Tough situation! I'm going through it right now. I bought my car on Aug. 28. On Aug 30. it was in the shop for a new ignition assembly (keys wouldn't turn in the ignition). At the dealer, the Chrysler Road Side Service tow guy crashed the front end of my car into the driveway & scratched the entire perimeter.

Soooooo... the ignition is VIN specific & had to come from the independent vendor in Germany (the dealer is not able to contact them, has to go through proper channels). My ignition assembly and steering column parts took 23 days to arrive & 3 days to fix. All the while, my car was sitting in the ready lane in the service department with a damaged front end (they wouldn't fix the body damage until it was under it's own power). The car finally went to the body shop. I sent it back 2 more times to get it right. They scratched the leather on my steering wheel. Back again for a new air bag. One more time back for the scratches & touch up. All total = over 40 days.

I researched the Lemon Law. I qualified.
The first step after sending a letter to Chrysler documenting your problem is to participate in mediation or arbitration. Well..... as with many high end manufacturers, Chrysler doesn't participate in mediation. Your only recourse is a lawsuit or to go through a Zone Manager, which a referral to the zone manager has to be made through the service department. The consumer is not given their contact information. Keep in mind, calling Chrysler will get you no where as they tell you to contact the Zone Manager.

My service department called the Zone Manager and left messages for 12 days for him to call me. They mentioned to him that I should get a new car (per Lemon Law guidelines). I finally heard from the Zone Manager on the 13th day. The first sentence he spoke was "I'm ready to deal with your greed" (referring to the fact that I wanted a new car). I was floored by his comment! He said "I'm not buying back your car". After another insult & condescending remarks from him, I rattled off the Lemon Law guidelines verbatim and mentioned if I go to court, I could get 3 times the purchase price of the car for "Trouble Damages". He conceded that if I went to court I would win. He realized that I was informed. He started to back peddle & offered 3 months payments for my trouble. The cost of my insurance, time off of work, and trips to the dealer & car rental agency is more than 3 months payments.

At the end of the phone call he thanked me for handling the situation civilly. He said he usually has people cursing at him to get their problems solved. I stated that I was irate & offended by his remarks (but you attract more bees with honey than vinigar. I also knew that I wasn't going to be dealing with this guy anymore and anticipated going to the top).

Since there is no way to contact a manager of his, I am in the process of writing letters to Chrysler. It seems there are no checks and balances in their system. One point of contact (unreliable at that) doesn't prove to be a good system of problem resolution. It's such a shame. The car is perfect now. Their system is still flawed. The service guys are all on my side & know this guy is a tool. They say the person in this position usually lasts about a year. It's now a matter of principle. A customer shouldn't be at the mercy of being treated poorly by the only person who can solve their problem. Thanks for making it to the end of this post.

 

Interesting rea. Sorry to hear about your problems. Now you have everything documented with dates / times etc.. you should write to Chrysler customer services and contact your local trading standards as they sold you a car that is "not fit for purpose". If you are not happy with the current outcome of what has been offered then progress further.

 

They probably figure if the situation goes on long enough you will simply let it slide. Don't give up. They must abide by the lemon law. Be a pain in thier butts.

Dadof4

www.useyourpix.com

 

If you really want to strike a blow for poor customer service get your lawyer to draft your letter and send it, It may cost you few dollars, but the effect will be greater then your customer letter since it will go to the legal department after the higher ups get the first reading.

If it is worth it to you.

Regards,

What a tragic abortion of customer service. Shame on the zone manager for trying to strong arm you.

 

where can i find all the info on the lemon law. is there a web site. thanks for any reply.
shaner.

 

Here's a site with all 50 state's lemon laws.
http://www.autopedia.com/html/HotLinks_Lemon.html

 

Lemon Law in a nut shell (at least for CA, it may be similar for your state):
Also, refer to the pamphlet in your owner's manual.

1) Chrysler requires you to send them a letter stating your situation. Mail it to the address in your owner's manual.

There are 3 qualifiers for the Lemon Law:
All occur within 18 months or 18,000 miles (which ever comes first) after consumer received delivery.

1) Chrysler has attempted to repair the same problem 4 or more times.

2) They have attempted to repair a situation more than twice (2) that has the potential to cause death or serious bodily harm if the vehicle is driven.

3) Your car has been out of service because of the repair of any number of problems by the manufacturer or its agents for over 30 cumulative days since the delivery of the vehicle. (my scenario).


I contacted:
1) Department of Consumer Affairs
2) Better Business Bureau Auto Line
3) New Motor Vehicle Board
4) National Center for Dispute Settlement
5) Customer Arbitration Board

All with the same result: These agencies can not help because Chrysler does not participate in any type of arbitration. Chrysler withdrew certification of arbitration program effective Aug. 1, 2004.

If you are thoroughly fascinated by this, look up the "Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act" (Civ. Code, 1790-1795.7)

Also, if you are requesting a buy back & are met with hesitation from Chrysler or MBenz, about mileage look up:
Azubueze Jigbogu (plaintiff) vs. Mercedes-Benz USA (Defendant)
(Los Angeles Superior Court No. BC254905)


I hope none of you have any problems.

 

I won a lemon law action against Lincoln. At first they attack you to see how serious you are. Then they "low-ball" you with a crappy settlement, then their attorney sends you a treatening letter and just before it goes to court, they settle. If you're patient and have a good case, you'll win in the end.
I'm sorry to hear that DMC has dropped out of the arbitration program. It'll make it tough to get an easy settlement. I agree that an attorney will help your cause. It lets them know how strong you feel about the case.

 

We had a case with an engine noise in a Mercury that FMC first admitted and then denied when they couldn't find it. We went to the Attorney General's office. They did all the work after we documented the problem. The outcome was that FMC (the dealer) rebuilt the engine with no further hassle. We never had to get an attorney because the Attorney General's office did all the work for us. However, that probably depends what state you live in.

 

I'm in Florida and they have a strong lemon law. You're right, the Attorney Generals office was very helpful, but the Attorneys letter really helped.

 

Did you get this setteled ? Did you buy or lease ? What dealer in SCal was it.And with new XFs is a free rental .Didn't they give you one ?

 

http://www.nationallemonlawcenter.com/arizona/



Been there....done that... came out fine