Dodge Dealership - Bad Experience(s)
#1
05-21-2017, 05:00 PM
Join Date: May 2017
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Dodge Dealership - Bad Experience(s)
Hi Everyone,
Yes this my first post and yes its along one so please if you would please keep reading.
Im a member of a few automotive forums and have asked around at what possible steps I should take and I would like your advice.
I bought my 08 Nitro 4.0 with around 100,000m from a Dodge dealership in Olathe Kansas, I went ahead and purchased the tire/oil change package along with a drivetrain warranty because well it had 100k miles and I wanted it to be taken care of.
The truck has been babied since I got it and my son and I really enjoy driving it, it will soon be his first "official" vehicle as he will be driving it back and forth to school soon.
Round 1: I had the truck about 3 months before little things started going wrong with it. The fan blower motor would turn off and on at will, called up the dealership and ask if they new anything about it they said sure bring it up and we can diagnosis for a small fee of 100 bucks. I said ive only had the vehicle 3 months, they said its an old used small things are bound to happen and we dont cover every little thing in our "used" vehicles, if we did we wouldnt make any money being a dealership. Thats when I joined a Nitro forum and they told me what to check and what to look for to fix, cost me 30bucks for a new resistor.
Round 2: About month 6 the driver side window regulator broke window dropped into the door and luckily didnt shatter. Called up the dealership and they said "we can replace the regulator for an enormous sum". I asked for a manager and he said the same thing "we cant cover every little thing on a used vehicle". I again replaced the regulator myself for a total of about 120 bucks.
Round 3: About 7 oil changes into my oil/tire package they tell me the oil drain plug is loose and could fall out at any time. I said ok what do I need to do to fix it. They said call the warranty department and let them know. I didnt have time and at the time I didnt really drive it (summer time/motorcycle season) so it never really "needed" to get fixed. The next oil change (yes I drove it another 3k miles) they said the same thing so I said its a good time to do it. Called the warranty guys at the dealership they said sure bring it in, I told them what the oil/tire guys told me and they inspected it. Stating that they are surprised at how the drain plug was even staying in the pan. They said they wanted the Warranty people to come and see if it was covered by the Drivetrain warranty the dealership sold me. I said how long will that take, they said it will take the weekend and that they could give me a loaner for the weekend. I said cool but I wouldnt need a loaner as I had the bike. They called me up the next monday and said the warranty did not cover the oil pan being stripped and that since the warranty guy removed the drain plug that the oil would need to be changed, but its under my oil/tire change policy and would be covered.
As you probably know they next question I asked was how much this one was going to cost me, they said that they could give me the discount and work with me on the cost at 1400 bucks to change the oil pan, that the oil pan is $700 by itself. (I found them online for $90 from local automotive stores) I asked why im having to pay for this since they were the only ones since ive had the vehicle that has changed the oil. Yup their response was this is an old vehicle and spinning a metal plug into an aluminum pan for so many years will eventually do this. I said but you guys were the only ones to touch my truck. They still wouldnt budge on the price the warranty or the work on the truck. I said screw it throw some JB weld on the plug and stick it back in as I really didnt want to fight with them anymore to prove a point. They said it will take another day to get the part in to fix it, so the next day when I went to pick up my truck I looked at the bill they had me at 140 bucks for a diagnosis and 20 bucks for a drain plug. I asked why the diagnosis when the dodge guys down the block told me to come in here. I ended up paying 20 bucks for an oversized drain plug bolt and drove off in my truck.
Everyone Ive talked to said to get the law involved as they are trying to screw me over and that since they are the only ones that have touched the truck that they or the individual that changed the oil is responsible.
Sorry for the long greeting but im asking for your advice on what I should do, besides do what ive always done and fix the truck myself??
Thank you all for your time and opinions, your help is greatly appreciated.
Yes this my first post and yes its along one so please if you would please keep reading.
Im a member of a few automotive forums and have asked around at what possible steps I should take and I would like your advice.
I bought my 08 Nitro 4.0 with around 100,000m from a Dodge dealership in Olathe Kansas, I went ahead and purchased the tire/oil change package along with a drivetrain warranty because well it had 100k miles and I wanted it to be taken care of.
The truck has been babied since I got it and my son and I really enjoy driving it, it will soon be his first "official" vehicle as he will be driving it back and forth to school soon.
Round 1: I had the truck about 3 months before little things started going wrong with it. The fan blower motor would turn off and on at will, called up the dealership and ask if they new anything about it they said sure bring it up and we can diagnosis for a small fee of 100 bucks. I said ive only had the vehicle 3 months, they said its an old used small things are bound to happen and we dont cover every little thing in our "used" vehicles, if we did we wouldnt make any money being a dealership. Thats when I joined a Nitro forum and they told me what to check and what to look for to fix, cost me 30bucks for a new resistor.
Round 2: About month 6 the driver side window regulator broke window dropped into the door and luckily didnt shatter. Called up the dealership and they said "we can replace the regulator for an enormous sum". I asked for a manager and he said the same thing "we cant cover every little thing on a used vehicle". I again replaced the regulator myself for a total of about 120 bucks.
