#20
Sun, February 25, 2001
To anyone that owns a used car with high mileage You must remember cars with high mileage will have some problems that will be related to the mileage. No car repair shop can stop this. If you like to buy used cars and keep them for long periods of time, you need to start thinking about buying Honda, Nissan or a Toyota. The american made cars with high mileage DO NOT hold up for long. from Stick Bogart Auto Buyer advocate
#30
Sun, February 25, 2001
Subject: 1996 Plymouth Voyager Repairs
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 11:12:48 -0800
To: badbusinessbureau.com
Dear Ed,
I wanted to put closure to Mrs. Jenkins complaint regarding our dealership Town & Country Chrysler/Jeep.
Mrs. Jenkins did pick up her vehicle last week and I believe the car is no longer dying and leaving her stranded, Town & Country did split the cost of her rental car bill with her after her insurance company paid what they authorized to cover.
I sincerely hope that Mrs. Jenkins vehicle does not cause her anymore problems in the near future, there were some additional recommendations by our technician that she indicated she would have fixed when it was more affordable, again I do believe at this time you can close her concerns regarding her vehicle and our dealership.
Russ N McDuffie
[email protected]>
Sincerely,
Russ McDuffie
Service & Parts Director
#40
Thu, February 08, 2001
From: "Russ N McDuffie" [email protected]
Relationship to company: Service & Parts director at Town & Country Chrysler/Jeep
To: [email protected]>
Subject: 1996 Plymouth Voyager Repairs.
Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 23:29:52 -0800
REBUTTAL:
My name is Russ McDuffie and I am the Service & Parts director at Town & Country Chrysler/Jeep and would like to respond to the e-mail that Mrs. Jenkins has written regarding repairs to her 1996 Plymouth Voyager. Mrs. Jenkins first brought her van in for repairs on October 3rd 2000 @ 85,281 miles, she stated that the water pump and belt needed replaced, we had our technician verify the needed repairs and proceed as authorized, we also performed some routine maintenance at this appointment including 2 factory recalls. The factory recalls were #8251 radiator fan relay and recall #845 fuel tank lock rings, both were done as instructed by the Chrysler Corporation, Mrs. Jenkins feels that the fuel tank lock rings should have included the replacement of the fuel pump module, however we can only replace the parts that are included in the recall and that part is not, we do have copies of both recalls if needed.
The van was then towed back to our dealership on October 30th, 2000 @ 87,022 miles with the customer stating "car died and would not restart" again we had our technician inspect the van, we were unable to perform any diagnostics because we first needed to replace the battery, we were authorized to replace the battery and continued on testing the performance of the van, the van never did die or not start once the battery was replaced, we did not charge any labor for diagnostics or the installation of the battery, customer paid for towing and the costs of a new battery for a 6yr old van with 85,000 miles.
Mrs. Jenkins again picked up the van and drove back home to south Seattle, again the van was towed to our dealership on November 11th 2000 @ 87,230 mileswith the customer stating again "car died while driving" our technician went out to the vehicle and the van started right up, it was apparent to us that we were dealing with a very intermittent problem and the customer and the dealership were frustrated at this time. Again we performed some tests, there were no fault codes stored in the on board computer, we started and drove the vehicle several times for several days and again could not confirm and dying or no start condition, we advised the Mrs. Jenkins of this and advised her we could have a technician drive the vehicle home for a few days in an effort to duplicate their concern, they chose to pick-up the vehicle
Again the vehicle showed up at our dealership on January 24th 2001 @ 87,678 miles, apparently the Jenkins drove the vehicle to our dealership after another instance when it died on them, they wanted out of the vehicle and were looking to trade it in, they were unable to reach any financial agreements with our sales staff and chose to leave the vehicle with out contacting anyone in the service department, they also chose to get themselves a rental car for alternate transportation. It should be noted at this point the vehicle had died at some point and time and Mr. Jenkins called our dealership, we were informed that he was very close to Puget Sound Chrysler by his home, we advised he have the car taken there and if there were any charges associated with the repairs we performed (water pump,timing belt,routine maintenance) to call us and we would take care of charges. We never received a phone call from the Jenkins or the Puget Sound Dealership. We were informed that Puget Sound replaced the catalytic converter and muffler by the Jenkins at this last visit, again this did NOT fix the intermittent problem with their van.
I finally received a-mail from Mrs. Jenkins and read what she thought of our dealership, I understood her frustration and called her to see if we could some how make one last attempt to fix her van, I should note my service advisor had called a couple weeks earlier offering to help as well, she refused at that time. Mrs. Jenkins listened to me as I explained who I was and what I hoped to accomplish in repairing their vehicle, I also indicated that I did not feel any previous repairs were causing this current problem, that it indeed sounded like a bad fuel pump to me, she authorized our dealership to drive the vehicle home and attempt diagnosis, I did indicate there would be no charge for diagnosis and if the fuel pump needed replaced as a "goodwill" based on their frustration Town & Country would pay for repairs, the introduced her to Larry Johnson senior technician and foreman of our "Silver" team.
Larry explained he would drive vehicle home with a manual test gauge on the fuel rail to check fuel pressure if the car was to die, Mrs. Jenkins agreed, I will mention I also agreed to look at current rental charges and felt we would participate in those again as a "goodwill" gesture. Larry went to drive vehicle and it was out of gas he got gas and realized the brakes were unsafe to drive the car home, he called Mrs. Jenkins who authorized new front brakes as well as a ISA motor that was bad and a induction service, there are also fault codes now for multiple misfires that could be fuel injectors or plug wires, Mrs. Jenkins she did not have the money at this time to fix those items, but for us to please note them, she also asked Larry if I was going to deduct from the brake repair charges for her rental car, again Larry reiterated I would look at current rental charges and decide at that point how much Town & Country would participate.
Larry drove the vehicle home with no problem until the next morning when it died on the freeway (finally) and as we thought the fuel pressure dropped drastically and the van needed to be towed, as we agreed Town & Country paid for all diagnostics and fuel pump module repairs apprx $600.00, we felt we were being more than fair. When Mr. Jenkins came to pick up the vehicle he was very condescending and short with me and felt we should pay for all rental charges and towing costs to repairs this vehicle, I told him that just wasn't fair and given the history of the car and the fact we were dealing with a intermittent problem we were being MORE than fair, he disagreed and left the vehicle, and I believe he is still in a rental car, at his expense.
Please fell free to call me if you have any questions or would like to review the history of repairs or the Chrysler recalls, I may be reached at 206-365-3530.
Sincerely,
Russ McDuffie
iW2-8