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General Dakota Board
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Bill Smith
Dodge Dakota
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6/23/2002
23:42:31
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 Subject: independant shop ripoff
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ok we have a dealership good or bad vote going.... I ask again, has anybody ever been riped of by an independant garage? I've still only seen ya'll fussin about the dealers. can't believe all the crooks just work for dealerships no mater what brand your talking about! Yes I was one of those b@sterds at a dealership you talk about. got fed up with being called a crook,and now work elsware. Just would like to know!
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Dak-five-oh
Dodge Dakota
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6/24/2002
03:36:25
| RE: independant shop ripoff
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The worst one that I have ever experienced was on my 91 ford escort (POS) but when I was in highschool it worked and was free. I had it in the shop to get a new clutch put in it. well the shop did it for cheaper then everyone else I could find so I went with them. a year later I hear a funny ound from the tranny and explore. I seems they had broken the bell housing where the speedometer attached and repaired it with liquid metal. Of course they refusde to do anything about it and the tranny exploded a short time later, spider gears shot out the side. It was nice carnage but I was very Pi$$ed. and so was my dad who owned the car.
5/0
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IntenseDak39
*GenIII*
6/24/2002
07:03:58
| RE: independant shop ripoff
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i had taken my 82 lebaron to a shop for a tranny overhaul. They did crappy work from the start and my dad just took it there because it was cheap. Well you get what you pay for. After about 2 months it broke again and since it had a six month warranty on it, i took it back there. The people lied and said my flywheel had broken this time so they charged me full price again to fix that and for the towing. At the end of the six month warranty the tranny went again and i took it to them and they said they would only charge me for parts but the bill ended up being more than the first overhaul....
hmmmmmmmmmmm..................
lieing sacks of sh!t!
since then i have always worked on my own vehicles.
oh.... and just to let yall in fort worth know... its off of east berry street (bad part of town). The people there were such crooks that they charged me $5 to jumpstart my car!!!!!!!!!!!!
intensedak39
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Todd W
GenIII
6/24/2002
09:50:12
|  RE: independant shop ripoff
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The only time I've been stiffed was when I had the tranny rebuilt on my old 1980 Chevy 1/2ton. Told the guy I wanted a shift kit in it, he said no problem. Rebuilt the tranny, cost me $150, and gave me a 1 year warrenty.
Two months later I drove it 4 hours away to go to college. A month later, went out to the truck to find a puddle of tranny fluid the size of small lake under it. The bastard at the shop refused to refund my money, instead telling me I had to get it down to him to get it fixed, and he wouldn't pay towing costs. Ended up getting it done at a different shop for $100, they told me that the guy never rebuilt it, just changed some seals. When it came apart, it damaged the internal casing, so I basically ended up with a new tranny.
Last year my Brother's ball joint went bad on his '91 Mecury Cougar. He bought a ball joint with the intention of doing it himself, but couldn't get the old one off so we took it to a local shop. We've had work done there before, but it had just changed ownership. Cost him $75 to get the ball joint done. Two days later he was driving in a parking lot, and the entire passenger side assembly (The side with the formerly bad ball joint) fell apart. The wheel, brakes and all, went one way and the car fell onto the pavement. Thank -god- he was in a parking lot. Turns out the ball joint wasn't installed right, and failed, but they also forgot to tighten some other things down they had loosened.
Final results? They weren't warrentying it because we didn't buy the ball joint from them. They insisted that it was the ball joint that failed and caused everything to fall apart. Yeah, right... ended up getting it fixed elsewhere. (But now boycott the other place, which has since been sold again I think)
'00 RC Sport Forest Green, 3.9L, 5-speed 3.55, Hurst Comp-Plus Shifter, Clear-Corners, Speed-Glo gauges, Airaid Intake with relocated IAT, Autolite 3923s, Ported Throttle Body, Borg & Warner Cap/Rotor, Accel Coil, JBA 9mm Wires, JET Stage II
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Manuel
Dodge Dakota
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6/24/2002
11:23:49
| RE: independant shop ripoff
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I had a '79 Ford Bronco in high school. I had an independant shop drop in a 429 in it. First, the price started low, but went up when he actually got it. I still couldn't say it was overpriced, though. But I couldn't get the thing to pass emmission testing. He tried to tell me it was "tune-up stuff" after I had already done that. Well, I finally took the bastard to small claims court and won the cost of taking it to an independent shop who knew what he was doing and had it fixed. I think dealer service is overpriced, so if I NEED to take my car or truck to a mechanic, I'll take it to an independent. I'll check the better business bureau for recommendations. Also, in Colorado, we have a consumer advocate with a radio show named Tom Martino. I'll check his website for recommendations as well. FYI it's www.troubleshooter.com.
