RAPIDE FeedBack Thread [merged] (horror stories & others)

[apecsos]

Leaniskra,

Just wanted to inform you with regards to your e-mail to me with regards to....and I quote you:

"I am..... to inform you that we will ........ on Monday, Oct. 23, 2009."


1st things first...October 23 is not a Monday. Secondly, It's now October 28, 2009. I still see and have heard nothing.
I await your reply....

[james00112233]

Leaniskra,

Just wanted to inform you with regards to your e-mail to me with regards to....and I quote you:

"I am..... to inform you that we will ........ on Monday, Oct. 23, 2009."


1st things first...October 23 is not a Monday. Secondly, It's now October 28, 2009. I still see and have heard nothing.
I await your reply....

typo-error ba nya yun.... hhhmmmm...

[seonadancing]

Eto yun car shop na nagpamigay ng free oil and filter change promo kaso pag pumunta ka dun parating may nakasampang kotse dun sa lifter nila, kaya balik na lang daw. Then punta sa ibang branch, ganun din, may nakasampang kotse sa lifter. Labo.

Hindi inaayos yun mga kotse kasi yun mga repairmen nandun sa isang tabi nagkkwentuhan.

[pitbullz]

kailangan magawan ng paraan ito sa DTI

[Marneed]

kailangan magawan ng paraan ito sa DTI

Agree ako dyan!

[mcbry]

dapat ma imbestigador to ah o ma sumbong kay tulfo... tsk tsk tsk.

[quiksie]

imported ba ang mga parts na inilalagay nila super mahal, mahal pa ata kesa sa casa pagawa dito!

[KelSeat]

Mine was worse.
I had my car repaired by Rapide with a km odometer reading of 50,827 with full tank gas. When I claimed it, the odometer reading as 51,303 and 1/4 na lang ang gas. When I complained, they said it was due to the "road test"

Geez... and the workmanship was also not very good... wala pang additional 20,000 km meron na akong narinig sa part where I had it repaired.

Worse part of it, total repair cost was 14k.

[ILuvDetailing]

that must be one heck of a road test... btw, ano inayos? just curious

[chain]

baka they were testing for gas consumption sa auto mo..

[mcbry]

grabe naman na road test yan 476km.
baka nag road test sila papuntang baguio. sana ma imbestigahan yan para matigil na mga kalokohan nila. tsk tsk tsk.

[pitbullz]

this has got to stop

[BoEinG_747]

tutuo iyon kaya mahaba ang road test

kasi hindi nila matsambahan ang sira ng auto

[av8or5]

i was just there at Park Square branch last sat. I visited my friend who was getting his regular 20k PMS. when i used to go to that branch, saturday was usually fully booked with cars getting fixed. That saturday, only 3 cars was being done. so i guess people are getting the idea that they are not that good. Now with this forum, I learned not to go there na. eventhough i never experienced anything bad with them. thanks guys, now time to look for a repair shop.

[sag0]

original parts po ba ang iniinstall ng rapide kaya mahal? or sadyang taga lang sila?

[Linkk]

In fairness to them nung nagpagawa ako sa kanila (sta rosa rapide)more than a year ago, tanggal lahat ng kalampag at noises under the car (civic) at maayos naman pagkagawa. binantayan kong lang maige. mahal lang talaga yung mga parts nila.

[hawk01]

hello mga kapatid!

if only to share a very recent story about rapide, my sister has always been taking their family rides to them for any type of PMS done. bayaw usually leaves the vehicle to do other errands then comes back to pick up...so far so good, got the free oil changes for past patronage, no horrifying story to date yet.

then came last week when sister asked me to take their ford escape to rapide for the periodic oil change. i got quoted several options ranging from the cheaper oil to the pricey synthetic. hmm, opted for the cheapo ordinary oil service instead. after the mechanic dismantled the oil filter housing, i had to wait for a replacement filter element since they do not have any in stock, a minor inconvenience...

i was snooping around the shop while waiting for the filter element and got curious where the oil for my vehicle would be by now. usually shops get these things lined up in front of you after acquiring from their stockrooms. so i just had to ask the service advisor without sounding too annoying/imposing. he showed me a filthy open 1 gallon container containing oil and claimed it is for use in my vehicle.

