Excuses overheard at the dealership.

[CRASH]

Here's a couple of good ones for you from friends and friends of friends:

After replacing the 6 speed in a Camaro for the 3rd time, the dealer told the customer to stop abusing the car, or they would not warranty the unit again. Their definition of "abuse" was driving over 75 mph. Like a rock.

Another proud Chevrolet owner used to commute between LA and Phoenix for business, in his black Camaro. After having repeated overheating issues while using the A/C during the summer in triple-digit heat, and taking it back to the dealer for service, the dealer told him to quit using the A/C when it was over 100 degrees outside. Chevrolet, The Heartbeat of America

There have got to be some really good ones out there, and I'm sure they are not confined to the General........

CRASH

 

[Bubb_Rubb]

This isn't repair-related, but I was shopping for a Nissan crew cab 4x4 pickup when they first came out; dealer didn't have any 4x4s in stock so he informed me that "a 2wd pickup will go everywhere a 4wd can go."

 

[Eagle]

Another proud Chevrolet owner used to commute between LA and Phoenix for business, in his black Camaro. After having repeated overheating issues while using the A/C during the summer in triple-digit heat, and taking it back to the dealer for service, the dealer told him to quit using the A/C when it was over 100 degrees outside. Chevrolet, The Heartbeat of America

God forbid you should use the a/c when you need it. It's provided only to add resale value to the car when your lease ends, ya know.

Sounds like the stories I've heard about people bringing Wrangler Rubicons in for warranty issues.

"How'd you break it?"

"Well, I went for a ride in the woods with my girlfriend."

"These vehicles aren't intended to be abused, you know. How can you expect us to repair it if you drove it off the pavement?" Jeep: We wrote the book on 4-wheel drive.

 

[BrettM]

The whole DC page about the Libby is quite amusing:

Articulation is the measure of how far suspension travels up and down to maximize available traction. In plain English – when one or more wheels are elevated, the Jeep 4x4 system keeps the other wheels on the ground longer to keep you moving.

The Jeep 4x4's exceptional approach and departure angles, as well as impressive ground clearance, can turn seemingly insurmountable obstacles into speed bumps.

Any trail can hold a number of wet surprises.

All Jeep 4x4s have been engineered with a higher air box to help prevent water from entering the engine. That, plus exceptional ground clearance, allows for excellent water fording capabilities.

 

[Ramsey]

thats when you throw the trail rated in their face

 

[red91]

Funny. The electric jeep that I'm looking at for my son, has higher ground clearance than the Liberty.

Go Figure.

 

[Ramsey]

and probably every bit as capable

 

[8Mud]

I was sure enough wrong about the XJ, when the wife traded in her 79 Grand for an XJ in 87 (actually one of the first here in Germany, you could drive months and not see another one), I had a look and was skeptical. I went through two pickups, during the same time she had her XJ, finally bought one of my own, an 89, go figure.
The dealer has tried to BS me so many times I´ve lost count. Jeep has gotten worse since they went high end. Dodge was really the best about customer satisfaction, but that was way back when.
If Caterpillar or somebody was to produce a work horse, along the scout line. Seriously galvnized, modular construction, an infinitaly variable transmission, maybe two/three cylinder motors (mutifuel)(or a bullet proof hybrid) and an easily expandable frame. That they could produce for less than say $25,000, Jeep and many other manufactures would likely take a 20% hit, and there margin would collapse. Ten year guarantee and 20 year warranty. GE would be a good company for that, simple bullet proof washing machines.

 

[Bubb_Rubb]

A friend's 2003 Chevy Tahoe won't hold air in three of the tires for more than a couple of days. Apparently the chrome plating is chipping off the factory-installed wheels and creates slow leaks around the bead of the tire. Chevrolet's response? "Carry a compressor."

 

[Goatman]

True story reply from a customer, when he was reminded that the cheap car he bought was sold "as is", when he came in later to try to get something minor fixed on it. "I know the car was sold as is, but I didn't know there was something wrong with it."


Another one from a customer. He bought a used Wrangler from the Jeep dealership, where my good friend Eric was shop foreman (Eric has been on a number of the Swamp runs with us). The customer was with my local club a few weeks after he bought the Jeep running the Dusy, and he bounced it so hard getting over obstacles that he broke a motor mount bolt boss out of the block. He came in to the dealership and said it had broken going over a speed bump, and wanted it fixed under the 30 day used car warrenty. Eric looked at the Jeep, looked under it, and asked the guy if he had met anyone in the Trailblazers, and the guy said yes he had. Eric then asked him if he'd been with them the last weekend running the Dusy, and the poor guy was busted, he couldn't keep to his story. Bummer for the guy, since it needed a new block, but nice try with the speed bump story.

 

[Eagle]

A good friend bought a 3-year old Chevy pickup from his nephew a couple of years ago. We know absolutely, because the nephew bought it new, that this vehicle has never been in an accident, and this is a family of car nuts so it was cherry and meticulously maintained.

So Joe was rather surprised to see that the paint was peeling off the hood in sheets not long after he bought it. Did a bit of research and found that year Chevy pickup had some paint problems. So he went to the local dealer and asked.

Dealer asked if he was the original owner. Joe said he wasn't, that he had bought it from his nephew. The dealer told him he "wouldn't" (not "couldn't") do anything for him. Apparently peeling paint is a defect if you're the original purchaser, but it's a normal condition if you're the second owner.

 

[GSequoia]

On the line of corporate speak...

Waiting on hold at my local Jeep dealer they've got the TJ Unlimited ad going..

