The Right Price Auto (Calgary): Major Malfunction

[sizerp]

Updates to story midway and at the end of the first page.


preface: I know little/nothing about cars

note: I have filled the car with gas and I have added windshield washer fluid (definitely the right hole, since it didn't work before I put the fluid in, and did work after). I haven't touched any of the other fluids in the car, and neither has anybody else. No oil changes, no maintenance, no followup safety. Nobody has touched under the hood except me.


I recently (Jan 19th) bought a 2003 Hyundai Elantra from a shop in Calgary.

They did their own safety on it (they're certified, I suppose), and it was fairly dinged up on the outside but in seemingly decent working order otherwise. They gave me a 2 month drivetrain warranty on the car so long as it wasn't serviced elsewhere.

The car ran fine for a month but in the past week the brake pedal has gotten very stiff on/off. Two days ago my wife was driving the car and the brakes seized up immediately. The check engine light went on and it was throwing two error codes (p1529 and p0734). In the past couple days the car had also been changing gears oddly, and one of those error codes is regarding the transmission slipping from 3rd to 4th, so it made sense. She was about 5 minutes away from home and then was able to drive it back without any further issues.

We arranged to bring it back to the shop in question the next day, and my wife was driving it up when, not two blocks away from home the brakes clamped down partway and she wasn't able to exceed 30 km/h. She pulled off in the nearest parking lot which also happened to have an (expensive/mediocre) shop that wouldn't charge anything to take a look at the braking system. The guys at the shop told her that there was contamination in the brake fluid and all the rubber seals / components in the brake system were done.

I called the shop where we bought the car and after waffling over the problem ("you must have have done it by accident ... do you have any enemies?? ... the guy who changed the oil on your car must have fucked up the fluid change") they told me they'd send a tow truck to pick it up.

The tow truck operator they sent never came. I got called back by the shop today and they told me I'd have to arrange for my own tow.

So, do I have any recourse? I can get the car towed, that's not the end of the world, but I don't know enough about the possible causes of brake fluid contamination to know how to fight claims of 'well, you're an idiot, you must have put gasoline in your master cylinder reservoir!'. This is an expensive repair, and I'm not sure I can afford it on top of having just bought this damned car outright.

Also note, the check engine light has since turned off.

So, how fucked am I?

I appreciate you bearing with my pleading first post

[Kloubek]

Edit: You are inside the 2 months.

[scat19]

You bought a Hyundai, this is what happens.

End thread.

[sizerp]

Originally posted by Kloubek
Unfortunately, if you did not get it inspected and there is no warranty from the dealership, you're kinda SOL.

Welcome to Beyond.

They totally ARE shafting you though. If nothing else, saying they are sending a tow truck and not doing so would TOTALLY infuriate me.

I have a copy of the dealer/shop's safety inspection from a couple days before I bought it. Does that count for anything from a regulatory standpoint. I doubt it, but I'm throwing things to the wall and hoping I'm not out a couple grand.

[Kloubek]

Hold the boat. I am not good with math apparently. You are inside the 2 month period of warranty - right?

1) I'm sure you did not put anything in the brake lines.

2) They said that you cannot bring it to another shop, but you only did so because the brakes were binding. They were binding before you took it to the shop, so it stands to reason they had nothing to do with causing the issue. It isn't like they changed or fixed anything - they just looked at it.

3) Is there anything in WRITING which indicates you cannot bring it to another shop? If there isn't, then they can jam those words up their asses anyway. But even if there is, the circumstances are not exactly cut and dry.

I'm pretty sure Amvic would be interested in your situation: www.amvic.org

Otherwise, I am quite positive Beyond could generate enough bad publicity that it would be in their best interests to honour their warranty.

You need to check first to see what the warranty will cover. Usually, the "free" warranties are for powertrain only. (Engine/transmission) This might cover the tranny issue, but wouldn't likely cover the brakes.

[Redlyne_mr2]

Do you know what those codes mean? Brake fluid contamination generally won't cause the calipers to seize closed. I would guess that one or more of the calipers needs to be replaced. The codes and the caliper problem are 2 seperate issues, I would deal with the caliper problem first.

[canadiandaytona]

well the powertrain warranty might cover the tranny shifting problem...get that diagnosed at the reputable shop first and dont fix anything unless thats fixed or you will be out more then a couple grand

[benyl]

Originally posted by scat19
You bought a Hyundai, this is what happens.

End thread.

Spoken like a true BMW owner. Thanks for contributing.



Back on topic:

Get a second opinion. Just cause the first shop said all the seals etc are gone, doesn't mean they are.

[Mibz]

Contaminated fluid and bad seals will cause a loss of brakes, not seizing. The only thing I can imagine is that the master cylinder is seized/seizing. That might be what I'd look at. A stiff pedal could also be a vacuum leak to the brake booster, but with the seizing I'd check the MC anyway.

Guaranteed that the codes and the brakes are two separate issues though.

[sizerp]

Originally posted by Kloubek
Hold the boat. I am not good with math apparently. You are inside the 2 month period of warranty - right?

1) I'm sure you did not put anything in the brake lines.

2) They said that you cannot bring it to another shop, but you only did so because the brakes were binding. They were binding before you took it to the shop, so it stands to reason they had nothing to do with causing the issue. It isn't like they changed or fixed anything - they just looked at it.

3) Is there anything in WRITING which indicates you cannot bring it to another shop? If there isn't, then they can jam those words up their asses anyway. But even if there is, the circumstances are not exactly cut and dry.

