Lost my Lifetime Warranty!

[chrisbh17]

There is a class action lawsuit going on right now for this. Just google "Chrysler lifetime warranty lawsuit". Last I read, in October a judge ruled against FCA's appeal to have the lawsuit thrown out. So it is currently moving forward.

My dealer offered a warranty like this, "lifetime powertrain" as long as I paid them for every one of THEIR schedule maintenances (which, of course, were 4 times more frequent than factory schedule maintenance) and had the truck inspected every X amount of years. During price negotation, I got them to knock off another $200 but they said I wouldnt get the lifetime powertrain warranty from them. So, its valued at about $200 lol

 

[packer96]

So they gave you $3000 cash rebate to void the warranty on a $6500 vehicle? You should thank them. What am I missing here? Are you proposing to pay the dealership $3000 to reinstate the warranty?

Why in the world would I thank them? The Journey is my teenage son's car now. It has 143000 miles and is in the shop a fair amount. With the warranty they have to continue to fix it until the repair needed exceeds the nada value of the vehicle.

 

[ryan hart]

You were screwed on an extended warranty? Color me shocked.

 

[chvet73]

I would suggest you contact your states Dealer Licensing Board. Dealers run real fast to correct issues rather then explain their lies to the state. I’ve found it to be very effective.

 

[Floyd1979]

That must be a dealership only type deal .
I had a 2009 with lifetime power train warranty and purchased max care warranty also . They explained everything to me , 5 yr inspection.
When I bought my 2015 Ecodiesel and 2500 Megacab Longhorn cummins the 2009 never came up ?
Hope the management gets it back for you .
SHADY

 

[Sandevino]

Why would you thank someone for corn-holing you?

If someone offered me $3000 for a PAID OFF CAR that happened to be worth $6500 I’d tell them to get bent. Most people flip cars every 3-5 years and I’m guilty of this to an extent. However, when I find a car I truly like I pay it off and keep rolling.

Why do you think service contracts and extended warranties are so lucrative? 90% of the people that purchase them never keep the vehicle long enough to use them. The 10% that do use them, stick it to the dealer and the warranty administrator without lube.

FCA wants to cancel these contracts as it’s a huge liability on their books. Having one means you have to keep repair parts in stock.

Money, money, money.....

 

[chrisbh17]

Why would you thank someone for corn-holing you?

If someone offered me $3000 for a PAID OFF CAR that happened to be worth $6500 I’d tell them to get bent. Most people flip cars every 3-5 years and I’m guilty of this to an extent. However, when I find a car I truly like I pay it off and keep rolling.

Why do you think service contracts and extended warranties are so lucrative? 90% of the people that purchase them never keep the vehicle long enough to use them. The 10% that do use them, stick it to the dealer and the warranty administrator without lube.

FCA wants to cancel these contracts as it’s a huge liability on their books. Having one means you have to keep repair parts in stock.

Money, money, money.....

I love the idea of having the "lifetime" MaxCare to fall back on, but if today someone at FCA emailed me and offered 90% or more of my money back to cancel it, I would seriously consider it. Its not the $$$ to me, its the fact that I cant (technically) maintain the vehicle the way I would want to. Especially in regards to the "lifetime" transmission fluid which we all know does not exist.

 

[lpennock]

I love the idea of having the "lifetime" MaxCare to fall back on, but if today someone at FCA emailed me and offered 90% or more of my money back to cancel it, I would seriously consider it. Its not the $$$ to me, its the fact that I cant (technically) maintain the vehicle the way I would want to. Especially in regards to the "lifetime" transmission fluid which we all know does not exist.

You can always do more services than required. You just can't do less. So if you want to pay for a change of the lifetime fluid that will not void the warranty.

 

[chrisbh17]

You can always do more services than required. You just can't do less. So if you want to pay for a change of the lifetime fluid that will not void the warranty.

Funny thing is I asked about this and no one in FCA customer care land or my dealer could give me a straight answer!

Plus I dont trust any dealer to do it anyway...its not just a drain and refill, even though they might do it that way to save themselves time and $$$.

 

[packer96]

Well the dealer called me back and told me he can't get the warranty reinstated. What he wants to do is honor the warranty under the same conditions, but will only do so at his dealership. I said OK, what it the car is 100 miles away and breaks down. He says he would really have to work close with repair shop and would rather not to that. Suggested I bring the car to them before going 100 miles to have it inspected first. Says he's gonna put everything in writing. He admitted I most likely did not see the rebate terms. I asked if he had a copy of what I signed. He said he has a copy, but it's such a gray area for both the dealer and customer. I said OK, car goes in on Wednesday for repair and I see ya then. Hang up the phone and all I can smell is BULLSH%T.
I call Mopar Protection and finally get someone who knows what they're doing. She officially opened a case and the issue is going to the administrative dept. Info I got from her is warranty cancelled 10/01/20 at customer request(which is BS) and refund check for $25 was issued on 12/30/20 which seems fishy since that was the day I first learned of this. She also said looks like someone called to ask if the warranty can be reinstated and the warranty is eligible for reinstatement.
At this point, I'm just at a loss for words. Just so bizarre!

