I bought my Ram 2500 6.4L Hemi the end of May 2021. It was a private sale, but the truck was babied by the previous owner (full file of service records, all done at the dealer) and only had 47,500 miles on it. It ran great for about 800 miles, pulling a trailer, hauling feed, and all the other truck things it was supposed to do. Then a ticking noise started. I immediately took it to our local Ram dealer, who had serviced the truck all its life. They called me back a few days later to tell me that the noise was coming from the engine, and the truck would likely need a NEW ENGINE, at an expense of $15,000. Lucky me, we transferred the Mopar extended warranty, which is still good until December of this year, so the repairs SHOULD be covered. In September the dealer broke down the engine to confirm there was a faulty part (2 bad heads). We wait a few days for a Mopar rep to confirm that said part is broken and authorize the repair. We wait 2 WEEKS until the dealer can get the parts to fix it. We also replace the lifters right away on our dime, hoping to avoid that known failure down the line. They do so, and another week later the engine is reassembled and back in the truck, only its still making the same noise. The dealer again recommends a new engine and says they have a Mopar rep coming out to confirm in the next 24-28 hours. That was THREE WEEKS AGO. We have had numerous service managers at the dealership call for someone to approve the repair, and each time they are told another 24-48 hours. Now it is over 2 months since I last drove my truck, 3 weeks that the engine is out of it, and I feel like my hands are tied. Dealer and Mopar are very aware this is a vehicle that I need for work. I have not been given a loaner vehicle, since they only compensate for $175 of rental, and who rents out a 2500 truck for that price even on a daily rate? Dealer says they are waiting on Mopar. Mopar said yesterday they are waiting on dealer to diagnose issue. I had the dealer call Mopar AGAIN, to tell them AGAIN, what the issue is. Mopar tells me I should not be calling them, the dealer needs to. Meanwhile, the Mopar service rep that was AGAIN promised to be out there yesterday never showed up. Everyone is laying the blame on everything else, saying their hands are tied, while my truck is sitting engineless rusting in the dealer parking lot. So, what would you do? What are my options at this point?
A) Suck it up and spend the $15000 out of pocket and have the dealer fix the d--- engine? They even have one reserved for me if we get this repair approved before someone else claims it.
B) Keep nagging dealer and Mopar until they get it fixed?
C) Put the broken engine back in and drive it till it breaks down? (Ok, getting sarcastic here...but seriously, I need my truck back.)
D) Buy another truck to drive around until maybe, one day, this truck gets repaired, and then as soon as it is, sell it and never ever buy another Ram or Chrysler vehicle ever again?
E) Pray one of you has more options or the number of someone I can call that is actually going to get this done.
I hope someone is out there that has navigated this customer service minefield in the past with some success. Any recommendations (other than be patient) welcome.
EDIT: Second tear-down of engine revealed cylinder #7 is bad. Repair #1 also involved the replacement of both exhaust manifolds. The issue here is not in diagnosis, but in the fact that the dealer can't seem to get a Mopar Representative to even look at the truck to deny/approve the repair. This is still ongoing as of Oct 28.