So i brought my xfire to chrysler for a few things at 50k miles. Some fluid changes, 4 wheel alignment, suspension check. I also asked the mechanic to turn the key chirp on if he could. He said he was unable to and told me to take it to mercedes for that. No problem, just up the street, i arrived at mercedes. Went in the front office, and was greeted by a nice (but very fake) woman who sent me to parts, who then sent me to two ******** in the sales room. They seemed pretty annoyed, making faces like I farted or something. So this one ***** walks over to the mechanic and comes back saying he wont do it. I said "he wont do it, or he cant do it?" "he wont do it, its a liability thing." ******* tool bag, mercedes components and they wont touch it. So long story short i still cant get my chirp turned on.

 

Do a search on the chrip... you can do it yourself.

 

Welcome to the world of Crossfire service. Some of the Chrysler dealers don't have a clue & some of the Benz dealers turn up their noses at you.
If you can, keep trying other dealers. There are a few who are human & will treat you well.
Hey, hold it.....a liability thing?! What liability? The mechanic just didn't want to be bothered by your -sniff- domestic vehicle.
Pathetic.........

 

Maybe it's a Wisconsin response:

I would have farted before leaving. Juvenile to be sure, but immensely satisfying!

 

It's funny, maybe it's geographical location?? I mean, the local dealership (Chrysler) I can go to is usually twice the price and so I never have taken the car there. The MB dealer is 20 min further out of my way and I guess they realize I have money and welcome me with open arms


Have no problems at all with MBZ



Justin

 

A generous fiber diet combined with a stiff brew.........like Carlin used to say: "it's the density, like mustard gas".
But, for sure there are some decent dealers out there. I found a Chrysler dealer close to where I work. The service writer is friendly, doesn't blow me off & so far, so good.
Of course, I haven't had any major issues w/ the car..........

 

Hmm i read the thing about replacing the alarm, looks like a pain though. Could i buy it and bring it to my dealer to install? Or is that another forbidden liability issue? What happened to the good old days? Oh thats right, they're gone because some woman sued mcdonalds for serving her hot coffee that she spilt on her lap while driving.

 

Called the MBZ dealer to make an appointment for an oil change. They told me they only do Mercedes servicing. I told them that is exactly what they would be doing. The Service Advisor said he knew that, but still couldn't do it. All I wanted was an oil change. Why do I feel like a red-headed stepchild?

 

I brought my car back to the dealer, (classic auto campus), that I bought it from a couple months ago for a tire re-seal. Turns out I needed to replace the tire and I had it done there. I requested to keep my old tire and told them I would pick it up when I picked up my car. When I went to pick up my car they had put the greasy tire in the trunk without even covering it. Needless to say there was a thick dark ring in the inside of my trunk. When I brought a manager out to see the mark he just looked at me like it was no big deal and treated me like I was over-reacting. I am surprised that a well known and recognized dealership would do something so stupid and act the way they did. I will never take my car back to that dealership again.

 

Let's just say, see my post two-thirds of the way down here...https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...ead.php?t=7679

That being said, I'm booked in to the original dealer I bought from next week after I called about a couple concerns I had with the car after it being torutured at the other dealer that I was taking it to... The service manager looked into everything, and parts are on order... We'll see what happens I guess... Funny thing is, my seat still rocks almost an inch, and the previous dealer put in a warranty claim for replacing the seat "complete" ... So I am stuck with my seat for now....

I'll post what happens next week...

 

My uncle owns a Mopar dealership so any and every problem that crops up is immediately taken care of and at cost.

Hell, we warrantied my father's clutch on his SRT-4. Is that even possible?! Haha

 

I live in northeast Ohio and bought a new 2004 Crossfire from Classic Chrysler in Madison in March 2004.

The car was delivered with a dead radio and when I took it in for replacement the "Crossfire trained" mechanic spent an hour and a half trying to remove the radio from the back of the console before discovering that it was designed to come out through the front. In the process he had damaged the HVAC system which they have refused to repair.

When the car was seven months old it began handling badly and the windows started hanging up on the drip rails and the doors didn't close all the way. At first I thought it was failed welds between the body and the chassis but some kind soul on this board pointed me to the factory manual which I downloaded. At that point it became clear that the car was glued together and what I was dealing was failure of the adhesive joints.

I have e-mailed Chrysler's help line repeatedly and their answer is to try other dealers. One dealer refused to work on the car because they didn't have a trained mechanic (they were selling Crossfires). Another dealer made three appointments, the first two times they cancelled when I got there because they didn't have a rental, the third time they called me and told me not to show up as they had gone out of business.

