Jeep Dealership F*$%ed me

FreeSpirit

New Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2007
Location
Sandhills
Without getting into all the details, I just got the raw end of the deal on a warranty repair.
So what?
Well, I would like to know how I can go about finding the required parts and labor time for certain repairs. I know the repair shops have books that list this, though I don't know what they are called.
The dealership is pointing fingers at the warranty company and the warranty company at the dealership. I just need to know who is telling the truth so I know how to proceed.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Private messages are fine if you prefer.
Thanks in advance!
 
Is the warranty an aftermarket warranty? If so I just went throught that with American Guardian warranty. I broke down in Tennessee and I called the warranty company they got the tow truck lined up and a repair shop lined up. Well its a long story but in the end the warranty company had one time and the dealership had another time. From my understanding the dealer tech. can is asked how much time does he or her need to repair the vehicle. I will never go with a nother aftermarket warranty agian. That was the worst experience I have ever been through. They did not want to cover anything and I was stuck in Tenn. for 3 extra days because of them. Good Luck
 
I can give you the book times, warranty time and book time are different. If aftermarket warranty company they decide the time and the rate. Its the shops option to do it or not do it based on what they are going to get paid, or they say look your warranty is going to pay x you will need to be x in addition or take it somewhere else
 
Rear pinion seal and transmission to transfer case adapter seal was what I took it in for. When I dropped it off it was with VERY explicit instructions that if there was ANY problem with the warranty DO NOT BEGIN SERVICE ON THIS VEHICLE as I live an hour and a half away and MUST have this vehicle to get home.

Apparently english comprehension and communication skills are just a myth at this location.

Not only did they NOT call, they decided to do other repairs without asking, keeping it an extra day forcing me to find a rental and then drive back the next day - when I was told it was complete and left to go get it, I get there and it is 'you cant have it till we get payment from the warranty company and we dont have that yet'. They wouldnt let me pay my portion, wouldnt give me the jeep, and were complaining about 'this is how it always is'. She showed the parts listing and showed what parts they didnt cover and I was responsible for. Odd, it was in for SEAL repair and some seals were not covered. When I asked where those seals went (I swear I was being nice, curious to where they went since it seemed odd a seal wouldnt be covered in a seal repair) they couldn't tell me where they went. Call me crazy, but that throws some red flags up in my mind. Was it an accident entering in too many, did they do ANOTHER unauthorized repair, are they trying to get the difference in cost by charging for parts not used - these are all things going through my head.

As if that wasn't enough, some jackass made a comment about how if I was questioning it I just needed to take it somewhere else. THAT was pretty much the last straw - I had been calm up until then even with all the other crap. Do I not have a right to know what was done to my vehicle???? While I was waiting, I even overheard how one of the technicians put the wrong alternator in a vehicle - this does not inspire a great deal of confidence I promise you. They tried to tell me I was going to have to leave it and come back another day! It is sad when you have to turn into bitchzilla to get things done. When I put my foot down and read them the riot act, THEN suddenly everything was fine and here ya go have a nice day.

So my question was how many seals do you need to do those two seal repairs?

If warranty work is such a huge deal for them, WHY do they not tell you either they wont do the work or they will do it but be aware of this, this and this....and for crying out loud...you complain about the problems you have with them and go out of your way to find other repairs that need to be done while it is in there?!?!?!?
 
My first wrangler I had some major issues with jeep on a factory warranty in a similar situation. I ended up demolishing my gears. Took it in....told them to call me if they had any problems. They called me and told me my vehicle was ready.......get there and they had a bill waiting. I was told due to oversized tires I would not be covered. Told them fine they could take the gears back out since I never approved that. Needless to say after that I didn't go back and will never buy another vehicle from them. Mind if I ask if you could send me alil more on the details and which dealer. I'm thinking about a new jeep for the wifey and I've already got a long list of no no dealers in the area.
 
Jeep dealer tech chiming in for ya.

Rear pinion seal warranty time is 0.5 hrs. Customer pay/aftermarket warranty time is 1.0 hrs.

Tranny to t case adapter seal time under warranty for MOST Jeeps is 1.2 to remove and reinstall case, 0.2 hrs for each of the seals. That makes 1.6 hrs total under factory warranty. Customer pay/ aftermarket warranty time would be approx 3.0 hrs.

