Seat Belt Frayed not covered by Warranty
Discussion
Sorry long post - bit of a rant, there is some (slightly) useful information in amongst it
Had my V8Vantage for a year, so its due a service, and the thermostat has just gone so book it into an Aston dealer. Tell them the reverse light doesn't always come on and also the seat belt is slightly frayed on the drivers side. Asked dealer to look at, said it would probably need replacing under warranty. Got told it might not be covered, said I couldn't see why not but to let me know, they said they would contact Aston warranty.
Was told they would need car for 3 days as they were busy, not a major issue to me. Phoned them up after 2.5 days to check on progress, get told it will not be ready in time. What about the seatbelt under warranty I ask? Warranty - you have a warranty? Yes the Aston Warranty (how difficult is it to read the bloody notes on the screen!). OK we will have to check with Aston Warranty and let you know later today
But no they didn't phone me back!
Next day mid afternoon get phoned up to be told car is ready for collection - however they had talked to Aston Warranty and seatbelt not covered - did I want to pay for it. No I want it replaced under warranty! Well you can phone them yourself Sir! What you want me to do your job? They give me the number to call.
Phone up Aston Warranty - tell them the issue etc, and get told immediately that XXXX dealer has not even phoned them (lying f
king bds!!!) Then get told its a mechanical parts and labour warranty only, and seatbelt not covered. Got warranty in front of me so ask them where it lists the seatbelt as being excluded? Got told its a mechanical parts and labour warranty only. Getting annoyed now. Tell them no it isn't and could they please explain why the main safety feature in the car aka the seatbelt isn't covered. Oh in that case Sir we will cover it ask the XXX dealer to call us.
Phone up talk to dealer principle, rip him a new ahole over being lied to, why does his customer have to phone Warranty why the car was not being ready the day they said it would be and no one phoning me back. He tries to argue that Aston Warranty are like that and they often need the customer to phone them up. Anyway he goes away phones me back 15 minutes later to say he has checked and the reason they did not phone Warranty was they had an identical issue last week and it had been refused. Said then how come you didn't tell me that on the day when I booked it in (as they would already know)or when I phoned up 2.5 days later to check progress. No real answer. I made it clear I was very unhappy with the service and I had received and the lack of communication and that they were worse than the Vauxhall dealers I used 20 years ago when I had a company car.
Anyway picked the car up this afternoon (gave them another day to replace the seatbelt). All work done, including new seatbelt, thermostat and reverse sensor. Now if the roles were reversed and I had a customer that unhappy I as the dealer principle would meet the customer to apologise and check he was feeling happier / what could I do to resolve the issue. But no, just the guy behind the desk that did fk all to help /couldn't be arsed to phone Warranty etc etc.
So what have I learnt:- the dealer are useless lying bds that don't give a toss for their customers - seatbelts are covered- you need to fight your own battles with Aston Warranty (have the document in front of you.
And the most important lesson - next time to stop being a disorganised tosser take a couple of days off and take it to Ricks - because unless its warranty work the fking wkers at the dealers are never seeing me again
Rant over - sorry its so long just really annoyed and disappointed with a lack of service
Had my V8Vantage for a year, so its due a service, and the thermostat has just gone so book it into an Aston dealer. Tell them the reverse light doesn't always come on and also the seat belt is slightly frayed on the drivers side. Asked dealer to look at, said it would probably need replacing under warranty. Got told it might not be covered, said I couldn't see why not but to let me know, they said they would contact Aston warranty.
Was told they would need car for 3 days as they were busy, not a major issue to me. Phoned them up after 2.5 days to check on progress, get told it will not be ready in time. What about the seatbelt under warranty I ask? Warranty - you have a warranty? Yes the Aston Warranty (how difficult is it to read the bloody notes on the screen!). OK we will have to check with Aston Warranty and let you know later today
But no they didn't phone me back!Next day mid afternoon get phoned up to be told car is ready for collection - however they had talked to Aston Warranty and seatbelt not covered - did I want to pay for it. No I want it replaced under warranty! Well you can phone them yourself Sir! What you want me to do your job? They give me the number to call.