"blah blah blah...And an added six inches behind the rear wheels for on road comfort and off road capability"

 

[Boatwrench]

Years ago worked as a mechanic for a buick dealership. Took my truck in to Chevy across the street for a flat cam lobe (79 K20 400cu.in). They called me at the Buick dealer service department to tell me my warranty was void because the truck had not been serviced by a GM trained mechanic. They could tell this because the oil filter was not an AC-Delco. Great detectives they were...deduced that because the filter was not OEM, couldn't have been a GM mechanic. Not good enough to hear "good morning Buick", "hold for service", "service department how can I help" or what ever the intros were. Goes with out saying the factory district rep (same for us and the Chevy dealer) got an earfull the next time he was in.

A couple of years go by and this genius of a service writer shows up working for the Buick dealer, I quit not much later. They went out of business within three years, couldn't help but wonder.....

 

[bjoehandley]

I work in a hobby shop and a few months back I had somebody call looking for a chassis for his son's electric Traxxas Stampede, the kid manages to break the front end off of it. I told him we had on in stock and he came in about an hour later, and wondered what the kid did to break the front of the chassis like that after spending now over 6 years beating the snot out of the E-Pede I had bought second hand. When he told me he was in for the 'Pede chassis and that his son had the chassis break on him, I asked him that the boy had run into, his answer was "I knew he was lieing to me!"

Last year we had a pain in the neck customer (one that I'm happy to report hasn't come back in since this incident) come in and start reaming me out because we sold him a aluminum Dynamite T-Maxx skid plate and it was a piece of junk. He told me that We should have know that He was going to jump the Maxx over his garage and should have to have sold him something stronger than the piece of crap. I damn neer bit my tongue of trying not to tell him where to shove said skidplate. Oh if it was only my store..........................................................

 

[churky89]

When I bought my XJ,@ 4 yrs ago,I was at a dealer just North of where I live
checkin out some OEM parts.
I'd only had the vehicle for maybe 3 or 4 months...Having seen all the relays under the hood,I walked out to the service dept and went to a desk that said
"SERVICE MANAGER"I asked the"SERVICE MANAGER"if there was anyway to ID the relays and what they were related to....
"SERVICE MANAGER"looked at me and blinked his eyes kinda like a chicken does and said.."WE DON'T HAVE ANY WAY TO KNOW"....That was my 1st and last trip to the particular dealer.......

 

[IH8RDS]

We have a guy in our club that has a Rubicon and went through a doosey of a time with them. The dealership accutually saw the club sticker on his Jeep and went to the website to find pictures to use aginst him. Then they sent a memo to all of the local dealerships and pointed them to our website.

Heres the thread on it

http://www.mpjai.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1832

 

[JohnJohn]

When the Ford Escape first came out I know a dealer here in Colorado was leading customers to believe that the "FWD" badge meant Four Wheel Drive. After a snow fall many customers realized it meant Front Wheel Drive. :doh:

 

[explorer]

It all depends on the dealer. Where I used to work modified Jeeps were routinely serviced, and had warranty repairs made. It would take multiple failures of one component with obvious abuse before they would deny warranty. We had a former employee who abused her Jeep pretty hard come in w/ the 5spd full of water and synchros shot. While they were putting a NEW trans in it one of the techs happened to find videos of her jumping it among other things. She didn't pay a dime.

 

[Grant]

Not so much an excuse but -

a friend has a Porsche Boxster S, which he uses for track days and Porsche club events. He visited the dealer to see if he could get the main oil seal replaced. This was the 4th time in 45K miles the seal was being replaced.

The service writer called to tell him Porsche N America had authorized the replacement under warranty (again) and said "Good news Graeme, the oil seal comes with a motor attached"

New motor because they had been unable to solve the problem in three attempts.

 

[8Mud]

Three,four years ago went into the Jeep dealer after work (had been cutting down trees), had previously looked at a used 98 white, was gonna see if I could make a deal.
Went in said hello to everybody (actually had half down in my wallet), stood there for most of an hour, everybody in the place studiously ignoring me. Nobody offered me coffee or anything, nobody else in the showroom. They were lounging around, everytime I´d try to make eye contact with anybody, they would look busy and pick up a phone, that didn´t ring or something.
Finally got tired and asked a girl (who actually said, what? I don´t understand you, being a wise arse about my accent), what I had to do to get some help, she said make an appointment. I said OK, would you do me a favor and look me up in the Dodge and Jeep database, so we have the information handy, when I come back. Got my appointment, put on a suit, went back asked for a card, showed him my cash, said anyplace in the world but here and left.
Sent the card and my story to Jeep, may be a coincidence but the signage changed shortly there after. I probably wasn´t the only one. And then the nicest guy in the world showed up at my house from thirty miles down the road (after calling and making an appointment), he pretty much showed me every XJ on the lot and then some, at my front door. I actually sat him next to my dogs favorite flower pot, a couple of times (in the garden), hoping for some entertainment. He pretty much tried to give the store away. After we had agreed on a fair price for a really nice Black 96, I got extended warranty, 2 extra sets of tires and rims, bike racks, anything I could milk out of the deal, Jeep hats for the nieghborhood, before I´d close. I actually sicked my wife on him, just to twist the knife, when something screwed up on her Jeep (my ashtray light doesn´t work, the temperature is wrong in my overhead consol). His brother is regional director. I actually have my wife call periodically, just to say hello, I can actually feel the guy crindge from thirty miles away, over the phone. :laugh3: