Stealership problems...what next?

So, I've attached the narrative below. I had to get it out. Not sure what to do with it. Swallow it? Send it to Chrysler?

I plan to go back and drive another new Power Wagon, and if it have the same issue, maybe I'll just drop it. I just can't imagine this is normal for a $64,000 truck. If the other new one doesn't vibrate, I want the wheels and tires off of it. If I still have the shakes, we know it isn't the tires and it's in the drive train.

Thoughts?



Story:

To whomever may graciously spend their time reading this email,

In April, I had the esteemed honor of purchasing a brand new, 2016 Ram Power Wagon from Koons in Tyson's Corner, VA. It was a long road to get to this point, but the ole farm truck couldn't take any more. Shane (the truck guy) was the epitome of what every sales person should aspire to be - not pushy, honest, direct, easy going, knowledgeable, friendly. He fought to get me the deal of a century and I left with the truck of my dreams! I was never more proud of a vehicle purchase. It was the BEST experience purchasing a vehicle ever (and believe me, I've bought more than a few).

So, I have the truck for a week. It's living up to all my wildest fantasies. I'm still tickled pink about it, but it has a slight vibration in the seat at certain speeds. Having worked in the automotive industry for over 6 years (parts sales, technician, service writer, management), I was pretty confident I knew what was going on. More than likely, it's a tire balance issue. But maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm being too picky and it's not that big of a deal. Keep in mind, this isn't the first big truck I've had either. I knew what to expect going into it. I knew it was going to have road noise and a rougher ride. This just seemed, abnormal.

My schedule got in the way, as it does for most professionals around the DC area, and I let it slide for a few weeks. Fast forward a month (less than 1,000) miles, and the vibration is still there. At this point, my little girls start making fun of it - giggling at how their voice fluctuates as if they were sitting on one of those vibrating beds in those cheap motels you used to see. Remember those? That Monday afternoon I took a trip out west of DC (about 150 miles round trip), getting a more and more painful headache with every teeth chattering mile. On the way back, I call my "guy." That's right. Shane was my "guy" now. I trust him. He says, "Dude, bring it in and let service take a look at it. We'll take care of it for you." Without thought, "Perfect," I said, "I'll be right in."

Now, Tyson's Corner isn't local to where I live and certainly not close to where I was out in Warrenton. After some deeper thought I wondered, "maybe I should call and make sure they will be open and have time to fit me in today." So, I call back and the nice lady who picked up the phone said that the service department was open until 7pm that evening. Being just after lunch, we should have plenty of time. ... Enter DC traffic. Yup. It took me over 2 hours and $16.00 in tolls to get to the dealership. By this time it was not much after 3pm, but I made it. I pulled into the service bay and began to explain the problem. The service advisor first said, "Oh, you need to talk to sales. Since you bought it new, they'll have to take care of it." Funny. I've never seen a car salesman rotate and balance tires. Well, I bet you Shane could do it. But I return with, "They told me the same thing. Can you help me?" To which he said, "See all these? I have to get to all of these appointments today and everyone is about to leave at 4pm. There's no way I can get to you right now." Now hold on. I was just told to bring it in. That service would take care of it. Now I'm being told there isn't anyone there that can help me today, and that I have to turn around and sit in that horrible DC traffic yet again (for another 2 hours) just to get home - with a truck that still vibrates. Needless to say, I was a little upset. The service manager (a lady who I can't remember her name) politely said, "Sir. I'm sorry you were told to come in. He shouldn't have told you that. We can't help you today. Can you come back Friday?" "No." I explained, "I'm towing a 10,000 pound boat that day and I'd really like the fixed before that." We agreed they'd be able to help me Thursday. I would have been happy leaving the truck there so they could fix it if they would have given me a loaner car. Instead, I was run out of there like a mouse in a nice restaurant. STRIKE 1.

So, I call into service the day before my appointment. I talk to Chuck, and explained to him the events that transpired the days before. "That's not right, sir." he said earnestly, "I would have found a way to fit you in. What can I do?" So we formulate a plan to guarantee success the following day. The tires that I have on my truck (Goodyear Duratrac) aren't sold anymore according to Chuck, and they don't have any in stock. In fact, they are on backorder. But Chuck is crafty. He calls me back and tells me they have 4 Bridgestones in stock that are the same size. He was going to start working with his managers to get pre-authorization to replace my tires with those should it come to that. This is great! Someone thinking ahead.