 

[chrisbh17]

Well the dealer called me back and told me he can't get the warranty reinstated. What he wants to do is honor the warranty under the same conditions, but will only do so at his dealership. I said OK, what it the car is 100 miles away and breaks down. He says he would really have to work close with repair shop and would rather not to that. Suggested I bring the car to them before going 100 miles to have it inspected first. Says he's gonna put everything in writing. He admitted I most likely did not see the rebate terms. I asked if he had a copy of what I signed. He said he has a copy, but it's such a gray area for both the dealer and customer. I said OK, car goes in on Wednesday for repair and I see ya then. Hang up the phone and all I can smell is BULLSH%T.
I call Mopar Protection and finally get someone who knows what they're doing. She officially opened a case and the issue is going to the administrative dept. Info I got from her is warranty cancelled 10/01/20 at customer request(which is BS) and refund check for $25 was issued on 12/30/20 which seems fishy since that was the day I first learned of this. She also said looks like someone called to ask if the warranty can be reinstated and the warranty is eligible for reinstatement.
At this point, I'm just at a loss for words. Just so bizarre!

I would be VERY interested in seeing the fine print for that promo. As sleezy as dealers and manufacturers are, I think that takes a whole new extra level of ballsiness to add fine print that voids warranties.

Re-read your original post and I wonder if the 3K was a DEALER incentive and not FCA? That would explain the sleeziness a little better. And I wouldnt be doing any sort of business with that dealer anymore, even under their "new" warranty terms.

 

[packer96]

I would be VERY interested in seeing the fine print for that promo. As sleezy as dealers and manufacturers are, I think that takes a whole new extra level of ballsiness to add fine print that voids warranties.

Re-read your original post and I wonder if the 3K was a DEALER incentive and not FCA? That would explain the sleeziness a little better. And I wouldnt be doing any sort of business with that dealer anymore, even under their "new" warranty terms.

I thought the same thing at first. But they don't usually list dealer incentive rebates on the bill of sale. My bill of sale just lists 3 different rebates, one of which is the $3000 one, and a dealer discount of like $2800. I hope Mopar will reinstate it, my wife and I never want them to touch our cars again.

 

[Nystagmus]

So you traded in a Ram for another Ram, and that somehow involved a warranty on another vehicle that was nowhere in the deal? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

.

Exactly what I was thinking
.

 

[cyberwolf]

Well the dealer called me back and told me he can't get the warranty reinstated.

I call Mopar Protection and finally get someone who knows what they're doing... She also said looks like someone called to ask if the warranty can be reinstated and the warranty is eligible for reinstatement.
At this point, I'm just at a loss for words. Just so bizarre!

So, the dealer told you the warranty can't be reinstated, but Mopar Protection says it can and apparently just told the dealer that. I'd make another call to the dealer and ask if he can't or won't reinstate the warranty. If he says he can't, call him out on his BS.

 

[chrisbh17]

So, the dealer told you the warranty can't be reinstated, but Mopar Protection says it can and apparently just told the dealer that. I'd make another call to the dealer and ask if he can't or won't reinstate the warranty. If he says he can't, call him out on his BS.

Or get everyone on a conference call and let them fight it out.

 

[chrisbh17]

I thought the same thing at first. But they don't usually list dealer incentive rebates on the bill of sale. My bill of sale just lists 3 different rebates, one of which is the $3000 one, and a dealer discount of like $2800. I hope Mopar will reinstate it, my wife and I never want them to touch our cars again.

Do you remember how much you paid for the lifetime maxcare?

Maybe it wasnt a rebate at all, rather it was them discounting the new vehicle what you paid for MaxCare and you "authorizing" the cancellation of it.

Starting to wonder if "Stellantis" is doing/encouraging this to make their bottom line look better before the merge.

 

[thebuilderman]

Always leaving mentioning a lawyer as the last resort. Most corporations will have very limited dealings with you after you mention a lawyer. Since most COO's, GM's etc. are not lawyers, they want to make sure they don't mess up the corporate lawyers case so they are very careful with what they say if they will say anything at all. Keep trying to be nice and don't mention the "L" word again. Maybe they will make good on the warranty.

