Ram Cares, Max Care, Dealers all are a crock.

[coobie]

Too bad there's not a "Dis-Like" button on the forum. This answer doesn't cut it.

Maybe there should be a cry towel button.

 

[Eclipse Aries]

My closest dealer doesn't even have a shuttle. If I ***** for a while they will pull the kid off oil changes and have him give me a ride home. Is what it is. I now own a lot more nice tools since I've taken on doing a lot of my own repairs

 

[huntergreen]

There is actually a definition to lifetime in the MaxCare Lifetime contract. Oddly enough its not one that I disagree with ....

Lifetime is defined as "until the cost of the current fix is greater than the value of the vehicle". At that point they cut you a check for how much the vehicle is worth and the contract becomes void. I mean, they kinda had to end it *somewhere*, and thats where it is.

What it means, though, is to be careful about how you "stack" your fixes. The value of the vehicle is weighed against the total cost of what needs to be fixed at once (per each time you pay the deductible), so maybe dont fix an engine along with other things. Space them out and hope that the individual fix costs less than the value of the truck.

Luckily pickup trucks in general hold their value pretty well, so I think it would take a while to "craps out" on a MaxCare Lifetime warranty.

2009 with 422K miles....sounds about right, per what the contract says.

Didn't the 2009s come with a lifetime powertrain warranty ? Pretty sure it doesn't have the "unless the fix is more than the value of the vehicle" clause. At least my 2008 wrangler didn't have it. Just had to keep up the mandatory dealer inspections.

 

[chrisbh17]

Didn't the 2009s come with a lifetime powertrain warranty ? Pretty sure it doesn't have the "unless the fix is more than the value of the vehicle" clause. At least my 2008 wrangler didn't have it. Just had to keep up the mandatory dealer inspections.

Correct but that is different than maxcare.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Sherman Bird]

I recently had some warranty issues with my truck, and spent numerous hours waiting for repairs. I read on this site that if you have a Chrysler extended warranty, you are eligible for a rental reimbursement.
Each time my truck was in for repair, I asked the dealer if there was a loaner or rental, and always got the same answer,”no, we don’t do that”.
Ram Cares contacted me after I posted an issue I was having with the dealer, and in my conversation they indicated I was eligible for a rental and she contacted the dealer who acknowledged they work with a rental company.
This morning I called to schedule to have some parts they ordered installed under warranty. I said I needed a rental car, and was told that when I brought my car in, they would have to call to get approval, and being that it was not going to be an overnight repair, it probably would not be approved.
The misinformation being spread around is ridiculous. So, I should go to the dealer in the morning, roll the dice and hope I can get a vehicle so that I can go to work. If not, hope that I can get a ride home so that I don’t spend the day in the “lounge”.
Maybe their goal is to discourage you from getting warranty work done. Every time I brought my truck in for a repair that should be covered under warranty, the first response is “that’s not covered” or “that’s normal”.
Only after pressing, will they check it out and admit there’s a problem.
The FCA dealer network leaves a lot to be desired.

From my perspective being a GM Dealer tech for 20 years: Disclaimer!!! I am going to tell this as I knew it and with no personal bias! Inasmuch as I quit GM as a factory tech in late 1999, things may have changed in the last 21 years!

When folks rolled into the dealers where I worked, there were certain factors directly figured into your "eligibility" for a rental or loaner. Does the "customer" have maintenance perfomed there? Although this is forbidden as a benchmark by corporate GM, the dealer principles are greedy business folks. If the repair history reflected a buch of ticky-tack trim repairs or just claims in general and they were not having oil changes etc. done there..... no loaner or rental.

This was unspoken, hush-hush truth that was never disclosed by anyone wishing to keep their jobs! Some of the behind closed doors conversations to which I was witness were not very nicely put about the customers who only darkened their door for warranty work.

I saw many people who DID have our facility do trans flushes, oil changes, decarb jobs.... you know, all the gravy jobs. Ih those cases, the management would deliver up a shiny new loaner or rental with heel clicking promptness.

