Another stealership discovered!

FLJeep · **Joined:** Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:27 am **Posts:** 84

Ok folks, i posted earlier about the fact that I had a leak somewhere, well i found it. It is in a corner of the radiator. A small crack, like it had just stressed and poped at a weak point. I was like whoa close one, let's get this bad boy to the dealership. I call and call and call. come to find out, my radiator isn't covered in my "limited warranty." But they will work with me on it. Of course i smell bullpoop from the word go. I rant and rave, and finally they are going to pay for the towing to the dealership some 2 hours away and have a "tech" look over it. I get the feeling I'm about to lose my lunch on this one. Well I get real ballsy, and call the GM to confirm this isn't coming out of my pocket since it was there BEFORE i bought it but they failed to pick it up under there "53" point inspection. He says that maybe i should pay 50% So I get really pissed, I already had a quote from a DC dealership and they say about $400 for the rad and labor. They won't swing the reimbursment thing. I tell the GM I'm sure the rad is cheaper then a 3.7. He proceeds to tell me running it hot voids my warranty!!! Guys I am super pissed about this. Stay away from Drivetime.

nolakj · **Posted:** Wed Oct 18, 2006 5:28 pm

Tell him you want to see all of it in writing. If they are a 5 star dealer ask for a survey next time you are at the dealership. Ask for a copy of the 53 point inspection and see who performed it. Just crawl up their stupid until you, the customer, get what you deserve.

FLJeep · **Joined:** Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:27 am **Posts:** 84

Well the salesmen also "inspected" it before it left the lot. Sadly I went to some other dealer other then DC or jeep. Now I am feeling the pain

nolakj · **Posted:** Wed Oct 18, 2006 5:39 pm

That sucks. Radiators are pretty inexpensive on ebay and are not tough to install yourself with only minimal mech ability. Screw $400 from the dealer.

Rads on Fleabay http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dl ... category0=

FLJeep · **Joined:** Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:27 am **Posts:** 84

I tell ya if they don't replace it, I'm going to Dept of consumer affairs. And that next big fat payment will go towards the new radiator until the lawyer says otherwise! :twisted:

I'm super pissed lol

KY Liberty · **Joined:** Sat Jul 09, 2005 1:46 pm **Posts:** 1195

The radiators tend to get a small leak in the upper corner on the driver's side. It's happened to lots of us. Happened to me over a year ago. Check your negative battery cable. The coolant is very corrosive. Air going underneath the hood carries it back and it gets on the battery terminal. Makes it corrode extremely quickly.

I would check your warranty and make sure the radiator is excluded. That doesn't sound right to me, but I haven't checked. If it isn't covered, you can get it replaced much cheaper than $400. You can check and see if the dealership is a member of the BBB and arbitrate if it should be covered. If they don't arbitrate, you can submit a complaint onto their BBB record, but it may already be quite long. They are required to resolve the issue to remain a member in good standing. These options are much quicker and cheaper than an attorney. I would recommend trying them first. Otherwise you might end up in court a few times over the next year or two. I've gotten much better service from the non five star dealerships. You don't even want to get me started on the motor swap story.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Wed Oct 18, 2006 9:31 pm

Are you sure about the anti freeze being corrosive? I know the green stuff is, but I believe ours isnt..

FLJeep · **Joined:** Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:27 am **Posts:** 84

KY- your right on, left top corner, and my negative it corroded! I didnt think those two things would be connected but wow.

Has Jeep had a recall for it?

sleeve84028 · **Posted:** Thu Oct 19, 2006 7:22 am

Man, I just had my Negative battery terminal cleaned.... Now I had better go look under the hood at the radiator and verify that it is not leaking.

FLJeep · **Joined:** Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:27 am **Posts:** 84

It's pretty sad when your KJ gets drove up some tow truck no matter what the cause...... But i was happy to say it looked pretty good since i detailed it yesturday

Cacher123 · **Posted:** Thu Oct 19, 2006 10:52 am

Don't know about your state but you may have luck filing in small claims court. The Dlr has to have someone spend a day in court and they may just settle instead. Sucky part is you gotta go file then show up yourself but I've had good luck that way. Filing is only like $20 or something.

FLJeep · **Joined:** Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:27 am **Posts:** 84

It just keeps getting better!

The service dept. called me a few hours ago, said my half is $270 something. I TOLD THE GM NOT TO TOUCH IT IF I WAS BEING CHARGED!!! So i call the dealership, guess who's off today??

So now I am without our only vehicle until he gets back tomorrow or i pay the 270

Cacher123 · **Posted:** Thu Oct 19, 2006 6:50 pm

Pay and put it on the credit card. Call the CC company and dispute it. Say they held your KJ hostage so you had no choice even though you were speaking to the DM. You only make a simple phone call, they have to justify everything to the CC company. You still end up paying but man does it inconvenience them and it may take several months before the charge comes back off your account!! :twisted:

And it's always possible that the CC company may not agree with thier interpretation of the contract or whatever. I've done this several times for various things that I felt were justified. I actually won a couple. Basically no effort on your part. It's part of your CC benefits. After all, that's what you pay them for.

Then sue them in small claims court! :twisted:

Another stealership discovered!

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