sportryder
11-17-2012, 07:00 PM
As the title implies,
I have not one, but two horror stories to tell my fellow Calgarians.
This gets really good, so take the time to read it. Grab a beer or a sandwich and read on. These are fairly long winded, but long stories make for the best reading, don't you agree?
Before I continue, just wanted to let everyone know that I have many years of auto technician experience, I perform my own maintenance and service all of my own vehicles as well.
Back in 2007, my girlfriend who I hadn't met yet at the time, purchased a 2008 Dodge Avenger RT from Renfrew Chrysler in Calgary, Alberta. She didn't have anyone there to supervise the transaction because her previous partner (who had been with her for 18 years) had only recently passed away from lung cancer. After meeting her and subsequently looking over her bill months later during a discussion on it's purchase price, I realized she was overcharged according to what she said she paid for the vehicle in relation to the written bill amount. According to her, they verbally told her a set amount but when the bill of sale was printed, (lines were not in the correct locations) the amount was about $7,000 more than they had agreed upon. There was a trade-in vehicle involved which confused the matter even more, however she did notice that the price wasn't right and asked them about it at the time of signing. (Remember, the lines were not even printed in their proper fields, so it was already difficult to read the document) They told her not to worry about it and just sign away, that they would take care of her.
After listening to her tell me this and after thoroughly inspecting the bill of sale, I could easily see that her story made complete sense. They charged her just over $7,000 more than she told me they were supposed to charge and that amount was over the suggested retail price the car should have sold for. The next day I decided to inspect the actual vehicle for the first time up close. I found there were numerous deficiencies all over the car, including paint problems. She only had the car for a couple months at this point.
In the months that followed trying to return this car or at least get the $7,000 amount back, we had lawyers involved, meetings at the dealership, numerous phone calls. Renfrew said they wanted to see the car to look at it's condition and that they would look at some sort of settlement over the matter. We dropped the car off in the exact same condition it was in when she obtained it. They provided a rental vehicle and said it would take a couple days to look it over. During this time they repaired many of the deficiencies without our knowledge, including repainting major parts of the car. They called us back a few days later telling us to pick up the car and return the loaner vehicle that day or she would have to start paying fee's for it, so we did. Basically, all they did was cover up all the problems to limit their liability on the $7,000 matter. Everything was handled by warranty, so they made even more money in the end, good for them.
With all the work we put in trying to return the Avenger, we were stuck with it and never even received the $7,000 back.
On to our second story...
In 2009, after having multiple problems with that same Avenger RT, (namely the brake light coming on every time the car was driven and other problems) we decided to get a 2009 Dodge Caliber SRT4 from Big 4 Motors here in Calgary. We told them about our bad experience with Renfrew and explained we didn't want another repeat of what had happened over there. This time I was in charge of the transaction and negotiated a fair deal on the price of the car and also even had them include the Mopar stage one kit in with the purchase. Things were pretty good, they did try and push the extended warranty on the car which I had to refuse numerous times but the transaction was pretty smooth and they did include the stage kit (partially).
The day we went to pick the car up for the first time, they charged us over $200 for the labor on the stage one installation. They told us it wasn't included with our negotiated price after arguing about it and got me to sign a form stating that the stage kit would void the warranty on the car if they could prove it. Pretty sad since I had a 2006 Supercharged Cobalt and Chevy's stage one kit for that car was totally approved under warranty (so is the case for many manufacturers included supercharger kits from even TRD) After taking possession of the vehicle, we noticed a couple deficiencies and brought it to their attention. Believe it or not, they instantly brought up the fact that we didn't take the extended warranty and tried to use it as a tool against fixing the deficiencies. Eventually, we were able to get them to fix everything except the rear spoiler which continued to keep getting loose. I ended up fixing it myself because the spoiler fell off again one day and almost scratched the back of the hatch.
Every time we had any small issues with the car that I didn't have the time or couldn't be bothered to deal with, the service advisors would give us a run around. One time the shifter cap came loose and they told us they would have to replace the entire shift linkage under warranty to fix it. I was so fed up about hearing this, that I simply JB welded the damn thing back on and it's been just like new ever since.
