleading. [redacted] did offer us their shuttle service, but my wife's mother was already en route to pick her up and she remained at her (the mother's) residence throughout the visit only a few blocks from the dealership. We have no complaint about the time that transpired after the car was actually finished, only that we had to contact them over an hour after their promised completion time. The claim that the service manager "immediately" called my wife is also misleading as over 10 minutes had transpired between her initial call and his answer.
[redacted] is correct in stating that these incidents did not cost me anything as far as writing a check out to fix them. However these incidents have entailed costs in the form of hours of time and frustration as well as travel (to the dealership and private windshield repair vendors). To simply state that it didn't cost me anything fails to account for these factors as well as the thousands of dollars I spent on buying a new car from what we believed to be a capable dealership with a warranty anticipating the avoidance of such headaches.
All that being said, communicating that the warranty can be filled by other dealerships is greatly appreciated. And stating that since nearly 10 months have transpired without incident, though not completely reassuring, is duly noted and I will not pursue further inspection.
I still request acknowledgment that their employees will be trained to handle these scenarios better in the future, as I am aware of a few other individuals who have had similar experiences.
On a final note, the offer mentioned above by [redacted] as compensation for my time was given to me contingent on me not filing a Revdex.com claim or contacting VW directly to report their service. I felt uncomfortable accepting such an offer because I felt it their motives for offering it were questionable. I felt it was offered to me to cover up complaints against their business, and so I did not accept the offer. If [redacted] and his team are still willing to offer this resolution, despite this claim having already being filed, it would show me their motives are sincere I believe we could both move on.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2014/09/25) */
We train constantly at Ken Garff and will continue to train going forward. Being human we sometimes make errors and I am sure we will make errors in the future. We learn from our mistakes and try our best to correct our mistakes. We tried to correct our error in communication with [redacted]. I would like to share the last three emails exchanged between [redacted] and myself prior to this Revdex.com complaint.
On Sep 18, 2014, at 10:00 AM, [redacted] wrote:
[redacted],
I don't really want to drag this out, so let me know today if your company is willing to compensate that time fully at the 250 dollar value. I feel it is a fair price considering the hours wasted the first time, the potential damage done to my car by mixing it up with another, the amount of time plus the trips it took to get my windshield fixed, plus the incident yesterday. Otherwise I will go ahead and send these letters to Volkswagen and take the other actions I made you aware of. Either way is fine by me.
-[redacted]
On Thu, Sep 18, 2014 at 10:18 AM, [redacted] wrote:
[redacted],
I offered the dinner as a way to make amends for your time. I thought you could enjoy a fine dinner with your wife on us. After speaking with you on the phone and corresponding via email I feel that Ken Garff has potentially lost you as a customer due to your experience at our VW stores service facility. As a way to assist in building a long term relationship with you I offered Garff Care with the thought that you could try three different Ken Garff service departments and possibly find one that meets your expectations. With that said I respectfully decline your offer as I do not feel it creates a satisfactory result.
[redacted]
General Manager
Ken Garff Porsche/Audi
Sent from my iPad
On Sep 18, 2014, at 11:05 AM, [redacted] wrote
[redacted],
Alright sounds good. I understand where you're coming from. Just understand that I don't feel like that meal compensates me fully for the time your company has wasted from both me and my wife. To be frank with you, that Garff Care package has little value at all to me aside from the oil, and the potential risk at wasting more time or receiving more abhorrent service isn't worth it. At this point, I don't see myself wanting to associate with Ken Garff anything, no matter the service location. I fully intend on vocalizing my experience with every audience possible. If you're not willing to compensate my time on a value I see as fair and fit to preserve your brand name, then just hope this experience doesn't end up costing your company more than that. You certainly had no problem in letting me pay over 200 dollars to get my windshield fixed before I demanded meeting with a VW rep, so I guess I shouldn't have to worry about costing your company money either. I let things slide after the first experience service experience, and after the second you offered me a free service to prove your company could earn my trust back. Well we tried and you failed again. People deserve to know about this. I will be fair but honest in my reports.
-[redacted]
My communication and offers to [redacted] have been sincere all along. Our companies intent was never to silence [redacted]. Our companies intent was to say we are sorry enjoy a dinner on us and to have him try up to three different Ken Garff locations in the hope that he would find one that meets his expectations. We wanted to have the opportunity to earn his business back and possibly create a long term business relationship with him. To the contrary [redacted] made it very clear that he did not want to do business with any Ken Garff dealership and if we gave him $250 he would take no further action. What I offered [redacted] has a value of $269. I declined [redacted] offer, clearly not attempting to silence him. We still would like to have the opportunity to make amends and for Ken Garff to have the chance to be his dealership choice in the future. I will still honor my offer.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: Until I have reached an agreement with Ken Garff to a satisfactory level I would like to continue to have an open case. the general manager again got his facts wrong with what I will accept. my last communication was "I will accept reimbursement of purchase price and the worthless warranty sold to me"Please refer to prior communication.I will attempt a face to face meeting with myself, attorney and the general manager.I am looking forward to future communication.Sincerely,
[redacted]

