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They insisted is WAS the transmission!!!Monday, the dealer send someone down to take us to the dealership to discuss the problem. They would NOT listen to me. I drive this truck and I KNOW the difference between a transmission and a rear end dying. They INSISTED it was NOT the transmission. Now, this is all under warranty, so cost was NOT my concern.
Teddy
Teddy Lancaster wrote:
This was the situation. In 1994 I was on the way from Hahira, Ga with two horses in the trailer (different one than I have now) and heard a noise (loud) coming from the rear end. We immediately stopped (on the highway I-75) to check it out. We could see nothing wrong, so carefully drove to the next exit, got off and called Macon, Ga. Dodge...it was a Sunday. Well, it was sure nice to have them come right out and pick up the truck on a hauler.--We had disconnected the trailer from the truck, parking it (with permission) between a convenience store and a gas station on a small patch of sand and grass. There, we could unload and even picket the horses.
Monday, the dealer send someone down to take us to the dealership to discuss the problem. They would NOT listen to me. I drive this truck and I KNOW the difference between a transmission and a rear end dying. They INSISTED it was NOT the transmission. Now, this is all under warranty, so cost was NOT my concern.
Well, this was Monday before Thanksgiving and I wanted (needed) to be at the SC ride (which I usually go to the day BEFORE Thanksgiving - many do, we have a great time there), So, they got a new transmission in by Tuesday, road tested it and determined it was NOT a transmission problem (DUH!!!!). NOW, they think it is the transfer case (this was a 4WD)...so they spend all day Wednesday putting in another transfer case to discover it was NOT the problem after all (they just KNEW a woman could not know what was wrong).
NOW, it is too late to fix the rear end. Thursday is Thanksgiving. They were kind enough to loan us a car to get around, so I telephoned what seemed like ALL of Macon, Ga looking for someone with a pick-up and a gooseneck hitch. I finally found someone and paid him $300 to tow my trailer and horses to SC...we followed in the car.
Well, we had a great time at the ride as usual and come Monday morning, I drove the loaner car back to Macon, Ga to get my truck. Now, as it happens, when they took the transmission out, they decided I needed a new pressure plate for the clutch. Since it is costly to replace them and everything else had been taken apart already, I said sure, put a new one in.
Already angry at their stupidity, I was then faced with an $800 bill for the clutch/pressure plate. They did NOT take credit cards, so I was forced to give them a check (who carries that kind of cash?) I just asked that they wait until Wednesday to cash it as I had to transfer fund from my savings to my checking account and I had 3 hours drive back to SC to get the trailer and horses and another day to get home.
Well, they didn't. THEIR checked cleared, but caused 8 of my other checks to bounce!!! Boy, I was pissed. But that far from the end of the story.
On the way home, suddenly the ABS light came on. We stopped, did not see anything and neither could the mechanic at the little garage in the middle of WV. So we called the service man back in Macon who said he saw no reason other than my brakes were probably on the way out. Sure does scare you to drive the mountains of WV with "iffy" brakes. We seemed to have no trouble though and when we got off the exit ramp near home and slowed down, we could smell thick oil. We stopped and looked underneath with a flashlight and saw that the entire underneath of the truck was covered in oil. We were only ten miles from home and it was late, so we went home.
The next day, I called the dealer from whom I bought the truck (the ONLY dealer I have EVER loved) and they immediately send a tow truck to get it (and they are 120 miles away from me). Turns out that the mechanic in Macon, Ga. did not reinstall the transmission or transfer case properly and forget to seat it well...so all the transmission fluid came out and got all over everything.
These guys were great...they fixed everything a a few days and even brought the truck back to me.
STILL not the end......
Now, for the next few months, only on certain occasions, I could hear a grinding in the rear end. And, of course, whenever I took it to the dealer, it did not make the sound. Now, these guys are great and DID listen to me, but, they neither saw nor heard anything so could do nothing.
Finally, in February, after my 5000 mile trek to Reno and back, I convinced them to look inside the rear end casing. The noise was still there, just occasionally, for the past few months. They found a chunk of metal (part of the Pinion gear that had broken when we first had our problem in Macon, Ga). Seems the mechanic did NOT bother to clean out the housing and this chunk, as big as ALL of my thumb, had been rattling around in there. It had really ruined the new pinion gear, so it all had to be fixed again.
I had written to the owner of the Dodge place in Macon about my check and their not holding it, then another letter about this shoddy workmanship. I NEVER got a response. I went to the factory rep, who also never bothered to respond...so I wrote to Chrysler Corp and got the response that they had no control over their dealers as they are independent.
Other than small claims court (ha-ha), what could I do? How do you get compensated and CAN you get compensated for such aggravation!!!
So, after MORE problems with the Dodge, in 1996, after MUCH thinking, I decided to buy a mid-size Freightliner. I have been delighted with it. I have 120, 000 miles on it and have only changed the oil. I have stopped at Freightliners all over the USA...even in the middle of the night, to check out something that didn't seem right. In EVERY instance, I was treated promptly and not like a dumb broad. In each case, something minor needed adjustment and I was back on the road in less than 2 hours.
I will NEVER buy a Chrysler product again!!!!
End of story. Well, almost. I live in SE Ohio..the heart of Appalachia. I did NOT buy this Dodge locally because these "good old boys" did not want to give me the time of day...kept wanting me to bring my "hubby" in. I was referred to the dealer 120 miles away by a friend. They could not have been nicer. On two occasions, I tried to get the Dodge serviced locally, only to get the run around and be treated poorly. It was worth driving 120 miles...especially when the dealer would give me a loaner car until the job was done. When I had picked up the Dodge when it was new, they had a full tank of fuel for me and even sent me a potted plant.
Teddy
--
Teddy Lancaster
AERC# 139422 - Member since 1974
6000+ career miles================================================
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak;
Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.-- Winston Churchill
================================================Running Bear Farm, Inc.
Your Trail Riding Equipment Headquarters - Celebrating our 20th Anniversary!!!!
Teddy Lancaster, President
1348 Township Road 256
Kitts Hill, Ohio, 45645 USA - http://runningbear.com/
USA East co-chair. Webmaster for USA East website: http://runningbear.com/ETZ
1-800-533-2327, FAX: 740-533-0337
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================================================
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak;
Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
-- Winston Churchill
================================================
Running Bear Farm, Inc.
Your Trail Riding Equipment Headquarters - Celebrating our 20th Anniversary!!!!
Teddy Lancaster, President
1348 Township Road 256
Kitts Hill, Ohio, 45645 USA - http://runningbear.com/
USA East co-chair. Webmaster for USA East website: http://runningbear.com/ETZ
1-800-533-2327, FAX: 740-533-0337
Home of Khalarado+/ 1990 IAHA National Endurance Champion - (1982 Chestnut
CMK Stallion)
Supplying the WORLD with quality endurance equipment since 1980
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