Fast forward almost three years later (warranty is only three years for SRT vehicles WHY?) after receiving the latest results from an oil analysis, (Yes, I actually have the oil analyzed in all of my vehicles), it was brought to my attention from my oil lab, that there was a fuel dilution problem with the car. Basically too much fuel was getting into the oil and compromising the oils ability to protect the engine. This problem was severe according to the analysis as the oil was already breaking down in as early as 1800miles (3,000KM's).
I discovered this problem two months prior to our warranty expiry date and the date was clearly marked in the lab reports so I decided to take the precautionary method in changing the oil again and checking to see if results would be the same with the factory ECU installed. This car had really low mileage on it (only 10,000 miles) so I was also considering the engine hadn't even worn in yet with from the previous oil sample. After putting another 2000 miles on the car and getting the oil analyzed again, the problem was still present.
We contacted the dealership right after receiving this second problematic lab result and they told us they wouldn't accept any lab documents and that they would have to do their own oil analysis and perform their own assessment at our expense. I mentioned that every time over the years we had an issue with the vehicle, this was the exact same poor experience we had received, time after time. I decided to contact Chrysler Canada regarding this issue directly and they told us they wouldn't do anything unless we took it to a dealership at our expense. Of course there was no mention or guarantee that they would cover any charges once they found the problem either.
Days later, Chrysler Canada called asking to conduct a phone survey regarding our experience with the matter. I told them I was absolutely not satisfied, especially after recently purchasing two vehicles in the past with deficiencies, dishonest poor service and downright theft. No one ever called me back to rectify the problem.
So I present these lovely little stories to you to do what with you will.
Your probably wondering, why don't I just fix the problem if I have the tools and experience to do it. Oh, I most certainly will, but it's the point behind the lousy customer service I want to get across here. The dishonest attempt at trying to lure inexperienced customers into the money pit, especially those recovering from a recent death. There's a reason why these companies are fighting bankruptcy
Don't get me wrong, I love my CSRT4. It's an awesome car and I fully support what the manufacturer has done with these cars. It's the dealerships here that deserve the boot.
By the way, anyone on here have a set of SRT4 Neon 04-05 injectors? Part Number 04891574AB they want to sell at a low price? I need to replace those stockers.
I have not one, but two horror stories to tell my fellow Calgarians.
This gets really good, so take the time to read it. Grab a beer or a sandwich and read on. These are fairly long winded, but long stories make for the best reading, don't you agree?
Before I continue, just wanted to let everyone know that I have many years of auto technician experience, I perform my own maintenance and service all of my own vehicles as well.
Back in 2007, my girlfriend who I hadn't met yet at the time, purchased a 2008 Dodge Avenger RT from Renfrew Chrysler in Calgary, Alberta. She didn't have anyone there to supervise the transaction because her previous partner (who had been with her for 18 years) had only recently passed away from lung cancer. After meeting her and subsequently looking over her bill months later during a discussion on it's purchase price, I realized she was overcharged according to what she said she paid for the vehicle in relation to the written bill amount. According to her, they verbally told her a set amount but when the bill of sale was printed, (lines were not in the correct locations) the amount was about $7,000 more than they had agreed upon. There was a trade-in vehicle involved which confused the matter even more, however she did notice that the price wasn't right and asked them about it at the time of signing. (Remember, the lines were not even printed in their proper fields, so it was already difficult to read the document) They told her not to worry about it and just sign away, that they would take care of her.
After listening to her tell me this and after thoroughly inspecting the bill of sale, I could easily see that her story made complete sense. They charged her just over $7,000 more than she told me they were supposed to charge and that amount was over the suggested retail price the car should have sold for. The next day I decided to inspect the actual vehicle for the first time up close. I found there were numerous deficiencies all over the car, including paint problems. She only had the car for a couple months at this point.
In the months that followed trying to return this car or at least get the $7,000 amount back, we had lawyers involved, meetings at the dealership, numerous phone calls. Renfrew said they wanted to see the car to look at it's condition and that they would look at some sort of settlement over the matter. We dropped the car off in the exact same condition it was in when she obtained it. They provided a rental vehicle and said it would take a couple days to look it over. During this time they repaired many of the deficiencies without our knowledge, including repainting major parts of the car. They called us back a few days later telling us to pick up the car and return the loaner vehicle that day or she would have to start paying fee's for it, so we did. Basically, all they did was cover up all the problems to limit their liability on the $7,000 matter. Everything was handled by warranty, so they made even more money in the end, good for them.
