Question on Locking Lug Nuts

[Sunshine Rivera]

I have locking lug nuts on my 2014 Ram Laramie Longhorn. I had to have a tire changed. The service man who came out failed to put the key back where I kept it with the jack & handle. When I realized it I went to their place of business to ask for my key back. He said he mistakenly put the key on the bumper and it must have fallen off when I took off. Of course, after searching, we couldn't find it. (Not sure he just didn't keep it) Anyway, I told him I wanted it replaced. I called a few tire shops and they said since it was Original Manufacturer's Equipment they couldn't touch it. I would have to take it to the dealer. So I did. They charged me $288.86 to remove the old locking lugs and replace with new Mopar locking lugs. The owner of the service shop has refused to pay for the new locking lugs. I now have to take him to small claims court. Since I bought the truck used I don't have the Monroney but I found one on line. It doesn't list the locking lugs as an OME. It does show a Customer Preferred Package 26K and I am wondering if the locking lugs are in that package. I need to try to let the court know that these, in fact, were original MOPAR parts. My attorney states that if they were Mopar parts then I am justified to require the shop owner to replace with Mopar parts. Like item for like item.

Where can I get any further info on the old locking lug nuts. Hopefully some of ya'll will have some suggestions. BTW, I'm a Ram Girl and thrilled to find this forum!! Thanks and Merry Christmas. Sunshine

 

[audiophile]

I have locking lug nuts on my 2014 Ram Laramie Longhorn. I had to have a tire changed. The service man who came out failed to put the key back where I kept it with the jack & handle. When I realized it I went to their place of business to ask for my key back. He said he mistakenly put the key on the bumper and it must have fallen off when I took off. Of course, after searching, we couldn't find it. (Not sure he just didn't keep it) Anyway, I told him I wanted it replaced. I called a few tire shops and they said since it was Original Manufacturer's Equipment they couldn't touch it. I would have to take it to the dealer. So I did. They charged me $288.86 to remove the old locking lugs and replace with new Mopar locking lugs. The owner of the service shop has refused to pay for the new locking lugs. I now have to take him to small claims court. Since I bought the truck used I don't have the Monroney but I found one on line. It doesn't list the locking lugs as an OME. It does show a Customer Preferred Package 26K and I am wondering if the locking lugs are in that package. I need to try to let the court know that these, in fact, were original MOPAR parts. My attorney states that if they were Mopar parts then I am justified to require the shop owner to replace with Mopar parts. Like item for like item.

Where can I get any further info on the old locking lug nuts. Hopefully some of ya'll will have some suggestions. BTW, I'm a Ram Girl and thrilled to find this forum!! Thanks and Merry Christmas. Sunshine

Locking lug nuts are an option. If the window sticker does not list them, then most likely they did not come from factory. I know at my dealership we add them to all new vehicles upon arrival but this becomes a dealer installed option and is rarely listed anywhere. Unless you can hunt down the original dealer (Carfax will list this) and confirm that they installed them, I don't know how else you could prove it.

 

[Sunshine Rivera]

Thank you so much. I have a Carfax for the truck and will do some diligent detective work. Thanks for giving me a direction to go.!!

 

[corneileous]

Have you gone here and entered your vin? This will tell you specifically if your truck came with the factory wheel locks and if it did, there should be some documentation stuffed in your owner's manual wallet with a registration number and information on how to obtain a replacement key which, I know, won't do you any good because you had to have them removed in a way that probably destroyed them but the point being, if the previous owner added those locking wheel nuts later on, hopefully they put that said paperwork in the owner packet stuff but either way, the build sheet results from that web address I gave when you enter your VIN will tell you everything about your truck.

But I'm confused...

If the guy who came to your service call even admitted to leaving your wheel lock key on the bumper and did not physically hand it to you then why isn't the shop he's employed by owning up to the mistake and making things right? That's not good business at all. I guess I just don't understand how you got from telling the service shop you wanted, I'm assuming a new key, to end up eventually going to a dealer to have your old locks removed and replaced with new ones after finding out any other tire shop wouldn't touch it, which is odd, to back to the original service shop who's not wanting to own up to their mistake and now not wanting to reimburse you for the bill the dealer charged you for their mistake.

