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9-5 VIN YS3ED48E313054418
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Posted by David M. Hutchison [Email] (more from David M. Hutchison) on Tue, 29 Nov 2005 17:09:41 Share Post by Email
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I hope this post meets site standards. It is not meant to "flame" anyone, just speak the truth of our previously owned 9-5 and the poor encounters we experienced with Saab Corporate and Just Saab in Dayton, OH. The following letter was mailed to Saab, GM, BBB, Ohio AG, Clark Howard, Just Saab, Dayton Chamber of Commerce, and DAADA.

To Whom It May Concern:

Please consider this letter as a formal complaint regarding our extreme displeasure with the following four items: 1) the extreme poor quality of our 2001 Saab 9-5 (VIN: YS3ED48E313054418), 2) lack of full disclosure and enforcement of our vehicle’s warranty, 3) how our complaint regarding this poor quality was investigated by Saab and basically dismissed without explanation, and 4) the extreme lack of customer service and courtesy displayed by Mr. David Horstmeyer, owner of the Dayton Ohio Just Saab dealership.

Poor Quality
------------
Over the course of leasing this vehicle, we experienced nothing but inconvenience and frustration. This vehicle incurred over $15,000 in repairs, including a new turbo, pulling the engine to replace all belts, etc., as well as a complete engine replacement, among other smaller items. How is it that repairs that total over one-third of the MSRP of our vehicle in less than four years acceptable quality? I guess by Saab standards, it is acceptable. It should be stated that these repairs we fixed under warranty, and that the two service managers Steve and Scott at Just Saab (I apologize for not knowing their last names) were nothing less than professional and courteous. However, that does not account for the frustration and inconvenience we experienced during our lease period, and the fact that we were stuck with a leased vehicle that was a lemon (by any rational person’s standards). Our original intent was to purchase this vehicle after the lease period, but after reading this letter, the reasons will be obvious of why we chose to return it to Saab instead.

Lack of Warranty Disclosure and Enforcement
-------------------------------------------
Within only 4,000 miles of having the engine replaced, we once again experienced a problem. This time, as with approximately three other times, we had the vehicle towed to Just Saab in Centerville Ohio, the dealer from which the vehicle was leased. The difference with this $489 repair is that we were told the vehicle was no longer under warranty. After complaining to both Saab customer service and Just Saab, we were told that Saab would cover the $489 repair “this time”, but that this was an exception and there would be no more coverage.

How is it that a vehicle with a 48 month bumper-to-bumper warranty that has been leased for approximately 45 months (i.e., less than 48 months) not be covered for repairs? Evidently the answer is that because the vehicle was a “demo”, it was “put into service” prior to our taking possession of it and therefore, the warranty expired early. That would be an acceptable answer, had anyone at Just Saab taken the time to share this with us at the time of delivery, but they did not. We realized that our vehicle was a demo, however we did not realize, nor were we told, that our warranty would expire before the end of our lease.

In this case, the fact that we knew nothing of the warranty expiring early was 100% the fault of Just Saab. Our lease agreement stated that our vehicle was covered by the standard manufacturer’s warranty (i.e., 48 months, bumper-to-bumper). No where on the agreement did it state that the warranty would end earlier than the 48 months we had planned to lease it. Whether intentional or not, the fact that the warranty ended early was not disclosed to us. This is not fair to us, the consumer. Given the history of the poor quality of this vehicle and the constant frustration and inconvenience, we decided to turn it in early, thus incurring additional costs without benefit, which would have otherwise not been required. This is not fair to us and we feel like Saab has taken advantage of this situation by not standing by their 48 month warranty.

Dismissal of our Complaint
--------------------------
I called Saab customer service approximately the first week of July, 2005 to open a formal complaint regarding the poor quality of our Saab 9-5. I talked with a woman named Maritza and provided all of the information that she requested regarding our vehicle. After approximately 2 weeks, Maritza informed me that our case was being dismissed and that Saab was not going to take any action regarding the poor quality of our vehicle. I promptly asked to talk with her supervisor, a man named Lennox.

