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Mickey Coffino dropped off her Audi at the dealer on a Friday afternoon to get her trunk and window fixed. On Monday, the dealership called to say her tires and wheels had been stolen.
Now Cuffino's on the hook for $1,000 to get them replaced, and she's frustrated that the dealer won't help out. But who really should pay the bill?
“I'm a single mom with triplets,” said Coffino, who owns MC3 Salon and Wellness Center on South Road. “What if, hypothetically, this was my only means of transportation? I'm not trying to be snotty, but not everyone has cash laying around.”
The reason Audi of Charlotte on Independence Boulevard wouldn't help out boils down to one thing: insurance.
Each Audi dealership is an independent business and carries insurance to protect from liability. Though General Manager Bill Taylor said he wished he could do more, he said making an exception to his written policy for customers' property would open him to claims of unfairness from past customers.
“The dealership goes to great lengths to protect the customer's property,” Taylor said. “We have these policies in place. Unfortunately we have to base our practices on the majority of things, not the minority of things.”
He described the situation as one in which a person goes to a shopping mall and buys something at Target. The customer puts the item in the car and goes shopping at Old Navy. While in the second store, the customer's car is vandalized. Should Target or Old Navy be held responsible?
“There are faultless victims here,” Taylor said. “I'm as faultless as the client is.”
Though policies aren't so strict everywhere in Charlotte, John Hughes, an attorney at Wallace & Graham in Salisbury who specializes in automotive cases, said the policy is legitimate.
“My guess is that the dealer's within his rights to say that,” he said. “If the contract says it's your responsibility, the customer's usually going to be bound by that.”
Tom McKinney, general manager of Young Ford on Tryon Street, said his insurance policy allows him to help a customer out with a tire or wheels, though the general language holds customers responsible for their property.
“Yes, we do tell our customers they can't leave a computer in the backseat,” he said. “That's a good policy, but there's always that one situation that comes along. Life isn't black or white.”
Coffino, who took her 2005 car in May 15, said she contacted several other dealerships around Charlotte and was told they would have helped her out. The Observer contacted more than two dozen dealerships whose representatives declined to comment on their policies.
Officials at the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles license and theft bureau and the state Department of Justice said that they weren't familiar with this kind of complaint, but that any consumer who feels slighted should file a complaint with their offices.
Though she'll still pay out of pocket, Coffino was able to secure some help. Audi North America offered to reimburse her $500 for her troubles.