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Rob454
Dodge Dakota
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6/25/2002
01:54:10
| RE: independant shop ripoff
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I stopped going to independent shops a while back. I had a 88 crew cab checy 4x4. it had a shaking problem when going over bumps. I took it to a shop down th street that specialized in frotn ends. they said frotn axle rebuild 1200$. i said go ahead. I got it back paid for it and took it home on the way home it did the same ting it was supposed to be fixed for. I went back and told the guy its still doing it. he said he will fix it. Got the carb back 4 days later and I had to go out and find the hub nuts cause they broke them. anyway I get it back its still doing it. I said F it Ill call them up I told the guy im disputing the charge with my credit card and thats that. It ended up being after all that work and $4 they were installing the races cockeyed so the whole rim and spindle was wobbling. I ended up fixing it myself. i ahve a warranty on my dakota so it goes to the dealer for warranty work but I do all my own maintenance. I keep my receipts so this way they cant say it wasnt done. theonly thing I dont do is tranny fluid changes. i jsut pay them to do it cause its a pain in the ass and its really messy
Rob
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street guy
Dodge Dakota
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6/29/2002
16:01:07
| RE: independant shop ripoff
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$450 for a front brake job from Dan R's in oregon ohio. Went to dealer a few weeks later he said same work and parts was worth $250 from him
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bowtiecrusher
Dodge Dakota
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6/29/2002
17:35:32
| RE: independant shop ripoff
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look at the prbs this guy had :)
3/29/99 - First notice 5-speed transmission pops out of 1st gear when pulling out (pops into neutral) - Not sure it its my fault (not putting it in gear fully) or if the transmission is faulty.
4/06/99 - Confirm that is NOT me, and take it to the dealer. (Krause Dodge in Schnecksville, PA.) While waiting for the service manager to return from inspecting another customers car, I notice about an inch long crack in the paint on the bed near the passenger side tire wheel well, along with a slight upwards ding (service manager also confirms this is a factory defect, and will have it repainted, he's unsure what they'll be able to do about the dent.) He took my Dakota for a test drive and repeated the problem with the transmission.
4/13/99 - Spend 3 hrs waiting at the dealer (per a conversation, he wanted to make sure that the linkage, or anything else wasn't causing 1 st gear to disengage, and if the transmission was bad, to give me a rental car and have them fix it. Well, they confirm that it is a bad transmission, but they don't have any rental cars, so I'm out of luck until next week.) - I request a new transmission be installed.
4/21/99 - Another Appt, drop the Dakota off to be fixed - guess what, NO rental car, even though that was the reason we scheduled 4/21 to drop it off, because that was the next time they had rental cars available. I get stuck driving a Dodge Sprint that is sitting in the back of the service garage (I think that's the name of the car, it was a piece of crap) Apparently they use this vehicle to run errands and its been beat to hell. To top it off, there's less than ¼ tank of gas in it! I'm also informed that he talked to the regional service manager, and he tells him to fix the transmission, instead of replacing it. I tell him to call the regional manager back and demand a new transmission, after all, this is a NEW truck!
4/24/99 - Go back to the dealer to pick up a decent rental car, a Dodge Stratus.
5/1/99 - Get my Dakota back from the dealer. (Without my Dakota for 11 days.)
5/30/99 - Notice more flaws in the body and paint. I talk to the body shop about this, and we decide to schedule an appt after my return from North Carolina.
These addition flaws include:
1. Overspray on clearcoat on passenger side runs from the club cab section to halfway up the passenger door.
2. DODGE decal on tailgate starting to peel off.
3. Flaw on drivers side door black decal.
(On vacation in North Carolina) - Notice A/C isn't as strong as normal, the cold air coming out was barely cold at all.