After working it out with daycare that I'll be dropping the kids of earlier than normal, fighting that damned DC traffic again, and paying almost $15.00 in tolls, I finally get to the dealership around 7am. I prepare to wait. Why leave and have to come back and pay more tolls, sit in more traffic, and waste more time. That service manager lady comes in to see me in the waiting room. "Mr. Harvey," she says with concern, "you said you were going to drop it off. You're going to wait on it?" Yup. It's actually more efficient for me to sit there and get work done remotely. Not very comfortable, but more efficient. I knew it was going to take a while, so I set up shop and settled in.

A couple of hours later, Walter (my new service writer) came to talk to me. What happened to Chuck you wonder? He called in sick. Yup. Just my luck. Anyway, Walter says that every tire was more than 2 ounces out of balance. Now, that's pretty excessive. I know this. Remember? I worked in automotive and learned me a thing or two. Great. The going theory was that the truck sat for so long on the new sales lot that it developed flat spots. But out-of-balance is right up there when it comes to causing a hideously annoying vibration. So I start to feel good. They have my truck in the shop, the tires are off and on the balancer, and they've seen something that is out of sorts. An hour later, Walter comes back. "Man," he begins to explain, "one of those tires just won't balance. I think we got it though. I took it on a drive and it's much better." Okay, being the trusting kinda guy I am, I go with it. "At least you felt it when it was bad," I nod, "and if you say it's much better, than I'm sure it's fine." Just in case, he gave me his card so that I can call him and let him know if it went away. He kept my ticket open should we need to order a tire to replace the bad one.

Not even a mile down the express lanes of 495...it's still there! And it's like they didn't do a damn thing. STRIKE 2. But I have to get back to work. Gloves on for fighting DC traffic. And another $10 lighter in the wallet from tolls. I get back to the office and call Walter. I told him he needs to put that tire on order and I'll call back after the Memorial Day weekend to make an appointment. And he did. And I did.

Monday, June 6th. You've heard this part before - I do my job as a taillight inspector for an hour on my way to Tyson's, paying almost $30 in tolls this time. I show up on time, though. They remember me by this point, so I hand them my key and we go about our duties - them, hopefully fixing my truck...me, working for the luxurious waiting area lounge. Walter comes in after about an hour of waiting, "Uh. Mr. Harvey? We don't have your tire." STRIKE 3! "Excuse me?" I gasp, "you mean I came in here for nothing...again?" Now I'm getting angry, but I keep it together. I say, "Ok. Here's what's going to happen. You're going to call me when you put your hands on those tires and then we'll schedule yet another trip to come back. By then, you should have figured out how to make this right. I don't care if it's free car washes, a free tank of gas, taking me out to lunch, whatever. I've spent (if you're tracking) over $70 in tolls, who knows how many gallons of gas (not like it's a Prius), and HOURS of time wasted sitting in traffic, waiting, missing office time, et cetera. As a customer (and someone who's been on their side of the desk before), I feel like it was time to say something. I started to leave, but pulled right back and went to my "guy." "Shane, I don't know what to do, man" I vent, "Someone needs to fix this situation because it's getting out of hand." He ran to get the service manager (another one, not the lady this time). I run him through everything up to this point. He begins to hand me excuses like, "those tires are hard to balance," "it takes time to do the work," "everything on the vehicle is warrantied by Chrysler EXCEPT the tires - those are through Goodyear and Bridgestone can't be put in their place." I tell him it's the needless mistakes of 4 people thus far that he should be apologizing for. Not the tires. I ask him to please make it right, and he replies with "what do you want me to do about it?" At that point, I had a few ideas but I'm a reasonable person. If he would only use his imagination. I would have been happy with a t-shirt or even a beer to take the edge off at this point. Anything to make me feel better about bringing my truck back to them for a fourth time, but nothing was solved.

Two days later, nothing. Walter said they'd be in that night or the next day, so what gives? I call. Sure enough. The tires are there. No one called. Oh well, let's schedule an appointment for the next day at 8am. Perfect. Stay with me - we're almost up to date. I can't say as that I'm looking forward to it, but I get there (kids, traffic, tolls and all). I drop the key off with Walter and assume my position in the waiting area. Feel free to use your imagination, 'cause it's about to happen again.

Walter finds me in the lounge and tells me that one of the weights on the front tire fell off which was why the vibration migrated to the front this time, but the other tires are balancing nicely. The technician was going to take it out for one last test drive and we're good to go. I finally get my key 4 hours after dropping off the truck that morning. I feel like I should start paying Koons rent for all the time I've spent there. Walter crosses his fingers and says, "I think we got it this time. Let me know."

