Vienna woman pickets CarMax
Local
By Anne Keisman
akiesman@timespapers.com
Source: Times Community Newspapers
THURSDAY, MAY 18 2006
UPDATED MONDAY, JUNE 4 2007
Her mission? Taking a Fortune 500 company to task.
“Beware. Do not trust CarMax.”
“CarMax rip-off. Buyer Beware.”
With signs strapped to their chest and back, Kirstin Grish and her two friends, Nancy Antonelli and Gregory Miller, exercised their first amendment rights on Friday—and picketed the Sterling CarMax, near Route 28 and Waxpool Road.
Grish’s tale begins in December 2005, when she bought a 1998 Saturn SL2 from CarMax, one of the nation’s largest retailers of used cars, for about $8,000.
Four days after the sale, she said, the car began to stall. After that, said Grish, things went from bad to worse.
She said CarMax mechanics tried to fix the car three times, to no avail. Unreturned phone calls, slow service and unsatisfactory customer relations, she said, led her to consult with a lawyer.
Grish submitted her request to CarMax for $74,109.09, the cost of the car plus insurance, legal costs and a fee of $55,400 for pain and suffering.
When Grish decided traditional channels were not working, her aggravation boiled over and she decided to go public.
“It's not just about me getting my money back. It's about letting people know what's happening,” said Grish, as she waved at drivers turning into CarMax's lot and gave them fliers detailing her tale of car-buying woe.
She also pointed potential customers to consumer Web sites that post complaints about the company.
Trina Lee, Public Relations Manager for CarMax, said the company's mechanics made every attempt to repair the vehicle, but the car never stalled on their watch. She said they sent it to a Saturn dealership, and the car did not stall there either.
“In order to repair the vehicle, we first have to find the problem,” said Lee.
Lee said CarMax offered to exchange the vehicle for another of equal value, but Grish refused.
Grish said after the bad experience she had with the company, she didn't want another car from them.
CarMax also offered to buy back the vehicle for less than Grish paid for it, said Lee, to account for mileage put on the car since the purchase.
“Our goal is to do everything we possibly can for the customer and we feel that with all of these offers, we are doing just that,” said Lee.
Grish wants a full refund and at the minimum, her insurance and interest on her loan paid, too. She said the car is still sitting at her home in Vienna. She has since bought another car from another dealer.
“CarMax is supposed to be taking care of their customers. If they can't remember that, then someone needs to remind them,” said Antonelli, Grish's roommate who picketed with her on Friday.
The final say will be in the courts. Grish has another consultation with her lawyer on Friday and plans to picket again on Saturday.
Grish and her friends got plenty of attention. One driver shouted, “I agree with you,” as he drove out of the CarMax lot.
The small protest had its humorous moments, too. A man, who works at the Ferrari dealership nearby, stopped and said the picketers should try out one of his cars.
“I wouldn't have come to CarMax in the first place if I had that kind of money,” Grish said with a smile.
On Saturday, Grish and her friends picketed again. This time, an employee from a Nissan dealership brought them a pizza.
The CarMax in Sterling opened in 1998, part of the national chain’s successful expansion during the last 10 years. CarMax has 68 superstores nationwide. CarMax is headquartered in Richmond.
One driver Grish spoke to made her feel like she was having an impact.
“Apparently he told [employees at CarMax], 'You just lost a sale. I'm not buying anything until you take care of that girl out there.'”
Friday, February 22, 2008
Vienna woman pickets CarMax
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Women--Health and Beauty
Women have to deal with cars and thats not very easy, but we normally also have to deal with our bodies and beauty--and thats not easy either so I recommend going to this blog made by a very good friend, I really like it because it deals with Health and Beauty.
http://fitnfair.blogspot.com/
10 Steps to Buying a New Car
OK, so I know I am not the smartest girl when it comes to buying a car, so I have researched where I can get the advice to do it myself and not have someone else help me through it. This article has 10 Steps to Buying a New Car and I feel it would be helpful to anyone out there who wouldn't mind some helpful buying tips. Here is the link http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/78386/page001.html#
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Here you can see how it looks like without the new front shocks to the Dodge Dakota.
Now you can see the New front shocks--its the bright yellow part.
Yeah my husband is working on it today, and it is freezing outside but he has to get it done he says--he is so dedicated :)
Geez!
I was conversating with my neighbor last night and this came up: she was taken advantage of when she bought new tires!
She had originally gone in to just buy the two front tires because those were the ones that needed to be replaced.
She came out with all four tires replaced!
The back tires still had some life in them (according to my husband), but the people at GoodYear off of Alessandro and Heacock in Moreno Valley told her that she will blow out on the free way if she does not replace them immediately! That was a lie, because those tires could have lasted her 6 months to a year because she does not drive for long periods of time and she does not drive very fast either since she is past her sixties and is very cautious. She spent 300 dollars extra when she could of saved that for something that she needed to pay since now a days everyone is kinda having to save as much as possible with the economy leading to a recession and stuff.
Well either way I wish everyone had someone or something to tell them the truth about things needed for their car instead of trusting those people that just want to make a few quick bucks off of women who do not know much about cars.
Be careful out there!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Who's Really More Car Savvy? Women or Men?
Women Beat Out Men in Basic Car Care Knowledge
Check it out!
http://www.roadandtravel.com/automotive/newsviews/2006/carsavvywomen.aspx
New Headlights!
Here are the new headlights! They look awesome.
Here is a link to a website that has step-by-step pictures to guide you if you ever want to do it yourself.
http://4wheeldrive.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=4wheeldrive&cdn=autos&tm=25&gps=439_487_1020_608&f=00&su=p284.8.150.ip_&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.edmunds.com/ownership/service/articles/45308/article.html
Lug nuts...
Today, my husband and I had to get some tires for the truck and for some reason 2 lug nuts were missing so we went to the dealership...bad idea, they wanted $12 for each lug nut, these are what lug nuts look like
When at Autozone they were $2...now tell me there was something wrong there...
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Funny! Just had to add it!
Ok, so this is one of the reasons why my husband does all my car work because I know that as a woman I was taken advantage of at car mechanic shops. This video is blown out of proportion but it is a huge hyperbole of what really goes on, and this actually happened...
Saturday, January 12, 2008
The Before Pictures
I will post the picture of the cool new ones installed later when they get installed. I will also keep you updated on the suspension installation process when the suspension components arrive.Friday, January 11, 2008
First BLOG 1/11/08
This is going to be a great blog! The project actually started yesterday when I bought all the parts for the Dodge Dakota 1999. After all this you will see the whole process my husband and I went through to fix the suspension for the truck. Can't wait to see how it turns out!
