Guess What (follow-up)?

(Follows on from "Guess What?".)

Dealer asked me to take the car in so that I could have the steering rods
replaced free of charge as no records showed this had been done under the
original campaign. Boy, was I not in for a bigger surprise when after
dropping the car there, I get a second call in the afternoon telling me that
while the car is on the lift, a tie-rod replacement record has shown up on
Elsa (they had pressumably not been able to set up a connection before), the
German database, and that I will have to pay for the whole thing. He very
kindly informs me that it's only the upper right-front end arms and both
tie-rod ends that need to be replaced. Since I had asked for an estimate
prior to any real arm replacements, he then quotes a total of some $800,
including labour.

I say "thanks for the info", but could you please lower my car and get it
ready for me to pick it up when I finish work?

So, in the end, I just took the car to an independent mechanic and had all
of this plus an oil-and-filter change and 2 new Bilsteins for the front end
for $1000..

I really felt I had been cheated by the dealer. I did not check any other
ones as I did not have either the time of patience to drive an extra 100
miles but this speaks volumes about how the make is treating their
customers.

JP Roberts