It was the on-ramp to 495 that I knew it. The problem wasn't fixed. STRIKE 4!!! You've got to be kidding me. I thought they drove it? I thought they balanced? That's it. I head back to the dealership. This time, I'm going to take someone out with me and make sure they feel what I feel and we get to the bottom of this. I see Walter and I shake my head. He tells me he'll get the shop foreman to ride with me and that he'll be right out. Ok. And I thought I'd be madder than what I was, but it was almost comical at this point. I see tech after tech walk by. I see the service manager lady. I see the other service manager who I vented to the other day walk by me. Oh, there's Walter again. 10 minutes go by. 15 minutes go by. Now I'm worried I won't be able to go on this little test drive and make it back to work for a very important meeting. Oh, good. Walter, again. "He'll be out in a second," he tells me. I shake my head and think to myself, "okay...I've got about a second left before I really have to get out of here." 5 more minutes go by. I corner the service manager lady. "Excuse me," I say, "I've got to get back to work for a meeting. If someone doesn't come out right now, I'll just have to leave." She acknowledged my concern and went to find Walter. Now 30 minutes have gone by. I couldn't, for the life of me figure out, why I was still standing there. They have yet to prove they can do anything for me and don't seem to care if I stay or go. So I left.

FIVE times I went to that dealership to get this problem resolved. I've been patient. I've been courteous. I've been understanding. Why? Why hasn't anyone taken ownership of this issue and done something about it? And to think. I need to go back. I need to take more time off work, inconvenience the daycare lady again, pay more tolls to get there, waste more time sitting in stupid traffic, get more annoyed about this whole thing. To be honest, I love my truck...but this makes me wish I didn't buy it. It's not worth it. But like an insane person, I'll go back. I'll take the punishment. I'm strong. I can take it. I just hope other people know what they're in for when they deal with the service department at Koons Dodge in Tysons Corner, VA. Here's hoping I get a Mopar t-shirt or a cool RAM coffee mug for my troubles.

Wishing I was a better writer that could weigh down this email with a few more tons of disappointment and exhaustion, but...I just don't have the energy anymore.

With best intentions and sincere concerns,
-

Wow, you have been a LOT more patient than I would have been. I have little patience with incompetence and about half way through what you went through I'd have been in the dealer's office having a chat with him about his no-service department and their inability to keep their word.

I suggest you make a detailed log of what you've been through, what it has cost you in time and tolls, fuel, lunches, etc. Then find out who Chrysler's district manager is. Mail him the log and your letter of explanation via certified mail with a return receipt requested so you know he received it.

That puts the ball in his court so let the wheels turn and see what he comes up with.

Good luck.

Paint lemons all over it.

I think at this point I would take it to a tire shop that sells those tires - seems they would be better equipped than the dealership to diagnose a tire problem - clearly the dealership is not. I would think they could warranty the tires same as the dealership.

importmonkey said:

Wishing I was a better writer....

Click to expand...

Dude, you made a dozen paragraphs about a car dealership fun to read. I'm going to use "taillight inspector", if you don't mind.

I got a chill when I read "what do you want me to do about it". That's essentially confirmation that they couldn't care less. Ugh.

Put a (much) condensed version of the story on their Facebook page. Shortly after they take it down, they'll call you...

Better yet, Twitter it to realdonaldtrump. I hear he has a handful of followers in the DC / NoVa area.... :smt024

If it were me I'd contact Chrysler Customer Care it's a new vehicle they should handle the problem for you. I had the a problem with a new Cadillac that took several tries to fix it it took getting the Voice of Cadillac involved long story short they sent out an engineer to find the problem. I drove a loaner car for a total of 4 weeks kind of fun driving just about every vehicle Cad makes.

With a new truck you should be able to get a loaner to drive. The last time I dropped mine off I left all the keys with them told them I didn't want it back till it was fixed or I wanted to go through the buy back program or they could keep it & I'd drive their loaner till it was fixed. It took several meetings with the VOC, Service Manager & Sales Manager with the engineer they flew out to get it fixed. It has worked ever since without any problems.

The idea of dropping it off & leaving it came from a story Gofirstclass told me about his dads experience with GM years ago it worked thanks Mike.

Get hold of Chrysler Customer Care to start a paper trail of every contact you have with your truck dealer without it you'll never get it resolved. You'll also need to prove hours of out of service or times tried to resolve an issue before you can even think of doing a Lemon Law buy back or repurchase there's a big difference in the 2 varying from state to state meaning out of pocket cash to you or a full refund. Read up on it in your state or contact your attorney general office.

