My Letter to DCX

[Brick Tamland]

Wow, where to begin... I purchased a used 2006 300c 5.7L from Langley BC. Immediately after my purchase I noticed the transmission shifted really strange. It would bog down going up a hill, I would give it more throttle and the car would launch....

I took it in, and was told that was 'normal'. My clients and their varying degrees of whiplash (kidding, but almost not) would disagree. Then one day, all my dash lights, air conditioning and other sorts of electrical mishaps started happening.

Again, I take it to a 5 star dealer (this time Abbotsford as I felt the service was poor in Langley) and again I am told "We can find nothing wrong with your car". This is impossible. So I begin carrying around with me a digital video recorder and I am able to document almost 25 minutes of video of the car electrically shutting down while the engine continues to run. For a video example see here: http://www.net-marketing.ca/WTF.MOV

So, I take my car and the video back to Chrysler (Abbotsford) and leave it with them all day. I pay for my own rental car and at the end of the day I go back to pick my vehicle up and again I am told "nothing wrong with the car". I ask the service gentleman about the video and he says "without the tech being in the car at the time the incident is happening, there is nothing we can do". This makes no sense on so many levels. They ask me to come to the shop when the car is "acting up".

So I am supposed to ask my clients or whatever else I am doing to put their lives on hold and sit at Chrysler and wait to be told that they don't see any problems? When the issue takes place, the car runs like crap. I am considering going to the Better Business Bureau, having this story placed on Digg.com and retaining a lawyer. These are not threats, just the results of my serious dissatisfaction with DCX on documented issues. It feels like they are waiting for my warranty to expire and then they will laugh and point while I foot what will likely be a very expensive bill. I just want my car fixed and running properly. I don't want to pay for a rental car while it is getting fixed and I don't want to be told the transmission and electrical gremlins are 'normal' or 'non-existent'.

I am driving a $40,000.00 car that runs worse than any other vehicle I have ever owned save for my 1990 Jeep YJ that had 200,000kms and finally packed it in.

I really, really look forward to a response and seriously hope to have this resolved sooner than later. Please advise. I will be posting this letter on a few 300c enthusiasts websites in hopes that a regional rep may frequent those boards and decide to contact me...

Thanks for you help in advance.

[Rambit]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Have you considered contacting the area representitive?

Unfortunately for us in Canada we don't have a "Lemon Law" like those in the US. What we do have is arbitration. The CANADIAN MOTOR VEHICLE ARBITRATION PLAN is a program where disputes between consumers and vehicle manufacturers about alleged manufacturing defects or implementation of the manufacturers' new vehicle warranty can be put before a neutral third party (arbitrator) for resolution.

I'd suggest at least reading up on this if you don't get anywhere with Chrysler. That may be your only alternative.

The Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan

Bernie

[EricG]

Brick,
I sure hope they take care of you. My gut tells me they will...unfortunately my gut also tells me it will be one of those enevtually deals. If it's anything like other people have dealt with, it could take months. Good luck bro,

Eric

[acesrt]

The area rep, or regional rep, or chrysler rep
(whatever they are actually called) usually handles cases where the customer and service dept have an issue, dispute, or unresolved problem

Many times though you have to ask(demand) to speak to them.
The dealership may not refer you on their own

[CcDubya]

All of us need to read the following article from consumerist.com:

Consumer Action: How To Kick A Scammy Car Dealer In The Nuts - Consumerist

It's amazing, sometimes you forget how effective a simple protest can be! I have seen a guy out in front of Best Buy before and dismissed him as crazy, but that's partly due to the fact that electronics stores don't normally carry the same reputation as a car dealership (and also due to the fact that the guy looked like a freaking nutcase). With people already going in on the defensive, you could be very effective sitting out on a public sidewalk! Especially if you could have your 40k dollar 300C sitting with you. If I saw a protester sitting there with the same car that I am thinking about buying, I would absolutely talk to him and it would definitely have a bearing on my purchase.

Take the video and a sign that says "Before you purchase from this dealership, ask me about my experience!" I would be horrified if I were the manager there... and it wouldn't take long to realize that you would be costing me far more than the extra effort to assess your problems correctly and fix them. GO FOR IT BRICK!!!!!! I bet you it works much faster than a letter to DCX ever will!!!!

[Brick Tamland]

Thanks for all the information... I am going to give Chrysler fair enough time to respond, then I will have to take some other course of action.

On a side note, I just noticed today, that my heater now cuts in and out as the electrical goes. It makes sense, but we did not have a cool enough day to throw the heat on. The thought now is, when it is freezing and I need defrost... what fun!

[rickgonz]

Hi Brick, just a thought have you tried working up the chain from the service rep? His manager, then the GM, then maybe the owner. With all pleasantness, but always showing firm resolve, politely request a dialogue. I've never done this myself or had the reason to, but from some reports posted on the forum about different issues it seems going up the dealer mgmt chain to get a good technician looking at it may get results.

[Northern Rider]

Originally Posted by rickgonz

Hi Brick, just a thought have you tried working up the chain from the service rep? His manager, then the GM, then maybe the owner. With all pleasantness, but always showing firm resolve, politely request a dialogue. I've never done this myself or had the reason to, but from some reports posted on the forum about different issues it seems going up the dealer mgmt chain to get a good technician looking at it may get results.

What Rick sez, Brick.

The service writers are the lowest on the food chain.

[eyern]

Good luck. I fought like hell over my problems but at least none were driveability issues. I got nowhere and finally retained a lawyer, which also was getting nowhere and saw a way out when the 8's were being sold by a few dealers at cost, so I got the dealer (spoke to the owner) to buy mine back (didn't get what I wanted but did get more than I owed and I had put nothing down). So far my problems with this one have been few, but a new one popped up the other day. My cd player won't recognize ethe cd's now and it happened at the same time my Sirius subscription ended. This has to be tied together, but there is no reason I can think of.

[Brick Tamland]

Just an update, no response from DCX after 3 weeks and I have formally filed at the BBB. I will continue this until they repair my car 100% or until they replace it...