Phone up Aston Warranty - tell them the issue etc, and get told immediately that XXXX dealer has not even phoned them (lying f
king bds!!!) Then get told its a mechanical parts and labour warranty only, and seatbelt not covered. Got warranty in front of me so ask them where it lists the seatbelt as being excluded? Got told its a mechanical parts and labour warranty only. Getting annoyed now. Tell them no it isn't and could they please explain why the main safety feature in the car aka the seatbelt isn't covered. Oh in that case Sir we will cover it ask the XXX dealer to call us.Phone up talk to dealer principle, rip him a new a
hole over being lied to, why does his customer have to phone Warranty why the car was not being ready the day they said it would be and no one phoning me back. He tries to argue that Aston Warranty are like that and they often need the customer to phone them up. Anyway he goes away phones me back 15 minutes later to say he has checked and the reason they did not phone Warranty was they had an identical issue last week and it had been refused. Said then how come you didn't tell me that on the day when I booked it in (as they would already know)or when I phoned up 2.5 days later to check progress. No real answer. I made it clear I was very unhappy with the service and I had received and the lack of communication and that they were worse than the Vauxhall dealers I used 20 years ago when I had a company car.Anyway picked the car up this afternoon (gave them another day to replace the seatbelt). All work done, including new seatbelt, thermostat and reverse sensor. Now if the roles were reversed and I had a customer that unhappy I as the dealer principle would meet the customer to apologise and check he was feeling happier / what could I do to resolve the issue. But no, just the guy behind the desk that did f
k all to help /couldn't be arsed to phone Warranty etc etc.So what have I learnt:- the dealer are useless lying b
ds that don't give a toss for their customers - seatbelts are covered- you need to fight your own battles with Aston Warranty (have the document in front of you.And the most important lesson - next time to stop being a disorganised tosser take a couple of days off and take it to Ricks - because unless its warranty work the f
king wkers at the dealers are never seeing me againRant over - sorry its so long just really annoyed and disappointed with a lack of service
blackice1 said:
Neil can i suggest you try a different dealer next time , i am not far from you and i think you would be surprised at the level of service from the garage near me.
Well its NEVER going back to the one I've just used and I was VERY surprised at the level of service I got 
. Even though they are practically on my doorstep. Not sure I would want to part with my hard earned money to any of the official dealerships again having experienced just how st one of the reputedly most respected ones was, and can only conclude at the moment that they are all a bunch of uncaring useless bds. Had a personal PM from a fellow PH'er in response to my post and its would appear to be 'common' among the dealerships to treat people with pre owned cars and extended warranty with disdain. Their loss - was considering 'upgrading' to a Roadster this year - but if I do it will not be through them.Having visited Rick's at the charity day, chatted to him, and read everyone else's glowing reports I am still kicking myself at being so disorganised that I took the 'easy' option of going to the local dealer, who sold me the car and the extended warranty in the first place.
AMD1 said:
Shame Rick can't do warranties, maybe we can persuade him to set up DMS#2 in the South. I'll put in some equity....how about it Rick?
Thats a fantastic idea! Wish I had thought of it 
So come on Rick would you be interested in opening and managing (remotely) DMS#2 in the South if you didn't have to put the equity up?
Murph7355 said:
There have been a few stories of the extended warranty not covering stuff.
Not worth the money IMO.
Well it took a bit of a fight but I think I am about even over the year on price of warranty vs work done. Now understand that the dealers may not fight your corner its just a matter of phoning up direct and reading the warranty contract back to Aston Warranty. It doesn't cover stuff such as Entertainment System but other stuff I would expect it to cover it looks OKNot worth the money IMO.
Adrian I would love to the opportunity to work with Aston and be able to carry out warranty repairs offering the complete package so to speak, as it would be nice to have other workshops (finding the right people though would be difficult), As our strength is the team we have and the fact they share my passion, and to have cars go through a workshop that I was not personally involved in I would find difficult, so may be in the future, As the Dealers know they can have a great team but it only takes one person to have a could not care less attitude or just having a personal crisis to spoil it for the rest, If Neil had been dealt with by a different person with in that dealership the story could be completely different, also if the people up the chain of command do not know of problems with particular members of staff things are unlikely to change, The driving force behind the team has to promote a level of excellence above and beyond what is possible but still aim to achieve it, keeping people motivated is difficult and this imho is where things can go wrong, Unhappy Aston owners is in no way good for Aston directly, the dealer network or for me as an independent, it spoils the experience with most of the niggles easily sorted why does it have to go so far and basic customer service goes out the window, this attitude move people away to buy different cars, and puts people off actually buying Aston's in the first place which effects everyone involved in the repair and selling side, My dad a mechanic from another era drilled it into me, " a good job for a fair price" simple but very true,
rick-derby- said:
Adrian I would love to the opportunity to work with Aston and be able to carry out warranty repairs offering the complete package so to speak, as it would be nice to have other workshops (finding the right people though would be difficult), As our strength is the team we have and the fact they share my passion, and to have cars go through a workshop that I was not personally involved in I would find difficult, so may be in the future, As the Dealers know they can have a great team but it only takes one person to have a could not care less attitude or just having a personal crisis to spoil it for the rest, If Neil had been dealt with by a different person with in that dealership the story could be completely different, also if the people up the chain of command do not know of problems with particular members of staff things are unlikely to change, The driving force behind the team has to promote a level of excellence above and beyond what is possible but still aim to achieve it, keeping people motivated is difficult and this imho is where things can go wrong, Unhappy Aston owners is in no way good for Aston directly, the dealer network or for me as an independent, it spoils the experience with most of the niggles easily sorted why does it have to go so far and basic customer service goes out the window, this attitude move people away to buy different cars, and puts people off actually buying Aston's in the first place which effects everyone involved in the repair and selling side, My dad a mechanic from another era drilled it into me, " a good job for a fair price" simple but very true,
Rick, as usual top reply!"as it would be nice to have other workshops,so may be in the future"
Well that sounds like a maybe!!!
