Pls Help! Rust developing & other problems on new 2-month old Crosswind XUV AT 2004

[kelvin]

Good day to all of you. I'm a newbie here and a new car owner. I actually did research here before deciding to buy a Crosswind XUV. I thank all of you for your insights.

I hope the Crosswind experts here can help me on what to do with this problem. Last August 2004, I bought a crosswind xuv 2004 automatic from Isuzu Pasig. Within the first month, I noticed the following:

1. deformed plastic holder on the left side door, maluwag ang holder, hindi fit.
2. bumper is not aligned horizontally
3. rust developed on the sides of the square hole of the backdor that latches to the lock mechanism
4. rust developed on the sides a metal plate on the back of the car, near the right side of the back door.

I reported all of these to Isuzu Pasig, o-orderin pa raw ang plastic holder, yung rust ginamot ng chemcial (di ko po alam tawag) at ni-repaint at yung bumper, naalign naman. Dahil sa takot ko sa kalawang at akala ko ay normal yun pag nauulanan, nag pa full body rust proof (Savi) na rin ako ng time na yun sa Isuzu pasig. Yung kalawang daw, gumawa sila ng report at pinadala sa planta. Inaantay pa daw nila ang result.

The second month, the following occurred.

1. Somewhere in a Las Pinas company compound, after reverse, I suddenly was not able to move the car forward, the engine was functioning but the car was not able to move. May nag loose palang bolt dun sa kambyo kaya hindi nagshi-shift yung gear. Nagpunta naman sa Las Pinas ang mga taga Isuzu pasig at inayos. Probelma raw sa planta yun, hindi na fix ng maayos yung bolt.

2. On my first 1,500 km checkup I reported the following:

a. may katok sa engine area kapag nagrereverse ako sa umaga pag paalis na ako
b. pakiramdam ko ay hindi level ang kotse pag tumatakbo na, parang mas mataas ang kanang side
c. kalawang na nabubuo sa 2 turnilyo sa back side ng kotse (hindi back door), kalawang sa turnilyo na nagfi-fix ng spare tire sa metal plate, kalawang sa joining area ng backdoor at metal plate kung saan nakasabit yung spare tire.

Kahapon, nagcheck din ako at may area na kinakalawang sa back side ng kotse, malapit sa right side ng back door, malapit sa area ng original na ginamot nila na kalawang.


a. yung katok daw, dahil sa kalawang sa break area (di ko po matandaan yung eksaktong tawag) na kumakapit, lalo na pag nag overnight daw. Kaya daw tumutunog, normal daw yung sa mga kotse. Tama po ba yun? Kahit sa 2 month old car?
b. na confirm nila na hindi level, may 2 inch difference kaya di level, leaf spring daw ang aayusin para mag pantay, isischedule pa raw ang pag ayaos dahil mejo marami nakapila na kotse sa isuzu pasig last week dahil sa undas. Naintindihan ko naman yun at ayoko rin madiliin nila.
c. Yung kalawang, isasabay na rin daw sa susunod na pagabalik ko.

Eto po ang mga tanong ko, payo kasi ng mga kaibigan ko ay mag demand daw ako ng replacement car kasi 2 months pa lang may kinalawang na agad. Ang argument nila ay kahit sino naman daw na bumili for example ng honda civic, trooper o bmw, pag kinalawang agad in 2 months ay di papayag na repair lang. Narerepair po ba ang kalawang? Malamang daw ay kumalat na yun sa buong body.

Puwede po ba ako magdemand ng replacement new car? May merit po ba ang complaint ko pag dinala ko sa DTI? Meron na po bang nangyari na napapalitan nila ang kotse (sa Isuzu o ibang dealer?) dahil sa kalawang at ibang defects?

Pakiramdam ko lately ay lemon car itong nabenta sa akin. Balak ko mag submit ng formal complaint letter next week sa Isuzu Pasig. Next week ko rin balak kausapin yung sales agent nila at service advisor para i-discuss itong concern ko. Ayoko kasing antagonistic ang dating ng complaint, mas maganda kung mareresolve ang problema ng maayos.

Sana po ay matulungan nyo ako, first time ko lang nagkaroon ng kotse kaya marami akong mga tanong at marami pa akong dapat matutunan sa kotse sa mga ganitong sitwasyon. Maraming salamat po.

[woodfire]

ever thought of hiring a lawyer,just in case? to save on legal costs, you can probably seek help from a lawyer relative, friend etc...

[kelvin]

hello woodfire,

Thanks for the suggestion, i actually am not thinking of that yet. I'm still hoping that my written formal complaint to be submitted next week will be considered by isuzu pasig. Or am I just deluding my self? ;) I didn't realize until now that when you buy a new car, you must scrutinize it very carefully, just like checking out a second hand unit. I made a very expensive mistake for not checking out every detail of the crosswind.

[yebo]

sir, buying a new vehicle is not an AS-IS-WHERE-IS thing. the seller of a new vehicle has the responsibility of making sure that the unit delivered to you is what you intended to buy, A NEW VEHICLE.

kalawang is not normal in a new car, whether or not you had factory rustproofing as an spec. so i suggest for you to write another demand letter asking for a replacement. but this time, have it NOTARIZED BY A LAWYER. it does not cost much, maybe P200 for notarization fee. that will make it a legal document, recorded by a third party (the notary and witnesses who will sign the notarized document) and thus bear more weight than just an ordinary letter. state in the letter all the complaints you had written here in this thread. state also the history, how many times the vehicle had problems, when and what, what was done or what was promised. in the end, just say that you are not a satisfied customer and that you deserved to be treated better, with no other remedy than to replace the "lemon" that they gave you.

car companies go to great lengths to protect their reputations. that is why they do recalls of vehicles to fix certain problems even if the cars were sold years ago. you should not be having such problems with a brand new car. stop praying that the problems will be fixed. there are "lemon" cars from even the best manufacturers, your car is one of them. "lemon" cars don't get fixed, the problems appear one after another, you don't want to get stuck with what you have now. demand a replacement and save yourself a lot of hassles and dead hair in the future.

