A friend of mine is a wounded Army combat veteran. He took his '98 p/u truck to Concours Motors Inc., 1400 W. Silver Spring Drive, Milwaukee, WI, 53209, in December '02 because his dashboard temp. gage indicated the engine was not warming up. I point out that he was a wounded vet because his hands were crushed in a tank battle and when his fingers get cold, as during a Wisconsin December, they get stiff & sore, and turn pasty white. He then has a difficult time making them work.Although he does his own maintenance, he felt this repair was best left to a Mazda dealer because of the weather. Although he suggested a new thermostat, he was charged $140 for a 'diagnosis', and a new temp. sending unit (he showed me where its mounted & it’s very easy to get at on his truck). He says he drove home & still had the problem w/the temp. gage.
He called Concours, set up a new appointment, and took the vehicle back. After 2(!!) days in the Concours shop, he was told nothing was wrong with his truck, even though the temp. gage still didn't work. The vet took the truck somewhere else & had it fixed for under $10 (a new thermostat was installed, no labor charged as the man who did it felt the vet had paid enough already). He says he asked Concours for his money back, or at least part of it as they did give him a sending unit, but, he says, the Mazda service manager got agitated, restated nothing was wrong with his truck, and refused to even consider a refund.
The vet placed his story at www.cartalk.com. This the site for Tom and Ray Magliozzi, the syndicated columnists who have an auto repair column in many of the big city newspapers like the Milwaukee Sentinel. Tom & Ray, who perhaps checked out the story, removed the Concours Motors Inc. link from their website, maybe due to their disgust with Concours. And for reasons known only to Tom & Ray, the comment was never posted, perhaps out of fear of costly legal action by Concours.
The vet filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau & the Wisconsin Dept. of Consumer Affairs, and also asked a local TV station (Channel 4) that investigates consumer ripoffs for help, but Concours refuses to even discuss, saying the vet got his moneys worth.
This is a man who put his life on the line & went in harms way for all of us. It’s really a shame what Concours did to him.
Why not call or e-mail Concours expressing your indignation over what they did. Contact info is listed below.
Concours Motors Inc.
1400 W. Silver Spring Drive
Milwaukee Wisconsin 53209
Phone: 414-290-1400
Fax: 414-290-1481
Email: kwuesthoff@concoursmotors.com
