Warning!!!!!!! Do not take your truck to boardwalk dodge in redwood city ca!

[GCecchetto]

My truck went into the shop for the body mount clunk TSB, and a host of other warranty issues and recalls, and I wasn't pleased at all with what I got back, and the new body mounts hadn't even been installed! See the photos below for the damage done to my truck by the dealer trying to execute this TSB. This is turning into a huge battle since they refuse to make any recompense for the lost value in the truck after the repair is done. The truck has a huge amount of custom fab work done on it and went into the shop without a single ding anywhere and without any previous bodywork or paint work and you can now see that won't be the case anymore. Anyway, the body shop had to install the new body mounts supplied for this TSB, and was able to do it without issue so I can't imagine what the mechanic at the dealer was trying to do. The dealer seemed to think they needed to lift the cab off the mounts 1 1/2" to install them. Not sure how that would be possible with the fenders connected, and they obviously were not successful. They are refusing to compensate me for the depreciated value of the vehicle after the repair, so I guess this is no going to get ugly. Oh how I wish I had a buddy that was an attorney, I'm really sick of being the guy that gets screwed, and it's happening all over again. Thanks

 

[JR]

Is that the bottom of the cab where they tried to pick it with a lift?

I would turn this in to your insurance company and let them go after the dealership. It's unfortunate but sometimes they have more clout than the little guy.

I had to do this with a local tow company that hauled my car on a flatbed after getting clipped head on by a drunk. It was a glancing blow and ripped off the front control arm, strut, CV, and tire in one shot so they had to winch the car up backwards onto the flat bed. Once the driver got to the body shop he couldn't get the car to roll (front drivers corner was sitting on the frame) so he cribbed up the rear tires and pushed it off the flat bed using the power of the roll off. It tweaked the rear end of the car and added almost $3k in damages. The insurance adjuster and body shop owner filed a report and sent it to the tow company, which ultimately had to cover the bill.

I definitely would not eat this one. Push back, and do it before too much time passes by! The longer you wait from the date your truck was in the shop the harder it may be to prove they caused the damages.

 

[Killer223]

OMG i would loose my cool so fast. that is totally totally unacceptable.
keep your cool talk to the dealer owner, and get a cop involved as it's criminal damage.
so sorry....

 

[Ram4Sam]

Write up a factual, calm, narrative letter about what happened, along with the pictures and send it to FCA customer service. Sometimes they can be very helpful when this stuff happens.......be sure to include the part where the dealer told you to get lost.......

Sam

 

[Sleeper1]

FYI.... I checked out this place on "Yelp" and the only good reviews were from sales people working there. Maybe it would benefit you to have this info from other dissatisfied customer testimonies when you contact your Insurance and FCA Customer Service?? Good Luck, you deserve compensation from them. Like JR posted, let your Insurance company and their attorneys handle them, but FCA needs to know that they refused to compensate for their obvious incompetence.

 

[JR]

I just reread the original post, it was still early for me. Did the dealership fix the damage or pay to have it fixed? If so, and it was done satisfactorily, I'm not sure you will get any other compensation. If that's not the case you definitely have a leg to stand on.

 

[Wayne M.]

Whatever tech did this needs to walk the plank.

 

[jgillott]

I just went through this with damage from a dealership to one of my vehicles. As part of the settlement, I cannot comment on the specifics, but I can tell you that it was the same type of issue that you are having. Let me give you straight forward advice on how to handle this.

1) Hire a private lawyer that specializes in insurance law to represent you. Your own insurance company is going to be less motivated than you think to help you in this situation.

2) Refrain from any discussion with others on the specifics of your situation until your case is closed. (Unfortunately, that means limiting your online discussions on specifics also)

3) Let your attorney talk to the dealership, their insurance company and FCA for you. They have a way to keep the emotional response out of the situation that we as owners tend to have. I would have saved myself a lot of time and effort if I would have hired the attorney immediately instead of several weeks in to the process.

4) Be patient. These things take time. It took me 5 weeks to get things taken care of.

5) Understand that you will not come out ahead in the end. The law only allows for you to be made whole in these situations. Don't expect to be compensated beyond what can be documented as material loss and expenditures.