I got an appointment with the local service representative from Chrysler which I missed because I got the date wrong. We did have a phone conversation during which he denigrated me repeatedly and told me the gouges left in the car by Classic were caused by a shopping cart.

I sent in the complaint card Chrysler includes in the manual/warranty package and recieved no response.

After six visits to Classic I called Jim Brown (the owner) and requested that he take the car back in accordance with Ohio's lemon law. He told me to file a complaint with the better business bureau.

I made an appointment at Junction Chrysler in Chardon and when I arrived the service manager looked at my list of problems and said that Chrysler wouldn't let him work on a car with that many problems. He also said that he wasn't responsible for damage done to the car by another Chrysler dealership (the gouges left in the doorsill when Classic failed to fix the seat heater). He later told me that a Chrysler dealership is only obliged to repair a car enough to get it back to the selling dealer.

I've bought another vehicle to drive because the Crossfire is frightening in even light rain.

 

John, you've been dealing with this for, what now, 3 years?
Find a lawyer........
If you have this all documented I would think a decent lawyer might be able to, at least, get you some reimbursement.

 

i know so many people who have had problems with Classic, and i cannot believe that people still go there for anything.

 

Sounds like Classic is a classic AH. My dealership, Bergey's, has been excellent to me. They have taken care of any big or little problem without question.

 

OK.... HERE WE GO!!!

So I took my car in to my original selling selling dealer last week with a laundry list of problems that none of the other dealers were willing to fix.... If you read my other post, you know what horror stories I have been through...I kept being told it's all normal...

Either way, my friend at Mercedes looked the car over for me on their mechanics wrench night and made a list... Took the list in to my selling dealer so they could verify the problems.... Parts were ordered in, and I brought her in on tuesday for repairs...

Wednesday I pickup the car and the service manager (Bill Brown) at Coquitlam Chrysler says the tech fixed everything... I've heard that before, I think to myself and prepare to be disappointed...So I hope in the car, which is spotless by the way, and I mean absolutely spotless inside and out, and drive away...


Clunk while popping clutch in traffic/shifting gears from drivetrain (aka "normal" driveline lash as I was told by previous dealers).... GONE

Slight vibration at highway speeds from rear of vehicle.... GONE

Part replaced: Driveshaft, rubber couplers, U-joints, center bearing


Clunk when turning back and forth while parking.... GONE

Clunk when pulling into my driveway while turning wheel... GONE

Part replaced: Upper and lower control arms/bushings/ball joints


Front end vibration/grinding sensation and slight slop when going over potholes/irregularities in road surface while driving through corners in a spirited fashion.... GONE

Part replaced: Wheel bearings/hubs


Steering wheel kickback and car tracking over road irregularities and during braking... GONE

Part replaced: Steering stabilizer (all fluid leaked out)


So moral of the story goes, if you can diagnose what parts need to be replaced, bring in a list from a Mercedes dealer with their letterhead, and go to your original selling dealer where the service manager is a human being and really down to earth nice guy that cares about his service department (and not some "nearing retirement" non-chelant, "yes man" that just doesn't give a $h_t and tells you it's normal, and people make mistakes even you when they screw up your car, and you see the internal work orders that say "TECH DON'T CHECK... NORMAL CONDITION") you will get satisfaction...

The clunking in the driveline has been going on for 3 and a half years... Finally resolved, and I actually enjoy driving in traffic somewhat now..


THANK YOU COQUITLAM CHRYSLER, MYSTERY SERVICE TECH, AND BILL BROWN!!!



Oh, and Ann if you are reading this, I still owe you an email... My apologies and thanks to you... I will send it to you tomorrow .... Work and meetings have been killing me all week..

 

Kurts I have a lawyer and we will get a court date in the not too distant future.

Arcrist asked about how he could expect to be treated by Chrysler dealers and I posted a response which was intended to point out that "Crossfire trained" mechanics are generally clueless and that many dealers and Chrysler HQ are willfully violating state lemon laws.

 

I've had hundreds of "dealer experiences" that span the range of results, from "Annie, get my gun!" to "You da Man!"

The latest was for bringing in my other car (Chrysler Jeep dealer) for fused reverse clutches in the auto trans - fixed under warrantee for no charge, and at the same dealer a replacement PCM in a different other car (Chrysler Jeep) that left my wallet flaming and my a$$ bleeding. But it was fixed.