With all the work we put in trying to return the Avenger, we were stuck with it and never even received the $7,000 back.
On to our second story...
In 2009, after having multiple problems with that same Avenger RT, (namely the brake light coming on every time the car was driven and other problems) we decided to get a 2009 Dodge Caliber SRT4 from Big 4 Motors here in Calgary. We told them about our bad experience with Renfrew and explained we didn't want another repeat of what had happened over there. This time I was in charge of the transaction and negotiated a fair deal on the price of the car and also even had them include the Mopar stage one kit in with the purchase. Things were pretty good, they did try and push the extended warranty on the car which I had to refuse numerous times but the transaction was pretty smooth and they did include the stage kit (partially).
The day we went to pick the car up for the first time, they charged us over $200 for the labor on the stage one installation. They told us it wasn't included with our negotiated price after arguing about it and got me to sign a form stating that the stage kit would void the warranty on the car if they could prove it. Pretty sad since I had a 2006 Supercharged Cobalt and Chevy's stage one kit for that car was totally approved under warranty (so is the case for many manufacturers included supercharger kits from even TRD) After taking possession of the vehicle, we noticed a couple deficiencies and brought it to their attention. Believe it or not, they instantly brought up the fact that we didn't take the extended warranty and tried to use it as a tool against fixing the deficiencies. Eventually, we were able to get them to fix everything except the rear spoiler which continued to keep getting loose. I ended up fixing it myself because the spoiler fell off again one day and almost scratched the back of the hatch.
Every time we had any small issues with the car that I didn't have the time or couldn't be bothered to deal with, the service advisors would give us a run around. One time the shifter cap came loose and they told us they would have to replace the entire shift linkage under warranty to fix it. I was so fed up about hearing this, that I simply JB welded the damn thing back on and it's been just like new ever since.
Fast forward almost three years later (warranty is only three years for SRT vehicles WHY?) after receiving the latest results from an oil analysis, (Yes, I actually have the oil analyzed in all of my vehicles), it was brought to my attention from my oil lab, that there was a fuel dilution problem with the car. Basically too much fuel was getting into the oil and compromising the oils ability to protect the engine. This problem was severe according to the analysis as the oil was already breaking down in as early as 1800miles (3,000KM's).
I discovered this problem two months prior to our warranty expiry date and the date was clearly marked in the lab reports so I decided to take the precautionary method in changing the oil again and checking to see if results would be the same with the factory ECU installed. This car had really low mileage on it (only 10,000 miles) so I was also considering the engine hadn't even worn in yet with from the previous oil sample. After putting another 2000 miles on the car and getting the oil analyzed again, the problem was still present.
We contacted the dealership right after receiving this second problematic lab result and they told us they wouldn't accept any lab documents and that they would have to do their own oil analysis and perform their own assessment at our expense. I mentioned that every time over the years we had an issue with the vehicle, this was the exact same poor experience we had received, time after time. I decided to contact Chrysler Canada regarding this issue directly and they told us they wouldn't do anything unless we took it to a dealership at our expense. Of course there was no mention or guarantee that they would cover any charges once they found the problem either.
Days later, Chrysler Canada called asking to conduct a phone survey regarding our experience with the matter. I told them I was absolutely not satisfied, especially after recently purchasing two vehicles in the past with deficiencies, dishonest poor service and downright theft. No one ever called me back to rectify the problem.
So I present these lovely little stories to you to do what with you will.
Your probably wondering, why don't I just fix the problem if I have the tools and experience to do it. Oh, I most certainly will, but it's the point behind the lousy customer service I want to get across here. The dishonest attempt at trying to lure inexperienced customers into the money pit, especially those recovering from a recent death. There's a reason why these companies are fighting bankruptcy
Don't get me wrong, I love my CSRT4. It's an awesome car and I fully support what the manufacturer has done with these cars. It's the dealerships here that deserve the boot.
By the way, anyone on here have a set of SRT4 Neon 04-05 injectors? Part Number 04891574AB they want to sell at a low price? I need to replace those stockers.