hmm, that certainly raised my eyebrows! i'm not really that opposed to bulk buying of oil/fuel for commercial purposes since it practices good economic sense. however, i just had to be so meticulous in this case! so i asked the SA where the hell he got the oil and why the filthy container??

he claims they buy the oil in bulk stored in their stockroom which he was willing to show me and that the filthy container is clean naman daw inside coz they use it to handle oil from the bulk drums.

off we went to the stock room so i could visually check for myself the merits of his claim. by golly miss molly, there i see the bulk drum with the hand-crank pump immersed through the inlet hole from which to siphon the oil. i just had to ask point blank if they ever leave it indefinitely in that condition (oil exposed to the atmosphere) in between refillings of empty containers?? of course na gulpi de gulat ko siya and couldn't give me a straight answer. God only knows when that drum got sealed the last time! God only knows if cockroaches had already taken a death dive into those drums! if some poor unsuspecting sap will finally get his fill from the "bottom of that barrel"... may God help him!!

ergo i went ballistic and demanded to get what i am paying for, oil from a sealed container! had he even offered the refilled "paihi" oil for free i wouldn't even think of accepting it! and to think paying customers may unknowingly be getting that same deal.

i'm not exactly a snooty bastard taking the opportunity to bitch around the poor SA naman. had they been more prudent in handling the bulk drum refills to visually assure that handling is clean i may have given some slack to accept it. i came from an aviation background and we do bulk fuel/oil refills to service our equipment (it is sommon industry practice) but hell we make sure everything is done in good order naman!

at any rate, the SA got the horror story from me and he just had to cough out a sealed container of premium mobil oil to appease me in the end. had he not done that, they would have found their shop in the headlines the next press day!

i really wouldn't like to malign anyone doing an honest day's work since lahat naman tayo ay naghahanap buhay lang naman eh. pero this one just got my ire to the edge already.

so i hope this becomes some sort of fyi to all you folks out there. we just have to be extra vigilant nowadays before parting ways with our hard earned cash only to buy oil coming from a contaminated, exposed container...

cheers mga peeps!

[Type 100]

That's some scary sh!t.

And I used to think Rapide's only ace in the hole nowadays was their oil changing. I'm glad I don't go there any more ever since I got my Jazz.

[Djerms]

YUng ka-opisina ko nagpagawa sa rapide. Nung malaman laman ko sabi ko i-pull out niya na otto niya at may magaling ako mechanic. Sabi niya trusted na niya ang rapide....

...nung natapos ang gawa at tinanung ko kung magkano inabot, hindi masabi sakin..haha.

Sa rapide lang ako nakakita ng shop na hindi pwede separate ang camber at alignment. Package daw palagi kahit hindi kailangan i camber...

[mojojojo]

I havent tried going to rapide for even an oil change although the thought crossed my mind. Wala lang malapit or on the way sa amin. Friendly neighborhood gasoline station for oil change and casa every other 5K tune-up.

I think rapide is positioning themselves as the alternative to the casa. Therefore for those who are used to servicing their cars sa casa, their pricing is at par or a little less. Casa's usually take quite some time for a simple tune-up (although lately, some casas do change oil within 1 hr), what more a repair job. Added top that, casas are notorious for exhorbitant fees so for some people, they just go to shops like rapide for a faster than casa repair and cheaper charges. But that is not the case as you guys have indicated.

As for their pricing, I believe each branch is pressured to produce a sales quota every month or heads will roll. Since my impression of them is that of a retail shop (meaning: they just wait for customers to come in as compared to direct selling wherein you look for customers), that may explain the predatory pricing and numerous other extra services.

And for the horror diagnosis on severeal rapide branch, even casas have quack mechanics and hokus-pokus (you cant see what they are doing to your car). But at least they have the manufacturer behind them. Its not easy getting technical competent mechanics to join and STAY with a company what more train several of them at the same time for every branch that opens and expect them to be proficient after a crash course?!? At the rate they are opening shops, I dont believe there are enough qualified mechanics for each of these shops.

So, i guess, weather-weather lang yan that is why some others are satisfied and most are not. Those that are satisfied have the good mechanic in their branch while the others just hire any mechanic they know (franchises?). What more if the owner of the rapide shop knows nothing about cars, just start and drive .... lagot ang auto mo

Therefore, to be safe, every driver should make it a point to at least take time to know how a car works/breaks or hope you find a shop with good mechanic or buy an new car, tapos!