South Deerfoot Suzuki... Lawsuit waiting to happen.

[inline6turbo]

I feel I have to post this to bring this to everyone's attention as this is a life threatening mistake made by a dealership. They are supposed to have your best interest and safety in mind. Guess not.

A very close and dear friend of mine just bought this car from South Deefoot Suzuki a month or so ago. He is a known member on these board but I will keep him unamed. Its a 2004 SRT-4.


He asked me to clean it up a bit for him and this is what I found...


This is the drivers seat rear bolt. Both were like this.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/straight6turbo/SRT4seats.jpg


26 washers in total used with the two bolts.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/straight6turbo/SRT4seats2.jpg


The seats were held in by only 4 threads. Including the front bolts, all four were FINGER TIGHT.

Should he have gotten into an accident, these would have sheered off, possibly killing him.

He will be going in to speak with the manager.

I'm at a loss for words.... you be the judge of this.

:facepalm: :thumbsdow

[GQBalla]

...

i believe i know whose car this is...

but just saying...why would anyone even do that though?

whats the purpose?

[Mar]

Are they responsible for modifications done by the previous owner?

[GQBalla]

Originally posted by Mar
Are they responsible for modifications done by the previous owner?

i assume that they have to be sure the vehicle is safe to drive.

obviously this isn't, but would a safety inspection even notice this?

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by GQBalla
...

i believe i know whose car this is...

but just saying...why would anyone even do that though?

whats the purpose?

maybe the inner threads were stripped or something

[aget]

Originally posted by GQBalla

but just saying...why would anyone even do that though?

whats the purpose?
:werd: wtf? what do they achieve?

[JfuckinC]

booster seat!
Thats fucked though.. that would NOT hold up in an accident jeez

[gretz]

Originally posted by G-ZUS


maybe the inner threads were stripped or something

lol .... then you spend the 25c and replace it with the proper grade 8.... hope you were kidding

[Impreza]

Although not an excuse, I can see this particular situation being easily overlooked when the dealership inspected the car. This is still totally unacceptable though as it is a major safety concern.

So there are one of two scenarios. Either the previous owner did this for some reason, or the dealer installed the washers to cover up an underlying problem, preventing the seats from being securely screwed down.

Hmmmm... need more details, I will reserve judgment until we get more info.

[4WARNED]

Originally posted by Impreza
Either the previous owner did this for some reason,

Who is SOOO short that they have to jack their seats up with a bunch of washers? Man....there are better (safer) ways of doing that....

[QuasarCav]

Would the onus shift to A790 if he sold the vehicle as-is?

[inline6turbo]

Just to check, I moved the passenger seat bolts over and all the threads seems just fine. There's still no explanation other then boosting up the seat.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/straight6turbo/SRT4seats3.jpg

[A790]

Well, since I've been outed (thanks, btw :().

I have talked with South Deerfoot Suzuki. They are taking the car in Monday morning to fix the issue as well as conduct another safety inspection to ensure that there is nothing else that could be a potential hazard. I'm 6'2, 220lbs- I have no reason to try and raise the height of the seats. I expressed my concerns to Eric (the service tech I spoke to) and he agreed.

While South Deerfoot Suzuki should have noticed and recitified the problem when the car was in for the out of province inspection (it's a BC car), they didn't. I'm glad that Renee pointed it out to me when she did, because as she said, it's unlikely that those bolts would have held up in an accident.

However, I would still recommend SDS as they are taking care of the situation for me. I did request the safety inspection be done by an impartial third party and they have so far agreed. At this point, I can't ask for much more.

If things change, I'll post in this thread. Let's not make this a mudslinging/anti-SDS thread, as it's not necessary.

Oh, and yes, I have removed the car from the marketplace for this reason. I wouldn't feel right selling a vehicle with a known safety liability like this, and I'm ensuring that there is nothing else via another safety inspection. This car has been absolutely fantastic since I bought it, I doubt that it has some hidden issue or something, but I obviously don't want to sell it until I know for sure.

Thank you Renee for bringing this to my attention, and thanks SDS for dealing with it accordingly.

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by gretz


lol .... then you spend the 25c and replace it with the proper grade 8.... hope you were kidding


I'm not condoning their actions :nut:

[GQBalla]

Originally posted by A790
Well, since I've been outed (thanks, btw :().

I have talked with South Deerfoot Suzuki. They are taking the car in Monday morning to fix the issue as well as conduct another safety inspection to ensure that there is nothing else that could be a potential hazard. I'm 6'2, 220lbs- I have no reason to try and raise the height of the seats. I expressed my concerns to Eric (the service tech I spoke to) and he agreed.

While South Deerfoot Suzuki should have noticed and recitified the problem when the car was in for the out of province inspection (it's a BC car), they didn't. I'm glad that Renee pointed it out to me when she did, because as she said, it's unlikely that those bolts would have held up in an accident.

However, I would still recommend SDS as they are taking care of the situation for me. I did request the safety inspection be done by an impartial third party and they have so far agreed. At this point, I can't ask for much more.

If things change, I'll post in this thread. Let's not make this a mudslinging/anti-SDS thread, as it's not necessary.

Oh, and yes, I have removed the car from the marketplace for this reason. I wouldn't feel right selling a vehicle with a known safety liability like this, and I'm ensuring that there is nothing else via another safety inspection. This car has been absolutely fantastic since I bought it, I doubt that it has some hidden issue or something, but I obviously don't want to sell it until I know for sure.

