Saying bye and giving an apology

KB Viper

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I wanted to say that this a awesome forum with true car enthusiasts that have a passion for the Viper. For anyone that didn’t know my Viper was officially bought back this past Tuesday and I ended up buying another ZR1.
I would like to say that the Viper is an amazing car that I did enjoy it up until the end but with the way my situation was handled I got a bad taste in my mouth from the Chrysler attorneys and buy back group and that is why I was bashing the Viper. So to set the record straight I do believe the interior & exterior styling, fit, and finish is a 10 and the car is wicked fast. I did manage to put 5,400 miles on mine while I had which was only 78 days so I did know the car well in that short period of time. And I honestly was going to get another Viper when I was given he option to have a repurchase or replacement but once I agreed that I wasn’t going to keep mine my case was transferred to a different department and that’s when my experience went south and it became me against the attorneys instead of them helping me get another Viper.
The one piece of feedback I would like to give SRT is this; If a Viper owners car is in for warranty work on multiple visits for the same issue, under 12 months old, and going to be at the dealer for more than a week waiting on parts with no ETA then there should be a factory owned Viper in every region of the country and that should be used as the rental so that owners like me that drive the car everyday can stay in love with the Viper. If they are not willing to do that than they should be willing to pull parts off the assembly line from a car that is going to a dealership with multiple Vipers in stock. My first visit was 3 days and they gave me a Chrysler 200, my second visit was 7 days and they gave me a Dodge Avenger, my third visit was officially 57 days and they gave me a Dodge Journey.
So I’m sorry for my bad mouthing of the Viper, I honestly would not have bought it for 152k (139k + tax, tag, and title) if I didn’t think it was an awesome American built machine, it’s just too bad mine was a lemon. But for anyone that thought I was being too picky about the paint transfer that was occurring on my driver’s door and rear brake duct, the issue was actually due to the driver’s door lip being 1/8th of an inch longer than spec and was always going to hit the brake duct and was starting to dent it. Add that to my window not staying rolled up, check engine light on, ECS light on, air bag light on (the parts to fix this took the longest almost 3 weeks), and the car being stuck in race mode the last 2 weeks I drove it I don’t believe any Viper owner would put up with that.
Kris
 

Catwood

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good luck to you. Are you near Carmel Ranch....though I saw you in that area near the costco
 

VRYALT3R3D

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No need to give an apology. You had a lemon and Chrysler treated you awfully. Best of luck with the ZR1!
 

Nine Ball

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Shame on SRT for not handling this quickly and the right way. This guy buys the most expensive car that Chrysler has ever produced, and he is treated like the bad guy. They should have taken his lemon Launch Edition GTS, and replaced it with one of the others that are sitting stagnant across the country. His loaner vehicles should have been, at the minimum, SRT-8 vehicles.

Kris, best of luck with the ZR1. Maybe you'll pick up another Viper, once you feel confident the bugs are worked out of them. I'm looking forward to the next Z07 myself.

Tony
 

01viper4me

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Sorry to hear your treatment from SRT was that poor. Best of luck and nice to hear you are at least staying in the American side of the car market!
 

ACRucrazy

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One thing about service, a co worker of mine had two brand new C230s. Every time it went in (oil change, broken windshield replacement, diagnose squeaking issue etc) he would have a loaner vehicle that was just as nice or nicer than the one he brought it.

I too would be quite bothered by bringing in a $150k car for service and being stuck with a $20k rental for an extended period of time, I think 5 business days I would be OK with.

Bummer about your experience.
 

ViperSmith

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Kris, no need to apologize on your end. You handled it a lot better than I would have. I think you were more than patient.

Enjoy your ZR1.
 

