Charges By Dealer For Warranty Work (?)

[nickster]

Hi everyone! 

I'm new to the forum and really hope someone can help. I purchased my first Grand Voyager 2 months ago and noticed the cruise control wasn't working and that the touch screen monitor would freeze intermittently. The warranty ran out on June 30th so I contact the lChrysler dealer in Wigan to book it in the 2nd week of June. I was quite disappointed as I called them a week later and they said they hadn't even had a chance to look at the car ! I've owned Mercedes and BMW in the past and have never been charged for work when the vehicle is under warranty however I got a call from the service manager saying that they need to do a 'diagnostics test' and that if there's any fails that aren't covered by the warranty I will need to pay for the diagnostics test which he came out with over £220 ! He said that it's a 'worst case' scenario. 

 

I asked them if it's necessary to do the diagnostics as I just wanted to sort out the cruise control and the stereo....they said they won't be able to do anything till this diagnostics test was done. I didn't have much of a choice but to give them permission to do this diagnostics test and as expected, they came out with a bunch of tiny little things which I didn't even request to be fixed due to the diagnostics test results and now are saying I have to pay them the full £220 + . 

 

I wanted to know if this is normal procedure for Chrysler as I've never had this happen with any other vehicle manufacturer whilst in warranty. Thanks guys!

 

Nick

 

p.s. It's coming up to 3 weeks now and they STILL haven't sorted the car out...nor have they given any courtesy vehicle options

[bignev]

Well, if it was mine, I might get all uppity about it, and tell them if there are more faults found then feel free to get on and fix them if they are covered by their warranty. As you are fine with them not being fixed.

 

And if they're not covered, then don't fix them thanks, as they sold you a car with these faults.

 

And you only asked for the 2 other fault to be remedied. So get on with these ta.

 

I personally think they are (sorry) taking the piss, that is a ridiculous figure for a diagnostic read, which I would feel there is no way you should pay for, because if it is necessary to read the codes to fix the cruise control then they just need to do it. It's not like they shouldn't have the software kit to do the job is it!!!!

 

And if the 2 faults were there well within their given warranty period they should have just got on and fixed it. Or are they disputing these are covered?

[nickster]

HI bignev, 

Thanks for your response and advice. I didn't purchase the car from Arnold Clark but it was given to them a week prior to the warranty expiring (June 30th) so as it was in the dealership's hands , any issues would be covered under warranty...or so I was told. They came back to me saying that the cruise control isn't working due to a damaged 'ABS wire' and it's NOT covered under the warranty which baffled me. I asked them how they came up with this decision and their answer was simply ' our master technician made the final decision' . 

 

I spoke to Chrysler head office and filed a complaint about the diagnostics charge and after waiting two days, an account manager called me saying that it's the policy to pay for the diagnostics for any work that's NOT covered under warranty !! I explained (again) that I didn't request any of the 'non-warrantable' work to be done so why should I pay? I've never heard anything so ridiculous . I've owned Mercedes and BMW in the past and they have been exceptional when it comes to warranty work. They provided a courtesy car for the whole period (Arnold Clark told me the 1st courtesy car availability was in 3 weeks time!) and neither Mercedes or BMW charged me a penny. I have gone right off Chrysler due to this experience. It's come to the point now that I HAVE to pay £216 or they'll hold my vehicle. Time to put it up for sale and go back to Mercedes. 

[bignev]

Well what a complete and utter shower of tools. "Main Stealers" as they are very un-affectionately referred to.

 

Complete waste of time I know, but the ABS warning light was on wasn't it? Otherwise he's talking danglies if it's anything to do with it.

 

I suppose part of their disgusting attitude is that you bought it elsewhere, but why go to them? I presume it's something to do with an aftermarket warranty?

 

Pay the bastards with a CREDIT card then see how you feel when you calm down about taking it further.

[SpAwNtoHell]

Warranty is a grey shaded area. Is only for manufacture defects, so bassicaly is it happens later and it can fall under wear and tear factor... you get to pay. Another warranty gimmick is for used cars sale as that is even worse, and most of time claims cannot exceed 500£ ... that would barrely cover a simple sensor the diagnostic for finding the fault and the labour... i pretty much refer at a sensor that you can acually pop the bonnet diconect it and take it out and put the new one in..