I'm pretty sure Amvic would be interested in your situation: www.amvic.org

Otherwise, I am quite positive Beyond could generate enough bad publicity that it would be in their best interests to honour their warranty.

You need to check first to see what the warranty will cover. Usually, the "free" warranties are for powertrain only. (Engine/transmission) This might cover the tranny issue, but wouldn't likely cover the brakes.

I do have it in writing that I cannot take it to another shop. I don't have the specific wording on hand, but it is a little ambiguous.

I took it to another shop because I thought it would just be a caliper / brake issue, which wouldn't have been covered under my warranty.

I wasn't invoiced by the initial shop though, they were just taking a look, which, if maybe not by the words of the warranty, is still in line with the spirit/reasoning behind the warranty restrictions.

[sizerp]

Error codes:

p1529 - TUC Request for MIL on/Freeze To ECM Via CAN
p0734 - 4th gear ratio incorrect / transmission slipping

[Mibz]

P1529 just means that the transmission told the PCM to throw a CEL and the P0734 (Transmission slipping) would be the reason for that. It's in your best interests to have that tranny problem fixed under warranty ASAP.

[sizerp]

I took it to the place I originally bought the car - they agreed that all the seals in the braking system were denatured and quoted me $1100 to fix it, warranty nonwithstanding. They also serviced the transmission without my authorization and charged me half its cost (which I willingly paid if only to get my damned keys back to have the car towed out of there ASAP).

I just had the car towed to a private mechanic suggested by a friend who, even if he charges me the same for the repair, I can at least trust not to leave me with work half done or poorly done.

Issues with the seller / mechanic:

- Brake system blew 5 weeks after purchase (unsure the complete depth / cost of this issue yet)
- Transmission issues 5 weeks after purchase
- Claimed they would send me a tow truck and after playing phone tag / sorting things out, told me I had to provide my own towing
- Serviced my transmission 'under warranty' without my authorization, then charged me half the cost of the servicing (presumably because I had someone look at my brake system, and that is somewhat against the terms of the warranty - but then I never authorized work either - they can't have it both ways)
- Accused me of being an idiot and pouring oil in my brake fluid reservoir (probably standard practice at many shops - I admit it, people are stupid)
- After a conversation with one of their mechanics who seemed fairly honest / decent, he promised he'd have the shop owner call my cell and see if any deal could be cut under the circumstances - the only calls I got were asking me to either authorize the work or get my car out of their lot
- They smoke in their shop (disgusting)

Not that anything I can personally do will have much effect at this point, but I will be submitting complaints to the BBB, AMVIC, and Alberta Health & Safety (regarding the smoking). I appreciate the help.

Lets just call this an expensive lesson in how not to buy a car.

Also, the shop is:

The Right Price Auto
5101 20 Avenue Southeast
Calgary, AB T2B 0B1
(403) 248-8830

[crapstixs]

you have to be carfull with the tranny, hyundia auto trannys are really shitty. there are three death codes. you have one. if i rember corectly there are a bunch of tsb's for it. when you get petorolem products in brake fluid it dosent denature the seals over night, it takes a wile for it to happen. i used to work for a shop like this, the owner tryed to get me to signe blank insurance inspection forms bullshit like that. jump on google print off a bunch of info stating your case. you will have to corner him with facts. threaten and follow through with amvic and bbb complants. keep im mind hes trying to run a business so the more time of his you take up the more he will be willing to fix this.

[rob the knob]

this place?

http://rightpriceauto.com/index.asp

you should put all info in your top post maybe title

[4DoorGTZ]

In my opinion sounds like The Right Price Auto does half ass inspections assuming if it shits the bed it will be far enough down the road that the owners wont think to do anything about it 'cuz they bought a used car.

When something like that shows up, long time deterioration of the brake system wich they should have caught in the first place it shows they rushed or never really did much of a thourough inspection. Then when they're caught with their pants down do whatever they can to deny any responsibility.

Might as well be called shady mechanics are us, and I dont think they fit any of the 4 words on their banner at the top of their site.

-Of course thats just my opinion

[Tik-Tok]

Your transmission problem is common on those cars, my brother had the same issue on his Accent, it would keep shifting from 4th (OD) to 3rd, and eventually back again. It was the transmission going into fail-safe mode.

His problem (as is many other hyundais') was the pulse generator B on the transmission, and I believe Hyundai even has a TSB out on it.

[Kloubek]

I guess "The Right Price Auto" was "The Wrong Price Auto" this time around. That is very disappointing to hear. I really don't understand how they could justify charging you half to service a faulty transmission. Or, for that matter, why you would have paid if you never authorized the work.

This seems like a total clusterfuck. I am sorry it happened to you, but you honestly need to grow a bit more backbone. While you are writing to places after the fact, the chances of you getting the compensation you deserve are less than it would have been if you just caused a big stink from the get-go.

Good luck; keep us posted!

[2EFNFAST]

Not to be a downer, but I don't really think there's much you can do?

These type of places warranties are usually very sketchy (i.e., sure, entire powertrain warranty, as long as it isn't a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,etc..............).

Also very suspicious with the tranny, but if it were slipping 5-6weeks ago I don't really think there's anything they could have done to hide it from you?

[sizerp]

(all quotes are paraphrases)

Update:

The owner of the shop just called my home late this morning and "spoke" (he was quite aggressive) to my wife. He claimed that a number of folks had let him know about this forum post and that he's going to sue me for slander [sic] and take us for everything we're worth. He also followed up by saying "I know your address (awkward pause) and I'm going to send over the police".

My wife, understandably, called me in tears.

Pleasant folks, no?