My husband had to take his 2005 Dodge Magnum into the dealer in our town because the accelerator was sticking. After an hour or so of diagnostic testing, we were told it was a warranty item, they had to order the part, and the car would be ready the next day.
We called at 10am the next day to check status of the car, and Dan, one of the service guys, was rather short and told us he would call us later.
At 1pm he called back to tell us that they had to do over 8 hours of labor on the car, and it turned out not to be a warranty item, and we had to pay them $525. He claimed that because my husband put an after market performance chip in the car, it voided our warranty, and therefore had to pay them. The chip is what malfunctioned and caused the problem all along, and he complained that we should have told him it existed and they could have not wasted so much time on it. Too bad my husband told the mechanic working on the car that it existed when he brought it in, but I guess that didnt matter to Dan. He then told us the car would be ready the next morning and to come get it before noon.
We went there with research in hand about the warranty. Turns out it is against federal law for any dealer in IL to void a warranty due to after market parts as long as the after market part does not change the emissions. This chip does not do that.
While trying to pick up the car we argued with Dan that they never called us to tell us this would not be covered under warranty and never asked our permission to continue working on the car, so the charges were not valid. He pretty much didnt care and told us we either needed to pay the $525 or we dont get the car, and said again that we voided the warranty with after market parts. I showed him the paperwork we printed out from JET industries that states that its against the law for a dealer to do this, and if the JET industries performance product causes labor that is not covered by warranty, then the dealer was to contact JET for payment, and not the customer, which would be us.
When I asked why he never called us to ask permission to continue working on the car, he said "your right I should have called. That's why I am being nice and only charging you 5 hours of labor, and not 8." Too bad the numbers dont add up to 8 hours of labor. There was 1.5 hours on the first day, and I will give them from 7:30-1pm on the next day, and thats with no one taking a break, which I know doesnt happen in a union shop. That's 7 hours, max. Plus we called at 10am, they knew then what was going on, but didnt bother to tell us.
Again, he refused to release the car without us paying the $525. He said we could take it up with his manager Monday morning. Its a Saturday and my husband needs his car to go to work, so what the heck are we supposed to do. I put the $525 on my credit card, and wrote "paying under protest" on the slip and we left.
On Monday morning we went to see Carmen, the service manager. Carmen was not any more helpful. She referred me to Chrysler corporation, and said if they felt we deserved a refund, we would get one. She also admitted they should have called to ask permission to do the labor, but by doing nothing she basically said too bad, so sad.
I called Chrysler to complain, told them my story, and they put me on hold to call the dealer. Came back a few minutes later to tell me that because this is a disbute about labor performed, they cannot help me, because each dealer is independantly owned.
Now, Carmen knew full well when she passed me off to corporate that would be the end result. How low is that. She wouldnt even deal with me, she just tried to make me go away. I also asked Chrysler the name of the owner of the dealer so I could talk to them. Their response is "we dont have that information". Ridiculous! What corporation doesnt have the names of the owners of their franchisees!?
Bottom line is I am now stuck with this $525 charge that I have to dispute, and I have to waste my time reporting them to the bbb, and sites like this.
My husband and I are a young couple and I know that they are trying to take advantage of us because of our age, and we look younger that we are. They think we dont know what we are talking about and that we will just give up on this. They messed with the wrong chick. I may end up having to pay this, but I will make sure I spread thier bad business practices to every person possible.
Never by a Chrysler product either, corporate will not help the consumer, they are out to protect their shady dealerships.
Sarah
Libertyville, Illinois
U.S.A.
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