3 days old and motor bad - advice?

[Steve-Indy]

This MAY NOT be what you think....DO NOT START it...call me 317-431-1375.

Steve Fess Sec. Ind/Ky VCA

 

[Matt M PA]

Sorry to hear about that Andy..I too would be upset. But, if my memory is correct...PA's Lemon Law only comes into effect after the same problem has occured 3 times, so you may be "stuck" with having to fix this.

 

[slaughterj]

Hey Steve, what could this be?

 

[MrLucky1]

Well, I am currently a very sad/mad consumer. I took delivery of my 01 RT on Monday and drove it 150 miles to my home. When I start the car Tuesday, there is no oil pressure. My local dealer tows it in and apparently is advised by Detroit that it may be camshaft and to pull motor, ship it to Detroit for a rebuild. Meanwhile, my engineless car sits outside at the dealer.

The selling dealer's response - not our car anymore, go to arbitration.
Dodge's response - Sorry, but all we can do is try to fix. We cannot replace the car for you.

So, the time clock on my state's 30 day lemon law started on 3/27. Anyone knowing any other options I have, please let me know.

Thanks.
Super distressed in PA
Andy

 

[Jerry Scott[CO]]

It is unfortunate that this happened, but you will find that the rebuild is better than the original engine. I would suggest that you have the hood put back on and the car hauled to your house and parked in your garage until the engine is ready. Ask the dealer to pay for this. This way you will be assured that the paint will not get damaged. They should also pay for the pick up when they are ready to install. Jerry Scott[CO]

 

[SoCal Rebell]

Ditto, I had this done to my snake, have it towed to your home on their dime, my motor took 9 1/2 weeks but came back strong. Being the summer time you may only have to wait 5-6 weeks. I feel your pain, been there done that.

 

[RickV2K]

Sorry Andy.......just out of curiousity, who was the dealer?

 

[bad viper]

see below

<FONT COLOR="#ff0000" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by bad viper on March 31, 2001 at 15:55</font>

 

[bad viper]

May have to do with warranty. A crate motor has a 90 day warranty
and is sold through MOPAR as a performance product which
could also complicate the situation! If this only happens a few times a year they should replace the **** car! If it happens more than that, then they should replace the car and REPLACE THE QC PEOPLE!

 

[FikseGTS]

thats crazy.... it's a brand new car... you should not wait 3 months for your motor to come back...

if your state has a lemon law.... start talking it up... make them get you a crate motor... or a new car...

Brooks

 

[MrLucky1]

Well, as to which dealer it was, I'd rather not post that just yet until I've had a chance to talk to the owner on Monday (4/2). I think that it the appropriate thing to do.

As far as the car, the engine was pulled today (3/31) - what a disgusting sight. Apparently the servicing dealer and the zone representative are very in tune with what the PA lemon law states - 3 attempts or 30 days.

I appreciate the posts for the folks who recommended I have the car towed home while awaiting the rebuild. That will be done on Monday. Plus, it was nice of the tech to note that he left enough power so that I could at least listen to the radio. (HA HA, at this point you need to have a sense of humor.)

I'm not sure why they are insisting on a rebuild as I have not yet asked that question. I got all this fine news on Friday morning. So, I'll be sure to inquire on Monday.

Again, thanks for all the insight and I'll be sure to keep this topic updated.

 

[VardaMan]

Even if it gets fixed, who the hell would want a rebuilt ~$70K car??? DC should get involved and take that piece of crap back and return you your money. (I assume that you had nothing to do with causing the problem). Good luck but it think that you are screwed! You may have to live through it and dump off that lemon as soon as you get it back.

 

[Fred(DrivingSchool)Kinder]

Losing a motor or any feature after 3 days would leave me with a very bad feeling. You wait for your dream car and the dream becomes a nightmare. I think most of us would feel pretty bad. The reality of manufacturing is that materials fail people make mistakes and on a rare occasion you lose a motor in 3 days. I lost one at about 8k miles. It took longer than I liked to pull and send for a rebuild and install. when it came back, it felt stronger than ever. As far as re-sale value, the rebuild should not be a factor. It seems pretty common to have the rebuild engines run better than a production assembly line build. I hope Team Viper can expedite the repair of your motor! I suggest you work with your local VCA pres. to use a little influence to help expedite the return of your motor. If the motor failure was due to operator abuse, it is called Karma.

 

[slaughterj]

One recent new 2000 viper on ebay was listed as having its motor replaced, and I emailed the dealer about it, said it was due to poor compression - while I did not confirm whether it was replaced or rebuilt (though he advertised it as replaced), it seems if the dealer could get one replaced, so should you...

 

[Matt]

Would the Lemon Law allow you to get a new car if yours is not up and running in 30 days? I don't know how they work.

If that is the way it works, why try and expedite the rebuild? Let Arrow take their average 7 to 9 weeks. 30 days in call up the dealer and have them tow THEIR car back and give you a new one.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune.

