Water Leak In My New Car Part 3....THE FINAL SAGA

[Advntrous1]

Hello everyone. I have FINALLY come to the end of a very stressful journey. I would like to start this thread by first thanking everyone who showed support and gave input. There were times I almost gave up and every little bit helped.

Here are the first two articles if needed for reference:

Part 1:

Water Leak In My New Car - Help

Part 2:

Water Leak In My New Car Part 2 - Help

I also want people to remember that for lemon laws to apply, in most states the vehicle must be purchased in the same state it is being registered. You have a HUGE amount of leverage. There is, however, a federal lemon law. It seemed that Chrysler wasn't to scared of it and I believe it would have involved a lawyer. Saving that $1000 by buying out of state may choose to be more costly.

Went I last wrote I was in the process of wanting to either drive my car through Chryslers front window or blasting them publicly so they could pay for the misery they put me through.

I called Cerberus and they had me dealing with one of the nicest people at Chrysler. She was such a great person to deal with. She felt things needed to be addressed and I believed I was making progress. Unfortunately, the jerks that are above her and the local district manager (ROSS RAMON) killed it again. The woman at Chrysler was so upset I swear she was choking up as she told me the bad news.

So I gave one more call to Cerberus before I went all out as I stated above. Thanks to the kind and caring people at Cerberus, I didn't have to do either. As I spoke to one of the managers, she asked if I could resend her everything. I honestly believed she was just giving me the run around. I did tell her that I even the woman at Chrysler believed the car was a lemon, but the district manager was just a non-caring person who didn't even care enough to look at the car. I also made sure she was informed about the problems the dealership (SMITH HAVEN, NY CHRYSLER) added. She swore to me she'd call me back in 24 hours. She did.

This wonderful Cerberus woman told me to call the woman at Chrysler back. I was perplexed since this woman was over-ridden by others before. She informed me the Cerberus has added "their take" on things. She wouldn't say more and asked I call her in a few days with an update.

I called Chrysler. The Chrysler lady told me to expect a phone call later that day and wouldn't say more. I figured "could this be the run around again"?

Then the phone rang. I thought it was someone from work. The guy said with a deep accent his name was "Mr Raman"...I had no idea who he was. He asked about the mileage on the car and what my purchase price was (so now I knew the guy was from Chrysler). I told him both answers.

Then he says "Someone from ISG will be calling you about purchasing your car back". I was in shock. "aaaah...ok" was my reply. He said "ok" and hung up. It was all over in 20 seconds. No "hey I have good news.."or "We are sorry..." or even a "good-bye".

What the hell was that??? Then I realized that was the district manager ROSS RAMONE!!!! That son of a b+tch....As I went to hit the redial button to curse this guy out after all the Sh*t he put me through. The Mrs. grabbed the phone and yelled..."Wait till they buy it.....then go after him"!!!!!!!!!!!!! GRRRRRR....I sooo wanted to lay into this guy..but I realized she was right.

Sure enough ISG group called a few days later. They told me they were buying the car back full price. The rest of the process took another 2 weeks, but I didn't care. Believe it or not they had me drive the car 40 minutes away to an out of area dealership so I wouldn't have any problems.

Westbury NY Chrysler took the car and the people there were so nice. I know others have said good things. Its true. Everyone there treated me like gold. And they got nothing out of it. I will at least use them for service in the future.

So....I know it was long winded, but there it is. I want everyone to know that if you have a legitimate problem, don't give up. Except for one woman, I think Chrysler is scum, especially customer service, and I hope Cerberus cleans house (starting with ROSS RAMON...Suffolk County, Long Island NY District manager). Cerberus, I think will go far. They listen and they believe in their motto of having good business ethics...and back it up. My hats off to them.

Now I just have to get how much I LOVED driving the SRT-8. I made the mistake of driving a "friend of a friends" 2008..what a nice car...but do I wanna have to chance that if I have a problem I will have to go through all this again?

The end of at least this ordeal....

[bruno]

I'm probably one of the few members left around here that remembers and followed your disastrous plight with water in your SRT and how you were disgustingly abused by the higher ups.

Your novel of this whole misadventure should be directly sent to the CEOs of Cerberus and certain employees from top down should receive their walking papers.

As you probably noticed, you were not the only one with this leaking problem. However, it was never addressed properly and there appeared to be some sly cover-ups once the issue was supposedly repaired while owned by someone else.

No owner should ever have to go through what you did. Most would have given up long ago and just taken the loss while some dealership would then turn around and sell it off to some unsuspecting person.

I'm glad this whole ordeal is finally over for you and that Chrysler is finally making it right. You are to be commended for your persistence and ambitious ways in seeing this issue settled fairly.

I hope your story ends up on some Google search so that others who might be experiencing similar issues (and don't go to car forums) will see how you handled it and cross referenced it all.

I'm sorry you had to go through this and I wish you the very best in the selection of your replacement. Knowing how Chrysler treated you, I personally would NOT get another vehicle from them if it had been me.

Thanks for coming back to give us the final results.
bruno

[GoldenCloud]

damn, 7 months later, wow. my hats off to you for keeping up the fight.

[oldmac1]

I give you tremendous credit for hanging in there with all the run around you were getting. Hopeful that your experience and the way you handled it will give Chrysler a lesson in customer relations. Finally the consumer won in a car case and that is rare.

[srt8danno]

Wow what an incredible story! Congratulations on your perseverance. I’m glad it worked to your favor. So what are you going to drive now?

[Advntrous1]

Thanks to everyone who stood behind me here.

Bruno, the reasons I documented this was so that people were not only informed,but to let them know...don't give up.

I can tell you that the district manager (ROSS RAMON), got directly delt with. I don't know if he is still with Chrysler, however, because I listed his name in each post...people should not have any issue finding him if he gives them a hard time.

SRTdanno: Ironically, I have a friend that lives in the city and instead of paying $400 a month to park her truck, she has let me use it over the last few months and is in no rush to get it back. I have told her she may leave it here forever. So right now I am using a Pathfinder.

I am still very much in love with how the SRT-8 drove and performed. I have been considering a 2008 after the 09's come out and prices drop. Im hoping to find a low mileage one for around $37k, cerified, and loaded. Im just trying to decide whether or not I want to try this. Id go insane if I had to do it again.
If I step away from Chrysler, I will be headed toward getting a BMW 5 or 7 series...or the Infinity G37 sport.

I have driven the G35 and loved it. I have had people tell me their brains where plastered to the side of their skull the car corners so hard and well. I have also had it up to 150 and it handled great.

I will let everyone know what I pick if they wish.

[bruno]

Thanks for letting us know about your future vehicle possibilities. Maybe you should test drive the new Challenger and come home with one like danno!

bruno