I have a one year letter of agreement that if anything fails on my vehicle in 1 year from 4/1/16 I have the option of a repurchase or replacement with a repurchase they deduct for use, mileage and prorate everything with a replacement I'm refunded every dime paid including sales tax & license with the option to buy from anywhere they give me a check. Mine is paid for if you have a lease or are upside down you'll need to come up with cash if arbitration finds in their favor for a repurchase.

My issue was the 8" touch screen CUE system which controls everything heat, radio, phone etc would go black them come back on since there are no knobs it's kind of important.

Chrysler Customer Care phone numbers
Chrysler (800-247-9753) 800-Chrysler
Jeep (877-426-5337) 877-IAMJEEP
Dodge (800-423-6343) 800-4ADodge
RAM (866-726-4636) 866-RAM-INFO
FIAT (888-242-6342) 888-CIAO-FIAT

A gas can and a match.............never did like Chrysler's

Oh wow. I'm sorry to hear about your experiences. It really sucks about all of the lost and frustrating time you've had to endure. I concur with the others, you need to get Corporate involved.

I agree with what Bob & Sue posted.

I had a BMW several years back with the first generation of the iDrive. Man did it suck. I dropped the car off, left the keys and made it very clear to not call me for pick until it was fixed. 3 months later they called. And made my payments for the duration of the shop time. They also extended the warranty a bit.

I had a Ford with the early 6.O liter engine. After the first engine replacement at 42K miles, I got the Regional Warranty Ford Rep involved right away. After the 3rd engine at 80k miles, the rep bought the truck back.

Take the truck back, nicely hand over the keys and let them know to call you when and only when the truck operates as intended. Until then, it is their problem. I would also get a regional Chrysler rep involved. Not just the local dealer rep, but the person that oversees the warranty for the dealers in that region.

I too will steal taillight inspector. Sounds really painful so far. Perhaps there is another something on their lot with the same wheel/tire package that a four wheel swap could be done. If that fixes the problem you can just drive away forever and who cares how they fix the others. Sounds to me they are chasing a wheel problem with a tire fix.

SR400DB said:

I agree with what Bob & Sue posted.

I had a BMW several years back with the first generation of the iDrive. Man did it suck. I dropped the car off, left the keys and made it very clear to not call me for pick until it was fixed. 3 months later they called. And made my payments for the duration of the shop time. They also extended the warranty a bit.

Click to expand...

BMW seems to be pretty good about that stuff. I've had to do that for a couple of things over the years and there is never any question. They just called me and offered to place me in a loaner for the next year/year and a half while they wait on Takata replacement parts-I declined.

Called RAM Customer Service number (1.866.726.4636) to tell them what's going on. Jennifer said that she wished I had called in sooner, and that I have every right to be upset. They are passing it to a case manager and that they should be reaching out to me via phone very soon. Hopefully we get this resolved. Also informed them about the mishap about Safford to be thorough. Yeah, didn't mention that part, did I?

Safford is closer and more convenient to work. They give me shuttle rides to work so I can drop it off. I've taken cars there before and they've been fine. This time, they left a few gifts. The first was oil in the center cup holder (not a quart mind you...puddles) and the second were scuffs (to put it lightly) all over my tailgate. If I could post pictures I'd show them. But just imagine holding an orbital sander in one spot of the tailgate, then doing that over and over a few times in a few different places. Took it to a body shop that I trust and asked for their professional opinion of what could have caused it (even though I already knew). It was obvious someone just didn't "bump" or "brush" into the truck while walking by. "No," their head painter said, "this was deliberate. Someone who didn't know what they were doing tried to cover something up and instead burnt the clear coat." I thought I was going to need a new paint job, but he worked his magic and used his ju-ju sauce to buff all of them out. Saved that dealership a reaming, that's for sure. Funny enough, while I was at the body shop, that dealership called to survey me on how pleased I was with their service. "Well, since you called..."

I politely informed her that they need to be aware of this issue so they can rectify (fire, terminate, reprimand, train) the issue (the dumb-ass who did it). She said the head service manager would be calling me to follow up. Been over two weeks, now. Haven't heard from the guy. I think he's hoping I just go away and never come back. Pretty sure he won't be hoping very hard on that one. I know. I should have went right back and had them lick up the oil (hadn't noticed the scuffs until the next morning), but they just would have apologized, made me wait until the tech got out there to wipe it up, made it look like they were scolding him like a toddler they caught playing with the oven knobs and said, "We're so sorry, sir," then sent me on my way. I had wipes and paper towels in the truck and it cleaned up without much issue, so I didn't make a stink about it.

What I really want...and it ain't much - is to pull into the service bay, have a pit crew jack up my truck and swap (already mounted and balanced) wheels and tires...fill up my truck with gas...and I'm off. You know...with a sense of urgency. "Get me out in front of that pace car or the race is over for us!" [kudos who can name that quote, by the way] Done. See ya. I'm out of your hair. I'd even raise a fist of triumph to the tune of General Lee's Dixie Horn on the way out and say, "We made it. Good work. I owe ya one." [same movie, a few lines later]


Anyway...fingers crossed we get this figured out.

Question first....

Why do you need to pay tolls to get to Tysons Corner? You wanted to use HOV?

That aside, it seems your issue is with a pretty mismanaged / incompetent dealership...They seem friendly enough, but what gives? Honestly, After the first mess-up, I would have required them to get four new tires and have them balanced and ready to go when I got there. So all they would have to do is a pit stop and you wouldn't deal with these tires that might be flat-spotted....

Though, truthfully, I would have made sure I had Michelins on the truck. They are the only brand I use...

Boat Guy said:

Question first....

Why do you need to pay tolls to get to Tysons Corner? You wanted to use HOV?

Click to expand...

Yup. I can't leave early enough to make it there on time (with traffic). Daycare lady doesn't open that early. So by the time I'm able to drop them off, and to save me an hour or so of suffering through the morning zombie migration, I use HOV/Express. Seems silly even then though. Yesterday I spend over $10 in tolls just to sit in traffic only to wonder, "Well, ****. I could have sat in traffic over there for free."

C'est la vie.

Better - C'est la DC.

Thanks, by the way...for all the reassurance that I'm not just being a persnickety little whiny primadonna snot. I begin to wonder if we're passed the era of customer service and taking care of each other - that my naivety has overcome me and I'm just out of touch with how the world is these days.

I don't know if it purely is a customer service problem at Koons. As sad as it may be.....vibrations and noises are the worst problems to solve because you spend a lot of time trying to sort out what the client is talking about. In your case, the fastest way to tell if the problem was the tires is to swap tires off another new vehicle. The Service Manager has to approve that because they aren't set up to operate that way. Their process is to send it to their tire guys and they spend their time trying to balance a tire they can't balance. Yes it stupid but that is how the "line" works at many dealerships including Koons.

I have bought a number of vehicles from them. You shouldn't have to tell them how to do a job but unfortunately you do have to tell them what you want done.

I would get your buddy Shane on it so they can make arrangements to swap all four wheels. There is a small chance that swapping the wheels and tires won't solve it. Hopefully it will.

Not to add pain however, Koons is a low-cost, high-volume dealer - that is the way they roll (pun intended). If you want to pay the least possible - go to Koons. If you want personalized attention find a smaller dealership and have them fix your issue.

Tom

importmonkey said:

Thanks, by the way...for all the reassurance that I'm not just being a persnickety little whiny primadonna snot. I begin to wonder if we're passed the era of customer service and taking care of each other - that my naivety has overcome me and I'm just out of touch with how the world is these days.

Click to expand...

Spending 50-100k plus on vehicles scr-w them you paid good money on what should have any problems resolved your not persnickety you just want what you pay for. More people need to stand up for their rights or corporations will pass any crap they can on us.

Everyone should sit down and read the warranty that comes with anything you buy, I do we had our home built in 1998 with all Delta faucets their warranty is for life a shower on-off cartridge costs $40.00 I've had 2 replaced free of charge, same with kitchen and bathroom faucets all new free of charge. Very few people read and stand up for their rights with warranties look at all the repair kits sold at HD & Lowes. They just put the warranty on there for a sales pitch knowing very few will ever use them. I just sent a Makita charger & 8 lithium ion batteries to the service center for replacement free of charge.

Added:
As soon as I get all my Makita & Dewalt battery tools back I'm selling them to buy all Hilti tools the come with a 20 year warranty even for batteries.

Dewalt has a trade in program just take your batteries to them they'll give (1) 20 volt lithium ion for every (2) batteries any voltage or condition you trade in free of charge, for power power like a double bevel sliding compound miter they'll give you a new one for around $300.00 that sells at HD $700.00.

Who in their right mind would spend $64,000 on a Dodge product to begin with?