One question on TrueDelta’s Car Reliability Survey asks how the car owner learned there was a problem, and a couple of the options involve TSBs. But what’s a TSB? A TSB is a “technical service bulletin.” Manufacturers issue these to dealers to describe a common problem and how to repair it. Some people think they’re the same as recalls, but… More →
Category: Customer Care
Customer Care
Toyota: illusions of trust, gone
Based on the emails I’ve been receiving from TrueDelta’s members, I have underestimated the impact of the unintended acceleration fiasco on Toyota’s future sales. This fiasco is going to hurt Toyota, possibly for years to come. The problem isn’t that many people feel that Toyotas are unsafe. Most seem to recognize that a very small percentage of Toyotas have suffered… More →
GM’s 60-day guarantee
So, GM is going to allow car buyers to return a car in the second month of ownership for a refund. Or, buyers can opt for an extra $500 rebate instead. So, how many people are going to forego $500 for the right to return the car? The fine print, as I understand it: 1. Dealer processing and titling fees… More →
A new GM? Here’s how to prove it.
I keep reading over and over, most recently in today’s Automotive News, that GM needs to tell the American public that it “is not the company that screwed them in 1978.” The claim: the cars that turned millions of people away from GM were decades ago, and that GM is unfairly being punished for the sins of long-retired executives and… More →
Ford cutting back on customer care?
I’ve written before that Detroit needs to reduce the risk of buying its cars by providing proper customer care. Unfortunately, I recently learned that Ford might be cutting back on the out-of-warranty assistance it provides to customers. While visiting a close friend of my wife, we learned that her husband’s truck had an electronic controller in its 4WD system fail… More →
Chrysler dealer demonstrates why Chrysler is heading for Chapter 7 liquidation
I strive to remain objective about how different manufacturers compare, and even to give them all the benefit of the doubt. Problem is, ownership of a 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser (my wife’s car, she wanted something cute and fun) can make this very difficult. A conversation today with a dealership service writer was only the latest incident. Some background: back… More →
Getting beyond Detroit vs. Japan
Every time Consumer Reports or J.D. Power releases the results of a reliability survey, much of the press rushes to reduce the message to a single question: are Detroit’s cars as reliable as Japanese cars? The same answers have followed in all recent years: the gap is closing, and some domestic cars now score as well as the imports, but on… More →
Misplaced trust: USAA no longer a low cost insurance provider
We’re all very busy these days. I know I am. So it helps to feel that there are companies that we can trust to provide good service at a good price. After all, who has the time to shop around for the best car insurance, phone plan, Internet service, doctor, mechanic, stock broker, accountant, lawyer, and so forth on a… More →
Restoring confidence
GM and, to a lesser extent, Ford have been rolling out some vastly improved products. Reviews have been favorable. Yet their sales have yet to firm up. What gives? What do they have to do to regain the customers they have lost over the past few decades? In the long term, better products will do the trick. But, as the… More →
Chrysler’s lifetime powertrain warranty
Automotive News is reporting that, starting today, nearly all 2006 and newer Chrysler vehicles will come with a lifetime powertrain warranty. The only limitations mentioned are that the warranty is not transferable–I’ve never heard of a lifetime warranty that was, so no surprise there–and that the vehicle must have a free inspection performed every five years by the dealer. As mentioned… More →