After waiting two days for him to call (I was told he would call within 24 hours, but he did not), I called back, and at that time he simply repeated that Saab was not going to take any action regarding our vehicle. I asked him if Saab considered over $15,000 in repairs acceptable quality. He once again repeated that Saab was not going to take any action and that our vehicle was not considered a “lemon”. The only justification he provided for this decision, was that all work on the vehicle was performed under warranty. It’s beyond comprehension that these excessive repairs are acceptable by a manufacturer such as Saab. Lennox never did answer my question regarding these excessive repairs being “acceptable” by Saab’s quality standards. The “Saab Total Value Promise” is “I promise to make driving a truly exciting experience, with distinctively designed cars and SUVs that are specially tuned to make the most of real world driving conditions.” Saab did not live up to this promise, nor did they make any attempt to satisfy us, the customer.

Mr. David Horstmeyer, owner Just Saab
-------------------------------------
After being told that Saab was not going to take any action regarding the poor quality of our vehicle, I was told that they would not address the issue of our warranty either. Instead, Lennox told me that the issue of not receiving our 48 month warranty was one that I would have to take up with the dealer. So, I promptly called to discuss this with the Just Saab owner, Mr. David Horstmeyer, but was told he was not in, but that I could write him with our complaint. Instead, while I was at his dealership picking up a forgotten article from a loaner vehicle, I saw that he was in, and decided to discuss the warranty issue with him.

Never have I encountered such a rude, disrespectful, and inconsiderate individual as Mr. Horstmeyer. While at the dealership, I politely introduced myself and I asked if I could talk with him regarding our warranty issue. Instead of introducing himself, he promptly told me that he would not cover the 48 month warranty on our vehicle because the vehicle was a “demo”. Evidently Saab corporate had informed him that I would be contacting him, since he had already pulled information about our lease. I told him that no one at his dealership informed us of this warranty issue at the time of delivery. He stated that the person who “delivered” our vehicle should have informed us of this issue. Mr. Horstmeyer was the one who delivered our vehicle to us. He rudely informed me that he had never delivered a vehicle before in his life. Obviously, as I tried to state to him, his definition of “delivery” was different than mine. Rather than trying to listen to my explanation, he dismissed it and continued to reiterate that he would not honor our warranty. Regardless of the confusion in terminology, instead of taking responsibility for the problem (as the owner of the dealership), he promptly blamed the person who “delivered” the vehicle to us for not informing us of the early termination of the warranty.

I calmly asked him how we were supposed to know, that because the vehicle was a “demo”, our warranty would expire early. His response was simply “you should know.” I then asked him when the warranty ended and his response was “how should I know?”. He also tried to state that our warranty expiration date corresponded to a piece of paper he had on his desk regarding our lease. Ironically, the paper that he rudely pointed (i.e., poked) at on his desk, regarding our warranty, I believe had the date of October, 2001 on it. If I am correct, then that would mean our warranty would have expired in October, 2005 rather than June, 2005 as we were told. At that point, Mr. Horstmeyer was visibly frustrated and rather than calmly talking about my issue, he simply walked out of his office. Until that point, never in my conversation with him did I raise my voice, say anything disrespectful, or do/say anything that would warrant him walking out on our conversation. Upon walking out of his dealership, I told him that his business offered poor customer service!

Summary
-------
In summary, it’s understandable that vehicles often have problems, some more than others. In our case, our 9-5 had more problems than anyone should have to experience in less than four years. We appreciate the courteous service of the service department at the Just Saab dealership provided by the service managers, Steve and Scott. We also appreciate the courteous customer service of the Saab financial department, in particular an exceptionally helpful and friendly employee named Dana. However, we do not appreciate how our claim was quickly dismissed by Saab without explanation. Nor do we appreciate the exceptionally poor “customer service” of Mr. Hortstmeyer. Overall, our experience with Saab can be summarized in one word, poor - poor quality, poor warranty disclosure and fulfillment, and poor customer service, both corporate and by the owner of Just Saab, Mr. Horstmeyer.



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