A Warning to all!

[Bubu]

This weekend that just passed I met up with a friend who I havent seen for a few months. We started talking about cars when he told me what had happened to him only a couple of months ago.

My friend who owns a Peugeot (I know, I know), got a good deal on his car brand new because he knew someone that worked for Peugeot. Well after a couple of years of ownership the car had a problem.

The first time it got fixed it was still under warranty. The second time it had the same problem with the car it was out of warranty. So my friend spoke to the person his knows at Peugeot and asked if he can help him get it done for free. So this person contacted the dealership where my friend takes his car for its usual service.

Now the service manager said he did not want to help out my friend with the problem because he had been writing stuff about them on forums.

My friend was a member on aussiefrogs forum and the dealership somehow made the connection between the user on the forums and the owner of the car. My friend still is unsure to this day how they figured out the user on the forum was him. His user name didnt give any clue to his identity and the only thing he can think of is maybe he put a picture of his car on the forum with the numberplate showing.

The thing is my friend didnt even write really bad things about this dealership. He simply wrote about his service experience. He said the worst he probably wrote would be to say the they were a bit rude, but nothing to flame them.

In the end he ended up paying half the cost of the repairs done to his car.

The moral of the story be careful what you write on these forums. I know it has been said before that many dealerships and even other companies keep an eye on these type of forums. But I have never know anyone to personally experience any issues because of what they have written on forums.

It probably wouldnt concern the guys who have older cars out of warranty but those who still have warranty be careful!

Note: Now that I am bit paranoid, I wrote the above without giving too much info away.

[gregozedobe]

I'd imagine that posting identifiable info on a forum about how well your car goes on the track or at the drags since you chipped it may give a dealer an excuse to deny a warranty claim on the turbo, suspension or brakes.

Same might apply if you have a prang at a track day and then subsequent discussions with your insurer.

That's why a lot of people obscure their number plates in photos (also makes it more difficult for thieves and scammers pretending to sell your car).

Food for thought.

As the saying goes - "If you want to play, be prepared to pay"

[maca]

As the saying goes - "If you want to play, be prepared to pay"

Well said. Just gotta be careful, anyone and everyone has access to these areas....

[mikinoz]

Forums are private and a comment said here is the same as having a beer in a bar shooting the breeze.*












* If you believe this, then you should probably not take me seriously.

[gregozedobe]

Forums are private and a comment said here is the same as having a beer in a bar shooting the breeze.*

* If you believe this, then you should probably not take me seriously.

That's OK, I don't believe it, nor do I take you seriously

[cme2c]

Forums (Fora?) are interesting places. I have found computer forums give me more help than navigating the manufacturer's phone system. My ISP has employees as members in forums and I have found them very helpful.

Peugeots... As you can see by my sig, I have one and I love it. My wife will not have another Peugeot after her 307 went onto 3 cylinders with a truck bearing down on her. The resale value was not good either.(and no, the truck didn't hit it) We bought a Honda Accord Euro 2 years ago, she found that a bit big so we recently traded it on the 118TSI.

Couldn't be happier (did you get that VWA?)

[jettapilot]

My service guys at VW Artarmon (where they do a magnificent job, by the way) have told me that they keep an eye on this forum.

Not so they can catch us out but it keeps them up to date with current issues.

[Psyk]

Well known issue guys... It's also well known that the police are members on a number of car forums.

I've been a WRX forum member for years and yes the manufacturers log-in and check them out. One time I dropped the STi in for service and the Service Manager was on the forums.

I actually hope that they get on the forums. Car enthusiasts and the general community are well informed these days so it pays to keep track of what the general hype is surrounding the product they're selling.

Also, it encourages individuals to make favourable comments if they've had good service and then be well prepared/informed when they start tearing to shreds some car-dealers etc...

[Buller_Scott]

thankfully the dealership where i got my car was happy to know that i've been chipped. i havent been round there since being chipped, but they're also pretty keen to get into it and to temp/ flow testing etc. dump pipe first.

P.S thats burwin VW in dandy, melbourne. nothing but good vibes with those guys.

[balkanac]

When it comes to dealers doing a bad job i will always name and shame them on forums. I had my car in Osborne Park VW for a wheel bearing which was under warranty and they "forgot" to do the wheel alignment, and scratched my front bumper. I wrote the whole story on this forum and included photos. After a week i got a phone call from them threatening with lawyers. I told them that if they have done a good job i would have said good things like i do about Golfwagen. Lawyers never called me and apperently they contacted the moderators to delete the story but it never happened. Its still here. They were all empty threats.

[Buller_Scott]

man, its funny when people play the law card.

i've studied law. in japanese. when you step up, in my case with legal language thats used in japan and the states (which isnt used here so much because the legal system is diffo) they usually f&&k off.

[mikinoz]

I was recently contacted about a car we own because of an image on this forum, it is going to result in them taking action against me - so my warning is be more than careful.

[Arctra]

I was recently contacted about a car we own because of an image on this forum, it is going to result in them taking action against me - so my warning is be more than careful.

No way! Are you serious? Is that because of what you were doing in the photo, or because they recognised your car in the photo and the action they are taking is just related to your identified car?

What kind of action are we talking about?

It's not pleasant, but I suppose if I felt aggrieved, or was a dealer that felt aggrieved, I would probably act in the same manner. Hell, if it's publicly available info we can't stop anyone using it can we? Hence we have to protect ourselves.

[Psyk]

Generally what happens is that the dealerships ask the moderators to remove posts/photos etc. if it's deemed to be slanderous etc.

Its not uncommon that dealerships will also become moderators on some of these enthusiast forums.

As with all things on the net, once it's up it's up for good. There is no delete these days... Be prepared to post up here what you would say infront of a group of people.

[Rocket36]

Naming and shaming publicly isn't what I would think is the best option. What I have seen on other forums regarding poor dealer (or other business) experiences is people telling the whole story and if people what to know who, they PM.

That way it's a private conversation between two people. Defaming and Slander are two things that shouldn't be done and it can even put the Admins/Mods at risk.

But don't get me wrong, sharing experiences like this one are certainly a good thing.