Alabaster Mamba

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No need to apologize Kris. You handled it way better than alot of people. It is in no way your fault for switching to another car. It is in fact SRTs fault for losing a valuable customer. When you bought your car, you not only bought the car but also the customer service as well. You received one without the other. Companies really need to understand that word of mouth goes a long way. And in your case, some will look at your experience and ask themselves if they want to take a chance on going through the same thing you went through. When in fact, people would have had alot of confidence had SRT bought the vehicle back and did their best to get you back into another Viper. Shoot, I would have thought that they would have thrown in some of the accessories for free had you bought another viper.
 

Vic

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My first visit was 3 days and they gave me a Chrysler 200, my second visit was 7 days and they gave me a Dodge Avenger, my third visit was officially 57 days and they gave me a Dodge Journey.

No matter which model they give you for a loaner, it always feels like you're driving a DODGE REGRET? :rolleyes:

They haven't named any car a "REGRET" yet. Marketing boys, that's a freebie for ya!
 

Paul Hawker

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Kris.

I was happy to meet you and get a look at your fantastic Blue/White GTS at the Carlsbad Cars & Coffee some time ago. Your enthusiasm for the car was very evident, and you had that Viper smile on your face.

I followed a bit on your efforts to handle the issues as they came up. I know Cragin, Lance and a couple dealerships were more than eager to resolve the problems, but with a new car nobody had seen before your body fit issues. (most Gen V owners are really happy with the better fit and finish than any previous Vipers)

As things spiraled out of control your car was being ******* longer and longer, and the loaner cars were certainly not up to Viper standards. You went just about as long as possible, and can understand your desire to put it all behind you.

The SoCal VCA club went to some pretty great lengths to get your Viper issues sorted out, but in the end the right thing to do was move on.

Hope things work out for you with your new Vette (nice car).
 

FLL-B/W-GTS

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Think it is bad now,wait when the Viper breaks in years to come...No Parts...Screwed.......
 

elanderholm

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sorry to hear about your experience.

real question:
I know Cragin, Lance and a couple dealerships were more than eager to resolve the problems, but with a new car nobody had seen before your body fit issues.

what does this mean? it's not actually a sentence. I'm assuming it's just a typo, but I'm also interested in what it's referring to.
 

cubican

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The only thing you need to apologize for is getting a ZR1. :)
You will miss the Viper and the rock star feeling it delivers, the poor ZR1 get no respect in the sea of vetts. Good luck to you.
 

Voodoo Rob

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What happened to Kris is just a shame. The guy bought a new Viper and his treatment and loaner cars were laughable. SRT, if you want to capture the dollars , treat people correctly and fix their problems. Kris, don't blame you for your decision enjoy your ride, I would have done the same but went for a P car. They know how to treat customers.
 

Allan

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The ZR1 is a spectacular car.

***** that the Viper deal didn't work out though.


Crap like this makes me re-think any desire for a gen V car.
Even though my gen III is only worth about 5 bucks now, at least it isn't falling apart and everything still works.
 

gtssnake

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Kris, good luck with the ZR1, it is the best vette GM ever made. You surely should not apologize I would have been very upset too. I am
Surprised SRT did not make it right for you.
At least you live in SD so you can enjoy your new car 12 months per year. I used to live in SD and love and miss it there.
Enjoy!!
 

DMan

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Congrats on the ZR1, awesome car. Such a shame we're losing a viper owner and SRT a big paying customer. Sorry you had a tough experience. Just another thing to hurt a wonderful car. Can't blame a bad dealer or something, this is the mothership treating a $150k client poorly, I just don't know how bad the managing of things has to get with SRT before they start to turn things around.

All the best, Kris, and like others have said, no apology needed from you, all should be thanking you for your purchase and patience, and now for being gracious even when not treated that way yourself.
 

swexlin

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No need to be a stranger here. We hope you still participate. Good luck with the 'Vette, I love Corvettes. I gotta tell you, I'm waiting to see what the new Z06/7 is going to be like. Think it's going to give the Viper a real run for it. Still rather have the Snake though!