I'm not saying anything negative about FCA. My own experience is that the Dodge dealer around the corner from me would never work on my lawnmower, much less my truck. The one in Tomball, Texas, has done work on my Liberty for my daughter who now owns it and they have all been stellar! I buy my FCA parts there as well... great people. They get double thumbs up from me!

You should call the 1-800 number and open a file with customer affairs. I can guarandamntee you that FCA wants your current and future business, and hates hearing about ****** CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index). They can rain down fire on those folks! And in my own experience, that was bad for dealer floor plans and special progrsm participations.

At Ford, I was privvy to situation of a woman who got real loud and was unrelenting about her then new 2002 Explorer.... as she rightfully should have. Myself and 2 other techs teamed up with a field engineer to get to the bottom of her problem (this car had only 4000 miles on it at that time). Her A/C would blow hot air intermittently.... the compressor would stop engaging at will. This was in August where we have high 90's with 85% up humidity here in Houston.

It turned out to be a bad instrument cluster after 4 PCM's and severl ulcers failed to help. Although diags led to the PCM even for the engineer, there was a weird phantom code in the HEC (hybrid Electronic Cluster). After Dearborn mucky mucks got involved and a scream about a buy back was tendered, it was fixed after the 6th time in for the same repair.. Yes! The CAN systems can do that!

Be the squeaky wheel! Do not relent! You will eventually get what you want and need!

 

[Eds34pc]

I have been both the patient customer as well as the squeaky wheel, and it doesn’t matter. I used to have time to sit in the “lounge” for hours waiting for warranty repairs, not to mention 3-4 hours wait for oil change. At each visit, I was told there are no loaners, and they didn’t do rentals. Recently, I discovered through this forum that Maxcare customers are eligible for rentals. Again, the dealer told me no when I brought it in for a warranty issue. I opened a case with Ramcares, who contacted the dealer, who said they work with Hertz, and I am eligible for a rental. When I made an appointment 2 weeks ago, they said they would have to contact warranty services to see if they would approve the rental. My dealer is 60 minutes each way, and they can’t tell me if a rental is approved before I get there? Due to the distance, each time I bring my truck in, it costs me a days pay(self employed service business).
I’ve been to 2 dealers for service, the one I bought the truck from, who couldn’t give a crap if I did business with them or not, and one other who, each time I asked if a repair was warranty, the answer was no. It always took more than 1 visit for warranty repairs. I had all of my paid service done by them, including a new set of tires that they completely screwed up, and in the end sent me to a Firestone store to straighten it out.
It’s a nice truck, but if I have to fight with the dealers near me, and have little confidence in their ability to repair it correctly, it’s of little use to me.

 

[gofish101]

I have been both the patient customer as well as the squeaky wheel, and it doesn’t matter. I used to have time to sit in the “lounge” for hours waiting for warranty repairs, not to mention 3-4 hours wait for oil change. At each visit, I was told there are no loaners, and they didn’t do rentals. Recently, I discovered through this forum that Maxcare customers are eligible for rentals. Again, the dealer told me no when I brought it in for a warranty issue. I opened a case with Ramcares, who contacted the dealer, who said they work with Hertz, and I am eligible for a rental. When I made an appointment 2 weeks ago, they said they would have to contact warranty services to see if they would approve the rental. My dealer is 60 minutes each way, and they can’t tell me if a rental is approved before I get there? Due to the distance, each time I bring my truck in, it costs me a days pay(self employed service business).
I’ve been to 2 dealers for service, the one I bought the truck from, who couldn’t give a crap if I did business with them or not, and one other who, each time I asked if a repair was warranty, the answer was no. It always took more than 1 visit for warranty repairs. I had all of my paid service done by them, including a new set of tires that they completely screwed up, and in the end sent me to a Firestone store to straighten it out.
It’s a nice truck, but if I have to fight with the dealers near me, and have little confidence in their ability to repair it correctly, it’s of little use to me.

Judging by your 40 post so far this may be appropriate....
"You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar"
Just sayin.

 

[Eds34pc]

Judging by your 40 post so far this may be appropriate....
"You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar"
Just sayin.

