Not good news on mitsu future

[Cyclonick182]

Originally Posted by dboz

NASHVILLE -- Mitsubishi Motors North America this week eliminated one-fourth of the jobs at its U.S. headquarters in Cypress, Calif., the company confirmed today.

The company has cut 140 sales and credit jobs across the country, but almost all of them occurred at its suburban Los Angeles headquarters. The downsizing leaves 390 employees at the headquarters.

The restructuring is part of a plan to "ensure longevity in this challenging market," Mitsubishi said in a statement to Automotive News. "These actions will realign its infrastructure to correspond to a much smaller U.S. automotive market."

Last year Mitsubishi U.S. sales dropped 24.6 percent to 97,257. The overall market fell 18.0 percent.
The company plans to shift from its current U.S.-dominated product line to become a more global brand recognized for small cars and electric vehicles.

In early March the company said it is closing its California vehicle research and design center, which had helped Mitsubishi create models aimed at North America, such as the Galant sedan and Endeavor SUV.

All design now will be centralized in Japan, where planners are working on models meant to appeal to consumers around the world.

On Jan. 1, Mitsubishi dispatched its head of global product development, Shinichi Kurihara, to Cypress to become CEO of the North American operations.

In Friday's statement about the staff reductions, Kurihara said the measures were taken with great regret.

"However," he said in the statement, the changes "will better support our long-term durability in the North American market."

Sounds to me like theyre taking the right steps to continue to stay in the US market. Too bad GM and Chrysler can't take a lesson from them instead of crying for a bail out.

[NWM_Tech]

Originally Posted by mtags24

The US car market for Mitsubishi is usually inconsequential. .....They are a hassle when it comes to warranty work.... It seems they will hire just any one and call them a tech because a lot of them don't even know how to work on an evo.

Sorry you've had bad experiences. Many including some in Mitsu management look at Mitsu Motors separate from Mitsu Industries. From that perspective, the USA is the 2nd largest market for them behind Russia.

The reason some Mitsu dealers can't hire qualified techs is because there is a shortage of qualified techs, and they all end up at the more popular brand dealers.

the warranty issue is a complex one and it is directly affected by the tech's expertise. Not all Mitsu dealers are doing a bad job. At my dealer we've been bending over backwards on warranty.

[migs647]

I completely agree with NWM_Tech. Town & Country Mitsubishi is actually a GREAT dealership that bends over backwards to help Evo drivers. I'm very happy they are still around as all the others have closed!

[XRS]

Hmm, short but interesting article.

By WEEK Producer
Story Published: Apr 1, 2009 at 5:33 PM CDT
Story Updated: Apr 1, 2009 at 7:00 PM CDT

Mitsubishi Motors isn't looking for a government bailout. The company reported a three percent increase in sales from February to March.

It doesn't mean the company is doing great. March 2009 sales were still down 57 percent when compared to last March.

The Mitsubishi CEO says they plan to reveal some new products next week that he says will "solidify a stronger brand direction in this trying market."

Link to article:
http://www.week.com/news/local/42291957.html

I find the blurb on new products interesting.

[mtags24]

Originally Posted by NWM_Tech

Sorry you've had bad experiences. Many including some in Mitsu management look at Mitsu Motors separate from Mitsu Industries. From that perspective, the USA is the 2nd largest market for them behind Russia.

The reason some Mitsu dealers can't hire qualified techs is because there is a shortage of qualified techs, and they all end up at the more popular brand dealers.

the warranty issue is a complex one and it is directly affected by the tech's expertise. Not all Mitsu dealers are doing a bad job. At my dealer we've been bending over backwards on warranty.

That's a good explanation, thank you for that. I was wondering if they were lackadaisical in their hiring process for techs or if there were other issues that came into play.

I believe you when you say that your dealership is doing a good job. I just see from this board and other media sources that dealership warranty work and general salesmanship is completely lacking when it comes to the Mitsubishi brand. From every indication I have seen, it is a general trend and dealerships like yours are an exception to the rule. Once again I want to stress that every car manufacturer is going to have tons of complaints about warranty work, but it seems Mitsu is notorious not only in the Mitsu community, but also in the car world as a whole.