Let me know if I can ya out any more. If you give me year and model info I can get you specifics if needed.

Jody
 
Jeep doesn't like lifted vehicle and will point to that as the cause of any problem. BUT they like that people see that and buy their shit.. bottom line is... It needs to be in writing and on the paperwork. If not your SOL, and I'm sure if you read the mice type it clearly states that they hold a 'mechanics lean' on your vehicle and can sell it if you don't pay. And if you want to be a dick they can legally charge you storage fees.

Bottom line, you got bent over, pay the bill and get your shit back BEFORE you do anything bad. I think they can be over by 10% before they need to contact you anyway, and if you even hinted for them to 'do what it needs' or 'just take care of it' they probably did... My guess is they changed the seals on the tranny ? Maunal? AND the t-case input, that may or may not have required other seals/gaskets to get to those...

Then get a haynes/chiltons manual OR better just break down spend the $100 on a FSM (Factory Service Manual). The FSM will show and describe to you step by step in painful detail how to do that repair. Welcome to the world of jeeps... Learn to do it your self or Just Empty Every Pocket.......
 
I in NO way hinted to do whatever needed to be done. The other repair they decided needed to be done without asking - a radiator replacement because mine was 'leaking' - funny I check the fluids every few days and no antifreeze has been gone in the past 4 months.

The issue when I had to turn into bitchzilla was I was TRYING to pay them my part. They wouldnt take it until they had the warranty company payment in hand. They had gotten authorization for a specific amount before they began service. The warranty company was 'processing the paperwork', the job was completed and they were not going to let it go until they had it - even if that meant me having to leave and come back another day. After being jacked around the day before I was NOT about to bend over again.

Oh it is an automatic and not lifted.
 
Got your PM. The warranty times I posted were dead nuts correct.

You will have needed 1 rear pinion seal, 1 transfer case front input seal and a transmission extension housing seal.

I have done each of these repairs hundreds of times.
 
FreeSpirit said:
The issue when I had to turn into bitchzilla was I was TRYING to pay them my part. They wouldnt take it until they had the warranty company payment in hand. They had gotten authorization for a specific amount before they began service.
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You're confusing a factory warranty with an aftermarket warranty. The dealer doesn't know for sure they're getting paid, and they're not giving up their bargaining chip until they are paid in full.

YOU, the customer are responsible for the entire repair bill. You have a third-party warranty, ok, great. but if that company refuses to pay, guess what, it's still YOUR responsibility to pay up, and then you can take it up with the warranty company.

Dem's the breaks with an other-than-factory warranty. The title of this thread should be "My third-party warranty company fucked me"
 
aftermarket warrenty= garbage/waste of coin...just to let you know
We take them at our shop and I tell people up front you WILL NOT GET YOUR CAR BACK UNTIL THE BILL IS PAID IN FULL, BY SOMEONE. The warrenty company jerks the shops around telling us what they will pay (labor) to do a job and we simply tell them take your car somewhere that works that cheap because we don't. Those things by and large are an absolute ripoff. Think of them as insurance , it's the greatest thing going when they are selling it, but when you need it , it's a real pain in the ass.
 
The title of this thread should be "My third-party warranty company fucked me"
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I don't think so. The warranty company paid them as agreed. The dealership charged me for parts not used, after surprising me one day with having to get a rental, and then calling the next to say everything is ready come get your jeep, only to get there from driving 1.5 hrs and find out everything was not ready and they expected me to go home and come back the next day.

The dealership still gave shitty service all the way around, warranty company or no.
 
BIGWOODY said:
We take them at our shop and I tell people up front you WILL NOT GET YOUR CAR BACK UNTIL THE BILL IS PAID IN FULL, BY SOMEONE.
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THIS is just way too logical apparently for some. Even after stating up front if there was ANY issue to let me know right away, I didn't find out until after the fact this was even remotely a problem. I would have been MUCH more understanding had I been told beforehand - ESPECIALLY when I made it a point to ask.

Of course I was told when I dropped it off at 730am I would have it at 430pm and it was not until I called at 4 did I learn it would have to stay overnight AND they went ahead and did the radiator repair without permission.

