MikeinNJ
Junior Member
If this isn't the right spot to put this, my apologies. Its my first post here.
It’s never a good thing when a first post on a forum is to complain, but based on my aggravation – that if you take the time to read – you’ll understand that I felt compelled to share.
I have been a Ram/Dodge guy for 20 years. Not only have I owned cars, but my last 3 trucks (1500s) have been an SLT, Laramie, and most recently, a CPO Limited. Even my elderly Father in Florida leases a Dodge that I put him in to. So I believe I do have brand loyalty.
In March of 2017, I purchased a 2014 CPO Limited from a dealer about 2.5 hours from me. As expected, the vehicle was in great shape, and I really do like it. It was around mid-June of this year that I happened to notice a blemish in the paint on the hood, about the size and shape of an egg. Not a scratch, or peeling, or burn from a buffer, but a true blemish in the paint. 2 body shops that I have no affiliation with both agreed it was poor workmanship, and I’m sure that if I brought it to 10 more, the answer would be the same.
It took me until July to before I was able to bring my vehicle to a local dealer. They looked, and took the digital imaging required to submit a claim. 30 minutes later, I get denied. The reason is because my vehicle was out of warranty. I’m surprised, because all the paperwork I have from my initial purchase shows an in-service date of December 2014, which means my basic warranty of 3yr/36000 miles is in effect until December 2017. Apparently, the in-service date of my vehicle was June of 2014, and not December of 2014. As it stands today, I only have 33,000 miles.
Forgoing the minutia and continuous back and forth with my dealer that sold the vehicle to me (which was under erroneous circumstances to say the least) I remained in contact with Chrysler Case Management. Sometime in late August, Chrysler finally agrees to cover the re-painting of my hood on a “good-will” basis. They stand firm that my in-service date was June 2014, and I have no basic warranty, but given the circumstances of the dealer misleading me, they agreed to paint it. They approve the re-painting for the local dealer (who submitted the digital imaging), but given the circumstances of everything else (there were more issues than the disagreement of the in-service date), they suggested I bring the truck back to the original selling dealer. They also speak to that dealer on various occasions, and confirm the same to them.
I figure things are finally going better. I’ve worked out the discrepancies with the selling dealer to a satisfactory arrangement. We’ve come to an agreement on how we will address things. I have it in writing from the selling dealer that Chrysler will honor the paint, and all they need to do is resubmit the digital imaging to Chrysler because they can’t transfer the approval from the local dealer I went to. Easy enough.
Of course, that’s not how it played out. 10 days ago, I bring my truck to the selling dealer. Drop it off, take a loaner (because it’s going to be there for a couple weeks between paint and other stuff). I get the call 2 days later that Chrysler has denied painting my hood. The service manager claims he’s spoken with Chrysler multiple times, but no, they are not going to honor it.
I obviously reach out to my Case Manager, which by the way, is the 3rd person my case was assigned to. However, the first 2 both confirmed in no uncertain terms my file had been noted and the paint would be covered. Even when it switched from Case Manager #1 to Case Manager #2, there were no problems. Yet, with the reassignment to Case Manager #3, that information has somehow disappeared. Case Manager #3 says there was never any notation to my file of this being approved. I disagree and explain the circumstances that had unfolded over the last 2+ months. She spends a week staying in touch with me, but ultimately says it’s denied, and there’s nothing else to be done. She is unable to tell me why it was denied – whether it’s due to being out of warranty, or if they don’t feel it’s a faulty workmanship claim, nothing. My requests to speak to someone else are denied.
I speak to my dealer. I ask them, as a Chrysler representative, to please get in touch with someone. “Flex your muscles”, if you will. It’s a $700 job (that I will REFUSE to pay for) that both you (the dealer) and I were told by Chrysler it would be covered, and now it’s being denied. Their response is that the folks within the “digital imaging” division of Chrysler made their decision, and it’s final. Nothing can be done. The Chrysler Case Manager(s)has/had no authority to ever tell me the paint would be approved.
So here I am almost 3 months later after this entire fiasco began. I have a dealer that misled me on my vehicle. While I don’t deny it is a CPO vehicle, it’s certainly not what it was represented to be. I have Chrysler who made promises repeatedly, and then arbitrarily backed out on them. And then my dealer refuses to go to bat for me one last time.
I understand that sometimes things go wrong, but this entire sequence of events has left me completely disgusted with Chrysler, and I’ve lost faith in them. I am not sure, in good conscience, if I could ever purchase another Chrysler product. A “bad” dealer or service shop is one thing, but to not have the support of Chrysler as the parent company is a complete let down.
