I confused why they didn't pay for it if your warranty said it was covered, dont they just collect from the warranty company.

 

Some dealership groups run their own in house extended warranty programs to make more profit, so they are collecting from themselves.

If the bean counters at said group decided that it was cheaper to refund all of the warranties issued to diesel trucks rather than pay continuing claims then they pull this kind of crap. The $2000 price increase keeps them profitable.

I would also go the small claims court route, a contract is a contract.

 

Small claims court, that's not a bad idea. I hate dealing with lawyers and such, but that might be worth while.

The reason they won't pay for it is they pulled a fast one on me. The paper they gave me showed a 100K mile warrenty. The paper they sent to the warrenty company showed a 60K mile warrenty. The warrenty company won't cover for obvious reasons. The dealership just said tough twinkies.

 

I think its time to find a Rolling billboard to start pulling around, make sure you frequent the dealer weekly.

That's some serious BS. Well this is a an issue I would never have(I always buy old stuff that is usually broken already), I know I would be raising some serious heck.

 

Depending on the amounts of money involved, this little "bait and switch" could end up with the dealer facing felony charges which, again depending on your location, may cause:
a. Jail Time
b. Punitive Damages in addition to getting your truck fixed
c. Loss of their Business License
d. Tax Fraud
e. You being the hometown hero

All in all, a win win situation!

 

If you can nail them to the Wall as what they did IMHO is Fraud...

 

You mentioned Fidelity as the insurance company behind the contract. Have you spoken to them?

FWIW, I had an issue with my truck (water pump at 58K) which had just (about a month) exceeded the 7 years portion of my 7/70k warranty. I tried to get the dealer to cover it but they wouldn't. So, on a lark, I contacted Dodge corporate via their website and got an automated email response but no one contacted me. I pinged them again a couple of weeks later and within hours, I had a phone call from a real person. Because I had purchased 4 Chrysler vehicles over the years, they decided I was a loyal customer and sent me a check within a few days covering the entire cost of the water pump. So, it's not hopeless to drag corporate into these things. I certainly didn't expect my outcome.

 

And so it goes. I spent over an hour at the dealership this afternoon. And I'll never go back.

6 weeks ago, they offered to buy me off. As of today, that has not happened.

So, I stopped by the dealership again today. I wasn't looking for the finance manager this time - he's been blowing smoke for almost 5 months, and I'm done with him. Today I spoke with the assistant sales manager, who then went and spoke with the manager.

After more han an hour, we were back to square 1. They again offerred me $1,300; a refund of the original contract cost, not including interest.

This time I declined it. They promised that 6 weeks ago, and couldn't deliver. I don't expect they can deliver that now.

I guess I'll have to do some research on small claims court. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking $3,300 for a new contract with fidelity, and $850 for the brake repair. I'll have to read the law and see if I can charge them for my time. I doubt it, but I'll look anyway.

 

Seems to me the problem is the dealership. Have you gone around them and talked to Fidelity? Faxed or shown them in person your 5year 100k copy?

 

Sometimes this is the kind of thing the local TV stations will take on as a "consumer help" story. Bad publicity on local TV news can do wonders.

I had a bad experience with my SeaDoo dealer and a machine under factory warranty. A phone call from my lawyer to the dealership and 20 minutes later SeaDoo called me directly. The dealer still was of little to no use but SeaDoo stayed on top of things and really came through for me.

 

Both excellent ideas. Time for me to start writing letters. I don't expect Fidelity to do anything - why would they? As far as they know, my dealership sold a contract to some schmuck. Anything else doesn't matter to them.

I plan on writing a letter of complaint with all the details and names. Then I'll send copies to Fidelity, my bank, the dealership, the BBB, the local news, and just about anybnody else I can dream up.

Then I'll file a lawsuite. And to tell you the truth, I'll do almost anything to avoid this step. Wading through mountains of papers, wasting time, going to court, writing checks, etc -- it gives me heartburn just thinking about it.

 

Fidelity should be bound by the term of the contract issued to you by their agent (the dealer). Contact them and send them a copy of the contract you have.
I assume your copy of the contract is propertly signed and likewise assume that the bogus contract the dealer is waving around is either not signed by you or your signature on it has been forged.

Sounds the dealership and the finance man have real problems, civil and criminal. Don't buy their bluff. Contact your state's insurance department and your attorney general's consumer protection division to see what assistance they might provide. Also call the state agency responsible for licensing dealers. It is sad the level the will sink to to steal money from their customers.

 

Don't bother going to Broadway Dodge or Christopher's Dodge World either!
Take it to small claims, IMO. I had Christopher's Dodge back out of a clear cut lemon law mediation on my '01 for the most ridiculous reasons ever!
Broadway SOLD me a new truck and cashed my downpayment check right after I wrote it and signed the papers. Later in the day they raised the price when I came to pick up the truck! COuldn't even give me my check back when I wouldn't take the truck, had to write me another check becasue mine had already gone to the bank.
Question?
Who says you have to go to this dealer for warranty? If they filed the wrong paperwork with DC, you still have your copy that says 100k mi right?
Try to find a "reputable" dealer and take your truck there and see what they can do for you. What if you moved? Your warranty would no longer be valid at another dealer? I don't think so.

 

Well, I had to settle for a small amount of cash back - $1,000.

I spoke with a local lawyer, and here's how it would play out:

- small claims courts means no lawyers. Except for the defendant (CS Dodge). As the defendant, they can use a lawyer if they want to. They have a lawyer or two on retainer, so you know they will.

- Lawyers are like gun slingers. You only hire one because your opponent hired one. So now I have to shell out for lawyer.

- Once lawyers get involved, then it gets dragged on for months to years. I could still be dickin' around with this a decade from now. Long after I trade the truck in for something else.

- There's no jury, only the judge. What he says goes. It's about a 50/50 shot of winning. If I win, I'll most likely get about $1,400 +court costs. No reimbursement for my time and frustration, of course.

- If I lose, I get nothing, PLUS I have to repay CS dodge for their costs. At $250 an hour, I can't afford their legal fees.

- So, I filed a complaint with Chrysler, Fidelity, the bank who holds the note, and the local BBB.

- I will (in theory) receive $1,000 reimbursement for the initial outlay - which means I'm out about $500.

- I will never set foot in that dealership again. I'm not a big spender, but that's the third vehicle I'v purchased there, and I don't know how many parts and accesories I'v bought. Never again, not one dime.

- I will caution everyone I know not to do business with Colorado Springs Dodge. Any contract they write and sign is suspect, and may not be worth the paper it's written on.

- My intention was to keep the truck for at least 5 years, and 100,000 miles. That was the purpose of the extended warrenty. We know Dodge has trouble with things like transmissions. I was willing to drive it for 130K miles, because I didn't have to worry about the expense of a new trans, or axle, or whatever screwing up my budget.

If somethig goes wrong with my trans today, I'll have to shell out big bux to get it fixed. I hadn't planned on that. Now I'll be looking to trade the truck in a bit sooner. I'm watching the new Ford F150 Ecoboost really closely.

Not a good outcome. The little guy gets screwed again, and here's nothing I can do about it.

 

Wow...i think small claims court is much better in CA compared to CO.

No lawyers
Judge typically rules right away.

Its a different situation when its just you and the owner of the dealership, standing in front of an impartial judge.