Sheehy Ford Lincoln of Richmond

Review: We purchased a [redacted] in June 2012 from Sheehy Nissan in Richmond. We also purchased the Sheehy VIP program, which entitles us to have certain repairs done at no charge. Sheehy Nissan on Broad Street changed ownership, and the new dealer no longer honors the Sheehy VIP program. We have been taking our car to Sheehy Ford to use our VIP membership. We were told by Sheehy Nissan that we could take it to any Sheehy dealership for service and our VIP membership would be honored.We have taken our Maxima to Sheehy Ford many times since June, 2012 (for virtually all oil changes). We always get our service done timely.On May 21, 2015, my husband was driving the Maxima when it completely shut down on the highway. We had it towed to the nearest Nissan dealership (Pence Nissan) and they determined that the air filter was so dirty that it was buckling on the sides and particles of debris were getting into the mass air flow sensor, which ultimately shut down the car. They determined that the air filter was likely never changed. I went to Sheehy Ford for service that same week and asked them if they had ever changed the air filter. They looked up the service records an said that no, they had no record of ever changing it. They also told me that their policy is when the air filter is dirty, they bring it in and show the customer and ask if they want it replaced. This never happened any of the times that I took it there for service. No one every asked me if I wanted it changed, and I do not have enough knowledge of cars to know that I should ask if it needs to be changed.We emailed the service manager at Sheehy Ford to be compensated for the tow and be reimbursed for the deductible (the part was covered under warranty). They reimbursed us for the tow but nothing else.Desired Settlement: We feel as though Sheehy Ford was highly negligent due to the fact that they have the working knowledge of cars, and they should have made sure that we knew this repair needed to be done. I would have paid $40 for an air filter over having our car destroyed because something routine was not completed. Not to mention the danger involved with our car dying on a busy highway. We take good care of our cars, and we are very disappointed in the way this matter was handled by Sheehy Ford.

Business

Response:

This issue with this customer was brought to our attention several months ago. At the time of the complaint, although there were discrepancy's of dates we decided as a goodwill gesture to pay for the tow. If the cause of the part failure was a clogged air filter it would not of been covered under warranty. Once again we feel we have we are not guilty of anything in this situation and the customer would have had to pay the deductible even if the work was done here. We made a goodwill gesture to cover the tow and we feel that was more than enough.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the offer and/or response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.The business is failing to see the root cause of the complaint. My complaint is not the fact that the air filter wasn't covered under warranty. I will pay $40 for an air filter. My complaint is the fact that we have brought the car to this dealership for almost 3 years and, although they state their process is to ask the customer if they would like their air filter to be changed, they never once told us it was dirty and needed replacement. We do not know if this was out of laziness, or because they did not check the air filter to begin with. But when a standard oil change is supposed to include checking the air filter, and that is not done for 3 years, it can cause significant damage to a vehicle. We feel the business was completely negligent in not informing us that it was dirty and needed replacement. We were lucky the damage was not more extensive than just the replacement of the mass air flow sensor. The issue is that customers entrust repair shops (especially dealerships) to provide quality service. We had our car there multiple times and the air filter was "missed" every time. This is not a responsible repair facility, and it could have destroyed our almost new vehicle.

Regards,