I know that I have options of the Attorney General and BBB.
It’s never a good thing when a first post on a forum is to complain, but based on my aggravation – that if you take the time to read – you’ll understand that I felt compelled to share.
I have been a Ram/Dodge guy for 20 years. Not only have I owned cars, but my last 3 trucks (1500s) have been an SLT, Laramie, and most recently, a CPO Limited. Even my elderly Father in Florida leases a Dodge that I put him in to. So I believe I do have brand loyalty.
In March of 2017, I purchased a 2014 CPO Limited from a dealer about 2.5 hours from me. As expected, the vehicle was in great shape, and I really do like it. It was around mid-June of this year that I happened to notice a blemish in the paint on the hood, about the size and shape of an egg. Not a scratch, or peeling, or burn from a buffer, but a true blemish in the paint. 2 body shops that I have no affiliation with both agreed it was poor workmanship, and I’m sure that if I brought it to 10 more, the answer would be the same.
It took me until July to before I was able to bring my vehicle to a local dealer. They looked, and took the digital imaging required to submit a claim. 30 minutes later, I get denied. The reason is because my vehicle was out of warranty. I’m surprised, because all the paperwork I have from my initial purchase shows an in-service date of December 2014, which means my basic warranty of 3yr/36000 miles is in effect until December 2017. Apparently, the in-service date of my vehicle was June of 2014, and not December of 2014. As it stands today, I only have 33,000 miles.
Forgoing the minutia and continuous back and forth with my dealer that sold the vehicle to me (which was under erroneous circumstances to say the least) I remained in contact with Chrysler Case Management. Sometime in late August, Chrysler finally agrees to cover the re-painting of my hood on a “good-will” basis. They stand firm that my in-service date was June 2014, and I have no basic warranty, but given the circumstances of the dealer misleading me, they agreed to paint it. They approve the re-painting for the local dealer (who submitted the digital imaging), but given the circumstances of everything else (there were more issues than the disagreement of the in-service date), they suggested I bring the truck back to the original selling dealer. They also speak to that dealer on various occasions, and confirm the same to them.
I figure things are finally going better. I’ve worked out the discrepancies with the selling dealer to a satisfactory arrangement. We’ve come to an agreement on how we will address things. I have it in writing from the selling dealer that Chrysler will honor the paint, and all they need to do is resubmit the digital imaging to Chrysler because they can’t transfer the approval from the local dealer I went to. Easy enough.
Of course, that’s not how it played out. 10 days ago, I bring my truck to the selling dealer. Drop it off, take a loaner (because it’s going to be there for a couple weeks between paint and other stuff). I get the call 2 days later that Chrysler has denied painting my hood. The service manager claims he’s spoken with Chrysler multiple times, but no, they are not going to honor it.
I obviously reach out to my Case Manager, which by the way, is the 3rd person my case was assigned to. However, the first 2 both confirmed in no uncertain terms my file had been noted and the paint would be covered. Even when it switched from Case Manager #1 to Case Manager #2, there were no problems. Yet, with the reassignment to Case Manager #3, that information has somehow disappeared. Case Manager #3 says there was never any notation to my file of this being approved. I disagree and explain the circumstances that had unfolded over the last 2+ months. She spends a week staying in touch with me, but ultimately says it’s denied, and there’s nothing else to be done. She is unable to tell me why it was denied – whether it’s due to being out of warranty, or if they don’t feel it’s a faulty workmanship claim, nothing. My requests to speak to someone else are denied.
I speak to my dealer. I ask them, as a Chrysler representative, to please get in touch with someone. “Flex your muscles”, if you will. It’s a $700 job (that I will REFUSE to pay for) that both you (the dealer) and I were told by Chrysler it would be covered, and now it’s being denied. Their response is that the folks within the “digital imaging” division of Chrysler made their decision, and it’s final. Nothing can be done. The Chrysler Case Manager(s)has/had no authority to ever tell me the paint would be approved.
So here I am almost 3 months later after this entire fiasco began. I have a dealer that misled me on my vehicle. While I don’t deny it is a CPO vehicle, it’s certainly not what it was represented to be. I have Chrysler who made promises repeatedly, and then arbitrarily backed out on them. And then my dealer refuses to go to bat for me one last time.
I understand that sometimes things go wrong, but this entire sequence of events has left me completely disgusted with Chrysler, and I’ve lost faith in them. I am not sure, in good conscience, if I could ever purchase another Chrysler product. A “bad” dealer or service shop is one thing, but to not have the support of Chrysler as the parent company is a complete let down.
I know that I have options of the Attorney General and BBB.