6/13/99 - (5992 miles) Truck overheats while driving on Interstate 81 near Harrisburg, PA (returning home from N. Carolina.) The check gauges light came on indicating it was overheating. Luckily, there was a rest area within roughly 1-mile. So, I pulled into the rest area around 7pm. I opened up the hood to see antifreeze spewing out of the radiator (and any other place the pressure could force it out of, hoses, etc.) I call the Chrysler customer care line and spend 15 minutes on hold but am finally able to get a tow truck sent. Around 8:10pm, the tow truck arrives to tow it to the nearest dealer. Of course, where the heck am I going to get a rental car at 9pm on a Sunday night? So, I'm forced to buy antifreeze from a local gas station (hoping this would work.) I filled the radiator with a 50% water/antifreeze combination. I get back on the road, only to have the engine overheat again within 2000ft. I pull into another gas station and check out the engine. Thinking the radiator might be leaking, I look for leaks and find none. About 15 minutes later, I hear a gurgling sound coming from the engine (Like the thermostat had opened allowing coolant back into the engine.) I check the radiator and am now able to fill it up w/ the proper amount of fluid. (Before it wouldn't take in what it should.) After this, the engine runs normally, although the engine doesn't seem as responsive as before.
6/14/99 – discuss the overheating w/ the service manager at Krause. A technician hooks my Dakota up to a computer and of course, nothing is wrong according to it. The technician does notice where the antifreeze spewed out around the thermostat gasket. Its decided to install a new thermostat when I drop the truck off for body work next week.
6/21/99 - Drop truck off at the dealership to have the bodywork done.
6/25/99 - Pick up my truck (without truck for 4 days.) Sometime between 6/25 and 8/16, I get a survey form from Chrysler about my service Krause Dodge, well I didn't give them negative marks, but I didn't give them positive marks either. About a week later I get a call from the service manager at Krause Dodge. I'm still furious that the engine overheated in the first place, and basically I told him how I felt about all the garbage. Also that I'm out a couple hundred dollars because of it by buying antifreeze, gasoline to drive back and forth to the dealer, my time, wear and tear in the truck, etc.) He then states that no dealer will refund money for that, well that might be true, but they might throw in a free oil change or two.
8/16/99 - Take my Dakota to another dealer (Lehighton Chrysler) for a bunch of problems, but mainly the loss of power since the overheating. I spend 6 hrs there, but it is time well spent. The mechanic takes it for a test drive and also hears the engine ticking I've been hearing also. He hooks it up the computer, which of course, says everything is fine but he doesn't believe the computer. So he calls Chrysler, and they have him do a number of tests, one of which was a 'Compression leak down' test. If I understand it right, the results should be within 10% of each other. Well, he gets results of 9% all the way up into the 40% range. Something is definitely wrong with the engine. Supposed to get a call back on 8/17 because they couldn't get a hold of Chrysler in the afternoon of 8/16 to upload the data from my truck.
8/17/99 – get a call from a service rep at Lehighton Chrysler. They talked to Chrysler, who apparently wants them to do a Magnaflux on the heads to check for cracks, although the likely scenario is the valves are bad. (Also notice since leak down test, the engine now lurches, like something else has gone wrong with the engine.)
8/19/99 - The new dealer talked to Chrysler again. They want him to take the engine apart, and make sure all the parts are up to factory specs
8/23/99 - I came home today to a phone call from Krause Dodge, the place where I bought my Dakota. The service manager tells me that he just got the certified letter I sent to them, and that their district manager wants to see the truck and talk to me.
8/24/99 - Opted not to return the service managers call, and discussed talking to the district manager at the dealership I'm currently going to. Turns out that their district manager is talked to via phone, as she does not go around to the individual dealerships.
8/25/99 - Received a call from Daimler Chrylser today. They just received the certified letter that I sent to them.He gave me a case number, and advises to have the dealership set up an appointment with the district manager. I call up the dealership and speak to the service manager, and find out that the DM from the previous dealership wants to see my truck also. And he'll get back to me tomorrow morning about whats up.
8/26/99 - Stop at Dealer #2 in the afternoon. He's been calling the DM all day, w/ no response. Advises I call Chrysler and see what they want to do. (As far as Customer Satisfaction goes.) Have an appointment to get the truck repaired on monday morning (8/30)
8/27/99 - Call Chrysler about the District manager problem. They suggest talking to dealer #2 again, and scheduling a conference call with their district manager. I stop at the dealer, who calls his DM, and gets an answering machine (He has it on speakerphone that I can hear) and leaves a message for her to call him back ASAP.
8/30/99 - Drop my Dakota off at Lehighton Chrysler Plymouth. Get a Dodge Neon as a rental.
