by Gabrielle DeSantis

Do you ever wonder if someone at the dealership you dropped your car off to for repair has been joyriding in it? Or worse; using it for daily commutes while you are home carless? This happened to a woman in Houston, but when she went to pick up her Ford Escape after an oil change, it was totaled. That’s right; wrecked and left for her to discover.

The 2020 Escape was taken for service to Tomball Ford

Tiffany Walker bought a new 2020 Ford Escape last year from Tomball Ford outside of Houston. Recently, she brought it back to Tomball for a scheduled service and oil change. When she was back to pick it up the white Escape had been wrecked. Not just wrecked, but with extensive damage to become a total loss.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she told Click 2 Houston NBC. “And then I immediately became angry.” Ya think? We would be too. But it gets worse.

Tomball Ford denies any responsibility for the totaled Escape

When confronted the dealership denied any responsibility. Oh, it admitted that a tech had taken the Escape for a spin. But it said it wasn’t his fault. Somebody hit him, and it is their responsibility, not the dealers. 

Tomball said while the tech was out driving the Escape another car failed to yield. A police report was written up and it was determined this was the other driver’s fault. That, at least, corroborates the dealer’s story.

Tomball Ford should have General Liability insurance that covers incidents like this

The dealership agreed to provide a loaner, but that was as far as it was going. But the problem here is that every dealership has General Liability coverage. That covers the car while it is in the custody of the dealership. Another problem is that Walker can’t be responsible for the damage because she wasn’t driving the Escape.

There is also Garage Keeper’s Policy. If there is theft or vandalism involved with a customer’s car, this covers the damage. That would include if it fell off of the repair rack, or there was a fire while in the shop. For liability reasons, every dealership has to have this coverage.

Allstate says the Tomball service tech was partially responsible for totaling the Escape

The offending party’s insurance company is Allstate. Walker contacted them, and they categorically said Allstate wouldn’t be paying for any repairs. It said both drivers were at fault. It even parsed the blame; 70-percent their client’s fault, and 30-percent the dealer tech’s fault. 

Allstate made the determination that the dealer tech “could have avoided hitting the other driver but was likely speeding or distracted.” So the dealer won’t pay, the offending party’s insurance won’t pay, and so Walker looks to be stuck. 

Now the two insurance companies need to fight each other

Her next move will probably be to file a claim with her own insurance company. Since she has insurance, let them do what your monthly premiums pay for. The two companies can haggle it out. 

As for Tomball Ford outside of Houston, the bad press coming from this will cost it much more in the long run. It could absorb the total, give Walker a new 2021 Escape, and the difference would be maybe $15,000. That’s far less than the bad press and lawyer’s fees to fight the insurance companies and/or Walker. 

“We are invested in solving your concerns because it’s the best way to make you a lifetime customer”

This is from Tomball Ford’s website, “We strive to offer the very best experience to drivers from Houston, Cyprus, Spring, The Woodlands and beyond. We are invested in solving your concerns because we understand it’s the best way to make you a lifetime customer. Whether you’re dropping by for an oil change in our service department, or picking up a part from our experienced parts team, we’re prepared to show you we’re the Ford dealer for you.”

It would seem that this dealer either doesn’t have the required insurance coverage, doesn’t know it has that coverage or doesn’t want the hassle. Whichever one it is, that doesn’t sound like the best representation of the Ford Motor Company. 

RELATED: Auto Brands With Best Service Rated: JD Power

The post Woman Drops New Ford Escape For Oil Change: Comes Back Totaled appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

by Gabrielle DeSantis

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic dramatically affected car sales, leading to effects customers still feel today. However, not all automakers were created equal. Some had a better time during the pandemic than others. Here’s a look at how Mazda managed to weather the storm and actually did well during the pandemic.

How bad things got during the pandemic

There was a lot of uncertainty in the air when things started heating up in March 2020. Nobody knew much about the virus or how bad it was going to be. People lost their jobs, and the stock market crashed as the U.S. and much of the world locked down. This massive economic downturn led to a significant drop in people buying new cars.

According to ValuePenguin, the second quarter of 2020 saw a 30% drop in car sales across the board from 2019. This drop wasn’t across the whole industry. GM was the best-selling automaker in that time period, with over 490,000 units sold. In comparison, GM sold over 730,000 units in the second quarter of 2019. This was a roughly 33% drop year-over-year. 

One of the hardest-hit automakers was Nissan. ValuePenguin said that Nissan sold about 190,000 units in the second quarter of 2020. This was a roughly 50% drop compared to the same time in 2019 when about 380,000 units were sold. While Nissan was one of the most-troubled automakers, Mazda was the opposite.

Mazda did great during the pandemic

According to ValuePenguin, Mazda was the least-impacted major automaker during those early months of the pandemic. The company sold about 61,000 units during quarter two of 2020. This was a roughly 10% drop from the same period in 2019 when Mazda sold just under 68,000 units. Mazda performed better in the later months of 2020 like other automakers.

The New York Times reported that Mazda was just one of three automakers that saw increased sales in 2020 when compared to 2019. The other two automakers were Volvo and Tesla. So, while Mazda definitely didn’t make the most cars during the pandemic, Mazda did come out of the pandemic relatively unscathed.

The New York Times said that happened for a few reasons. Mazdas aren’t expensive, and due to the uncertain economy, some customers may have chosen to buy a Mazda instead of a more expensive car. Furthermore, Mazda’s small drop in sales in the middle of the pandemic can be explained by its size. Like The New York Times wrote, Mazda didn’t have “a lot to lose.” 

The Mazda CX-5’s increasing popularity

None of that would’ve been possible if Mazda didn’t make good cars. It’s one thing to buy a cheap car; it’s another thing to buy a good cheap car. That’s why it’s not surprising that many of the best-reviewed Mazdas are seeing an increase in sales recently. The best-selling Mazda is the CX-5 and set a sales record during the pandemic. 

The CX-5 sold over 146,000 units in 2020, and it’s on track to beat that record in 2021. So far, the CX-5 has sold about 88,000 units in 2021, and it doesn’t look like it’s stopping anytime soon. Other Mazdas, such as the CX-30, also sold well, but not as well as the CX-5. 

RELATED: Don’t Worry About the Chip Shortage: These Used Mazda CX-5 Models Cost Under $20,000

The post Which Car Company Made the Most During the Pandemic? appeared first on MotorBiscuit.