In 2007 I bought a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500. The salesman was excellent but the service department and store managers were insulting and deliberate liars.
On my way home after I purchased the vehicle I heard a brake noise. Being a mechanic for the Federal Governement before I retired, I knew exactly what the problem was. The next day I called the salesman and he advised me to talk to the Service Manager, Rick, when I came in to have accessories installed. Again, on my way home from the dealership the truck made the same noise. Early the next day I rturned to the dealership and again told Rick that the brakes were making noise and because the noise happened at speeds lower then 25mph, I suggested that the driver's side caliper was sticking. Rick guaanteed me that he would fix the problem because I had already reported the problem before the dealership warranty expired.
At my convenience I brought the truck back to the dealership. Three hours later Rick called me and told me that my truck was fixed and ready. When I got to the Service Department I read the service invoice that stated that the driver's side rotor was removed and resurfaced. When I walked out to the truck I noticed that the brake rotor was still shinny and the lug nuts, which I had previously marked before going into the service department were still in the exact same position. I was way too upset to complain to Rick at this point. After cooling off overnight, I called my salesman who told me that he was going to transfer my call to the General Manager.
The General Manager told me that he did not believe that Rick had lied to me because, "Rick is an award winning, CarMax trained, Service Advisor. I then hung up on the arrogant prick.
I filled out the online complaint form on Corporate Headquarters website. After a month of having no reply I again emailed, and after not recieving a reply again, I called my complaint in. The representative told me that there was no way CarMax was going to honor their guarantee because it was a brake problem that was probably due to my driving habits. When I confronted her with the informaton that the brakes were making noise less then a half hour away from the dealership, she again replied that it would not be covered. I asked to speak to her supervisor and at that point she told me that her position was the highest we could go.
I took my truck to my trusted mechanic who told me that the front brake rotors were so warped they would shatter if resurfacing was attempted They also advised that I stop putting brake noise spray on the rotors because a residue was forming on the non-contact surfaces. I told then that I had not put any such thing on the rotors. The owner of the shop escorted me to the work bay where he showed me the residue and then told both myself and his mechanic that the residue was WD-40.
I again called both the selling dealership and corporate offices who both again told me that they would not honor their guarantee.
Before going into the hospital for hip replacement surgery, I replaced the rotor and caliper on the driver's side. Ow after 10,000 miles on my home brake job, the brakes make no noise what so ever. I also contacted the Dodge Factory Representative for my area who informed me that there were a few hundred 2005 Dodge Ram 1500s that were recalled because of a bad batch of calipers which the factory recieved from TRW. The recall had long since expired.
To add to this, at the beginning of winter 2010 the engine light came on. I again took the truck to my trusted mechanic who reinstalled wires to the computer and speedo assemble. He also reported that the truck's computer memory showed numerous warning codes that were turned off starting on 12. Apparently, the truck was returned to the original dealership and they auctioned off the truck, and in turn CarMax bought the truck at an auction and again made an attept to erase (Or hide) the trouble code.
"CarMax, just another slimy dealership" is what their slogan should be.
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