Did you just on your own end up going to the dealer to have the old locks removed and replaced with new ones, or what? I hate to say this and I really don't see how your attorney says you're justified in requiring the shop owner to replace them, even after you've already had a dealer replace them for you because if that's the case, you really should have not done anything until you consulted a lawyer especially if the place is being jackasses and still not wanting to own up to their mistake even after the guy told you he set it on your bumper. Being that you already got things taken care of somewhere else without any kind of an agreement, negation or anything with the original shop that screwed up, I'm afraid you're probably on your own and out almost $300. Hope you get it straightened out.

 

[Livinalittle]

You can have mine if you want to pay for shipping. I took them off as soon as I bought the truck and haven't used them since.

 

[corneileous]

You can have mine if you want to pay for shipping. I took them off as soon as I bought the truck and haven't used them since.

OP said she got replacements when she said she had to go to the dealership to get the old ones removed but that's a helluva deal considering they're 50 bucks brand new at the dealer.

 

[Sunshine Rivera]

Have you gone here and entered your vin? This will tell you specifically if your truck came with the factory wheel locks and if it did, there should be some documentation stuffed in your owner's manual wallet with a registration number and information on how to obtain a replacement key which, I know, won't do you any good because you had to have them removed in a way that probably destroyed them but the point being, if the previous owner added those locking wheel nuts later on, hopefully they put that said paperwork in the owner packet stuff but either way, the build sheet results from that web address I gave when you enter your VIN will tell you everything about your truck.

But I'm confused...

If the guy who came to your service call even admitted to leaving your wheel lock key on the bumper and did not physically hand it to you then why isn't the shop he's employed by owning up to the mistake and making things right? That's not good business at all. I guess I just don't understand how you got from telling the service shop you wanted, I'm assuming a new key, to end up eventually going to a dealer to have your old locks removed and replaced with new ones after finding out any other tire shop wouldn't touch it, which is odd, to back to the original service shop who's not wanting to own up to their mistake and now not wanting to reimburse you for the bill the dealer charged you for their mistake.

Did you just on your own end up going to the dealer to have the old locks removed and replaced with new ones, or what? I hate to say this and I really don't see how your attorney says you're justified in requiring the shop owner to replace them, even after you've already had a dealer replace them for you because if that's the case, you really should have not done anything until you consulted a lawyer especially if the place is being jackasses and still not wanting to own up to their mistake even after the guy told you he set it on your bumper. Being that you already got things taken care of somewhere else without any kind of an agreement, negation or anything with the original shop that screwed up, I'm afraid you're probably on your own and out almost $300. Hope you get it straightened out.

I had to have something done right away. If I had run over a nail or something I would have been in a world of hurt. I would have had a tow bill & would have had to purchase a tire at the dealer instead of at my usually tire shop. I did get an estimate in the morning and went to the service shop and gave it to them. The owner wasn't there but he could have responded. He didn't. By the afternoon I went and had them replaced because I felt I couldn't wait any longer. I relied on what the other tire shops told me that "if they are Mopar locking lugs I would have to have them removed by the dealer."

The service shop has refused to own up to any responsibility.

 

[Sunshine Rivera]

I went to the website and entered my VIN. It said "No Records Found Corresponding To The VIN Provided."

 

[corneileous]

Did you make sure you typed it right and didn’t include any spaces?

 

[Sunshine Rivera]

Also, apparently, this shop has had several lawsuits with charges of "unreasonable and excessive charges" to customers. (He also charged me $150 to come 3 miles, take the flat off & put the spare on. Didn't have to air it up or anything. Took him 10 minutes.) I know in some parts of the country that isn't unreasonable but here in our area it is outrageous! Thankfully we do have very stringent gouging laws in this state.

 

[Sunshine Rivera]

Did you make sure you typed it right and didn’t include any spaces?

I did but I used lower case letters. Should I have used all caps?

 

[Sunshine Rivera]

Did you make sure you typed it right and didn’t include any spaces?

I did. But I used lowercase letters. Should I have used caps??

 

[Sunshine Rivera]

You can have mine if you want to pay for shipping. I took them off as soon as I bought the truck and haven't used them since.

Thank you so much for you kind offer but I've already had them replaced. Perhaps someone else out there can use them. (Generous offer.)

 

[corneileous]

I did. But I used lowercase letters. Should I have used caps??

