Dear Eagle Ford. Thanks For Nothing!

Today's blog is merely a forward of the complaint email I sent to Eagle Ford about my car. Writing is writing, no matter what form, so enjoy :P

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Hi There

I do not know who else to address this to, or who else I can talk to, so I am hoping that you can help me.

Last year August I bought a used Ford Fiesta from Eagle Ford with the number plate XFX000. It is a 2008 1.4 model. Upon purchasing the car and driving it as my own, I picked up one or two things that I did not when I first test drove the car. I addressed it with my sales person Gill, who told me I should take it to the workshop to get sorted out. The service was due soon, so I asked if it was alright to do it all then and there was no problem. The two major issues with the car was:

1. The steering wheel was off centre
2. The reverse was not smooth, it was very "jerky"

WITHIN the 3 months (It was between month 2-3) the car went in for its 40000km service (It was on about 37000km at the time if my memory serves). Upon booking the car in with Cindy, I did list all the problems I was experiencing, I did mention that the car was still new, and that if there were any issues, Gill had told me that within 3 months, any faults with the car would be covered. The car received its service. I got the car back, and I was told that the problem with my reverse was the Gear mounting/Gear Bearing (Unfortunately I cannot remember specifically which one it was). My steering wheel was still not aligned and remained off center. At faster speeds (like on the highway) the steering wheel vibrates considerably. I queried with Cindy, and it was agreed that when I came in again to fix the Reverse problem, the alignment would be fixed. The reason the reverse did not get fixed during my service, was due to the fact that there was no stock of the part I needed. This took place in October.

The following week I called, and asked Cindy if the part had come in yet. She told me that they had not received it, and assured me that she would let me know as soon as they got it. Several weeks passed by and I still had not heard anything. So I called again to get hold of Cindy. Maybe she had forgotten all about the part that she needed to order, but again she told me that they had not received it, had not forgotten about me, and that I would be contacted as soon as it was received. November and December passed, I heard nothing. I tried getting hold of Cindy, but she was either always unavailable, and any messages I left for her to please call me back were never attended to. December as obviously a busy time, and I was out of the country. It was only around late January, after I had had enough of waiting, that I tried getting hold of her again. Honestly up to this point, I really do think Cindy had forgotten about me, because when I got hold of her and spoke to her (Finally!) she assured me that they had received the part yet. I got a bit upset and demanded to know why is it that this part is taking so long to get? She called me back and let me know that I could take my car in the following week to get it put in.

I took my car in then, and upon leaving it there, I reminded Cindy that the steering needed to be fixed too. She clearly did not remember me, and told me that she would try her best but it depended on how busy the workshop was going to be. I am not somebody to throw my toys, I really do have a lot of patience. When I collected my car and drove off, I realised that the steering still had not been fixed. A little agitated I called Cindy and let her know. Seeing as it was already after 5 there was not much that could be done at that time, she told me to take my car back the next day. This alone really irritated me, because Its not like I live around the corner, it really is out of my way to get to Eagle Ford, and making the time alone just to get to and from the service was such a mission. Surely somebody could have just test driven the car just to make sure it was sorted? On top of that, my reverse still did not feel smooth either!

When I got the chance, I took the car back to Cindy. She told me that somebody was going to go for a drive with me so I could point out my problems, but before I did that, I needed to go get my steering aligned to see if that would fix my problems. As I have mentioned above, I am extremely patient. I didn't push the subject, but how is it that I MYSELF needed to take the car to get the steering aligned when I had been asking Eagle to do it for me for weeks? I took the car to get aligned at a work shop nearby. While I was waiting, one of the attendants called me to see my car. He showed me how my two front tires are completely worn out on the inside, on the outside they look fine. He also informed me that my steering column was bent on the left side. One of the attendants wrote a letter for me reporting all the car faults, and addressed it to Cindy. I returned to Eagle Ford and gave the letter to her. She told me she would have a chat with Peter Smart, and let me know latest by the following Friday.

I waited the entire week the following week, only to hear nothing. I could not get hold of Cindy on the Thursday (AND she did not call me back even though I left a message) and on the Friday I STILL could not get hold of her. Eventually she called me in the late afternoon and told me that she chatted to Peter Smart and that it was not approved. I asked who I could take this up with and she told me to give Peter Smart a call.

I called him straight away and had a chat. I won't go into detail, but eventually he said to me that my car was purchased in April 2009, and it was too late to query for such problems on the car. I told him my car was bought in August. Cindy one again had let me down, telling him that my car was purchased in April. Peter Smart listened to what I had to say, and told me he would call me back.

He called me back this afternoon (22nd February) and told me that there was nothing he could do. I would have to take it up with Cindy. I have been down that road before, I know I will not get any service at all, not unless I beg and plead for it.

This really does make me question how well my car sale was handled. Peter Smart told me that there was no way my car could have been sold to me like that, as it has to go through a road worthy test and for checks and so on before it is sold. My car could not have been checked then, because that Is how I got it. That or whoever did the test on my car really didn't do it properly.

I am only 21 and the only reason I waiting till now to buy my first car, was so that I could save for a nice deposit, and make damn sure I got a car that was reliable and would last. I have been let down terribly. I am tired of running around, I am tired of receiving terrible service and I am tired of trying to find the right person who can help me sort out my car. This really is unfair, and I cannot believe that after 6 months of my purchase, I am still driving a car that is not 100%. I do not mean to come across as mean, but I really have waited long enough. Enough is Enough.

If you cannot help me, please point me in the right direction. I hope I can hear from you soon.

Kind Regards
Matthew Figueira
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