Atlanta GA Region, beware of the Regional Manager

[kilimanjaro]

I was in the process of buying a new 06' Coupe, when my 2000 GTS Coupe blew the Serpentine Belt. Turns out, the pulley was worn on the inside, and the crank was damaged. The car had 11k miles on it, and was babied. The total cost of the repair was 6k, though the dealship put a pin in the crank and charged me 3k. From the viper tech, that only happens if there is a fault in the pulley. Nonetheless, the dealership, Palmer Dodge agreed with me, however the Regional Manager would not stick behind his product. I am pretty sure this guy couldnt even name 5 parts on the engine besides the dipstick, and fan. I can't seem to figure out why he wouldnt listen to the dealership. I got a call from Dodge regarding my new coupe, and I proceeded to tell them about my previous car. They said they couldnt do a thing, because the Regional Manager has the final say. So to get this straight....I have bought 3 new vipers from Dodge, and some idiot decides he isn't gonna stand behind the car. I actually think they had a recall on the SRT trucks for this same issue. No more than one week later, a friend had the SAME issue with his Viper. He was smart, and hired a Viper Tech, and got the pin kit, and labor for $700. Moral of the story, beware of your Regional Manager, especially if you live in the Atlanta, GA Region. In the end, they don't care about their most loyal customers.

 

[TBarrow]

That is about right, I left 3 messages for SRT and numerous emails of which no one EVER answered me. I already own the Viper so I have to deal with the lack of service. I have even emailed higher executives and individuals I was told had connections but received no feed back. If you received bad service from a Reastaurant, Gym, Department Store, etc... You would never return.

The cheapest customer is the one that you have already EARNED their Loyalty, The most expensive is the one that you are trying to convince to purchase your product.

I am in the Home Business and my sales associates know that each buyer is required to do 2 things:

1. Love their new home.
2. Recommend us the their friends and family.

This is not difficult as it has yielded our company a 92% would recommend as an average since we opened in July of 2004. ( this is through an outside 3rd party firm not internal)

 

[99 R/T 10]

Unfortunaltly this is not uncommon. I had a similar problem and the dealership agreed with me, but the Regional Manager denied the claim. He was the final authority on the matter. You might want to try a different region(very difficult), but it may work to take the car out of the RM's region. Call Chuck Tator up in NY, he might be of some help. This is one of DC dirty little secrets and other than moving the claim, you might have to get a lawyer. Goos luck.

 

[1TONY1]

I was in the process of buying a new 06' Coupe, when my 2000 GTS Coupe blew the Serpentine Belt. Turns out, the pulley was worn on the inside, and the crank was damaged. The car had 11k miles on it, and was babied. The total cost of the repair was 6k, though the dealship put a pin in the crank and charged me 3k. From the viper tech, that only happens if there is a fault in the pulley. Nonetheless, the dealership, Palmer Dodge agreed with me, however the Regional Manager would not stick behind his product. I am pretty sure this guy couldnt even name 5 parts on the engine besides the dipstick, and fan. I can't seem to figure out why he wouldnt listen to the dealership. I got a call from Dodge regarding my new coupe, and I proceeded to tell them about my previous car. They said they couldnt do a thing, because the Regional Manager has the final say. So to get this straight....I have bought 3 new vipers from Dodge, and some idiot decides he isn't gonna stand behind the car. I actually think they had a recall on the SRT trucks for this same issue. No more than one week later, a friend had the SAME issue with his Viper. He was smart, and hired a Viper Tech, and got the pin kit, and labor for $700. Moral of the story, beware of your Regional Manager, especially if you live in the Atlanta, GA Region. In the end, they don't care about their most loyal customers.

Sorry about your troubles but I see it differently.

1. Your car is seven years old. What makes you think it should be covered if the warranty is out by a long time.
2. If you were here often you would have already known that you should have the balancer (not pulley) torqued with locktite.
3. You should have thought about it before you went to the dealer and saved tons of $$ like your buddy.
4. There was no fault in the pulley, it was a bolt that came loose.

 

[viperbob]

I think one of the main points of this thread has to do with sucky customer service...I agree 100% and have a few horror stories to back that up. Maybe "Dr. Z" should check out this board once in a while to see what customers have to say about his "halo" car.

I hate to say it but I have had better experiences with Ford & GM over the years; too bad they don't make the Viper. But then again, maybe Chrysler will get spun off...

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

I agree Dodge customer service is horrible. I've called DC twice about complaints about Dodge dealerships that I dealt with (aka ripped off by) and was told both times "the dealerships are privately owned so its nothing we can do. Sorry"

 

[viperbob]

If GM & Chrysler merge maybe things will change (ha ha).

 

[JonB]

Two Words:

EXTENDED WARRANTY.

It protects you from big surprises.
It enhances resale.
If you DONT USE IT, or use it little, YOU CAN GET $$ BACK !!!