Next time I’ll bring them a box of donuts before they disappoint me.

 

[Michael]

Judging by your 40 post so far this may be appropriate....
"You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar"
Just sayin.

I tried that approach with Reno dodge and it didn’t work. I had to resort to being a major possum in their ass in order to get a something done. I know drive an hour away to a different dealership.


I know the voices in my head aren’t real, but man, do they ever come up with some great ideas.

 

[chrisbh17]

Judging by your 40 post so far this may be appropriate....
"You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar"
Just sayin.

Funny, @Eds34pc experiences echo my own. The last one was a 3 hour wait in the lounge....after waiting that long I figured they at least found an issue that needed to be fixed. Of course, I was thrilled to hear it was "normal" because they managed to find another truck that made the same noise. Sure enough, it did NOT. Even the service manager couldnt hear it. Luckily again they were quick to say "well we could replace X but the noise will come back eventually anyway". Pardon me for not believing that the service department has a crystal ball.

My dealer has a big sign when you walk into the showroom, touting "free loaners for life!". So yeah I can get a loaner....by handing my credit card to Enterprise. So I go to the dealer to drop my truck off, wait for a ride to Enterprise, get whatever POS Im allowed (NOT a pickup, BTW...thats extra $$$), give Enterprise my credit card for "insurance", then the reverse process on the way back. Pretty sure they make it a PITA so that no one does it.

 

[Sherman Bird]

Deleted the message

 

[Sherman Bird]

I have been both the patient customer as well as the squeaky wheel, and it doesn’t matter. I used to have time to sit in the “lounge” for hours waiting for warranty repairs, not to mention 3-4 hours wait for oil change. At each visit, I was told there are no loaners, and they didn’t do rentals. Recently, I discovered through this forum that Maxcare customers are eligible for rentals. Again, the dealer told me no when I brought it in for a warranty issue. I opened a case with Ramcares, who contacted the dealer, who said they work with Hertz, and I am eligible for a rental. When I made an appointment 2 weeks ago, they said they would have to contact warranty services to see if they would approve the rental. My dealer is 60 minutes each way, and they can’t tell me if a rental is approved before I get there? Due to the distance, each time I bring my truck in, it costs me a days pay(self employed service business).
I’ve been to 2 dealers for service, the one I bought the truck from, who couldn’t give a crap if I did business with them or not, and one other who, each time I asked if a repair was warranty, the answer was no. It always took more than 1 visit for warranty repairs. I had all of my paid service done by them, including a new set of tires that they completely screwed up, and in the end sent me to a Firestone store to straighten it out.
It’s a nice truck, but if I have to fight with the dealers near me, and have little confidence in their ability to repair it correctly, it’s of little use to me.

That dealer plain and simple **** on you. Did you calmly take up the issue with management? Did you go up the ladder to General manager up front? As a communcations major, I've learned that many folks just "ass/u/me" on both sides of this coin.... getting all defensive and angry without getting the other sides' perspective.

Given that, perhaps you did talk your ear off to the principle folks there, did you call consumer affairs?

Being a squeaky wheel doesn't necessarily mean being loud or obnoxious. You'd be surprised how effectively a clear, concise communication of 1) Your beef and 2) What you expect them to do about it and 3) Ask when you might expect satisfaction!

These people see many members of the public on a daily basis and are galvanized to being hollered at. They, are not, however, accustomed to an intelligent, well stated communication complimented with grace and a nice tone of voice. I always like to throw humor into the fracas, myself. Get them to at least chuckle. You are one of dozens of demanding customers they deal with daily. Call often.Make them answer pointed questions that forces their hand to your satisfaction, just do it nicely! Be a thorn in their sides! Just be sure that the thorn is from a rose, and they get the rose fragrance and the idea that you expect competent service!

If all else fails, and sometimes it does, go to the BBB, local chamber of commerce, local TV media, and do remember that wonderful social media we now have at our fingers.

All too often, consumers just give up and go away and will gripe at 100 people who have ZERO power to solve the problem when a little bit of effort to communicate to those whom they have a beef will frequently result in everone walking away happy. Good luck!