Carousel Motors

Reviews 3

MI

michael huberty

My review is in response to a 2006 audi A8 that I purchased last September. The car has mostly been a joy to drive with the exception of a few suspension parts that need to be replaced here shortly. Due to an unfortunate incident caused by the air suspension, my car is at the body shop for a minor repair of the bumper cover. With the car at the shop, I asked them to take a look at a few other items that were bothering me, but couldnt really figure what the cause was. 1) The passenger side quarter panel has been repainted and looks to have been in a bit of an accident at some point. Unfortunately whoever painted it did a horrible job. Either the painter wasnt using a clean paint booth or there were issues when drying, but in any case nearly the entire passenger side has been repainted and looks pretty bad for a car of this caliber. 2) rear bumper not fitted correctly. Likely due to the quarter panel repair, the rear bumper cover currently isnt aligned correctly, and hasnt been since I bought it (unfortunately one of those things that takes a while to catch). 3) when the front bumper cover was removed for the body shop to repair, they noticed that there had been some work done to the bumper cover in the past...I think the way he put it was "this bumper is experienced". I recall asking prior to purchase if the car had any body work done, as the debadging of the trunk made me a little suspicious. But now its a little clearer to me that this went beyond just a trunklid. Mechanically Im hopeful that there arent similar issues in the future for this car, as that would not only be completely deflating but Im now suspicious of anything else that might have been hidden from me. And with a 3 month old baby riding in the back Im hopeful that there are no safety concerns. This raises concern for a few things for me. First, that carfax didnt catch this...seemingly because it was such a hack job and/or hidden and never made it to the service. And secondly and most importantly, I will think twice before buying a car sight unseen. Not to say I would have caught all of this after a brief showing, but there are certainly things that I probably would have been more aware of if I had an opportunity to look in person. I guess this mostly angers me because I spent on this car what I should have on a car with no issues. Now that I know some of these issues exist, I have a bit of a moral dilemma on my hands, as I will one day have to sell the car. I only hope that there are no additional issues with the vehicle as I dig into the body work further. Im hoping that this isnt common place for your shop, as the buying experience was a good one. Unfortunately these issues with the vehicle tarnishes that experience a bit. I know this is a used car and I bought "as is", but the fact that so much was hidden on this car to be sold in excellent/great condition is ridiculous. And the worst part is that I believe Carousel Motors was aware of at least some of these issues if not all as they apparently serviced the vehicle for most if not all of its life. Very frustrated buyer who will think twice before buying a vehicle based on trust that Im getting all the facts from the "respected" dealer.

HA

Hans Trousil

Having owned several VWs over the last 44 years and a father who worked for VW, I have been able to do a lot of mechanical work myself. Getting older and not wanting to crawl under cars anymore, which have become a nightmare to work on with all things being electronic, I decided that I would have the dealership do all work on my wifes Passat after we had purchased it. Two years ago during a routine service after I left the dealership to return home ( a 75 mile one way trip ) I got about 7 miles from the dealership when the water pump destroyed itself. I have to mention it is a 2004 Passat and had about 60,000 miles on it at the time. After towing the vehicle back to the dealership and repairing the pump at a cost of $400.00 I was on my way home. As the car was getting close to 80,000 miles on it and each time I went in for service I was advised that the timing belt should really be replaced due to its high rate of failure. I had planned on doing that when the car hit around 90,000. The primary driver of the car is my wife and she started to notice that a clunking sound was coming from the right front of the car when she was making right turns. With what little knowledge I have, I assumed correctly that a CV joint was going out. I made an appointment at the dealer to have the car serviced and the problem checked out. My suspicions where confirmed and the CV joint was bad. Before we left to have the car worked on I researched the cost of the axle at various auto parts stores. The average price was around $240.00 for the part. I also found a site RAXLE who only specialize in VW and Audi axles. I advised the service manager that I wanted an axle from this site. He said it would take about four days get one. After the oil change service we drove home expecting to get a call within a week to make an appointment to get the work done. After not hearing from the dealer for 2 weeks I called and asked on what was the status of the part. I was told that I would have to drive back to the dealership so that they could get the number of the axle to make sure it was an original part on the car. The car was sold new by Carousel and we are the second owners and I told them to check their records because all work would have been done by them. They said they would get the axle. I also told them to change the timing belt. I told the service advisor that the water pump does not need to be replaced because it was only 2 years old. We dropped the car of and left it overnight. The next day we picked up the car and we had a $2,200.00 bill. Needless to say I almost had a heart attack knowing what the actual price of the parts amounted to less than $300.00 at an auto parts store. I was charged $1300.00 for parts at the dealership which also included a new water pump which the car did not need. $900.00 went to labor which I have no problem with, cause I know the mechanics have always done a great job working on the car. We where definitely ripped off on the price of parts and from now on if I ever go back to the dealership I will bring my own parts along.

NA

Nawaal Farooq

Let me start by saying, unfortunately I dont know a whole lot about the engineering of cars or how/why they work the way they do. I think taking my car to any car place is one of the most nerve-racking experiences because I usually end up with an unpleasant surprise and/or bill. On the contrary, Ive been servicing with Carousel for about a year and a month now after buying my 2010 Mazda 3, and so far--Ive had a pretty good experience with everyone at the dealership that Ive spoken with. A few people you should know about while youre buying your first/next Mazda-- or taking it into the shop. Nathan Guillaume- Salesperson- Nathan was a fantastic help in explaining to me the pros and cons of different types of cars, and let me REALLY take my time on deciding which one I wanted. Im talking NO PRESSURE. He literally sat down with me for maybe an entire hour as I justified my possible purchase. (Yes, unfortunately I was THAT person.) Even now, a year later-- Nathan helps me with any issues that I have by contacting the right people in servicing to ensure that I dont lose my mind and also that the right things will be done without too much hassle. What a great guy-- he has been SO helpful. I highly recommend him! Craig Slifer- (I believe he is a manager), has worked with me throughout the past year. With my misunderstanding about car works and also some tough times trying to make sure my car was dealt with in a correct and honest manner, he has been helpful in aiding me in the service center to figure out what to do next. He did at times try to up-sell me on a few things--BUT overall, most car servicing places do, and I cant blame him for trying. He also worked with Craig Yeager to ensure that the services I received awhile back were correct, and we found a way to settle after a bill was priced too high on a past oil change. Cory Hogue- Car tech- Ive known Cory since before he worked at the Carousel servicing area, and hes always been SO kind, honest, and generous (with everything he does). He actually explained to me what needed to be done in the future, and explained why, while showing each part to me specifically on the car. Hes always been a great help to me and has calmed my nerves multiple times with my Mazda. He is awesome and I cant say enough great things about how helpful he is and has been with my car! -- and a BIG thanks to Clint Bigelow, who took the time to look over my car with Cory and explain any other details that I needed to know for a quick check up after Firestone of Iowa City gave me a list of things that needed to be fixed in my car. ALL in all, I left with a huge smile on my face today and honestly felt like I won something big from not having to get ANYTHING fixed in my car--and if anyone is like me and feel that differentiation of car services and mostly unnecessary, high-cost estimates are regular findings with some other car places after inspections, you will find some relief and peace of mind with Carousel Mazda in Iowa City. Nathan, Craig, Cory, and Clint were SO helpful today. You guys rock!