[GPTourer]

Originally Posted by mtags24

Once again I want to stress that every car manufacturer is going to have tons of complaints about warranty work, but it seems Mitsu is notorious not only in the Mitsu community, but also in the car world as a whole.

You say that, but if you actually took the time to look into it, you would not think of Mitsu as notorious. But it truly depends on if you believe in the source materials. There are several brands that are turly notorious for having a horrible dealership experience, and they are companies that sell way more cars and are perceived is being better then Mitsubishi.

[eehjay]

Originally Posted by GPTourer

You say that, but if you actually took the time to look into it, you would not think of Mitsu as notorious. But it truly depends on if you believe in the source materials. There are several brands that are turly notorious for having a horrible dealership experience, and they are companies that sell way more cars and are perceived is being better then Mitsubishi.

Like Honda and their A/C Condenser problem? Not saying they are notorious for that, but they kind of are...

Any company is going to have warranty problems, you just don't hear about certain companies as often, especially being on a Mitsubishi forum.

[eehjay]

On another note though, I got my car (03 OZ) used through a Nissan dealer. They offered a warranty as part of purchase, not extended and they covered everything. Same thing with my brother's Jetta purchased at the same dealership. Just taking care of their customers.

My girlfriend went to 3 Honda dealerships (2 here in Vegas, 1 in California) and none offered to help her out on her A/C Condenser that had "road abuse damage" from a rock cracking into it - on a car with 6,000 or so miles. Research that and you'll realize that even Honda, the import "golden boy" of reliability and great customer service, doesn't always have such great customer service.

[mtags24]

Originally Posted by GPTourer

You say that, but if you actually took the time to look into it, you would not think of Mitsu as notorious. But it truly depends on if you believe in the source materials. There are several brands that are turly notorious for having a horrible dealership experience, and they are companies that sell way more cars and are perceived is being better then Mitsubishi.

All I know is in my own personal experience I have had 3 tranny's replaced for free on troubled Honda Odyssey (after warranty expired even!), exceptional and generous service from Volvo, never a whimper from BMW on anything (they are the best, drop your car off with a note on whats wrong and they find it and fix it. No begging for someone to look at it), free diagnostics and questionable warranty related work on damage to a honda civic hybrid, Infiniti was great, hell.... even Dodge worked on our Caravan without trouble.

What happens when my heater knob breaks in the middle of winter!!!!! Nothing but crap from 3 mitsu dealers until I finally find one in the boonies that will warranty it. I drove around for a month in freezing temps until the Madison, WI dealer fixed it. Unbelievable.

What happens when my window stops working? Mitsu dealer: "User error". I had never opened the door or done anything to the window. My car was 100% stock for its entire life at that point. Complete lunacy.

My favorite story was the Rockville, MD Mitsu that refused to touch some kids evo because of a turbo timer (and the repair work was suspension related!)

You are going to have your bad apple dealers and your good dealers, but it seems like people need to search for a Mitsu dealer that is legitimate.

What other car manufacturers do you know of that have really bad warranty issues? I'm not challenging, just curious.

[mitsumanny]

Originally Posted by mtags24

All I know is in my own personal experience I have had 3 tranny's replaced for free on troubled Honda Odyssey (after warranty expired even!), exceptional and generous service from Volvo, never a whimper from BMW on anything (they are the best, drop your car off with a note on whats wrong and they find it and fix it. No begging for someone to look at it), free diagnostics and questionable warranty related work on damage to a honda civic hybrid, Infiniti was great, hell.... even Dodge worked on our Caravan without trouble.

What happens when my heater knob breaks in the middle of winter!!!!! Nothing but crap from 3 mitsu dealers until I finally find one in the boonies that will warranty it. I drove around for a month in freezing temps until the Madison, WI dealer fixed it. Unbelievable.

What happens when my window stops working? Mitsu dealer: "User error". I had never opened the door or done anything to the window. My car was 100% stock for its entire life at that point. Complete lunacy.

My favorite story was the Rockville, MD Mitsu that refused to touch some kids evo because of a turbo timer (and the repair work was suspension related!)