Looks like we need to nag you a bit more!
Great to see someone with a passion for customer service - thats my problem owning an IT Services company (all my staff share my same passion for delivering customer service) that it really pisses me off when I don't get it from other companies (especially when I gave a senior manager the chance to rectify it)
Still sounds like a maybe for DMS#2!!
Rick, sounds like you and Kay need to produce a Rick#2 to run the new DMS#2. I agree that one bad apple can spoil the pack, but there is also no such thing as bad pets, only bad owners. Good management with the right attitude is the key to good service delivery; something that you clearly understand.
Neil lol seems like I need to be careful in what I say or imply , 
, I am always open to ideas or possible improvements, we are a very small fish in a very big pond, constructive criticism is always good even if it is hard to hear and sometimes even harder to implement, I am surprised that you spoke to someone above the initial person who let you down, it's not the fact as i see it that it was or was not covered by the warranty, it is how it was dealt with, and the the fact the second person supported the first without seeking a resolution or some middle ground sadly disappoints me, There seems to be an arrogance that has crept into the service industry, almost a take it or leave it point of view, without even taking into consideration the current financial climate, please and thank you, and basic common courtesy which all of us was taught as children seems to have evaporated from everyday society, Thankfully this does seem to be a key ingredient in the majority of Aston owners (our last open day was a testament to this)
Also Neil from your experience the buzz of doing it right and the smiles and thanks, never mind the recommendations really does make it all worth while, and when things do not go quite right it is this trust by others that make you work and try even harder, And i am sure that you will also understand in many case it is my name that comes up, but without Kay, Frazer and David DMS just would not be what it is,
, I am always open to ideas or possible improvements, we are a very small fish in a very big pond, constructive criticism is always good even if it is hard to hear and sometimes even harder to implement, I am surprised that you spoke to someone above the initial person who let you down, it's not the fact as i see it that it was or was not covered by the warranty, it is how it was dealt with, and the the fact the second person supported the first without seeking a resolution or some middle ground sadly disappoints me, There seems to be an arrogance that has crept into the service industry, almost a take it or leave it point of view, without even taking into consideration the current financial climate, please and thank you, and basic common courtesy which all of us was taught as children seems to have evaporated from everyday society, Thankfully this does seem to be a key ingredient in the majority of Aston owners (our last open day was a testament to this)Also Neil from your experience the buzz of doing it right and the smiles and thanks, never mind the recommendations really does make it all worth while, and when things do not go quite right it is this trust by others that make you work and try even harder, And i am sure that you will also understand in many case it is my name that comes up, but without Kay, Frazer and David DMS just would not be what it is,
rick-derby- said:
Neil lol seems like I need to be careful in what I say or imply , , I am always open to ideas or possible improvements, we are a very small fish in a very big pond, constructive criticism is always good even if it is hard to hear and sometimes even harder to implement, I am surprised that you spoke to someone above the initial person who let you down, it's not the fact as i see it that it was or was not covered by the warranty, it is how it was dealt with, and the the fact the second person supported the first without seeking a resolution or some middle ground sadly disappoints me, There seems to be an arrogance that has crept into the service industry, almost a take it or leave it point of view, without even taking into consideration the current financial climate, please and thank you, and basic common courtesy which all of us was taught as children seems to have evaporated from everyday society, Thankfully this does seem to be a key ingredient in the majority of Aston owners (our last open day was a testament to this)
Also Neil from your experience the buzz of doing it right and the smiles and thanks, never mind the recommendations really does make it all worth while, and when things do not go quite right it is this trust by others that make you work and try even harder, And i am sure that you will also understand in many case it is my name that comes up, but without Kay, Frazer and David DMS just would not be what it is,
