Dealer damaged my truck

[master logger]

Just wanting to get some feedback from others that have had something similar happen .

My 2018 Laramie Longhorn with 12,000 miles on it got severely damaged by a Ram dealer when I took it in for a warranty repair.
Seems that the tech didn't put it in park but instead put it in reverse when he got out to align the arms of the lift , the drivers door was open and pulled the tech with it as it started moving out the bay of the shop. the tech was crushed between the door and the bay door support and then drug into the parking lot about 25 feet. the tech was injured but returned to work in 2 weeks.

THE DRIVERS DOOR WAS FOLDED ALL THE WAY TO THE FRONT FENDER .

The dealer had a body shop do the repair , replace and repaint door and fender and I would say they did a good job but can see a difference in the metallic paint , nuts with wrench marks , different color bolts.
I am not happy , The dealership owner is a hard person to deal with.
I told him he had 3 choices , replace the truck , pay me the loss value of the truck , of hear from my lawyers !!! So after a month of waiting , 3 phone calls from him , the last one was him saying I will replace your truck BUT , I'm going to find a new 2018 just like yours .
My truck is a Mega cab short bed dually so the chances of that happening are 0 .
I told him I would take a 2019 or a 2020 since the MSRP is almost the same as a 2018 .

 

[co-pilot]

Wow!.........all I know to say is good luck......hope all works out for you

 

[turkeybird56]

Keep to yer guns, since all on Dealership. IF a no go, well than Lawyer way to go, just how it is. U could call FCA, but doubt that help, as is a Dealership Thing, He has to have Insurance and such,.....

UNLESS he has a MY 19 on lot, go for the Gusto, 2020.....

 

[Neil E]

Wow, that stinks. They probably won't be able to find an 18. Glad to hear the tech is doing good. Property is replaceable, lives are not, and people make mistakes.

Good luck, and hopefully they take care of you without going the legal route.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

So the mechanic bypassed the auto park somehow?

Mine won't move more than about a foot before it puts itself in park if the door is open.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[JoeCo]

So the mechanic bypassed the auto park somehow?

Mine won't move more than about a foot before it puts itself in park if the door is open.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

I believe the auto park is only on the 8 speeds, I could be wrong about that though.

 

[oe542bob]

No auto park on the 2500 & up.

 

[NJMOPAR]

What about having them repaint the entire truck so there's no difference?
Scratches on bolts can be sprayed too.

 

[Neil E]

There's still diminished value ...

What about having them repaint the entire truck so there's no difference?
Scratches on bolts can be sprayed too.

 

[IRSmart]

As much as this sucks, what you’re asking them to do to make it right is unreasonable. Give you a two year newer truck for no extra? Fat chance. Depreciated value is subjective, so while that is less unreasonable, still a tough one. Giving their body shop a chance to improve repairs is going to be best case scenario, and you’ll always find wrench marks on the bolts, that’s the nature of a collision repair. Yes, this situation sucks, but there are only so many ways to fix it, and your ways aren’t it. “Sticking to your guns” on this one is going to leave you frustrated and poorer than you started with, and the end result will be the same. Trust me. As good as your lawyer is, theirs is better.

 

[averageguy]

Not exactly the same but here goes. I picked up my new, special order 2015 1500 on a Saturday. On the way home the dash is rattling, and looking in the mirror I can see the bed is off to one side. I took it back Monday with 47 miles on it. I get a call Wed. from the service manager saying "there was an accident with your truck", then he explains the passenger rear door, the cab corner, and the front of the bed is damaged. I said, "no, there was an accident with your truck". In the end, the owner ordered me another truck, offered a loaner and the truck once it was fixed, I declined on both. I got another identical truck a few months later even up, no out of pocket on my end.

 

[Tim Garceau]

Apologies for the trouble, first mistake was taking your truck to a dealer.



have a great day

 

[JohnnyMac]

I said, "no, there was an accident with your truck".

I love it!

 

[tap4154]

So the mechanic bypassed the auto park somehow?

Mine won't move more than about a foot before it puts itself in park if the door is open.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Same with my 2018 1500 Tradesman. In fact this got me curious and I went out and tried it. If I stop and shift to reverse and then open the door it starts flashing and says the shift to park, then select the gear you want. It will not go in reverse.

I'm sure glad the tech was not killed, but I would demand a new truck too. They should just thank their lucky stars he wasn't killed or seriously injured, because something went wrong with the transmission and/or interlocks. It should not have gone backwards, unless the tech pulled the seat belt over to disable auto park.

 

[muddy12]

It was mentioned earlier, OP has a 2500. There is no auto park feature on 2500’s and higher.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tap4154]

It was mentioned earlier, OP has a 2500. There is no auto park feature on 2500’s and higher.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for that, I didn't know he had a 2500. I wonder why they don't do it on the 2500 and up as well?

 

[ripping r]

Thanks for that, I didn't know he had a 2500. I wonder why they don't do it on the 2500 and up as well?

I dont know why. but i am so glad they dont. its so stupied!

 

[NJ4X4]

I would get a lawyer that deals with lemon laws, etc....they know more about working with the dealers and the laws. I'd push for a new truck.... Here's a story about a friend of mine that had their car damaged by a dealer... They brought their 2017 Camaro 2SS to the dealer when it was less than 2 years old to have the headliner replaced under warranty (the 6th gen Camaro's have a problem where the headliners were cut too small and pull away from the trim). The dealer had to remove the windshield to replace the headliner. When they re-installed the windshield, they got the black epoxy / glue all over the A-pillars and on the paint above the windshield. They tried to give the car back like that...probably hoping the owner wouldn't notice since its a black car. Turned out they could not get the glue off of the paint. In the end, with a lawyer involved, they re-painted a huge portion of the car, three times until they got it right. As the owner claimed they ruined his $48K car that had less than 5K miles on it and the car would never be the same, they settled out of court and gave the owner $ 8K for the damage/problems they caused. The lawyer fees were paid separately by the dealer...not part of the 8K settlement. It didn't cost the owner of the car a penny for the lawyer.

 

[chri5k]

Diminished value claims are tricky. You can try getting 3 appraisals and approaching the owner to pay you the average of the 3 appraisals. If you get a lawyer, he or she will most likely tell you that you have to actually suffer the monetary diminished value loss to have a chance of winning monetary damages. By this I mean you have to actually sell the truck and receive less than fair market value. Fair market value is usually determined by an appraiser(s) through the analysis of recent sales of similar vehicles. Then you have actually suffered the diminished value and can seek monetary damages in court.

 

[tap4154]

I dont know why. but i am so glad they dont. its so stupied!

I wonder if that tech is saying that right now...