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bjm00se

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With a sketchy starter I'd be reluctant to chance it that far off asphalt.
It's easy to say that from the comfort of the keyboard, but imagine the real-life situation:

You've got the Jeep,
You've made the trip arrangements,
The Jeep *usually* starts.

Imagine cancelling a big trip for a problem that might happen that you can't actually reproduce.

I mean - I get it - we always endeavor to be maximally prepared. But "maximum preparation" is a goal that's never actually reached. You could always be more prepared. And if you wait for perfect preparation, you'll never actually go. And then you won't get the experience, that, itself is a part of being prepared.

I'm not gonna sit here and second guess @ratherbeskiing 's decision to go out.
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aldo98229

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Lemon Law process is not quick. Our case was an easy slam dunk. Still took many months from first letter sent.
^ this!

I went through a buyback in 2012. Even with all my and my dealerā€™s ducks in row, it still took two months.

The process is slow and tedious on purpose; otherwise everybody would be asking for a buyback at the drop of a hat.
 

old mike

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With a sketchy starter I'd be reluctant to chance it that far off asphalt.
Call me a wuss; but, with a sketchy anything, I'd be reluctant to chance it that far off asphalt. For six months out of the year, a few more hours than anticipated stuck in freak cold front in that country and at that elevation could be bad. For the other six months out of the year, a few more hours than anticipated exposed to a hotter and sunnier than usual heat dome in that country could be worse.
 

SouthValleyPerformance

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Unfortunately, my Jeep was the subject of Matt's latest video. You can learn the details of my reoccurring starter issues here on this thread.


Matt's video:




This was a once-in-a-lifetime trip with my father that turned into a worst-case-scenario event in one of the most remote places in the lower 48.

I had initiated a buyback process after this trip that went more poorly than my actual Jeep excursion. It was 10 days before my first call back which I was told would happen in 2-3 days. Then another 10-days before my next call back. I called, called, called, called, sent certified mail, emailed, emailed, and even contracted @JeepCares here. Not to get a resolution, but to just get ANYONE to talk to me to begin the case process. They wore me down and I was so defeated I sold this jeep back to the dealership at a huge loss just to be able to go on with my life. I extrapolated out the pain of the buyback process based on what I had experienced so far and I knew that I just could not absorb that into my already stressful life. I could tell that the process was designed to just wear me down.

In case you're wondering Jeep (Chrysler customer service) did not care one bit that my Jeep would be featured on MORR. I thought that they might take me a bit more serious due to the pending publicity but no, they simply did not care. I begged to be connected to corporate communications, social media team, PR, or anyone else except the very junior folks who would not return my calls. They didn't care that my jeep was literally catching on fire repeatedly and that I would soon have a platform to tell my story after the video vent live.

I was a life-long Jeep fanboy until this experience and owned 3 Jeeps at the time of this video. My goal is to get that number to 0 very soon. I'm way less upset about the repeated mechanical failures than I am with the customer care. I was stranded twice, if you catch my drift. I'm still pleading with Jeep to help me recoup the remaining out-of-pocket money for the tow but the odds are slim now that I have lost my buyback leverage. I won't be discussing those amounts publicly. I was really looking forward to a 3.0 Gladiator someday but I just can't drop that much coin with Jeep again until the trauma from this one wears off.

Here is a Second Video of the recovery that is actually better than Matt's Version.

Odd that things have changed so much. When I spent a few years at a large CJDRFA dealer in MA (2014-2017) we had several of our customers go through the buyback process on Cherokees due to the 9 speed and Fiat 500Ls due to the DCT. FCA usually sends out an area field engineer to review / attempt one final repair (if they deem it necessary) and then within a couple weeks the vehicle was back and set aside as a buyback. Most of the time there was either a lawyer involved or it went through arbitration so I definitely think thatā€™s where things could have gone ā€œbetterā€ for you, not that anything about your situation is good in any way.

Edit - And to other peoples points, yes the initial process to get started is not quick by any means, but thereā€™s a reason for that.
 

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Everyone is guessing about the price of the recovery. Helps to remember these guys are likely going to pay a huge fine (or jail time) for insurance fraud. They canā€™t have anyone talking about cost right now at all. Iā€™m not trying to start a debate on what they did or didnā€™t do, the stuff we know about will lead some stuff penalties.
 

HBDiesel

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Best part of the story is dealer fixed your Jeep with a new starter relay.
Long trip reliability Iā€™ll stick with Toyota. I tell my wife the 4Runner is the Jeeps support vehicle until it proves otherwise.
 
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ratherbskiing

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In an effort to document the event with Jeep I went through Chrysler Roadside assistance to get the tow set up. I figured this might be my best path to some potential future reimbursement. Chrysler then contacts tow companies for bids. Therefore, no one came back to me after the fact for time and materials overages. As I'm sure you can imagine...attempting to explain to just how specialized this recovery would need to be to folks in Chrysler's call center was a significant challenge. I can promise you that although this was quite an expense for me to swallow, the amount was peanuts compared to the actual cost of the recovery . I'm sure that the YT views help to soften the blow to MORR though.
 

jg45

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Watched both videos yesterday. First thing, glad you and your father made it out safely. I love my Wrangler but can say that FCA puts customer service last. Apparently when your reputation is already so bad, but demand stays high for your product, there is no reason to try and improve.
 

