Consumers Guide to Auto Repair

I’m uncertain what GAP Insurance is, or if I need it.

My wife and I have been shopping for a new minivan in Columbus, Ohio where we live. We haven’t yet agreed on a particular model, but we have narrowed our choices to three so the dickering won’t be far off. I’d prefer to buy the vehicle outright with 60 month financing, but leasing is not out of the question. My wife prefers the lease since it will allow us to drive a nicer vehicle while enjoying cheaper monthly payments than if we’d bought. Ideally, we would like to put 10% or less down on a new minivan priced around $30,000.

I am told GAP insurance is a must-have on a lease, but unnecessary when buying a new car outright. I need to know the purpose of GAP Insurance and if you would recommend it in my situation. If you can, please give me enough facts about this coverage to keep the dealership from sticking it to me. Your help is appreciated.

Paul
Columbus, Ohio

I have an older Toyota pickup that has served me well for more than a few years. As a good number of other Toyota pickup owners were, I was notified of a pending recall on some steering components and took her in for service. As the service department at the dealership went to work removing the defective parts, excessive wear was found on adjoining front suspension parts. I was told these parts had to be replaced because movement in these joints would prevent the wheels from aligning properly.

I wasn’t particularly surprised to hear the bad news because the bill always seems to grow a lot bigger before a job at the dealership is complete. At least that has been my experience. As a result, I don’t usually go back for service after buying a new vehicle unless the vehicle is under warranty or there are no other alternatives.

At first, I thought the dealership was conning me and arbitrarily adding parts to the invoice I didn’t need. I changed my mind, though, when the service manager volunteered to take me to the back where the truck sat on a lift and show me the needed parts that hadn’t yet been removed. Then came the shocker.

To get the job completed in the least amount of time, the service manager suggested I use off-brand parts rather than Toyota parts. While I’m content to use repair shops other than those in Toyota dealerships, I’ve never used anything other than Toyota parts, even on something as mundane as an oil filter.

As foolish as it sounds, the dealership didn’t have original equipment replacement parts in stock. To get the parts I needed would require special ordering them from the nearest Toyota distribution center and waiting at least 24 hours for their arrival. After the parts had been received, the truck would be worked back into the technician’s schedule for completion. This would add a couple of days of downtime and a couple of hundred dollars of additional costs to the repair.

Like most people probably would have done, I elected to accept parts that were located at a nearby NAPA store. I saved some money and got my truck back the same day. All seems well.

After thinking about it, it seems odd to me that Toyota or any other manufacturer would allow dealers to sell and install parts that they didn’t manufacture onto cars and trucks at their dealerships. So I ask (more for curiosity than anything else), Is this practice done with or without the approval of auto manufacturers?

William
Paris, KY

About three months ago my wife and I bought a new 2007 Nissan 350Z. It was our first new car and we were both eager to get it. Since neither of us know cars very well and we had no previous car shopping experience we probably assumed too much, which made us easy targets for hungry car salesmen and financiers. At any rate, the deal is done.

After spending almost $40,000, I expected our new car to be perfect or close to it, but it isn’t. Now that some of the newness has worn off I’m seeing all sorts of defects, predominantly with the body. The fenders and doors have uneven gaps between them; the hood flutters like the wings of a hummingbird at 60MPH or faster, and wind noise in the car is so loud we can hardly hear the radio when driving on the interstate.

The powers that be at the car dealership have told me I’m being too picky. It’s not that they can’t see the trouble when I point it out. Both service advisors that have test driven the Nissan admit the car is far from perfect and they would be unhappy also. But, instead of fixing the car the service manager is telling me that the complaints I have are characteristic of Z cars and there is nothing more under warranty that can be done to make them better.

Since this is a new car and we will probably have to drive it for quite some time, do you have any suggestions that I can use to leverage the dealership to take my complaints seriously and get this car fixed? Better yet, can I make them take it back under the Ohio lemon law? I hate to think car dealerships can blow new car owners off so easily when they have legitimate complaints.

Brandon
Marietta, Ohio

Read answer from Ohio “Super lawyer,” Ron Burdge

My grandmother bought a new car last year. She doesn’t drive it much and the car dealership where she bought it keeps sending letters that say she is past due for service. Grams wants to keep the car dependable and running good, but if she does everything they say it could cost hundreds of dollars that she doesn’t have. Worse, it is worrying her day and night because when I called, the man there told me the warranty wouldn’t pay for the service procedures in the reminders she had received.

The car is a Toyota Corolla. As of right now it has 3,873 miles showing on the little thingy on the dash that keeps track of mileage. So far Grams has received six letters and another postcard or two. Some of the things they say needs done are brake service / inspection, Rotate and Electronically Balance Tires, 4 Wheel Alignment, Lube Oil and Filter Change, Fuel Injection Service, Battery Flush, and some other stuff that I can’t remember right now.

I talked Grams into buying this car and now I feel guilty about it how much it looks like she is going to be spending on trips to the service department. She was happier with her old Ford Taurus, and at least it would start all the time. The Toyota has had to be jump started twice. She had to pay for that too, both times, because the warranty wouldn’t cover it!

Does this car need all of the services the dealer says it does, or is the car lot trying to pull one over on us? If it really does need this stuff, how much should it cost?

Cindy
Lexington, KY