Like I said crappy customer service all the way around.
 
Don't you have to Sign a repair Authorization for them to do work on your car.

this is my take on the way it should work.
1. you take you car in for a estimate
2. you look at the estimate and approve it by Signing
3. you pay for the repairs and only the repairs you agreed on. an hope your warranty service pays for most of it.
4. you drive it home

I works the same at the doctors office. if your heath insurance won't pay then you are responsible for the remaining balance in most cases.

My friend had something similar happen at the Chevy dealer. he had a 2000 s15 jimmy the trans when out at 50k. he took in in and they "rebuilt it" for $2400 then 5k mile later it blew up again. so when he went back they said they would not cover it because he had over size tires. he had 31's instead of the stock 235 75 r15's.

So I when down and had a little talk with the SM for my friend. He started to give me the same crap utill I showed him the repair Sheet will all of the replaced parts or lack there of.. They had "rebuilt" the trans but for some reason not installed a new pump or torque converter. and had only replaced the worn out parts and charged him for the complete rebuild

He got a new GM factory reman trans with a 50k mil warranty for free.
 
BIGWOODY said:
aftermarket warrenty= garbage/waste of coin...just to let you know
We take them at our shop and I tell people up front you WILL NOT GET YOUR CAR BACK UNTIL THE BILL IS PAID IN FULL, BY SOMEONE. The warrenty company jerks the shops around telling us what they will pay (labor) to do a job and we simply tell them take your car somewhere that works that cheap because we don't. Those things by and large are an absolute ripoff. Think of them as insurance , it's the greatest thing going when they are selling it, but when you need it , it's a real pain in the ass.
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We do the same thing here at my dealer. After we got bitten by a few warranty companies, we started holding vehicles or making the customer pay us up front and then ASSISTING them with their claims.

If you are gonna have a warranty, have a manufacturer supported one.
 
The local Stealership tried something similar to me many years back.
I had just had a disc fusion in my neck and couldn't do it myself. All I wanted was one U-joint replaced. I specified which one. When I went to pick it up, I had a new drive shaft, and new joints in the front(was wanting front most joint in rear replaced.)
I told them I only asked for one joint replaced. They said it needed what the did. I said well maybe it did, but I only asked for one joint, nothing more. I payed them the big price they had listed for one joint, and an hour labor. Got in my Jeep and left.
 
yeah. that all sounds like a pain for sure.

You gotta love those dealerships though, always trying to get out of work. Especially warranty work.

I dont get it..... as long as the dealership gets paid, why do they care if it is from you or warranty??? I mean, why cant they just tell the no shit jeep warranty that it broke random and its under warranty, why do they have to tell you no that isnt under your warranty, because you have dice hanging from your mirror.

I have 36's on my jeep and its an automatic. It has 4.56 gears, and that helps, but it by no means is a tow truck. I had been hauling my harley behind it and for quite a few hundred miles non-stop. I could tell that the tranny had gotten too hot, and that something just wasnt quite right with it.

I'm not mechaninc, so I couldnt jsut check it myself, but I wanted to make sure all was well, and let a dealership check it out, it was due to be serviced anyway.

I ask them how it turned out, and they say "well, considering your lift and tires... I would say thats about normal." ... What?? so im supposed to have a fucked up transmission because i have bigger tires??? Bullshit... Be honest, yes it is shifting funny, but i dont know why..... dont feed me that. Granted once I gave it a good tranny servicing it was all good, but for them to try and pawn off something as normal if u have bigger tires, when its not... thats just stupid.
 
I bought a 97 accord v6 from Paramount Honda in Morganton in 2001. I also got the extended warranty with it. I gave the car mad amounts of hell and the auto tranny came out around 80K. I (put the stock intake and exhaust on) called the dealership and they picked the car up on a rollback. The called me back a week later and told me that the tranny was fine. "Your tires are bald and they are spinning"-that is they shit they feed me. I told them they needed to check it again and if I needed to then I would come down there and give them a test drive to show them it was slipping. They called me the following day and said that I was right and they would get started on the rebuild ASAP.