1BadManVan

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Everyone is guessing about the price of the recovery. Helps to remember these guys are likely going to pay a huge fine (or jail time) for insurance fraud. They canā€™t have anyone talking about cost right now at all. Iā€™m not trying to start a debate on what they did or didnā€™t do, the stuff we know about will lead some stuff penalties.
Youā€™re a bit behind the times, he paid the fine a long time ago already and dealt with that.
 

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1BadManVan

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In an effort to document the event with Jeep I went through Chrysler Roadside assistance to get the tow set up. I figured this might be my best path to some potential future reimbursement. Chrysler then contacts tow companies for bids. Therefore, no one came back to me after the fact for time and materials overages. As I'm sure you can imagine...attempting to explain to just how specialized this recovery would need to be to folks in Chrysler's call center was a significant challenge. I can promise you that although this was quite an expense for me to swallow, the amount was peanuts compared to the actual cost of the recovery . I'm sure that the YT views help to soften the blow to MORR though.
One thing Iā€™ve learned from watching so many of their videos and having some of their customers comment on their videos as well, they give you a big break financially. They are great about reducing the cost to the customer when they get to post the video since they will recoup all the costs and then some. They obviously donā€™t have to do that, but itā€™s nice they help you out that way.

I watched that video when it first came out, over 24 hours total time to get there and back, that would cost a fortune with another company that doesnā€™t recoup any costs by videoing it. They are definitely in an unique situation to do that
 

FCCinAZ

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Did the buy back process change recently? I had them buy back a 2020 JLURD IN 2021 and it went pretty smoothly. Of course, they couldnā€™t get my JKUR back that I traded in. I wonder if they had too many buy backs and they decided to make it more onerous especially after they saw the bronco wasnā€™t too great a threat.
 

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Im glad I didn't have to deal with buyback issues when I bought a 2014 JK. I drove it off the lot, and was on the side of the road 20 minutes later with a blown head gasket. They sold it to me with a known open work order and didn't tell me. Not FCA fault, totally the sleazy dealer. They took it back no questions asked.... probably because they knew anything less would result in a lawsuit.
 

zouch

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really sorry to hear of the drama; glad there wasn't any real trauma!

was just there in our Diesel Willys the week-before-last and had a great time; sorry to hear your time there didn't work out as well. (even think i saw MOORs crazy tow vehicle running down 191 through Moab while we were there,...)

ignoring the issues with the vehicle, i'm curious about how you dealt with the breakdown.
were you traveling alone?
did you have Cell Coverage where you were?
Garmin InReach?
Sat phone?
Ham Radio?
how did you (and your Dad) get yourselves out?
would be curious to hear the 'escape' details to learn from the experience.

it was over 100ĀŗF most of the days we were there; things could have gone very much more badly for y'all very quickly.


Unfortunately, my Jeep was the subject of Matt's latest video. You can learn the details of my reoccurring starter issues here on this thread.


This was a once-in-a-lifetime trip with my father that turned into a worst-case-scenario event in one of the most remote places in the lower 48.

[snippage]
 

Whaler27

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ā€¦.I could tell that the process was designed to just wear me downā€¦
Exactly!

The process IS designed to wear you down, like any claim or litigation process.

I had a similar experience with FCA when I was trying to get my ecodiesel claim processed ā€” and that was a process that was, at least in theory, court-mandated and enforceable.

The ecodiesel settlement required very little of the customer:
1) Get the required reflash at the dealership
2) Submit proof of ownership and their completed claim form to FCA

I got the reflash within a couple months and then I took color copies of my completed claim paperwork, driverā€™s license, original purchase receipt, registration, and title.

I made two duplicate stacks of documents and sent one of them via certified mail to the mailing address provided by FCA. I heard nothing for months. The package of documents was delivered, but FCA didnā€˜t respond. After about four months I started calling. When I reached customer service I was told FCA had no record of my claim. The fact that I could prove it had been delivered was irrelevant.

So I took my duplicate document pile, scanned it, and resent the package to the alternative electronic address. Again, no response for a couple months, so I called again. When I finally got through to the ā€œcustomer serviceā€ agent, she was able to find my ā€caseā€. She explained it wasnā€™t moving forward because my registration was expired. (Current registration wasnā€™t one of the original document requirements, nor should it have been, because I was entitled to the settlement even if I chose to let the Jeep sit in my shop for a few years unregistered, or drive it only on the ranch where no registration is required. I explained that to the agent. Silence. I also pointed out that the registration was current when it was initially sent to them, but had expired over the intervening months it had been sitting with them. More silenceā€¦ so I thanked her for her time and hung up. )

I copied the updated registration, substituted it for the expired version in my FCA document stack, and resent the whole pile to FCA with an email explaining the update and noting it was the third time I had sent the complete set of required documents to them. Again, nothing for about eight weeks, so I called customer service again. after about ten minutes the agent informed me that my file was ready to move on to the next phase of the process. I asked what the next step was and she said ā€œpaymentā€. I finally got a check about 8 weeks after that.

Youā€™re right. They donā€™t give a shit, and your claim wonā€™t be seen by anybody who matters, unless you find a way to elevate it.

Have you seen the ā€œUnited Breaks Guitarsā€ video? Itā€™s hilarious. And it worked, eventually. The victim of United laid the wood to United corporate in a way that had much more impact than the $3,000 it would have taken to treat the customer fairly.

United Breaks Guitars
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