Look over all the sales documents you received to see if there is a clause in there about cancelling the Maxcare warranty. If it is there and you signed it, you will most likely lose in court. Your charge will be they didn't tell you about it verbally. Their defense will be they did tell you verbally and they will show the signed document and the $3000 rebate they gave you as proof you agreed to cancel the warranty to get the $3000 rebate. The verbal pieces of each story cancel each other out because the court has no way to know what was said during the sale. The dealer will win because they have a signed document and the sales agreement showing the $3000 rebate which is a pretty strong case. If they have written corporate or FCA rebate policies, their case will be even stronger that they followed well established policies and procedures.

I kind of disagree with this.
I would also wonder if the GM is trying to call your bluff regarding lawyer. If the case is 3k then it would most likely go to small claims court as you would be filing. In many states lawyers aren’t allowed in small claims courts and it defeats the purpose of small claims.
The other thing is FCA would loose much more than the 3k by getting one of their lawyers involved. They still may loose too. Additionally you can take your filing to the media and they may jump all over that. As Farmer Fran said, “They don’t like bad publicity “.
The other thing too is that the DMV as well as other agencies like The bureau of automotive repair will not only make the dealers life absolutely miserable for a couple of years they can help. I know in California the DMV gets involved and that means years of paperwork and scrutiny for the dealer. I would guess other states have similar things as I am in Colorado now and our state has some similar agencies that help. $3000 is nothing for the dealership and the amount of hurt you may end up bringing down is not worth it to them. Not to mention that most lawyers that work for corporations are not the best of lawyers or they wouldn’t be working for FCA. And they would also have to pay filing fees as well as time and not all judges (courts) will side with the auto dealer just cuz you signed the bottom line. If that was part of your agreement they most likely would have had you initial the paragraph in question. A judge knows that most folks, although they should, don’t read through all the fine print, nor could they, in the half hour it takes at that point of your deal.
My thinking is that the dealer is calling your bluff by saying the will get their attorneys involved. They don’t want bad publicity and don’t want you on the forums and social media either. AND it’s definitely not worth their time to keep arguing something they should have made abundantly clear in the beginning. Especially because there are certain protections in place to protect the consumer and if the consumer places the complaint it brings the dealer under scrutiny for a long time to come, right or wrong.

 

[packer96]

Just got off the phone with Mopar vehicle protection. Apparently there was a $3000 rebate used which in fact cancelled my warranty on the Journey. I asked what the next step was and she apologized and told me this decision came from the top level in Vehicle Protection, it was now between me and the dealer. I then ask it they have an Ethics dept or does the dealer just get away with this. She says I can file a complaint against the dealer and she transferred me. I talked to the wife and we’re gonna wait.
Also, The dealer just called and emailed me a copy of the rebate. Looks like something they just pulled up in the system and applied when I bought my truck. No signature, no initials, just words between Chrysler and the deal. Says the rebate was offered between 5/19 to 9/30. They know they screwed up and got caught. Why else would they offer to honor the warranty but only at their dealership?

 

[packer96]

So if you know of anyone that bought a Chrysler product between these dates, or plan to in the future, warn them now. They’re trying to screw people out of their Lifetime warranties!

 

[chrisbh17]

Just got off the phone with Mopar vehicle protection. Apparently there was a $3000 used which in fact cancelled my warranty on the Journey. I asked what the next step was and she apologized and told me this decision came from the top level in Vehicle Protection, it was now between me and the dealer. I then ask it they have an Ethics dept or does the dealer just get away with this. She says I can file a complaint against the dealer and she transferred me. I talked to the wife and we’re gonna wait.
Also, The dealer just called and emailed me a copy of the rebate. Looks like something they just pulled up in the system and applied when I bought my truck. No signature, no initials, just words between Chrysler and the deal. Says the rebate was offered between 5/19 to 9/30. They know they screwed up and got caught. Why else would they offer to honor the warranty but only at their dealership?

So if you know of anyone that bought a Chrysler product between these dates, or plan to in the future, earn them now. They’re trying to screw people out of their Lifetime warranties!

The least I would be asking for is the money back for the warranty they voided. Since you had to deal with back and forth bs I wouldn't allow it to be pro-rated....Im sure you (and probably the dealer) know how much you paid for it, I wouldnt accept anything other than 100%.

Unfortunately it looks like the only other option is to suck it up and take up their offer on them covering the warranty at their place only.

Personally I would lean on them for the full price of warranty back and then tell them to eff off. Advertising on social media what happened wouldn't be a bad idea. Wouldnt necessarily need to name names, just start posting your story with a TLDR for customers to check all the fine print before accepting any rebates on their next vehicle.