I launched my Crossfire over a traffic island (International Drive and Galleria Drive in Tysons Corner) in the dark and rain. The steering wheel became misaligned - a symptom of whacked suspension geometry (not that flying through the air over a steep curb wasn't enough of a clue... )

I had brand new tires to mount anyway, and was lucky that the wheels were undamaged (amazing), so I took it to the Chrysler dealer to get the alignment and tires mounted. They told me they couldn't do it because they "didn't have the right equipment". They were going to job it out to Bubba down the street. I said no thanks and called the Mercedes dealer.

The Mercedes dealer welcomed me with open arms, with "Sir" this, and "Yes Sir" that. And from their perspective I was the jacka$$ because I showed up with all the relevant pages from the factory manual printed out and marked up with my instructions (tire install procedure because of sensors, suspension geometry and points about "repair nuts"). I just figured they might have the MB info but find the Crossfire specifics handy). But as well intended as you can be with specific instructions, dealers don't always like it coming from some "idiot" customer. Never mind I work for an aerospace company as an engineer...

Anyway, they "Yes Sir" me all the way through the process, hand me back my detailed-for-free car, with the old tires all disposed (wear bars showing), and the suspension all fixed. The bill was equal to the cost of a generic wheel alignment and four-tire mount job at a wheel and tire shop. They
kissed my a$$ one more time as I left and life was good.

I never got any disparaging run around, no disrespect, and all my needs were met. But here's a couple tips to help you get that service.

Like peter_k said, go in with a very specific and well documented laundry list of what you want done. If you are unclear, uncertain, or (heaven forbid) wrong, you have already made your first mistake. You just put a "Victim / Idiot" sticker on your chest.

Next, you make it clear in your nicest, most pleasant and polite way (practice if you're not good at this...) make it abundantly clear that you want your list worked completely with no excuses. Allow flexibility for their schedule and the delay for parts, but allow no compromise on what you want done. You're telling them:

• you know what's wrong,
• what's to be done, and
• what you expect when you come to pick up the car.

It's called "setting expectations". If you leave and the dealer is still not sure what you want, you just put a sticker on your back that says

"Kick Me!"

.

Perhaps one of the most important things is how you present yourself and your car. If you show up in greasy jeans with a filthy car, you just told the dealer that you and your car do not deserve respect. How can you expect them to treat your car with all the love you have for it, if you don't send that message when you show up? Make sure that car is spotless inside and out when you bring it to them. This silently tells them that:

• you care about your car,
• every little detail about its condition is known to you, and
• any screw up along these lines is going result in a bad response from you.

And your appearance - it's not too much to show up in your very best clothes. (The tux with the ruffly shirt is too much) but a sport jacket with a button up or polo shirt and dress slacks and shoes is just the ticket. The service writer is going to be standing there in his company costume with his name sewed on his breast, and you are going to be standing there in your "costume" that sends a powerful message -

• "I am not stupid" (if you are, better keep your mouth shut),
• "I have the means to deal with you if you screw up" (don't ever say that or give off that attitude), and
• in a very subtle way puts you over him (you are the customer, the customer is always right, he works for you, the customer).

If you're not dressed at least this well, you are putting yourself up as an equal, and potential as a subordinate person. You must come at them as the "alpha dog" or you have already set yourself up to be biotch slapped.

Do not under-estimate the importance of this point. Do your own experiments at stores - go in dressed like a street person, go home and change into some casual dress clothes, and go back and go to the same service person. You will be stunned at the difference in service.

Finally, remember that nobody is perfect, and you are going to be disappointed if you expect perfection. Stay flexible, and work with the dealer to reach the result you want. You might have to go back, stand your ground, and even repeat what you want several times. We live in a world where good service is pretty darned rare. You have to insist on it while maintaining a civil behavior. That doesn't mean you can't work your way up the management chain politely but firmly if you don't get what you want at first. Don't wait for the car to be done either - if the service writer isn't "getting it" just politely ask for the service manager or general manager. But the minute you flash the "A$$#0LE" card, you pretty much shoot yourself in the head so be nice.

And if you keep trying the same things and keep getting the same (lousy) result (the definition of insanity) it's time to try something (another dealer) else.

 

My wife has a '99 ML320 which is of course out of warranty. The local MB dealer gave her the same shitty treatment. Luckily we have a great private local garage that works on MBs and Beemers exclusively. That's where she goes now. I don't think your average MB dealer wants to see you unless you have one of their $100K models and call yourself "Doctor"

 

Hmmm... maybe that's my secret?