Thank you Renee for bringing this to my attention, and thanks SDS for dealing with it accordingly.


good to see they are taking care of you.

[inline6turbo]

I'm not anit-SDS. I'm anti- SDS's detailer! Even if the inspection dude was a doorknob and missed it, how do you miss that when you're cleaning it haha.

[A790]

Originally posted by inline6turbo
I'm not anit-SDS. I'm anti- SDS's detailer! Even if the inspection dude was a doorknob and missed it, how do you miss that when you're cleaning it haha.
Ha fair enough. I'm just glad you caught it when you did.

What I really hope comes out of this is that they, and other dealerships, put a bit mroe due diligance into their inspections. That'd be the best outcome from this as far as I'm concerned.

[Mibz]

I'm 5'7" and I can see out of mine just fine. Pretty sure redsrt4 on here is like 5'4" and does okay as well.

Why you selling it? You go through cars like underwear man.

[GQBalla]

Originally posted by inline6turbo
I'm not anit-SDS. I'm anti- SDS's detailer! Even if the inspection dude was a doorknob and missed it, how do you miss that when you're cleaning it haha.

very true.

[A790]

Originally posted by Mibz
I'm 5'7" and I can see out of mine just fine. Pretty sure redsrt4 on here is like 5'4" and does okay as well.

Why you selling it? You go through cars like underwear man.
I'm trying to raise capital to finish my degree and launch a business. Selling my car, when I have two others, just seems logical? I really like the SRT-4 too- it's a great car.

[JAYMEZ]

I wonder why the past owner did that? Lol thats ghetto.

But it is a used car , Suzuki didn't physically do this to cut corners.. I still get my cars from Norm because he is easy to work with and works after hours.

[inline6turbo]

Nice ninja edit lol.

I don't think Norm has anything to do with this. Isn't he just a car salesman? He's not the one who inspects it.

[JAYMEZ]

Originally posted by inline6turbo
Nice ninja edit lol.

I don't think Norm has anything to do with this. Isn't he just a car salesman? He's not the one who inspects it.


Ninja edit?

Are you talking to me or something else ?


Well you called out the dealership , so I said my bit ? Is that a problem , i have got numerous cars from them. I'm not going to lie , I didn't expect a person that doesn't own the car to make this thread. I would of thought A790 would.

Is this situation a crap one? Yes . Is it a used car? Yes . Should the issue have been found? Yes. Does it need a thread on beyond since its getting fixed by SDS? Dunno

I dunno , dealer calling out a dealer.

[inline6turbo]

No i meant you added that bit after? You seem edgey.

[heavyD]

I don't blame the dealership for that as it would be easily overlooked by any dealer as well as the buyer. I am however shocked that someone would do that to their car but I guess I shouldn't be as more and more people these days seem to have less and less thoughts in their empty heads.

[SNAATCH]

I really don't see how this could have killed anyone. If the driver is wearing his seatbelt the belt should hold the driver and the seat back in case of an accident.

[Jlude]

Originally posted by JAYMEZ



Ninja edit?

Are you talking to me or something else ?


Well you called out the dealership , so I said my bit ? Is that a problem , i have got numerous cars from them. I'm not going to lie , I didn't expect a person that doesn't own the car to make this thread. I would of thought A790 would.

Is this situation a crap one? Yes . Is it a used car? Yes . Should the issue have been found? Yes. Does it need a thread on beyond since its getting fixed by SDS? Dunno

I dunno , dealer calling out a dealer.

It probably didn't need a thread since it's being fixed. I doubt SDS did that to the car, but because SDS is famous on beyond, they get a thread.

Although it's shocking to find, it really didn't need a "SDS lawsuit waiting to happen" title. Hahaha that's just going with the theme of every other SDS thread.

[Jlude]

Originally posted by SNAATCH
I really don't see how this could have killed anyone. If the driver is wearing his seatbelt the belt should hold the driver and the seat back in case of an accident.

Are you serious?

[inline6turbo]

Originally posted by SNAATCH
I really don't see how this could have killed anyone. If the driver is wearing his seatbelt the belt should hold the driver and the seat back in case of an accident.

They did a crash test on this same thing, maybe a youtube video.
The weight of the seat will crush you against the locked seatbelt, plus if you get rear ended? Seat won't stop you.

[2EFNFAST]

Is the bolt grade 5? If so, it has a sheer capacity of like 33,000lbs.

Still a ghetto way; real men use grade 8s :bigpimp:

(but I can't tell what type of bolt that is, there's 5markings on it, so maybe it's not even 5 or 8 but some crappy HD bolt)

[canuckcarguy]

I think all used car dealers should be required to remove, inspect, and replace every single connector on every used car they sell. Whew. That feels better.

"Lawsuit waiting to happen". :drama:

[turbotrip]

Originally posted by QuasarCav
Would the onus shift to A790 if he sold the vehicle as-is?

lol smooth

[bignerd]

Would 13 washers per side even make that much difference in height if you were short? Seems like a lot of work to do if you are a short person just to increase the height half an inch (or whatever it works out to).

Was there something installed or stored under the seat that they needed the extra space?

Was there maybe a racing seat in the car before and then they just swapped back in the stock before selling it? I know the seats are pretty sporty already but just trying to think why someone would do that?

[scat19]

Shit happens. They're fixing it. This thread would be worthy if they didn't do anything about it.