New tranny for free baby
 
FreeSpirit,

I see your location is sandhills. You didn't happen to take it to McBrayer in Aberdeen did you? I wouldn't buy a hat from that place after all the shit I got when I bought my tow rig.
 
I took my truck in to a chevy dealer to have the oil changed and serviced while out of town on my honeymoon. the tech came back and told me they had to replace the belt also and I went nuts. I had just changed it less than 3000 mi before and told them I wanted to see the bad belt immediately. the belt showed no wear at all. explanation: tech's discretion. They saw I was out of state and dressed up and tried to get one over on me. find a mechanic you trust and stick with them.
 
its funny how, and my dad made this point one time, the have advertisements on tv of jeeps going through mud, or they show it on their brochures for vehicles, but if you bring you vehicle in to get warranty work done, they will often times say that the problem is related to taking you vehicle off road and that they wont cover it, even when it is something that is supposed to be covered under you factory warranty.

they tried to pull that on me one time and after my dad talked to them, not sure what he said to them but i have a good feeling, they sent me on my way and the warranty covered it. best thing was that the service manager that tried to tell me that my jeep would not be covered under warranty was fired a month later for similiar circumstances. the owner of the dealership was fed up with how he was running things.

the dealerships dont get paid the same for doing warranty work and that is why they try to steer free from having to do it at any expense to the owner. when they say that the lift voids you warranty they are talking shit out of their ass. if you read a warranty it clearly says that lifting a vehicle only voids the parts that you replace with after market parts. and if they try to say that the dealer can choose to void anything they want to then why bother buying an extended warranty. thats would be wasting money and stupid.

the service manager tried to tell me that the lift caused a u joint to go bad so i asked the mechanic who was working on my jeep what caused it to go bad and he told me "well its three years old and they go bad sometimes". after explaining this to the service manager he changed his story to "well it was mud that caused it to go bad". i am sorry, god for bid someone ever drives through a mud puddle or water puddle and gets dirt into their vehicle. even though i could have changed the stuff myself, i figured since it was under warranty might as well let them do it.

point is find a good dealership, make friends with the people who work there, but since you have an after market warranty may be a little more difficult.
 
Like highrollintj said... the lift only voids the suspension portion of ur warranty... not the warranty as a whole...

i want to add a bit more to that though.....

the dealership here in Jacksonville explained to me that getting a lift doesn't void your warranty, only that portion.... HOWEVER, it will flag your warranty. From that point on, if you have a problem with your vehicle, the dealership can not work on it until a regional technician (one that doesn't work at the dealership but visits several in a given area) has to come down and inspect your vehicle to determine if the trouble was caused by your modifications and if the warranty will cover it.

Sound simple enough right????

NO

He said that the tech will not come down simply because your rig broke. He comes down at his discretion and on his own schedule. That being so, most times its quicker and less trouble for people to pay out of pocket, rather than wait for some tech up in say raleigh to come down and say that ur computer glitch was not caused by ur lift and large tires.
 
Road_Warrior85 said:
Like highrollintj said... the lift only voids the suspension portion of ur warranty... not the warranty as a whole...
i want to add a bit more to that though.....
the dealership here in Jacksonville explained to me that getting a lift doesn't void your warranty, only that portion.... HOWEVER, it will flag your warranty. From that point on, if you have a problem with your vehicle, the dealership can not work on it until a regional technician (one that doesn't work at the dealership but visits several in a given area) has to come down and inspect your vehicle to determine if the trouble was caused by your modifications and if the warranty will cover it.
Sound simple enough right????
NO
He said that the tech will not come down simply because your rig broke. He comes down at his discretion and on his own schedule. That being so, most times its quicker and less trouble for people to pay out of pocket, rather than wait for some tech up in say raleigh to come down and say that ur computer glitch was not caused by ur lift and large tires.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, he is wrong. We never get our DM (district service representative) involved unless it is a case that requires a major component replacement or a higher level of tech assistance from DC's tech headquarters.

The warranty is not flagged by the dealership. Only the DM or DC themselves can do that. We may make a phone call to get the ball rolling in the case a wrecked vehicle needing accident related repairs or HEAVILY modified vehicles needing warranty coverage on a component DIRECTLY affected by the mods.

Just clarifying to help anyone out.
 
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