You are going to have your bad apple dealers and your good dealers, but it seems like people need to search for a Mitsu dealer that is legitimate.

What other car manufacturers do you know of that have really bad warranty issues? I'm not challenging, just curious.

After having the car a few months I wanted the dealer to double check my brakes cuz i had a few gouges in the rotor. At first i thought it was a rock, but the gouges got worse in the same places. Dealer wanted $80 to take the wheel off and check. All mitsu dealer in my area r horrible. If anyone is in an area with a reputable mitsu dealership Im very jealous. Thats a great warranty, the mechanics were so busy scratching their a%%'s that i had to cover the "hour" it takes to take a wheel off just in case it wasnt warranty work, great customer service.

[GPTourer]

Originally Posted by mtags24

What other car manufacturers do you know of that have really bad warranty issues? I'm not challenging, just curious.

Honda and Toyota both have some major issues with some of their cars that they are not owning up to, by either handling them through TSBs if someone shows up to complain, or calling it user error.

But warranty issues aside, I was mainly talking about the overall dealer experience from walking in the door, purchasing and then on through servicing, and it was Toyota dealers whom were at or near the top a short time ago (maybe still are) for having among the worst buying experience according to their owners. I believe it is JD Powers and Assoc. who do the survey. But, I take a lot of those surveys with a grain of salt, and I'm sure there are some that put Mitsu at the bottom, its all about who's doing the asking IMO.

[eehjay]

Originally Posted by GPTourer

Honda and Toyota both have some major issues with some of their cars that they are not owning up to, by either handling them through TSBs if someone shows up to complain, or calling it user error.

But warranty issues aside, I was mainly talking about the overall dealer experience from walking in the door, purchasing and then on through servicing, and it was Toyota dealers whom were at or near the top a short time ago (maybe still are) for having among the worst buying experience according to their owners. I believe it is JD Powers and Assoc. who do the survey. But, I take a lot of those surveys with a grain of salt, and I'm sure there are some that put Mitsu at the bottom, its all about who's doing the asking IMO.

It also depends on your demeanor as a customer. I sell parts and I know for a fact that if a customer is polite I'm willing to go out of my way to help. If the first thing a dude says is "Why the hell did I have to wait an hour on hold?" and I look and he's been waiting 45 seconds to a minute - he's not getting any special favors from me.

[GPTourer]

Originally Posted by eehjay

It also depends on your demeanor as a customer.

Absolutely. But, that's really the problem. Everybody expects the car buying experience to suck. Some people come in with their guard up, are rude, short, withhold info, give out false info, whatever because they see the sales people as sleazy and a bunch of liars and thieves anyway. Some car dealers are trying to quickly push things foward to a sale, cut corners, and otherwise control the situation so that things go the most effecient way possible to a sale. You can see how this can be a recipe for disaster. When I sold Hondas this was the way it was, and the way it was at the Toyota dealers from what I heard. Razor thin profit margins means they don't really take time to coddle and court customers like they should. People get rushed in and out because those stores have to push mass units to pay their bills. Luxury car dealers have it a bit different. That's why you'll typically find higher staisfaction score there.

[eehjay]

Originally Posted by GPTourer

Absolutely. But, that's really the problem. Everybody expects the car buying experience to suck.

Definitely true, I agree completely. People expect to be treated like dirt, so they are ready for it and defensive. Personally though, I haven't gone somewhere as a customer and had a-hole mode on as soon as I walked in, I always let someone flip the switch - but that's just me.

It also depends on management and ownership of the individual dealership. That Nissan dealer I referenced earlier, I had nothing but good luck with. A friend went there based off of my brother and my recommendations and they nearly got hussled and were treated poorly - found out it's owned by someone new now. Nature of the beast I guess.

[NWM_Tech]

Originally Posted by mitsumanny

Thats a great warranty, the mechanics were so busy scratching their a%%'s that i had to cover the "hour" it takes to take a wheel off just in case it wasnt warranty work.

that's against the rules, if it's a warranty repair, the customer does not pay to diagnose. Next time put you foot down and tell them that. Go up the chain to the district service manager if necessary.