[redacted], I understand your frustration with the brakes not being fixed. When we were unable to reach a resolution on the vehicle, we agreed to refund you in full for the amount you put down to hold the vehicle. Unfortunately we sold the car to another customer that accepted the vehicle in the condition it was in. We would never force you to take the car if you did not feel 100% comfortable with you purchase and from there we mutually agreed you would not take the car. Sorry we were unable to accommodate all your requests.

[redacted], I just read your message and want to make sure we get everything resolved. I will make sure that all of your money is refunded ASAP. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to shoot me an email.  [email protected],

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting...

this response because:It appears that Ken Garff listens to you is true until you sign the contract after that it is ignore or refuse to do what they promised l told them exactly why l was looking for an additional $1400 the difference between what my car was under contract for and the replacement value of a comparable vehicle of course l know they aren't going to pay it as they wouldn't even keep their written promises l told them l had been talking to a lawyer to weigh my options also I said l wasn't sure if it was worth my time because they wasted enough of my time and money. In their showroom it says their number one promise is to value a customer's time. I wasted an entire Saturday driving the HHR around to get diagnosed for them to find out they didn't even check all the brakes.  Even with the diagnosis they still didn't fix the brakes. Will l get reimbursed for my time or mileage of course not. Another broken promise. And they called be with the brakes were to expensive to fix so we sold it to someone else for more money because they had it financed through the bank.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Mrs. [redacted],  I'm very sorry for the confusing way things went down! We had 2 managers working 2 customers at the same time on the vehicle 1 in the store and yourself over the phone.  Both manager committed to sell the vehicle and for that I'm truly sorry! I will try to find another Lexus...

with near miles and color for you if would like?   Todd S[redacted]

[redacted],  I am aware of the situation regarding your registration issues on your Nissan Titan. I have personally reached out to our licensing clerk to see how and why the car was registered in Utah. We will reach out to you first the to ensure this conflict gets resolved. I you have any...

question meantime feel free to call anytime as we are always here to help. Thanks, Winston B[redacted]General Manager

At the day of the complaint we were able to arrange a vehicle for the customer.  All management staff was in a meeting at the BodyShop when he came in, so there was a bit of confusion on our behalf.   Thanks Carlos I[redacted]

[redacted], I will definitely get your charges reversed. Please contact either myself (Winston Bennion) or Pat Dunlavy our Service Mangager. It is our goal to provide every customer an unsurpassed experience and would like to apologize that this did not occur. I look forward to hearing from...

