Lemon Law Rights / What Would You Do?

[Spartan99]

If you want to free yourself from the Jeep, you’ve had enough and you just want it gone, your best bet is to sell it or trade it in. You’ll pay more for the losses in both time and money if you bother lawyering up. Good news is it’s probably barely declined in value if at all. I totally get your situation it sucks when you aren’t happy with a large purchase, but you’re in a good spot with supply and demand so don’t sweat it bro you’re good.

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[nlicalsi91]

How many times did you bring it in to the dealership?
In NY State, you have to bring it in 4 times or it has to be at the dealership for a total of 30 days
You also need all of your repair orders (the day you dropped it off and the day you picked it up)
After 25 days or 3 failed attempts to repair, you have to send a certified with return receipt "Last Chance" letter for the manufacturer stating that there were 3 unsuccessful repair attempts and you are giving them notice to respond and repair or you will seek arbitration or attorney under your state's lemon law.

I know all of this because I just hit the 21 day mark where my brand new F-150 has been in the shop, and I only owned it for 1 day. But the law is the law and you must abide by it to have a successful case against the manufacturer!

 

[nh4x4jeep]

FWIW, if others are reading.this and looking for a "Good" dealer, I would check BBB.org and online reviews.

Also, I was told that the dealers with the blue and white Customer First banner have been recognized for their excellence in customer service.

Best of luck resolving your issues. I've been working with Jeep.Cares and they have been incredibly responsive and helpful!

Send a private message to them:
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/members/13530/

Jon G.

 

[RussJeep1]

@jeepmikey

I've skimmed the posts and in my humble opinion, which could be wrong, @MORTON got closest to what I think is the best answer. Here's what I think you should do.

Compose a letter detailing the who's, what's, where's, and when's of your problems and their time line to Tim Kuniskis, President of Jeep.

Chrysler Headquarters and Technology Center
Auburn Hills, MI 48326

is as good a an address as any. Whoever physically gets your letter, which you should send certified mail, is going to know how to get it to the Office of the President.

Let's talk about this place. First off, Mr. Kuniskis is very likely never going to see your letter, nor should he, nor do you want him to. He's relatively new to running the place since Mike Manley was assigned to run FCA proper with Sergio Marchionne's passing.

Still more, Mr. Kuniskis is there to do strategic planning, not deal with the operational daily problems, unless mission critical.

But there is good news. The people in the Office of the President of any large company are specially trailed customer service reps with product knowledge, knowledge of the inner workings of the company, and are trained to truly understand customer problems and issues, both mechanically and emotionally.

Shortly after this letter is received, (leave a contact number) one of these people will call you. They will be super supportive and understand, and understand your issues.

Then, they start making calls on your behalf. And their calls, to the inner workings of FCA or dealers start like this, "hi, this is Judy/Ted from the Office of the President, who am I speaking with?"

FCA dealerships and corporate staff know these issues must get not only resolved, but resolved quickly.

Mikey: in fairness to FCA, this is not the avenue for you or others to take when dealing with minor problems (which you Mikey are not).

But your problems will be assigned a special ticket number from the Office of the President. And things will get done.

No phone call or communication you have with your personal customer rep will leave without expectations being established on deliverables and when they will happen.

They will call back, whether those deliverables are met or not. They will monitor the matter. They will know your issue isn't getting priority and intervene before you call them.

Notice I didn't say they will return your call. That is because you won't need to make that call. They will contact you with status before you call them.

========

I missed, if said, what State you bought the rig in. I don't know, if it was out of State which State's lemon laws attach. If the above fails, seek competent council with Lemon Law specific areas of concentration.

 

[dgrosenberg.5]

The understanding that seems to be missing from Jeep Corporate is that these posts have tremendous impact of lots of potential buyers--like me!!! I have been ready to order my 3rd Ruby but get hesitant when reading comments like these. Of course today they are basically selling out but tomorrow is another day. Something GM learned the hard way about 10 years ago--if they did in fact learn it. I have had a fair amount of experience with BMW and Mercedes service departments [and more lately, Kia] and have never been treated poorly. Charged a lot of course, but never treated with anything but respect. They guard their customer ratings like Fort Knox. And corporate sets the standards independent dealers must maintain.

Independent dealers can definitely be under Jeep influence if Jeep so chooses. Meanwhile I am debating whether to move to something else.

 

[RussJeep1]

Sometimes I get the feeling Doug that the term "Independent dealer" is defined as the extent to which FCA doesn't want to be involved in solving your problems.

When the problem is FCA's watch how dependent those dealers become, particularly with Wranglers moving like hot cakes that no way do they want to risk their franchise ability to sell new.

