How This Customer’s Fender Bender Turned Into Six Months Of Dealership Hell

Buying or leasing a new car comes with certain benefits. Chief amongst them are the factory warranty and the fact that you can get repairs handled by the dealership. However, if that dealership fails to deliver, you can find yourself in one heck of a pickle. Worse, if you’ve financed or you’re on a lease, you’re on the hook for payments. David Kaplan from North Carolina has been going through just such a trial, and after six long months, he’s more frustrated than ever.

Speaking to The Autopian, he outlined his tale of woe, which he says all began when he leased a new Alfa Romeo Tonale. He should have been enjoying a glorious time with his new Italian SUV. Instead, it’s been stuck in dealer limbo for over six months now, and he says he’s been stuck paying the bills.

David’s story begins in August last year when he visited Leith Alfa Romeo in Raleigh, North Carolina. He liked the Tonale, but he had some concerns upfront about service. “The dealership in Raleigh, NC was about 100 miles from my house,” he explains. “They agreed to provide a loaner if the car required service overnight, [since] there was no comfortable place to sleep in their showroom.” With his concerns assuaged, the lease went ahead, and he took delivery of the vehicle.

A few months later, trouble struck as he was driving on I-40 in heavy traffic. “A small traffic cone appeared in my lane, I couldn’t avoid it,” he says. The car was still driveable after the incident, but it had sustained some cosmetic damage to the grille and bumper. “I called the dealer to arrange repair and reminded them of their commitment to provide a loaner and they agreed,” he says.

Sadly, things started to go sideways from there. Upon dropping the vehicle off and making a prepayment for repairs, he was told there was no loaner and he’d be on his own. “They sent me by Lyft to the airport so I could rent a car,” he explains. He ended up paying $75 for a rental out of his own pocket to get home.

That would be frustrating enough on its own, but things only got worse. Weeks went by, then months. “The car is still not fixed,” says David. “It is still, I’ve been told, at the dealership awaiting I don’t know what.” All the while, David has kept having to pay his lease month after month—all for a car he doesn’t have, and isn’t able to drive. He’s been lucky enough to have a Volkswagen on hand to get around in the meantime, but his frustration continues to mount.

David made multiple attempts to get to the bottom of the issue as the months ticked by. “First I was told that the parts were back-ordered, then I was told that they were available but were in Italy and would be sent by boat to the US,” he says. “When the parts arrived, they were put on the car but then painting was needed.” Next, he was told that the painting had failed and needed to be redone, then he was told the sensors needed calibration, and the saga kept on going. “I was [then] told that one of the sensors was defective and that it was back ordered; they didn’t know when it would be available.” He notes that he was told it was the adaptive cruise control sensor that was at fault, and he’d had no problems with it when he dropped off the car.

It remains a mystery to David why the vehicle wasn’t repaired in a quick and timely fashion. An insurance estimate made after the incident indicated it was expected the vehicle would take one day to repair. It listed a replacement bumper assembly, park sensor, and distance sensor, with costs expected to be approximately $3,000 including labor. Not cheap, but not surprising—modern bumpers can be expensive to replace.

Regardless, David isn’t hanging out for his Tonale anymore. He’s faced a brick wall at the dealership, and he says Alfa Romeo Customer Care hasn’t come to his aid after five or six phone calls, either.

“I went to Raleigh today to talk with the general manager at the Alfa store,” he says. “Nice guy who was completely sympathetic with my problem, and to declare absolutely that he can do nothing to help me.” He was directed to speak with Alfa Romeo corporate, though he says the general manager would not provide any contact details or help towards that end.

The Autopian contacted the dealership in question regarding the matter, and received the following statement.

Due to the nature of the damage the vehicle sustained when the driver hit a road hazard, the repair requires a full recalibration of the various driver assistance systems. Leith continues to work closely with the manufacturer and their engineering team to find a resolution for this complex recalibration. We remain committed to completing this repair for the customer.

Alfa Romeo’s US arm has also been contacted for comment on the matter.

At this point, David is looking for pretty much any way out of this ugly situation. “They have refused to buy it back, swap it with a new one on their lot, get me out of the lease, or reimburse me for the over $5,000 in costs during the six month period,” he says. He’s since engaged legal representation to serve a letter to the dealership, demanding a buyback and a refund for months of lease payments.

It’s a sad story because David actually quite liked the vehicle up until that point. “I really enjoyed the car,” he says. “But I cannot say anything good about the experience.” In any case, he’s wary about even getting the vehicle back at this point. “[That] would leave me in a position to deal with their ‘Customer Service’ for the remainder of the lease,” he muses.

The situation remains at an impasse. His original lease was for 39 months, leaving him with over two and a half years remaining on the contract. He’s at the point of contemplating whether to stop paying the lease, even at a hit to his credit rating, since he simply doesn’t have the use of the vehicle that he’s paying for. He’s also considered legal action but suspects that fees and the time involved would make it a pointless endeavor.

David’s story is a simple one. He paid for a car, and he expected to have one. Instead, he’s out of pocket with years of payments ahead of him if he can’t find a solution. There are supposed to be mechanisms to help customers stuck in quagmires like these, both corporate and legal. David’s at the point where he’s running out of levers to pull.

Fundamentally, it’s not supposed to be like this. Accidents happen, and cars get damaged. Automakers are expected to keep parts on hand to fix them and help keep them on the road. Dealerships in turn are there to handle customer service and repairs. Somewhere in that chain, something went wrong, and that needs to be made right.

Image credits: David Kaplan, Alfa Romeo, Google Street View