6) This should have probably been first on the list. Document everything. This includes dates and times of phone calls, description of the conversation, printouts of any written or email conversations etc.

7) Don't sign anything that you attorney hasn't reviewed.

 

[GCecchetto]

All;

Yes, the dealer paid to have the truck repaired. The issue is that the repair can never make the truck what it was. The rocker panels on these trucks are galvanized prior to painting and are a double wall profile. To pull the rocker panels out, the shop had to weld various plates and studs to the rockers, so the galvanizing has been burned off on the inside of the rocker, which is basically not accessible, and the galvanizing has been completely sanded off on the outside in these areas in the process of prepping for paint. The rockers have drain holes in them, so they do get water and crud from the road inside them and now I have areas of bare metal in there. I live near the coast, and frequent mountain areas where salt is used on the roads in winter. Obviously, over time, the likelihood of rust through of the rockers has been significantly increased. So, the fact of the matter is, the truck that when into the dealer was worth more money than the truck I will get back after the repair. This really pisses me off because I'm planning to retire in a couple of years and this was supposed to be the last truck I buy. There is a huge amount of custom work down to this truck that I have neither the money or time to do over again, and I really can't afford to take the loss I would take selling it and starting over.

The dealer has repeatedly told me "your lucky our tech wasn't hurt or killed" like this is my fault. This makes me want to report this to Cal-OHSA so that someone inspects the practices going on in this shop so that no one does get hurt since it would seem there isn't any oversight over what the techs are doing to make sure they are working safely. I have posted a review on Yelp, and a review on Google with photos. Nothing slanderous said, just be forewarned this might happen to you if you bring your vehicle here. I plan to speak with FCA about this, but based on how they have handled the many issues with my truck, I doubt they will be of any help, but we'll see.

I don't think going to my insurance is going to help much. Care insurance companies don't pay for lost value either, so I doubt they will spend their money trying to recover that for me. I am in the process of trying to locate a good attorney to talk with about what I may or may not be able to do.

 

[GCecchetto]

I just went through this with damage from a dealership to one of my vehicles. As part of the settlement, I cannot comment on the specifics, but I can tell you that it was the same type of issue that you are having. Let me give you straight forward advice on how to handle this.

1) Hire a private lawyer that specializes in insurance law to represent you. Your own insurance company is going to be less motivated than you think to help you in this situation.

2) Refrain from any discussion with others on the specifics of your situation until your case is closed. (Unfortunately, that means limiting your online discussions on specifics also)

3) Let your attorney talk to the dealership, their insurance company and FCA for you. They have a way to keep the emotional response out of the situation that we as owners tend to have. I would have saved myself a lot of time and effort if I would have hired the attorney immediately instead of several weeks in to the process.

4) Be patient. These things take time. It took me 5 weeks to get things taken care of.

5) Understand that you will not come out ahead in the end. The law only allows for you to be made whole in these situations. Don't expect to be compensated beyond what can be documented as material loss and expenditures.

6) This should have probably been first on the list. Document everything. This includes dates and times of phone calls, description of the conversation, printouts of any written or email conversations etc.

7) Don't sign anything that you attorney hasn't reviewed.

So did you get any compensation for lost value, or just the repairs paid for?

 

[Sleeper1]

My apologies. I missed that the Dealer paid for the repairs. I feel the same way you do about compensation but I doubt FCA will see it that way. Legal advice is probably your only option. Good Luck

 

[JR]

My initial recommendations on the insurance was under the assumption they did not cover the damages, but then I reread your post. At this point your insurance won't help you and while you have a valid point I doubt FCA will either, at least monetarily. You could lawyer up and try to fight it but you risk spending even more with no guarantee of a worthwhile return.

You didn't mention the extent of your mods but if they are bolt on you may be able to remove them and trade it in on a new truck. This is an option that FCA may be willing to work with you on. Your points are very valid, it's a matter of finding someone that will listen to reason.

Good luck to you, hopefully you can come to an agreement that satisfies your concerns.

 

[mwilson]

Did your mods complicate access to the cab or cab mounts??? This was not handled correctly by any means but to place lift arms directly under rocker panels seems strange or were they were trying to work around something???