Matt

 

[MrLucky1]

Well, as expected, despite numerous promises, there was no call from the dealership owner today. I have received a call from the owner on 4/4 and and he did listen. Not alot has changed in my situation, but I feel compelled to modify this previous post. So, I will remove the name of the selling dealership and allow this process to run its course. I will try to keep anyone interested of my progress.

The sales management response (general manager) was absolutely appalling. The customer service representative did attempt to be helpful.

The motor is now out of the car and the car has been towed to my home thanks to the advice from these posts. As to why they chose to rebuild versus replace the motor, the dealer response was in order to retain the vehicle value (numbers matching) they use the original motor.

The servicing dealer has been outstanding thus far in this process - Fred Beans Dodge in Doylestown PA.


Thanks to all for the info thusfar

Andy

 

[jamie furman]

Man a 1 day old car they got to replace that, rebuilt motor better than original don't believe that. Yeah it might run as good as new or it might not. When you go to sell it and they look up service on the dodge computer do you think you can convince them your car has a rebuilt motor because you didn't blow it up
ragging it out and probabaly ragged out everything else too.I doubt it, I collect cars and the first thing I look for is originality so when I see that rebuilt motor I want a discount a big one or I will go buy another car and let somebody else wonder why there paying top dollar for a car with a blown motor.
Dodge essentially sold you a used car with bad owner history instead of a new one with good service records. Hire a lawyer and get a new car there probabaly is a lemon law to address major engine failure within 24 hours. You should have gotten a second opinion though in case it was misdiagnosed problem, you said you drove the car home with no apparent problems.

 

[Y2K5SRT]

Don't be too quick to judge all of Dodge/DaimlerChrysler by one dealership. I suspect the selling dealership was the one that made this call. Let me tell you about a dealership, a bad motor, and DaimlerChrysler (I'll try to keep it short):

Like IEATVETTS with his European dealer, I ordered my car sight unseen from a dealer I never met. When I picked up the car at the factory, I had the pleasure of meeting my salesman there, as he flew in to make sure I was thrilled. He gave me his cell number and his home phone number. The owner of the dealership did the same. And we are talking one of the largest auto dealerships in the Midwest. And yes, he called me on my cell phone on my way home with the new car and again after I arrived. Simply incredible and better than anything I had experienced before, including a Lexus purchase which was pretty impressive (great dealership program). Over a year later, they STILL call me every month or so to make sure I am still thrilled.

Unlike Andy, my motor waited a few weeks to let me know it wasn't feeling so hot. It was running OK, but going through a lot of oil. It continued on this pace and I made my selling dealership aware of it. We decided to put some more miles on the car and see if it didn't abate. I drove that car for 10,000 miles and was still having trouble. The dealership gave me a choice of a rebuild or a new motor. I weighed my options and chose a rebuild. Why? Everyone, without exception, told me they generally came back stronger than when they went in. In addition, I felt a numbers-matching original motor would have better resale than a replacement motor. As if I would ever sell my baby!

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The dealership babysat my car AND me during the time it was being repaired. Hardly a day went by that I didn't get an update of what was happening. I knew I was being taken care of.

Now, was I bummed out? You bet your astronauts! Was I disappointed with the car? Absolutely not. Things happen, and in this case I managed to pull a car that had a problem. It just so happened that my problem was more severe than a remote mirror that wouldn't work or a radio that wouldn't turn on. I know that these guys that build these cars take more pride in their work than just about anybody else on this planet. I knew that in my case the problem was totally beyond their control (design defect). What good would it do me to complain? None.

In Andy's case I think the dealership should have offered to get him a new car and made sure they got Dodge to buy into it. If the selling dealership isn't willing to take that first step, it would be difficult to convince Dodge to do otherwise. Of course, since I am not an expert on the dealership system, I don't know if this is even possible. I do know that many lemon laws provide for a certain number of occurances OR a certain number of days out of service (usually 30). I would guess that Andy's car will be out of service for just about 30 days, if not longer. Of course, I don't know that ANY manufacturer, be it Lexus or McLaren, would offer a free replacement if it went bad even four hours later. While I am sure Andy treated it properly, the manufacturer has no way of knowing if he actually had a redline party until it finally blew.

The situation stinks no matter how you slice it. Andy, I feel for you more than you know. You will be very happy with the motor that comes back, just as I am. While it isn't the best circumstance, you should count your blessings that you have the financial ability to buy a car like this and the health to enjoy it. Also don't forget that you have found a great dealership in the one servicing it. That is worth its weight in gold down the line. As my mother always liked to say, "Fear not, for this too shall pass." You will be back on the road in no time.

Best of luck, and keep us posted as things develop.

Chris

 

[MrLucky1]

I concur with Chris 100%. In the overall scheme of life, this hardly matters. And ultimately this will be resolved, one way or another.

I am basically at the point of treating this as a new adventure (albeit, not one I would knowingly seek out). I am getting to talk to some great folks here on the board.

In the interim, I will continue to explore my options and see what develops. And at some point I'll be driving one of the greatest cars on the road.