Yes you are right, the issue of was the seatbelt covered or not turned out not to be the big issue, it was how they left me feeling. Tried the decent thing of asking for the Service Manager, but he had the day off so spoke to the MD. Would not have taken too much to make me feel wanted and a valued customer but it ended up as a big fail on their part. Think you would be shocked if you knew which dealer, as you have spoken highly of them in the past (clue is check my profile for location)., I am always open to ideas or possible improvements, we are a very small fish in a very big pond, constructive criticism is always good even if it is hard to hear and sometimes even harder to implement, I am surprised that you spoke to someone above the initial person who let you down, it's not the fact as i see it that it was or was not covered by the warranty, it is how it was dealt with, and the the fact the second person supported the first without seeking a resolution or some middle ground sadly disappoints me, There seems to be an arrogance that has crept into the service industry, almost a take it or leave it point of view, without even taking into consideration the current financial climate, please and thank you, and basic common courtesy which all of us was taught as children seems to have evaporated from everyday society, Thankfully this does seem to be a key ingredient in the majority of Aston owners (our last open day was a testament to this)Also Neil from your experience the buzz of doing it right and the smiles and thanks, never mind the recommendations really does make it all worth while, and when things do not go quite right it is this trust by others that make you work and try even harder, And i am sure that you will also understand in many case it is my name that comes up, but without Kay, Frazer and David DMS just would not be what it is,
What really impressed me about all DMS staff was the Charity Day, everyone at DMS putting loads of effort into it. Especially when one of the owners was chatting to you about squeaky brakes and next thing he knew car was on ramps and it was fixed for free!
And apologies, me and Ade were emailing each other earlier today, about funding DMS#2 so we are ganging up on you!
Still an good idea though
Neil I had already guessed who you meant and hand on heart really surprised, My dealing with them have never been anything short of excellent parts, service and sales, That is why I have actively promoted them(this is based on my own experiences and those of customers and people I have referred either for warranty work or for servicing for those that would only want to see a Dealer stamp in their service book), They have been long established and built a reputation that as far as I was concerned has not been surpassed by any other dealer, Knowing them as I do they have always been customer focused and I do not understand what has happened in this instance especially as I know you are both reasonable and intelligent, maybe even the best get complacent and need a shake up every now an then,
Just thought I should edit this as it looks like a glowing report for the company, poor service is not good and should not be condoned, I hope they have the foresight now to go the extra mile to prove to you Neil they are all I profess them to be,
Just thought I should edit this as it looks like a glowing report for the company, poor service is not good and should not be condoned, I hope they have the foresight now to go the extra mile to prove to you Neil they are all I profess them to be,
Edited by rick-derby- on Friday 12th March 22:29
rick-derby- said:
Neil I had already guessed who you meant and hand on heart really surprised, My dealing with them have never been anything short of excellent parts, service and sales, That is why I have actively promoted them(this is based on my own experiences and those of customers and people I have referred either for warranty work or for servicing for those that would only want to see a Dealer stamp in their service book), They have been long established and built a reputation that as far as I was concerned has not been surpassed by any other dealer, Knowing them as I do they have always been customer focused and I do not understand what has happened in this instance especially as I know you are both reasonable and intelligent, maybe even the best get complacent and need a shake up every now an then,
Just thought I should edit this as it looks like a glowing report for the company, poor service is not good and should not be condoned, I hope they have the foresight now to go the extra mile to prove to you Neil they are all I profess them to be,
No need for the edit, knew what you meant. Got the impression the MD was not used to pissed off customers phoning him direct - sincerely hope I never get like that. Actually enjoyed the customer service when they relieved me of loads of money when purchasing the car. Always give a company a chance to rectify problems / issues as its then you really can spot the good from the bad, how companies deal with complaints / issues shows their true mettle.Just thought I should edit this as it looks like a glowing report for the company, poor service is not good and should not be condoned, I hope they have the foresight now to go the extra mile to prove to you Neil they are all I profess them to be,
Edited by rick-derby- on Friday 12th March 22:29
Still a good idea though!
completely agree it is when things go wrong the true measure of a business really shows and with the best effort and skill the unforeseen has a habit of testing us all, as for the md he relies on his staff and as such probably shell shocked they had upset someone based on their reputation, and he had to deal with it, with hind sight I wonder would it of been handled differently,
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