Mick's North Hills Chrysler (etc). North suburbs of Pittsburgh.
I usually avoid the place like a snotty-nosed kid, but I have a valuable Chrysler extended warranty on my car, so if I think I might have something significant going on, or a problem that the warranty will cover I go ahead, hold my nose, and bring it in.
Two weeks ago, my car's computer erroneously sensed that the left-rear door of the car was open, while I was driving down the road. The dome lights went on, alarms pealed, and the "door open" indicator on the dash went on. I pulled over and re-closed the door, but that did nothing. I opened the door and actuated the switch on the sill and it seemed fine, but the dash was still falsely agitated.
It was the dreaded "intermittent problem." Sometimes it was fine, then for no apparent reason the alarms went off again. I couldn't use the fob to lock the doors because as soon as the problem recurred the alarm would go off.
So I made an appointment with Mick's North Hills Chrysler Service Department, and dropped off the car. "Mike." I told them in advance what the problem was, and that I wanted to renew my state inspection while there. What the hell, right? There's nothing wrong with the car anyway, so it should be painless.
I get my morning phone call from "Mike," and - surprise, surprise - they don't have the part. By the way, the "backside of your rotors are a little rusty," so they want to charge me $300 to replace the front rotors. Also, I'm (he says) losing a little coolant and a gasket ($15) needs replaced: another $300. But the good thing is, they will have to flush out the cooling system and replace my "permanent" antifreeze in the process, so...
They want $185 to replace the switch in the door. But of course they don't have the switch.
So I park the car on the day before Thanksgiving and don't use it over the weekend. When I get into my car on Monday morning the battery is almost dead, and the car won't start. It seems that the door problem has been going on for the entire 4-day weekend, and the dome light keeps going on and off. Darn. Also, the hood release isn't working properly, which is new.
I make an appointment to go back to Mick's and get the door fixed. They don't have the part, but "we'll have it tomorrow". The hood latch is fine but the cable is "defective" and they want $215 to replace the cable - which they also don't have. Another day bumming a ride with my carpool buddy. But on the way over to Mick's, I notice that the little engine icon on the dash is lit. So now I have (1) the door switch to contend with, (2) the Check Engine light, and (3) the problem with the hood release.
Rushing ahead, when I pick up the car I find that they charged me $95 to "run the codes." Parenthetically, you can buy a gadget at Pep Boys to run the codes for less than $95. The result of running the codes is that "it could be anything electrical." I ask Mike, why should I pay $95 to run the codes when all it comes up with is, "something electrical." I knew that when I came in. Also, he says my battery (one month old, from Pep Boys) is shot. They replaced a switch in the door for $185, and after my $100 deductible the warranty covered the rest. I leave Mick's and go over to Pep Boys where they confirm that my new battery is fine but could use a charge (they "had a hell of a time getting the hood open"). So should I believe the self-serving incompetents at Pep Boys or the thieves at Mick's? This is a tough one.
This morning I get up and my battery is dead. Computer thinks the back door is open. Hmm. I call Mike and tell him I'll drop the car off NOW to get it fixed. He says he can't take it until next week. When I prevail on him he agrees to "look at it" on Friday. When I implied that he FUCKED UP(!) so he should be willing to go the extra four centimeters for me, he takes great umbrage. They replaced the (NON-DEFECTIVE) switch; what more did I want? Well, I said, I thought you might DIAGNOSE THE FUCKING PROBLEM for $185 and fix it, rather than just TAKING MY WORD FOR IT and replacing a (non-defective) switch.
Jesus.
So this evening I plan to go to another Chrysler dealer from whom I have arranged to purchase the $17 cable, then drop the car off with Mike to get my car fixed. What Mike doesn't know is that I'm going out of town until Monday, so he can keep the car over the weekend. He was hoping that the threat of having to keep my car there Saturday would scare me off.
Lordy, lordy. How do these places stay in business?
I usually avoid the place like a snotty-nosed kid, but I have a valuable Chrysler extended warranty on my car, so if I think I might have something significant going on, or a problem that the warranty will cover I go ahead, hold my nose, and bring it in.
Two weeks ago, my car's computer erroneously sensed that the left-rear door of the car was open, while I was driving down the road. The dome lights went on, alarms pealed, and the "door open" indicator on the dash went on. I pulled over and re-closed the door, but that did nothing. I opened the door and actuated the switch on the sill and it seemed fine, but the dash was still falsely agitated.
It was the dreaded "intermittent problem." Sometimes it was fine, then for no apparent reason the alarms went off again. I couldn't use the fob to lock the doors because as soon as the problem recurred the alarm would go off.
So I made an appointment with Mick's North Hills Chrysler Service Department, and dropped off the car. "Mike." I told them in advance what the problem was, and that I wanted to renew my state inspection while there. What the hell, right? There's nothing wrong with the car anyway, so it should be painless.
I get my morning phone call from "Mike," and - surprise, surprise - they don't have the part. By the way, the "backside of your rotors are a little rusty," so they want to charge me $300 to replace the front rotors. Also, I'm (he says) losing a little coolant and a gasket ($15) needs replaced: another $300. But the good thing is, they will have to flush out the cooling system and replace my "permanent" antifreeze in the process, so...
They want $185 to replace the switch in the door. But of course they don't have the switch.
So I park the car on the day before Thanksgiving and don't use it over the weekend. When I get into my car on Monday morning the battery is almost dead, and the car won't start. It seems that the door problem has been going on for the entire 4-day weekend, and the dome light keeps going on and off. Darn. Also, the hood release isn't working properly, which is new.
I make an appointment to go back to Mick's and get the door fixed. They don't have the part, but "we'll have it tomorrow". The hood latch is fine but the cable is "defective" and they want $215 to replace the cable - which they also don't have. Another day bumming a ride with my carpool buddy. But on the way over to Mick's, I notice that the little engine icon on the dash is lit. So now I have (1) the door switch to contend with, (2) the Check Engine light, and (3) the problem with the hood release.
Rushing ahead, when I pick up the car I find that they charged me $95 to "run the codes." Parenthetically, you can buy a gadget at Pep Boys to run the codes for less than $95. The result of running the codes is that "it could be anything electrical." I ask Mike, why should I pay $95 to run the codes when all it comes up with is, "something electrical." I knew that when I came in. Also, he says my battery (one month old, from Pep Boys) is shot. They replaced a switch in the door for $185, and after my $100 deductible the warranty covered the rest. I leave Mick's and go over to Pep Boys where they confirm that my new battery is fine but could use a charge (they "had a hell of a time getting the hood open"). So should I believe the self-serving incompetents at Pep Boys or the thieves at Mick's? This is a tough one.
This morning I get up and my battery is dead. Computer thinks the back door is open. Hmm. I call Mike and tell him I'll drop the car off NOW to get it fixed. He says he can't take it until next week. When I prevail on him he agrees to "look at it" on Friday. When I implied that he FUCKED UP(!) so he should be willing to go the extra four centimeters for me, he takes great umbrage. They replaced the (NON-DEFECTIVE) switch; what more did I want? Well, I said, I thought you might DIAGNOSE THE FUCKING PROBLEM for $185 and fix it, rather than just TAKING MY WORD FOR IT and replacing a (non-defective) switch.
Jesus.
So this evening I plan to go to another Chrysler dealer from whom I have arranged to purchase the $17 cable, then drop the car off with Mike to get my car fixed. What Mike doesn't know is that I'm going out of town until Monday, so he can keep the car over the weekend. He was hoping that the threat of having to keep my car there Saturday would scare me off.
Lordy, lordy. How do these places stay in business?
