DarbyWalters wrote:
SAD ... 32 pages of posts and no "real solution" it seems.
At this point Darby, DC has created a genuine PR disaster on their diesel reentry plans. If they want to redeem themselves, there is a simple solution:
First - Accept the fact that they mistreated their early adopters with the CRD flaws and their dealerships with 18 months of bandaid fixes. This includes those who have more than nuisance problems. Big step for DC to take - but critical - and one they have resisted so far. Something Corporations must come to realize that current and future customers are watching closely is how they handle their mistakes when customers suffer. Piss of your current customers now with obvious design flaws, let them deal with the loss on their own and watch them disappear for a decade, if they ever return. Become another GM of the 80's. Factor that into your projected income picture.
Second - Take responsibility, as in realize that its going to cost them to make this right with CRD owners and to try to build a reputation of a company that stand behind their products with real solutions. Without that reputation, DC is dead in the coming diesel and car marketplace. They have violated the element of trust with their customers that their warranty represents real value when a product has issues. If they doubt this, look at todays business news - where analysts tout Toyota overtaking Ford as the number 2 automaker in sales. That did not have to happen - and the reason rests squarely on Ford's shoulders, not Toyota - Ford had the number 2 spot since the 1920's - it was their market share to lose - and they did.
Third - Offer any CRD owner with a documented dealership history of egr/torque converter/transmission/turbocharger repairs a complete buyback - at what the customers paid - not a blackbook discount value - but only if the customer is willing to buy another DC product, such as Dodge, Chrysler, MB or even another Jeep product. Offer the new vehicle at employee price. Then ask each buyback customer to tell 10 other people about how DC stood behind their product.
Yes, take the cost bullet and build their reputation back from the nosedive its in now. By doing this, they will add to the red ink they already have to report - financially, it only changes the numbers in red, not reduce them from black to red. If they do this, they can retain much of their CRD and early diesel adopter customer base - upon whom referrals depend and bad treatment stories will flow if they don't make this right. Their bean counters already know the cost of getting new customers versus retaining their current customers. They can also keep their factories running and the layoff numbers down, the plant closings down and avoid some of the negative spin the financial press is already starting to lay on them.
If the average buyback cost is $25K, less a $5K profit on the new vehicle, less the salvage value of say 10,000 CRD owners who might take the offer, they would end up spending maybe $50 to $75 million. That figure pales in comparison to the financial costs of laying off tens of thousand of workers, plant closings and layoff benefits. All of which they will end up doing given their poor reputation of late, both on quality and standing behind their warrantys.
It would take an exceptional management team to do this - but DC should take a look at GM and Ford - thats exactly the kind of press their headed for, and they could at least save some customers now and pull of a marketing coup while they still have the chance.
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I also agree whole hartedly with alljeep regarding "service advisors". I don't want "advice" on my service 
I know what I want done and don't like talking to PR people about mechanical things that they know nothing about 