 

[Indio]

Death wobble? I've owned my CJ7 since 1989 and it never had anything I would call "death wobble". My 1971 CJ5 once had something occur that I would call death wobble, when I was driving around without a front bumper and hit a bump a certain way, it would develop a wicked shimmy. After that occurred a few times, I bolted the bumper back on tight, and never had another death wobble. Is this JL "death wobble" an exaggeration, or did Jeep really screw up the engineering so bad as to have a true death wobble on a new modern vehicle?

Also last week I made an appointment for a haircut, but had to wait 20 minutes past my appointment, because some lady was having issues with her perm. And last time getting an oil change, it took an hour longer than expected. I was not thrilled but things happen. You expect to have your car worked on right at the 11:00am appointment? Good luck with that. I work a cushy white collar IT job now, but for a while earlier in life worked blue collar jobs. No way I would expect or want any working stiff to miss lunch for me.

 

[gofastguy]

No one likes to wait. But unless the dealership has a quick change lane, it is highly unlikely they are going to have a smiling service tech take your keys and start work immediately. And IMHO it can be extremely useful to have a service department that likes you and is on your side. Life is gonna be way simpler and more enjoyable if the OP can start over with a different service department and really try to be nice and not too demanding, instead of spending all of the time, effort and expense in trying to win a lemon law case which centers around a relatively short delay and disrespect.

 

[rustyshakelford]

The most I’ve ever waited for a service advisor was 5 mins. If I had an appt I would except no more than that

Brett

 

[tyresmoker]

All interesting points, writing letters etc...Been through the buy-back process twice in the past three years. Two Cadillac Escalades to be exact. Second one replaced the first one, and a big bag of money replaced the second one....
There are only two key players that can help you with your situation. The owner of the dealership you purchased the car from and their ability to vouch for you to the district service manager. The DSM holds most of the cards in a situation like this and is fully empowered to make things happen. Best to focus your energy getting your situation in front of the DSM of whatever zone your purchasing dealer is located in.

 

[nh4x4jeep]

It's QUITE REAL, my friend! I have a stock 2018 JL and when you hit a bridge seam.on the highway the Jeep shakes like an airplane falling out of the sky! It's a horrible bucking front to rear. I'm just leaving the dealer after having them replace a visibly leaking steery stabilizer. I'm not sure if they have nailed it down yet, but there are multiple star casrs and tsbs posted regarding steering issues. Also, 400/600 posts at NTSB for the Wrangler JL are either for the Death Wobble or for the wandering steering issue. It would be hard to argue that there isn't an issue with so many reports. Glad yours isn't one if them. And, yes, I've owned 7 Jeeps in my lifetime. Cheers!

Death wobble? I've owned my CJ7 since 1989 and it never had anything I would call "death wobble"....
s this JL "death wobble" an exaggeration, or did Jeep really screw up the engineering so bad as to have a true death wobble on a new modern vehicle?

 

[HDinkH]

This is super helpful, thank you.

I wonder if Jeep will make me go through the whole process over - I.E. have to get the Jeep reinspected from scratch at a new dealership or if the parts can simply be ordered and installed by a new dealership...

Hi, I realize this conversation is a little over a year old, but I'm finding myself faced with a JL lemon. I'm hoping you guys might have some answers.

I'm in Maryland and have unfortunately surpassed the lemon law requirements for this state. What I'm unable to find is the
Manufacturer's Name and address where I need to send the certified letter. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Shawn19]

Hi, I realize this conversation is a little over a year old, but I'm finding myself faced with a JL lemon. I'm hoping you guys might have some answers.

I'm in Maryland and have unfortunately surpassed the lemon law requirements for this state. What I'm unable to find is the
Manufacturer's Name and address where I need to send the certified letter. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

With your owners manual there is a separate white booklet dealing with lemon law. The requirements for each state and the address of the manufacturer are in there.
Been researching it myself, good luck.

Supposedly FCA is going to have a tech ride with me in my 18JLUSS. Guess this will be the tipping point for me depending on the outcome.

 

[viper88]

All interesting points, writing letters etc...Been through the buy-back process twice in the past three years. Two Cadillac Escalades to be exact. Second one replaced the first one, and a big bag of money replaced the second one....
There are only two key players that can help you with your situation. The owner of the dealership you purchased the car from and their ability to vouch for you to the district service manager. The DSM holds most of the cards in a situation like this and is fully empowered to make things happen. Best to focus your energy getting your situation in front of the DSM of whatever zone your purchasing dealer is located in.

Truth!

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