Scott
 

madninjaskillz

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Shame on SRT for not handling this quickly and the right way. This guy buys the most expensive car that Chrysler has ever produced, and he is treated like the bad guy. They should have taken his lemon Launch Edition GTS, and replaced it with one of the others that are sitting stagnant across the country. His loaner vehicles should have been, at the minimum, SRT-8 vehicles.

Kris, best of luck with the ZR1. Maybe you'll pick up another Viper, once you feel confident the bugs are worked out of them. I'm looking forward to the next Z07 myself.

Tony

What he said.

Congrats on the ZR1, awesome car. Such a shame we're losing a viper owner and SRT a big paying customer. Sorry you had a tough experience. Just another thing to hurt a wonderful car. Can't blame a bad dealer or something, this is the mothership treating a $150k client poorly, I just don't know how bad the managing of things has to get with SRT before they start to turn things around.

All the best, Kris, and like others have said, no apology needed from you, all should be thanking you for your purchase and patience, and now for being gracious even when not treated that way yourself.

And this too. I read things like this about how Chrysler treats their highest end customers and how they continually **** up every marketing opportunity. I just don't understand it. Are they intentionally trying to sink their company? I love the car, but am so turned off by the lack of support (customer service/aftermarket).

This needs fixed.

kris, best of luck and kudos to you for acting better than the company you gave 150k to.
 

past ohio

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Sorry to hear about your problems, question, did they in anyway reimburse you for the gas guzzler tax, sales tax, etc ?? I don't think they can do that, if so, you are out over 10 grand ??!! good luck..
 

Viper808

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Sorry to hear, Cant blame you at all.... the ZR-1 would be my second choice as well...

However, You have been snake bitten.... and you will be back....:2tu:
 

FLL-B/W-GTS

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Not Bashing, you have a person that spent a 150,000.00 for a new car that they can not get parts for now. So, bad they took the car back, do you really think things will get better in the future.

This is a one of many reasons potential customers are not buying the Gen.5s..
 

eucharistos

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you were patient enough, keeping you happy during the ordeal would have been simple

thanks for the thread
 

Lawrenzo

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You were given a Chrysler 200 and a Dodge Journey :slap: Way to step up Chrysler, err Dodge, I mean SRT! That's freaking embarrassing. They definitely should have given you an SRT8 vehicle of some type. When I owned my Audi A8's I would get another A8 as a service loaner. Now that's customer appreciation.
 

Paul Hawker

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That loaner program is not all that unusual for super premium cars.

Mercedes will not give you a SLS for loan.

BMW will not give a M 6 Loaner.

Ferrari will not give you an Enzo.

Rolls Royce will not give you a Phantom

Lambo will not give you a Guellardo (sp?)

Porsche will not give you a GT

Even most insurance companies will not provide these type of loaner cars in the event of a claim

Using more pedestrian cars is normal, and that is what they keep in their loaner fleet. Expecting a Viper loaner is not going to happen.

However I cannot blame Kris for being upset. There should not have been the need for such long term loaners, and bottom of the barrel loaners showed little respect.
 

SRTviper

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That loaner program is not all that unusual for super premium cars.

Mercedes will not give you a SLS for loan.

BMW will not give a M 6 Loaner.

Ferrari will not give you an Enzo.

Rolls Royce will not give you a Phantom

Lambo will not give you a Guellardo (sp?)

Porsche will not give you a GT

Even most insurance companies will not provide these type of loaner cars in the event of a claim

Using more pedestrian cars is normal, and that is what they keep in their loaner fleet. Expecting a Viper loaner is not going to happen.

However I cannot blame Kris for being upset. There should not have been the need for such long term loaners, and bottom of the barrel loaners showed little respect.

Mercedes and bmw no. But ferrari will give you another ferrari, rolls royce will give you another or bentley and porsche will give you a porsche and lambo will give you a lambo. The problem is SRT has one nice car the viper and the rest are inadequate so no one wants to be given junk when they paid 150k.
 

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