[altec]

dito kasi sa pinas, our legal system is the pits, so maraming di takot when people will say "so sue me". I have read so many articles and letters of people who had problems with their new cars, may mitsu, daihatsu, at isuzu na akong nabasa. In fairness, meron naman very accomodating. But some will really give you a hard time. So better put all those problems down in writing, formalize it, so if ever it comes to the point that you have had it with your lemon car, you can demand a replacement (meron bang refund sa pinas na kotse?) Yes, it is still under warranty, so you can have it fixed for free, but a lemon is a lemon, what about all the time you spent sending it back to the shop (plus all the inconvenience of experiencing the problems while using the car!)

It doesn't hurt also to have someone inside, iba na talaga ang palakasan.

[111prez]

kelvin -- tama yang plan of action mo. give them a formal written complaint in order to put everything in black and white. make it as detailed as you can possibly have it with the sole purpose of showing that, from the very beginning, you were sold a lemon vehicle. in your letter, what is important is to tell them that as soon as you saw the problem, you reported it. likewise, the problems were not due to your fault or negligence

sa formal complaint mo (and this is a common oversight) state clearly what your demand is and give them a deadline. when i say deadline, put a specific date for them to address your demand. this way, when the demand passes and they do not do anything, then you are documenting their neglect and lack of diligence

with all due respect to sir yebo, you do not have to send them a notarized letter.

if they do not act on your demand letter, then its time to consult a lawyer and have this lawyer send a lawyer's demand letter. it will be the same as your demand letter in substance but will already include isuzu's neglect of your previous demands. also, the lawyer's demand letter will be written in such a way that it is actually preparatory to a legal suit

i am very sorry to hear about your vehicle. i hope that this will be solved

my final 2 cents worth: you are entitled to a brand new replacement vehicle.

sana mga tsikoteers dito who are connected with isuzu can also help you

[5Speed]

replacement car dapat yana at hindi repair-repair lang....imagine its just 2 mos. and already have rust??? nagpapatawa ba sila?? aba eh yung nabili na secondhand na adventure nung kebigan ko eh 6 mos. na sa kanya, model 2000 pa, eh ni isang body rust eh wala pa, oil change at tires pa lang daw ang pinapalitan nya.. tapos yang sayo eh brand new?

be tough on them, kapag pumayag ka na repair-repair lang ang gagawing dyan sa car mo which is just over 2 months old, papano na yan after the warranty period? baka yung mga repairs na gagawin dyan eh worth a new car na, tapos abala pa sa yo dahil parati kang nagpupunta sa casa para magreklamo, schedule, sayang ang oras mo dyan...

get a lawyer and talk with them, if you have a lawyer friend or relative, isama mo with a formal complaint, notarized it...talk to a personnel na merong authority dun sa casa at huwag dun sa service advisor or agent mo lang...baka kasi hindi nakakarating sa itaas yung mga complaint mo...baka kino-cover-up lang nila yun sa takot na mag-reflect sa kanilang performance....if possible dapat kaharap sila kapag nag-usap kayo para walang maitago na detalye.....

para sa akin, yan ang tamang first step na gawin... hindi ka naman nakikipag-away sa kanila eh...kelangan lang na maipakita mo sa kanila na me know-how ka sa proper proceeding regarding that kind of problems otherwise eh mapapasama ka lang sa mga iba nating kababayan na nakabili nang lemon cars na nagpadaan sa boladas nang mga service advisors at agents, and ending up with a big headache sa unit na nabili nya tapos hindi pa masaya sa acquisition nya na antagal na pinag-ipunan....then dun nagsisimula yung bad mouthing sa particular brand nang sasakyan w/c is unfair din naman sa manufacturers.... as they say, parating may lemon na unit sa kahit na anong brand...kahit Mercedes or BMW nagkakaron nyan.....

[pink_cadillac]

Big companies will treat customers like garbage. My experience with these things is have them repair it, compensate you, but make sure everything is on record in case you decide to sue them.

Suing them yields you nothing but annoyance, but it goes the same for them. Thing is, you are an individual, they are a company with a relatively massive bureaucracy.

Simply more stations to pass the buck around.

Sometimes it makes you think that though they do not sell second hand cars, they act as if they can out-do the moral irresponsibility of a decrepit used car salesman.

[chieffy]

ask for a replacement by:

1. writing a formal complaint addressed to their sales manager or dealership owner

kapag di nakuha sa santong dasala

2. lumapit sa ng media para malamang ng madla at kumuha ng abogado para mag ayos ng kaso- medyo matrabaho, magastos at may abala sa oras mo

di biro ang binili mo kelvin, daang libo ang pinag uusapan kaya dapat makuha mo kung ano ang binayaran mo at iyon ay isang bago at maayos na sasakyan

[empy]

one more comment to add to those already posted:

rust in a 2-month old vehicle is a VERY BAD sign. something was very wrong in the way they put the vehicle together for it to already be eaten by rust. also, rust is very difficult to fix - body panels have to be replaced and what guarantee do you have that the other panels won't rapidly rust also?

i am not trying to scare you or make you feel any worse than you already must - i just want to say that if i were you, at this point i would be looking for a replacement and not just repairs.

if they don't cooperate immediately then i suggest you consult an attorney.