Vehicle Warranties - Woot!

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John Beere

Deep Six Brewing Co.
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<rant>

The A/C Compressor went out on my wife's 2005 Grand Cherokee - completely froze up. We had to leave it at the dealership as it was tearing up the belt and making a terrible racket.

They quoted her $850 to replace it plus a $70 diagnostics fee. WTF? It is so obvious the compressor has gone out - don't know what else the had to "diagnose". I called them back and got pretty upset as I don't know what the hell the point of my upgrading to the 7-year / 70k mile bumper-to-bumper warranty if it didn't cover the A/C Compressor. He started fast talking and all I really got from it was that it wasn't part of the warranty program. I googled it and saw where others had the same issue and just decided that must be some loophole they sneak past you.

Skip to this AM. They called and said it would be ready by 1:00. I don't know what but something really angered me about it all and I decided to call Chrysler - and guess what? It *IS* covered. I just got off the phone with the dealership and they were backtracking like crazy. "Your wife didn't tell us that you had the VIP plan...". WTF are your computers for then?

</rant>

Bottom line - its no secret I've been spending a fair penny lately and scrounging an additional $900+ cut me deep. Thank God I followed-up with Chrysler.

Can I get a woot?!
 
Wooot! I had something similar happen with my Jeep. The rear brakes were shot, but in the end it was due to some part that was considered "drive train" so they covered it. I'm glad Chrysler covered it, as they should have, and I avoided putting out any money...
 
I have to give a thumbs up to the Chrysler warranty as well. Took my company van in for an oil change the other day and then I get a call that I have bad tie rod ends and a few other misc pieces they think need replaced. It's a fleet vehicle so I don't have the say to fix it. So they get approval from the fleet company to fix everything. Go to pick it up and the only thing that billed was the oil change. Everything else was under the drivetrain warranty. :rockin:
 
Glad it worked out for you.

That sort of thing (that didn't end as well as your situation) is the reason why I will never buy another GM vehicle. I had a new Chevy S-10 V6 that was nothing but trouble the whole time I owned it. They did everything they could at every step along the way to avoid paying for anything. I even called the zone officer and then GM, and they weren't willing to lift a finger to help me.

Now I have a Ford Explorer for which I had to spend $2700 to replace the transmission at 75000 miles. (It's a known design problem, but since the transmission typically lasts the length of the warranty, they haven't done anything about it.)

In contrast, I had an Isuzu pickup years ago, and never had a problem with it except that the starter went out (after the warranty had ended). Isuzu replaced it free anyway.
 
Glad it worked out for you.

That sort of thing (that didn't end as well as your situation) is the reason why I will never buy another GM vehicle. I had a new Chevy S-10 V6 that was nothing but trouble the whole time I owned it. They did everything they could at every step along the way to avoid paying for anything. I even called the zone officer and then GM, and they weren't willing to lift a finger to help me.

Now I have a Ford Explorer for which I had to spend $2700 to replace the transmission at 75000 miles. (It's a known design problem, but since the transmission typically lasts the length of the warranty, they haven't done anything about it.)

In contrast, I had an Isuzu pickup years ago, and never had a problem with it except that the starter went out (after the warranty had ended). Isuzu replaced it free anyway.

We had the same problem with our old explorer, bad trans. they replaced that and the rearend twice under warranty but refused to cover a front wheel bearing when it clearly said front wheel bearings were coverered in our extended warranty paperwork. They are con artists.
 
This is a common practice among dealerships. They will always submit the warranty work to the manufacture for reimbursement. If they can get you to pay for it its like double dipping for them. They get you and the manufacture reimburses the dealer.

I have found that if you call manufacturere first, they are typically honest about what is covered. Then go to your dealership and when they say it isnt' covered say "I just taked to [so and so] with Chrysler, and I have the warranty paperwork right here that says it is. Would you like to cover it or should I call the Better Business Bureau?"

This is akin to insurance fraud.
 
Glad they finally did the right thing. When the compressor seized did you try turning the AC off? Usually the clutch will let go and and the pulley will turn freely and it won't shred the belt, the car will be perfectly fine to drive but you won't have AC.
 
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