Defiant or any other person who has worked at Dealership

[dont need 8]

I read in another post that carfax will show if recall work has been done on your car, how current is their data? I put in my VIN and:

Year/Make/Model: 1997 MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE RS
Body Style: Hatchback 2 DR
Engine Type: 2.0L L4 SFI DOHC 16V
Manufactured In: UNITED STATES
Recall Results: CARFAX has no recall information on the VIN submitted

I have on two occasions asked a local dealer if all the recall work has been done on my car and both times they said yes. Now I am not so sure.

 

[Defiant]

I've not worked at a dealership, but I'm sure CarFax just taps the factory database for this information.

Ask the dealer in the next town over. And ask for a printout.

 

[BOBS90TURBO]

I have worked as a salesman for several dealerships, including Don Carlton Mitsubishi and trust me, the service writers will lie every time on dsm cars, for some reason they do not like messing with them, I got 3 different answers from 3 dealer in town when I bought my last 1g.

 

[Pj97GST]

Having worked in 2 different Dealerships, as a service consultant/writer; one being a Mitsu dealership that shall remain nameless..(Oh the stories I could tell about that place..) Regardless.. If all pending recalls on a particular vehicle have been complied with, it will be shown within the database.

At the end of every single month dealerships are required by law to submit recall confirmation/compliance forms to both the NHTSA and their respective headquarters. This is to protect both the manufacturer and the consumer.

In turn, you as a owner of a vehicle that has standing safety recall's issued against it, (i.e. 95~99 Eclipse, 95~97 Talon; lower ball joint) are guaranteed by law to be notified as to the compliance or lack thereof, of all recalls issued.. In other words, if you go to the service department and ask for a recall history on your car, they are compelled BY LAW to give you a copy.

If you only knew the sheer number of TSB's and non-immediate, non-voluntary recalls that have been issued against Mitsubishi vehicles in the past few years, I highly doubt that you would have bought one in the first place.. !

On another note; Service advisors and managers will go out of their way to try to snake out of liability whenever they can.. It's all about the money.. The little bastards act like every warranty and recall fix is coming directly out of their pocket..

When the Ball joint recall first came out, how many people here that have lowered cars heard the same line: "You modified the suspension, so we're not going to be able to do the recall...."

Mitsubishi never issued an amendment voiding cars that were lowered or had aftermarket suspensions. I know for a fact that EVERY single 2G that I wrote a service ticket on for the inspection got new control arms, whether they needed to be replaced or not. It gave me a better piece of mind, knowing that the parts were getting replaced.

 

[dont need 8]

cool, thanks for the info. I will definately ask for a hard copy.

 

[Sharkcus]

hate to bring up an older thread, but Pj97GST, i have a question.

I had mine in around sept. and they told me mine were bad. I asked them if they would replace them and they said they were replaced in 1998 and they would not do it again, EVEN THOUGH they deemed my vehicle "unsafe" because of the ball joint problem.

As an employee there, do dealerships ever replace them a 2nd time? Some people say they have to by law, some people say that dont. I am really worried about my car, but i dont have the $1600 the dealership quoted me to replace them.

 

[Pj97GST]

Sorry that it took me so long to get back on this one. I'm in Iraq right now..


If the ball joints were replaced by Mitsu for the recall, then they are not compelled to replace them unless the failure can be attributed to faulty labor or parts. Meaning, one of the monkeys.. err mechanics screwed them up when they were installed or a bad ball joint was installed.

By the simple fact that you said that both of them are bad, you are probably looking at other issues that are causing irregular/excessive wear. Just buy new ball joints and find a local DSM'r that will help you do them. Beer/a couple of bucks or a date with your hot older sister will usually suffice as adequate payment. screw forking out $1600 to the dealership. just my advice, but stay away from the dealership. Also look at your suspension for any other problems that could be killing your ball joints..

 

[sleeper96]

1600 bucks to replace ball joints what the #%&@*! you can get both lower control arms on ebay for alittle over a 100 bucks theyre not hard to put on

 

[ddavisaf]

Holy dead thread batman!

 

[Sharkcus]

ya, no joke. $1600. This was last year and obviously I didn't do it. I almost spit coffee all over them when they gave me the quote. They said both sides were bad and they were extremely expensive. I know I can do it myself, but they did the recall only a year or two ago and when I brought my car in for something else, they told me both balljoints were bad and "unsafe"

I honestly dont know if they made the whole thing up or not...

 

[Old Mitsu Tech]

I would ask for the quote in writing, and get a second quote from another dealership just to be sure. I for one would do it myself and let them choke on their 1600 quote. I spent 3 years in Mitsubishi dealership. It was a very small one and I can say that they were honest. Mitsu parts are expensive but shouldn't take the rent and food from your mouth. I was just wondering if the first dealership was real or just trying to cut a fat hog in the ass. Let us know Good Luck

 

[Pj97GST]

They were going for the jugular on that one... At best memory, lower control arms go for $220 and change thru the dealership (maybe a bit more or less, it's been a while.)

Most dealerships charge somewhere between $75 and $105 per labor hour, so even at 1.0 per side for labor you're still looking at under $500.. I'd tell them to go F*ck themselves for $1600.

Contact Gary at http://www.Mitsubishigraveyard.com He gives great deals on suspension pieces. I just bought a set of lower compression arms from him for $60 a piece.