Just asking because of the dealer's comment regarding the tech not getting hurt....

 

[jgillott]

So did you get any compensation for lost value, or just the repairs paid for?

Only repairs paid for to "my satisfaction " + legal fees. Lost value can only be quantified if I actually sold the vehicle, which wasn't a valid option in my case.

 

[GCecchetto]

Did your mods complicate access to the cab or cab mounts??? This was not handled correctly by any means but to place lift arms directly under rocker panels seems strange or were they were trying to work around something???

Just asking because of the dealer's comment regarding the tech not getting hurt....

No, nothing done in the area they were working. Modes under the truck are suspension, and a custom long travel airbag system in the rear.

 

[Steve Martin]

Thanks for the warning on Boardwalk Redwood City. Thats my local dealer...Burlingame isn’t much better. Took my truck to Burlingame for a “slipping/clunk” when I first accelerate from a stop light or stop sign and they couldn’t find a thing wrong after having the truck for 3 weeks. Is the body mount TSB for my 2013 2500 mega??

 

[GCecchetto]

Thanks for the warning on Boardwalk Redwood City. Thats my local dealer...Burlingame isn’t much better. Took my truck to Burlingame for a “slipping/clunk” when I first accelerate from a stop light or stop sign and they couldn’t find a thing wrong after having the truck for 3 weeks. Is the body mount TSB for my 2013 2500 mega??

Yes, the body mount TSB would apply to your truck.

 

[sag2]

It appears he tried to lift it by the rockers without removing the cab bolts. Lifting just the cab by the pinch welds should not have been a big deal. As far as getting compensated for lost value, I doubt they would even if sued as you have not really "lost" any value until it's sold, and even then how is the determination made? Cars get wrecked and repaired every day, many times by no fault of the owner and no one I know gets compensated for lost value. If a legitimate body shop made the repair I would not lose any sleep over it. Just enjoy your truck and save the stress. Sorry to hear of all the trouble.

 

[jhenderson]

Ins companies refer to this as diminished value. It's agreed upon between ins co and the affected party. Sometimes an independent appraisal is required. It's usually reserved for relatively new vehicles that will suffer lost value at resale due to a negative CarFax report.

 

[GCecchetto]

Soooo, the saga continues. A few days after getting my truck back from the body shop i was driving down the road and someone cut me off. I had to slam on the brakes, not super hard, but I needed to scrub some speed in hurry. When I hit the brake pedal I heard a popping sound, the next time I applied the brakes, the pedal when to the floor and I had virtually no brakes. No warning lights or messages in the info center strangely enough. I limped the truck into the dealer, and by the time i was about a block away, the lights and warning started going off telling me I had a low brake fluid level. When I got out of the truck and looked in the left front wheel well, there was brake fluid pouring out on the ground. Truck was in the almost two weeks waiting on back ordered parts. Turns out both the front and rear brake lines that run from the master cylinder to the abs pump burst. I found this rather alarming when the dealer told me this, and quite frankly left me not wanting to drive the truck. I couldn't imagine how it could be possible to have a catastrophic brake failure from slamming on the brakes. After finally getting the truck back, I took a look under the hood in hopes of understanding how this could happen, and what did I find? The master cylinder is mounted to the firewall of the cab (obviously), and the ABS pump is mounted to the frame. Yep, apparently the lines were damaged when the cab was lifted off the frame to replace the body mounts. Seems odd, since there is a braided stainless section in the lines, but it seems the only logical cause of the failure. Wish i could have looked at the lines that were removed from the truck to see where they failed.

Seems every time my truck goes in, i get left with some residual issues to deal with. No I'm smelling coolant, and knowing that the tech the tried to replace the mounts at the dealership didn't loosen the radiator tower when he started lifting the cab, I'm wondering if the radiator has been compromised. Imagine how much stress there was on the front of the body and radiator tower when enough force is being applied to lift the cab and result in collapsing the rocker panels. The latest issue now is what looks like an abrasion guard that should be around a hose or wiring or something just left loose under my hood right between the serpentine belt and a pulley. Fortunately it didn't get sucked in. If anyone can tell me where this belongs, I would really appreciate it. Don't see any obvious spot where this looks like it may have been.