you. Winston B[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:I also have documentation of a payoff date of Sept, 30 2017, the 5 credit denial letters, and 2 signed contracts with different dates and was aware of being late. However, I could have made a payment on the trade in, or TWO payments if I would have been notified immediately or the following Monday of the possibility of lack of financing! I should have made the payments to protect myself but with a signed contract dated 8/26/2016 and verbally asking to be certain it would be taken care of, I thought a dealership that "Can Hear Me" would have done as they said. Also, if this is no fault of theirs, why did they reduce the price of the vehicle almost $4k? and why did they fail to communicate until AFTER the financial institution for the trade called to notify me of "late payment" on or about the 15th of September. They looked at year to date, divided by the months worked on my wife's income to basically tell us we falsified our income? and all I had was a offer letter from a new employer stating wage. My wife normally works 40+ hrs a week but had a medical issue and took some unpaid time off approved by her employer. If the financing was not complete as the initial contract signed indicated, they should not have handed us the keys! I will be filling out the form provided by Mr. C[redacted] to see what can be done. However, I will not accept any resolution until I am satisfied with the outcome. I am the consumer and have rights! I also do not appreciate badgering phone calls from the dealership to try and push me into a common grounds deal! 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

I have contacted Shaun and Jonathan S[redacted] and been working with them since July 7th. We have come to a compromise. We replaced their DVD entertainment system with a newer version and larger screen. I also reimbursed them $500 to help offset the cost of new tires. This was all done on the...

second week of July. When Shaun picked up the Ford Flex she was happy that the DVD system was working properly and that she was able to speak to one of the sales managers. I also sent her all documentation she asked for regarding service records on the Ford Flex.
Thank you
Carlos I[redacted]
General Manager
Ken Garff Volkswagen
[redacted]@kengarff.com
[redacted] cell
[redacted] office

I spoke with Ben today August 25, 2015 and we have worked everything out at this point. I apologized for any delay or misunderstanding. I told him that if he needs anything in the future to please contact me directly.
JJ W[redacted]
General Manager

[redacted], this is Mathew G[redacted], Brand Advocacy Manager at Ken Garff West Valley Dodge. I spoke with you on the phone yesterday. Once again, I apologize for your concerns with our staff's sporadic communication with you during the repair process. I have initiated a training program for the individual...

in order to help him serve our customers to a better capacity. Regarding the disputed amount of $385.45. This issue took me quite some time to research, speaking to the technician, speaking to the Service Writer, our service manager, etc. The conclusion that we came to, is that even though the parts that you disputed paying for were parts that are not covered under manufacturer warranty, after diving deeply into the ticket, I do have the option to goodwill the repair on your spark plugs and coil as "collateral damage" from the failing of the valve cover gasket. Under normal circumstances, Ken Garff West Valley is not able to warranty these items, as we do not decide what we can or cannot warranty, but simply follow Chrysler's guidelines on what we are allowed to warranty. However, in this circumstance there is enough evidence to file this claim under "Collateral Damage" as previously mentioned. Therefore I will not be refunding you $192.75, but will be refunding you the full amount of the repair: $385.45. As I mentioned yesterday I will get our accounting department to issue a check in that amount to be sent to you. Please let me know if you have further questions or concerns that were not rectified either in our phone conversation yesterday or this response. Sincerely, Mathew G[redacted]Brand Advocacy ManagerKen Garff West Valley801-297-7325

Mr. L[redacted]   I apalogize for the way Ryan handled your issue. I plan on using it as a training tool with him..  We will refund you back the second charge.   Sorry again!    please give us another change  Todd

We have removed Mr. [redacted] from internal mailings and also contacted the outside vendors Honda Downtown uses to have him removed.Alex W[redacted] reached out and spoke to Mr. [redacted] earlier today.  She explained how the direct mail process worked and apologized that he was unable to successfully...

remove himself thus far.  His biggest frustration was that he couldn't get a hold of anyone.  Alex gave him her contact information so that he can directly reach out to her with any other concerns of if he gets a another rogue mail piece.   We are happy we could help him and apologize he has been frustrated.Mr. [redacted] also said to let the Revdex.com know to call him so he can tell them it’s resolved. He said he has had good experiences with Garff otherwise and would be happy to let the Revdex.com know there is no further issue with us.Thanks!

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I have ring Texas have that stock number for the Laramie 2500 55000 out the door
Sincerely,
[redacted]