Warranty claims

[ScorpioRam]

Hi all,
New to FCA and warranty work so I was wondering if any of you had experienced what I'm looking at. Bought the truck new (111 miles when I drove it off the lot), it had two paint chips in the front bumper and apparently took a rock to the passenger tow hook not long after dealer took delivery of it. It had started to rust. Dealer said they would take care of it for me. The chips on the bumper will be taken care of by another shop, I'm putting paint protection on and he can handle those spots. The tow hook on the other hand I was told by the dealer they are going to try to file a warranty claim with Chrysler for. I don't see how it's FCA's issue but whatever. But the dealer I bought from is 2.5 hours away and I asked a dealer closer to where I live about it. They said if it gets set as a warranty claim, I would still need to take it to the dealer I purchased from. I love the truck so far but it seems like warranty work is almost not worth the hassle of it. Thanks in advance for any information you guys can give me.

 

[Shiner]

Scorpio, that's a first. I have taken my vehicles into ANY dealer to get warranty and or re-calls done. Shouldn't matter. Warranty is via manufacturer, not a specific dealer.

 

[sag2]

If it wasn't noted on the delivery receipt it would not be covered under warranty. A rock chip or any paint DAMAGE is not covered under warranty. Since your selling dealer is 2.5 hours away and they are going to try and kink the system to get it repaired, i would just pull it off, sand the rusted spot and rattle can it.

 

[ScorpioRam]

It sounded odd to me too. The other thing that I found odd was that I had a traction control light illuminated when I checked it out before I bought it. Dealer said he would let me take it to dealer closer to me to check it out. Called local dealer and said no problem, we can check it but we need more that an hour or two in case we run into anything unusual. No problem with me, I understand with electronics it's a crap shoot. But they said they won't give me a loner car either. And can't do that kind of work on Saturdays either.

 

[sag2]

Still sounds normal. Loaners are not part of the warranty, it's up to the dealer to provide one.

 

[ScorpioRam]

Sag2, that's what I was starting to lean towards. But with a brand new truck, I was hoping I wouldn't have to. With the two paint chips I figured it was just the dealer eating the cost of a little touch up paint and figured they would eat the cost of a new tow hook and the labor. I've just never dealt with warranty work or dealers much before. Seems like I was right in my thinking that it would be just a crap shoot. And I was thinking about buying the warranties that I've seen guys talk about on here, the FCA honored warranty but at half the cost they tried to push on me when I purchased. Thanks for the info. I figure I'll be asking a fair amount of questions this being my first diesel and first new vehicle.

 

[Shiner]

Sag2, that's what I was starting to lean towards. But with a brand new truck, I was hoping I wouldn't have to. With the two paint chips I figured it was just the dealer eating the cost of a little touch up paint and figured they would eat the cost of a new tow hook and the labor. I've just never dealt with warranty work or dealers much before. Seems like I was right in my thinking that it would be just a crap shoot. And I was thinking about buying the warranties that I've seen guys talk about on here, the FCA honored warranty but at half the cost they tried to push on me when I purchased. Thanks for the info. I figure I'll be asking a fair amount of questions this being my first diesel and first new vehicle.

After each car I bought, I always said I would have the dealer throw in a bottle of touch-up...….but, wouldn't ya know it, I forgot AGAIN!
Maybe next time.

 

[ScorpioRam]

Shiner, ive made so many calls around for things, ive forgotten to ask about more than I'll ever remember lol.

 

[Shiner]

Shiner, ive made so many calls around for things, ive forgotten to ask about more than I'll ever remember lol.

Boy, if that ain't the truth!

 

[Deleted member 995608]

I get the paint chips on the paint bumper, but the front recover hooks? I can't tell if you're being serious or not??

The first time you hook a yank strap (If you can get it to fit) or D ring attached to a yank strap, kiss the paint good buy. It's a recovery point and is subject to immediate paint failure. Get over it.

Grab some rattle can and paint the hook already.

 

[Timd32]

Few recent examples, have a ton of FCA stuff. There is a version of the extended warranty that could cover loaners, but not much there to fix that would dictate a loaner. Stuff mentioned not covered under that warranty. You can still add a warranty but read and understand what it covers for sure.

Examples: all would suck to have to go back to original dealer, I could not afford FCA if they pushed that.

2018 Compass bought in NJ, left for Iowa 3 days old, blew a tire no spare, they towed it to the local dealer in middle of IL, the took care of everything no questions.

2018 Promaster City again bought in NJ sent to Iowa was 3 weeks old, the guys kicked the GPS plugged into the OBD port, they then proceed to shove the thing back into the OBD port with bent pins, wind up shorting out a few wires and destroyed the port. Towed to dealer, Proceed to make up some lame story to the dealer who says the ODB port is destroyed, they still stick with said lame story, they fixed it under warranty in Iowa. I was bent a bit bc they tried the lame story on me for a few weeks till I figured out what they did when someone else did same thing. Needed a relocation cable $9. Could have saved all of us headaches if they told the truth and the dealer would have still fixed it under warranty.

Two 2016 Dodge Caravans both around 16k miles +/- bought in NJ, they reside in VA. Recall for transmission pump, they basically replace the trans all done in VA. Never came back to NJ.