I don’t know, maybe you do. I entered my vin in all uppercase and it brought up my build sheet.

 

[Sunshine Rivera]

Did you make sure you typed it right and didn’t include any spaces?

OK. I'm blond and it's early!! I put the VIN in with all caps and it worked. Duh!! Thanks so much. That is very cool to be able to look up and see. Ya'll are the best at information! I'll have to consult ya'll when I'm ready to buy my next truck. (Soon)

 

[Sunshine Rivera]

OMG!!!!!!!

I don’t know, maybe you do. I entered my vin in all uppercase and it brought up my build sheet.

OMG!!!! You are a savior!!!! The Locking Lug Nuts are on the Equipment List!!!!! They are there!!!!! That was one of the most important parts of this whole case!!! Bless your heart my dear!!! You are fantastic!! I can't thank you enough!!!!!!! I will forever be grateful Corneileous!!!

 

[corneileous]

I had to have something done right away. If I had run over a nail or something I would have been in a world of hurt. I would have had a tow bill & would have had to purchase a tire at the dealer instead of at my usually tire shop. I did get an estimate in the morning and went to the service shop and gave it to them. The owner wasn't there but he could have responded. He didn't. By the afternoon I went and had them replaced because I felt I couldn't wait any longer. I relied on what the other tire shops told me that "if they are Mopar locking lugs I would have to have them removed by the dealer."

The service shop has refused to own up to any responsibility.

I hear ya, there is always that possibility of Murphy’s law but still, I don’t believe I would’ve just gone ahead and had those lugnuts changed at the dealer unless there was an agreement to be made, especially if I was having thoughts of trying to do everything in my power to get the service shop to pay for their mistake. Of course you have a case, in general, but even then, certain things have to happen a certain way if you wanna win your case. Both the service shop and the judge could make it known that nobody told you anything about you just going down to the dealer and bringing the receipt back to the service shop for them to pay for because that move could be used against you.

But I still don’t understand that last part you said before you said the original shop refusing to own up to their mistake.

 

[corneileous]

Also, apparently, this shop has had several lawsuits with charges of "unreasonable and excessive charges" to customers. (He also charged me $150 to come 3 miles, take the flat off & put the spare on. Didn't have to air it up or anything. Took him 10 minutes.) I know in some parts of the country that isn't unreasonable but here in our area it is outrageous! Thankfully we do have very stringent gouging laws in this state.

Not judging you at all but being that I’ve yet to have a road service shop come to my aid for a flat, I have no idea what a typical charge is nowadays for anyone to do that but road calls aren’t cheap even if it is just three miles away and only ten minutes worth of work.

 

[Sunshine Rivera]

Not judging you at all but being that I’ve yet to have a road service shop come to my aid for a flat, I have no idea what a typical charge is nowadays for anyone to do that but road calls aren’t cheap even if it is just three miles away and only ten minutes worth of work.

I hear ya but I called around and asked for a price for the same service. I didn't know that towing companies do tire changes but the towing company I got a quote from said that they would have charged $75 plus $3 per mile (one way - don't charge to come home.) That would have been $84 total. The tire company I called for a quote said he charges $85 flat rate for around town. He also said he can't imagine anyone coming anywhere near the $150 charge. Most companies around here charge reasonable prices for services. I suspect this guy who did it realized that he could charge whatever he wanted and decided to take advantage of a disabled woman sitting on the side of the road. I'm not sure how some people sleep at night but I guess they don't have the conscience that the rest of us do.

 

[corneileous]

I hear ya but I called around and asked for a price for the same service. I didn't know that towing companies do tire changes but the towing company I got a quote from said that they would have charged $75 plus $3 per mile (one way - don't charge to come home.) That would have been $84 total. The tire company I called for a quote said he charges $85 flat rate for around town. He also said he can't imagine anyone coming anywhere near the $150 charge. Most companies around here charge reasonable prices for services. I suspect this guy who did it realized that he could charge whatever he wanted and decided to take advantage of a disabled woman sitting on the side of the road. I'm not sure how some people sleep at night but I guess they don't have the conscience that the rest of us do.

So, Im assuming you found all these other cheaper prices after the fact? I guess the reason why I'm saying I would've called around first to get some prices is because it seems like you just settled for the one you called which was pretty high.