What you say? A Lift-Friendly Jeep dealer in MA?

Se7enLC · **Posted:** Thu Jun 29, 2006 7:48 am

I just called around and laid it all out there. Turns out Lawless Jeep in Woburn said it was fine. I said it was lifted, and they asked if the suspension was modified (ball joints, control arms, etc), and I said that no, it just had longer springs. They said that was fine, and I can bring it in on Monday. Looks like I have a new jeep dealer!

Now we'll see if they actually follow through on that. I really should have gotten the guys name who told me that, but I got disconnected (stupid cell phone). I called right back to get an appointment, but got somebody else. I don't bring it in until monday, so hopefully I last until then without any problems (so that's what I'm doing with my July 3rd)

Monday, July 3rd 8am: Dropped my jeep off at Lawless Jeep in Woburn to get the CV boot fixed. Made sure to ask again if the lift would be a problem, they said "no, why would it be?" and I explained the CV angle thing. They didn't seem to mind, but we'll find out when they call later (hopefully this morning). They have rentals right on the dealership lot, which is much faster than dealing with Enterprise. The car isn't as nice (a Chrysler Sebring that came with trash and an old water bottle in the front seat and gunk on the windshield), but I could care less, as it only drove me to lexington.
1:30pm: Just got a call from Lawless Jeep. They don't have an inner CV boot in stock, so they placed an order for one. It won't be in until "Thursday or Friday" because of the holiday, so I have an appointment for friday morning to get it done. They did verify that they have no problems with doing it, however. Not sure if they mean it's warrantied or not, but in either case, I just want it done!!

So fellow new england jeepers, you probably all realize that this Sunday is the CT trail ride. I may or may not have my cv boot fixed in time to go, and I don't know if I should attempt any offroading before getting it done (especially now that I know the trail will have 1.5ft deep water in parts).

Jeep Dawg · **Posted:** Thu Jun 29, 2006 12:49 pm

Well hey man, that is good news. I hope it all works out for you too.
It's nice when you find a dealer that is good to work with.

Keep us posted.

Se7enLC · **Posted:** Mon Jul 03, 2006 5:52 pm

Update:

So Lawless really is a lift-friendly dealer. They would have covered my CV boot under warranty. However, when I went to Grava, they put a "block" on my coverage for the lift, so that the CV boot could not be repaired under warranty unless I got the lift removed. $260 is what it will cost to just have Lawless do it. They said if I have the original springs, I could put them back in to get it covered, I think the dealer just needs to cover their asses in that department, they need to verify "lift has been removed" to get rid of the block, regardless of whether I put it back on.

So I think I've decided to just have them do it, the time it would take me to remove and re-install the lift is pretty big, plus there's always risk of damaging more when installing it.

raceinfan · **Posted:** Mon Jul 03, 2006 6:37 pm

if you had gone to them first would they have just been able to do it under warrenty ??

so your other dealer put a block on your warrenty for just that part or your whole warrenty cause of the lift suppose you need other work done unsuspention related ???

Se7enLC · **Posted:** Tue Jul 04, 2006 1:28 am

raceinfan wrote:

if you had gone to them first would they have just been able to do it under warrenty ??

so your other dealer put a block on your warrenty for just that part or your whole warrenty cause of the lift suppose you need other work done unsuspention related ???

A good question. I think it's just a block on that part until I "return to spec". The question is, once the boot is replaced, does the block get removed? I really don't want to have to remove the lift just so I can go to the dealership and say "see??", only to put it back on again.

I'm wondering if there are any aftermarket long-travel CV boots that will last a little longer. Seems bad that the boot is supposed to protect the CV joint, but the boot can't handle as much of an angle as the CV can.

Se7enLC · **Posted:** Thu Jul 06, 2006 2:00 pm

Called up to check to see if the boot came in. It is in, they have it at the shop. Just to make sure, I checked to see if they still had the appointment for tomorrow. They didn't!!!

Luckily they still had time to fit it in, but I thought I was gonna pop. THey said that because I have first day rental I can still get a car even though the repair won't be covered under warranty. Weird.

raceinfan · **Posted:** Thu Jul 06, 2006 4:02 pm

that is wierd but at least you can still drive around,now what's going to happen to the block on your warrenty ?

Se7enLC · **Posted:** Thu Jul 06, 2006 10:40 pm

raceinfan wrote:

that is wierd but at least you can still drive around,now what's going to happen to the block on your warrenty ?

Not sure, yet, but I'll post about it tomorrow when I find out. They just keep repeating what they see on the screen when they look up my name which is "so you know the new boot is just going to rip again when we replace it..." No, it's not! And no, the lift is not installed wrong, and no, I can't make the axles "straight" (level). gah.

Cacher123 · **Posted:** Thu Jul 06, 2006 11:39 pm

Quote:

However, when I went to Grava, they put a "block" on my coverage for the lift, so that the CV boot could not be repaired under warranty unless I got the lift removed.

Is it even legal for them to do that? I'd put in a call to the Better Business Bureau. One dlr says it's warrantied but another dlr who isn't even doing the work "blocks" your warranty?!? WTF :shock:

Se7enLC · **Posted:** Fri Jul 07, 2006 8:44 am

Cacher123 wrote:

Quote:

However, when I went to Grava, they put a "block" on my coverage for the lift, so that the CV boot could not be repaired under warranty unless I got the lift removed.

Is it even legal for them to do that? I'd put in a call to the Better Business Bureau. One dlr says it's warrantied but another dlr who isn't even doing the work "blocks" your warranty?!? WTF :shock:

Yup, that's exactly what it is. I asked for clarification when I dropped it off this morning. It's just the front suspension warranty that is "blocked". Not sure which components that includes, but I'm not all that happy about it.

I guess it's not hard for a dealership to justify their decision that a CV boot ripping could be the cause of a higher CV angle. But then again - should a boot really rip long before a cv is at an extreme angle? I mean, the boot is designed to protect the CV joint, why is the boot tearing before the CV joint is in danger?

What really bothers me is that Grava put their opinion into the system, so it comes up every time a dealership looks me up. So they don't even have to look at the jeep to say "The lift kit will cause the CV boot to tear" because that's what grava decided the problem was, without even looking at it. Lawless was prepared to fix it under warranty until that message popped up, and now they are repeating it to me as well as if they were the ones that discovered that.

In any case, they are repairing it on my dime today. I will post more information as it comes in. Ya gotta pay to play, and it's an expensive hobby. But I really like how the lift looks + works in there, but maybe the next CV boot I replace will be at a regular auto-shop and not a dealer (but the free rental is pretty nice).

Se7enLC · **Posted:** Fri Jul 07, 2006 2:00 pm

2pm, just got a call, my jeep is "all set". Yay, I'll be wheeling with y'all on Sunday!

Total cost $208 ($28 part, $169 labor). Cheaper than they estimated, because they used the outer boot price for the estimate, I think. Overall I'm pretty happy with it!

As I was leaving, one of the sales or service people that worked there was coming out and said "That's a nice jeep!" :-D

What you say? A Lift-Friendly Jeep dealer in MA?

Who is online