I would say they do the right thing when they can.

It is listed in the book or warranty somewhere they would prefer you return to original dealer but not always possible.

Could be your local dealer is swampped and you need to just find a different closer dealership, maybe 40 min away, but the original dealer actually listed these for you at time of sale they could make a call for you and help you out with a closer dealer, if your salesperson has a good relationship with one of their service writers, if not good luck.

Our closet FCA dealer is .2 miles from my shop pass it everyday, I purchase all my stuff from one about 30 miles away. Would the local dealer .2 miles away honor a warranty claim yes, but I would not do that, no.

Now 2.5hr is way too far to go for warranty, but what you describe should have been fixed or noted properly during dealer prep, and appt should have been scheduled at time of signing, parts ordered, which need to be installed within a short time frame, so don't cancel your appt then be mad they need to reorder parts and you have to wait.

The dealer you bought it from sounds a bit too busy or has overlooked that the dealer prep items really mean something.

A tow hook is just that, you could pull them and get them color matched powder coated for $75-$100 and have some custom tow hooks. Wait a few more days till your sway bar link threads start to rust. They dont stay shiny that long.

Congrats on the truck sounds like you will have fun with it.

 

[ScorpioRam]

Thanks for the replies guys. I know it's just a tow hook and subject to being chipped. I was more annoyed by the fact that the dealer should have noticed these things before I came up to purchase. I had to point them out to him, and it was just we will get it fixed at some point later. I probably should have realized it was going to be a pain to get them done. Like Timd32 said, seems like the dealer just didn't take the time to do the dealer prep. It had been on his lot for a few months prior to purchase. The thing that irked me about the tow hook was that it obviously happened more than a day ago, there was rust forming from the rock hit. How wouldn't you notice that if you had gone over the truck? He knew almost three or four days ahead of time that I was coming to look at/probably buy the truck. Just seems lazy/incompetent to me. But what do I know. I'm probably going to call around today to see if I can get a decent price to have them both bedliner/line-x/pick your brand. That should solve my worrying. I live on dirt/gravel roads so rock chips are a way of life for me.

 

[Shiner]

I fix the little nit noid things like that myself. As far as warranties, I have no problem buying elsewhere and bringing to local dealer for warranty. I just call service manager and they book a time and do it. They get paid. It's business. When I bought this latest truck,I got a quote out of Minnesota and took that to my local dealer to try and get close. They said no way, no how. Bought the Minn. truck. I tried, they failed. Of course, it probably helps that I know the local service manager and several mechanics. I have bought trucks off private owners with warranty still left and that works the same.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Bought this RAM from AutoNation in Seattle and never saw the place again!

One stop in Burlington, WA for a console light module.

Two trips to Chrystal Chrysler in Palm Springs, CA. They have been AWESOME!!! First time a list of recalls, they even gave me 3/4 gallon of antifreeze to top off after water pump was replaced. Last trip to replace fan shroud gasket that was inverted a bit and rubbing fan blade along with chafing of a boost hose plus rear trans seal and front timing cover to pan oil leak. All done to perfection. 18 year experience Diesel/repair mechanic!!!

I said do I get a nice rental car? Brian Harvey Service Rep said yes it will be nice! All covered under warranty.

I told them to take their time so they did use it as fill in with other jobs and I had the rental for just over a week, NICE car.

 

[spoon059]

Hi all,
New to FCA and warranty work so I was wondering if any of you had experienced what I'm looking at. Bought the truck new (111 miles when I drove it off the lot), it had two paint chips in the front bumper and apparently took a rock to the passenger tow hook not long after dealer took delivery of it. It had started to rust. Dealer said they would take care of it for me.

This wouldn't be a warranty issue, this would be an insurance issue. The vehicle was delivered fine, the damage is accidental. Just like I truck I was looking at years ago, it had hail damage... accidental damage that occurred to a new vehicle after delivery to the dealership. I attempted to buy it for a cheap price, as the damage was minimal in my mind, but the dealer manager advised me that he simply had to pay a small deductible and it would be repaired by insurance and he could sell it for substantially more money than I offered.

This is the reason it needs to go back to the original dealer. I imagine they either have an in house body shop or a contract with a body shop that will repair it for less money than it would cost to send it through their insurance provider. The lesson learned here is to not pick up the vehicle until it is right in your eyes. Once its off their lot, its awful easy for them to stop caring about your wants and needs. I would never complete a sale before inspecting the truck and ensuring its 100% right. They are motivated to help you when they want your money... when they already have it, their motivation drops quickly.

 

[ScorpioRam]

Too true. Unfortunately it was the truck I wanted and what I wanted was a specific one with particular features. I settled for the granite metallic when I really wanted brilliant black. Although I think the granite will grow on me over time. I just don't want to waste a whole day of work just for small fixes that could be done elsewhere, especially with the fact that those issues where there before I drove up to check it out. The dealer knew and didn't care. I figure I'm just going to let it go. The traction control light can be checked out at one close to home so not bad, the rock chips on the bumper are being fixed and covered by the guy doing my paint protection, and the hook I'll probably just take off, sand down, and bedliner myself. Guess this way I can say at least I work on my own truck lol. Not that I don't do oil changes and pm anyways.