8/31/99 - I stop at Lehighton Chrysler to see if the DM ever returned the service managers phone call. Nope. Also, find out that the 'rings?' on my engine are messed up, so they have to wait for the parts to come in. (the engine is currently out of my truck.) So, I call chrysler upon my return home, and inform them that I'm extremely unhappy w/ the situation.I then inform them I'm tired of all the crap going on with my truck, and that I want a new truck. The customer service rep agrees with me, and that he'll have his 'boss' call me back. Guess what, doesn't happen.
9/01/99 Still don't hear back.
9/02/99 - Again, No call back.
9/03/99 - called customer service again. I was basically told that they called my servicing dealership, who told them the same thing w/ the district manager, and that the engine was still out of my truck. Also told, that if I want a new vehicle, I will have to begin Customer Arbitration / Lemon Law action. I Send a certified letter to Chrysler Customer Arbitration. Now it gets interesting.
9/13/99 - Got my truck back from the dealer (Without truck - 15days) It seems to work fine now. (Noticed some problems after I picked it up tho: Black front bumper scratched, Rear Right wheel flare damaged, bed scuffed, and scractches under hood.) Heres what they fixed / found wrong:
Performed leak down test on engine (pressure test) results for 8 cylinders were: (from what I was told, the results should be below 10%, and all values should be within 10% of each other, nice results huh?)
1 - 32%
2 - 21%
3 - 9%
4 - 10%
5 - 20%
6 - 22%
7 - 21%
8 - 35%
Rings, Pistons - Test and replace, 4 ring pkg, 8 brg pkg --connecting rod, 1 indicator--engine oil level, 2 coolant, 1 oil filter, 1 valve, A/C Recharge, Valves-All-Grind or replace, 2 sparkplugs replaced.
Still pinging - awaiting update for engine controller.
9/16/99 - Got a letter dated 9/14/99. Its actually a CC of the letters that they sent to Dealer #1 and Dealer #2.
9/22/99 - I got a call from DaimlerChrysler today from the arbitration board. Chrysler wants to make a deal prior to the arbitration hearing. They offered: Give me a rental car, fix everything that is wrong with it, and to give me a 5yr/60,000mile Maximum Care warranty. (Too bad, I already have a 7yr/100,000mile Added care warranty. Guess they didn't do their homework before they made their offer.)
9/23/99 - The plot deapens - I got 2 letters today (one from Dealer #1 basically saying everything is my fault, and I got a letter from Dealer #2, basically saying I'm the ideal customer. Go figure.)
9/28/99 - Got a call from my 'arbitrator' today. The date is set - Oct 8th, at 11am at 'Dealer #2.'
10/5/99 - Guess what. I got a call from DC today. Seems Chrysler wants to make another offer - a MSRP replacement of my vehicle - More info as it becomes available!
10/6/99 - Got a fax from the arbitration board w/ Chryslers latest offer... MSRP replacement, $.10/mile, but the new vehicle MSRP must be equal or greater than my current truck. I dont think so, I rejected the offer.
10/7/99 - Got a call from DaimlerChrysler to see if a deal can be worked out. What it ends up is that I will have to pay roughly $2000-$3000 out of my pocket. I dont think so. The guy also accuses me of causing the engine trouble by using synthetic oil. (He asks, is it Mopar fluid?) I wonder, is the warranty void because I don't use Mopar gasoline? (Is there even such a thing, bet it cost $5/gallon.)
10/8/99 - VICTORY!!!! I showed up at the arbitration hearing with my attorney. Sufficed to say, a deal has been signed! Chrysler will be giving me all of my money back (Down payment, any payments made, and any accessories installed on the truck) I will have to pay a mileage allowance based on 5250miles at $.10/mile. GUESS WHAT, I drive to the city after the meeting and take a guess what happened. The fuel sending unit decides that I suddenly have an empty gas tank. I pull over and restart the truck, and everything returns to normal. God, I'm glad I'm getting rid of this lemon. I just pity the next sucker that buys it .
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EyeTrip
R/T
6/29/2002
22:30:07
| RE: independant shop ripoff
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Holy Crap Batman!!
That thing needs to be exercised or burned at the stake!
And the dealers be banished to Yugo/mini van dealing hell!
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Dukie57
Dodge Dakota
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6/29/2002
23:02:35
| RE: independant shop ripoff
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bowtiecrusher,
That story has me a little worried. I bought my wife's Stratus Coupe from Krause Dodge, but luckily I don't take it there for service. And sounds like a good thing I don't. :)
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