Round 3: About 7 oil changes into my oil/tire package they tell me the oil drain plug is loose and could fall out at any time. I said ok what do I need to do to fix it. They said call the warranty department and let them know. I didnt have time and at the time I didnt really drive it (summer time/motorcycle season) so it never really "needed" to get fixed. The next oil change (yes I drove it another 3k miles) they said the same thing so I said its a good time to do it. Called the warranty guys at the dealership they said sure bring it in, I told them what the oil/tire guys told me and they inspected it. Stating that they are surprised at how the drain plug was even staying in the pan. They said they wanted the Warranty people to come and see if it was covered by the Drivetrain warranty the dealership sold me. I said how long will that take, they said it will take the weekend and that they could give me a loaner for the weekend. I said cool but I wouldnt need a loaner as I had the bike. They called me up the next monday and said the warranty did not cover the oil pan being stripped and that since the warranty guy removed the drain plug that the oil would need to be changed, but its under my oil/tire change policy and would be covered.
As you probably know they next question I asked was how much this one was going to cost me, they said that they could give me the discount and work with me on the cost at 1400 bucks to change the oil pan, that the oil pan is $700 by itself. (I found them online for $90 from local automotive stores) I asked why im having to pay for this since they were the only ones since ive had the vehicle that has changed the oil. Yup their response was this is an old vehicle and spinning a metal plug into an aluminum pan for so many years will eventually do this. I said but you guys were the only ones to touch my truck. They still wouldnt budge on the price the warranty or the work on the truck. I said screw it throw some JB weld on the plug and stick it back in as I really didnt want to fight with them anymore to prove a point. They said it will take another day to get the part in to fix it, so the next day when I went to pick up my truck I looked at the bill they had me at 140 bucks for a diagnosis and 20 bucks for a drain plug. I asked why the diagnosis when the dodge guys down the block told me to come in here. I ended up paying 20 bucks for an oversized drain plug bolt and drove off in my truck.
Everyone Ive talked to said to get the law involved as they are trying to screw me over and that since they are the only ones that have touched the truck that they or the individual that changed the oil is responsible.
Sorry for the long greeting but im asking for your advice on what I should do, besides do what ive always done and fix the truck myself??
Thank you all for your time and opinions, your help is greatly appreciated.
#2
05-21-2017, 06:41 PM
Read the warranty, and see if stripped bolts are covered. My guess is, they aren't. Regardless of who was working on the truck. You *could* change the pan yourself, but, again... read the warranty, and make sure that doing so won't Void the warranty. If you involve a lawyer, you are going to end up paying him probably close to what they want for the repair....... so there, it comes down to: Who do you want to give your money to. Keep in mind, if you do involve a lawyer, and force the dealer to cover it under warranty, what kind of service do you think you are going to get from them? Do you think they will even be remotely interested in seeing you back again? Do you think they will be honest with you about further repairs your truck may or may not need?
I think, no matter which way you slice it, you are going to end up paying for the repair. It sucks, but, there it is. Doing it yourself is going to end up being MUCH cheaper than either of the other options. Probably save yourself a fair bit of hate and discontent as well, not to mention the frustration of dealing with the legal system.....
That said, most lawyers will give a free consult. Wouldn't hurt to have a chat with one. See what they have to say.
I think, no matter which way you slice it, you are going to end up paying for the repair. It sucks, but, there it is. Doing it yourself is going to end up being MUCH cheaper than either of the other options. Probably save yourself a fair bit of hate and discontent as well, not to mention the frustration of dealing with the legal system.....
That said, most lawyers will give a free consult. Wouldn't hurt to have a chat with one. See what they have to say.
#3
05-24-2017, 12:10 AM
Join Date: May 2017
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Hey heyyou, just wrappin up what I started.
The powertrain warranty was purchased through the Dealership and I figured since I had never touched anything in the engine/tranny/differential then whatever they did (good or bad) they would cover it. Well not so much luck and yes I chaulked this up as a lesson learned and wont be taking the truck back to them for anything. Talked to our attorney and was pleasantly surprised as to what the powertrain warranty actually covered and what it didnt.
Ive done my fair share of vehicle work so this was nothing new, I was just hoping someone had this issue or an issue somewhat close so I could go back to them and say do this or that. I pulled the "oversized" plug they put in it as a temporary fix, retapped it and put a helicoil in it, almost good as new. Ill probably drop the pan and put in a new one at some point if it ever comes to that.
I thought it was kinda funny sitting there in the waiting room waiting to pick up the truck and there were people left and right coming in paying crazy amounts of money and complaining about everything the Dealership did or didnt do to their vehicles.
Thank you for your opinion and help, its fixed (for now) no help from the Olathe Dodge Dealership or their warranty the sales guy said would cover anything via the drivetrain.
The powertrain warranty was purchased through the Dealership and I figured since I had never touched anything in the engine/tranny/differential then whatever they did (good or bad) they would cover it. Well not so much luck and yes I chaulked this up as a lesson learned and wont be taking the truck back to them for anything. Talked to our attorney and was pleasantly surprised as to what the powertrain warranty actually covered and what it didnt.
Ive done my fair share of vehicle work so this was nothing new, I was just hoping someone had this issue or an issue somewhat close so I could go back to them and say do this or that. I pulled the "oversized" plug they put in it as a temporary fix, retapped it and put a helicoil in it, almost good as new. Ill probably drop the pan and put in a new one at some point if it ever comes to that.
I thought it was kinda funny sitting there in the waiting room waiting to pick up the truck and there were people left and right coming in paying crazy amounts of money and complaining about everything the Dealership did or didnt do to their vehicles.
Thank you for your opinion and help, its fixed (for now) no help from the Olathe Dodge Dealership or their warranty the sales guy said would cover anything via the drivetrain.
#4
05-24-2017, 06:00 PM
