Car dealership is a crook.

[Zerk]

It's a crappy situation, but the buyer needs to beware.

Did your cousin have anyone look at the vehicle before or right after they purchased it? If not, no offense, they don't sound like the brightest bulb .

ANYTIME BEFORE I buy a vehicle, I take it to two mechanics

When buying from a dealership, I wouldn't have. That is one reason you pay buy from them. Granted it is still a good idea Taking it to two mechanics is just nuts.







Problem I see, is 3 months was a bit of time. Not real long, but not a couple weeks either. It is kinda in between. 2008 is almost 10 years old too.

 

[LD1]

No, not very bright when it comes to vehicles. She is young. 22 I think. And we learn from experiences. Which she isn't old enough to have had many. Do doubt she will learn slot from this.

But the sad thing is, stuff like this happens all the time. These "grey areas" so to speak. Where there was absolutely no wrong doing or neglect by the owner/purchaser, yet the dealer is technically not obligated to help. It's how the dealer handles these situations that set the great dealers apart from all the rest. She thought she was buying a good low mile 1-owner vehicle that would give her many years of trouble free service if she took care of it. So she didn't want to spend the extra money to get a extended 3-month, 6-month, 1-year, or whatever warranty. Never did she dream that the transfer case would be toast only 3-months after the dealer supposedly fixed this very problem.

Again, I know the dealer isn't obligated to do squat. But you have a young couple that just spent $20k with you. You have an opportunity to make it right and likely earn a customer for life. However, you choose to make an enemy for life, who will never buy a vehicle there again, and who will tell everyone they know about it.

If I was the owner of the dealership, my decision would have been an easy on. And that would have been to take care of my customer and actually care.

 

[kevin37b]

I agree with what you are saying .The repair is documented and should have a guarantee of some sort .A transfer case is not something on the maintenance schedule , nor is the seal a normal wear item . Dealers these days are looking for the one hit customer . They do not care if they see you again . Do the repair and send them a bill , parts and labor . They may decide you are not going to be thrown under the bus . You made to get higher in the food train to get some answers . Good luck , Kevin .

 

[Zerk]

For all the big talk, when is the last time someone checked their transfer case?

 

[NorTracNY]

I'll agree with the OP. If it was documented that this was looked at by the dealer, they should be standing behind it. There is a difference between buying used from a private seller and a dealer. This dealer is making a HUGE mistake in that they have a young customer and are not doing anything to make her happy.

I was a poor college student years ago and had my airbag light go on. I was told by a crappy oil change place to take it to the dealer. I didn't know what it meant and certainly didn't want my airbag malfunctioning. I took it to the dealership and they said it will cost you a minimum of $45 + parts. $45 was their half hour labor charge. After agreeing, the guy opens the fuse box, changes a fuse and hands me the $48 bill! It took him more time to print up the bill than fix my car. That dealership lost a customer for life. It was my third Chrysler vehicle and it was also the last Chrysler vehicle I've ever owned.

 

[kenr74]

$20k for a 08 Grand Cherokee? If they paid that much the dealer should be good to cover a few transfer cases.

Aside from that this is a buyer beware issue. They had a chance to buy an extended warranty and didn't. Sometimes rolling the dice doesn't work out so well.

Sounds like a tough lesson for a young buyer but I'm not sure I could blame the dealership considering the time it has been away from their shop.

 

[Sigarms]

When buying from a dealership, I wouldn't have. That is one reason you pay buy from them. Granted it is still a good idea Taking it to two mechanics is just nuts.







Problem I see, is 3 months was a bit of time. Not real long, but not a couple weeks either. It is kinda in between. 2008 is almost 10 years old too.

Taking it to a mechanic after I bought if fom a dealer helped ensured that I got a new transmission (at no charge to myself). Should of seen the service managers face when they looked at the engine in detail and told me I was right. They made it right though. Good chance if I didn't take it to a mechanic who knew the brand, the problem may not of surfaced for a year.

I buy a car, it's not getting resold, it's going to drive until it dies. A a large investment (to me at least) well worth the money on have a couple of second opinions on the product you're buying.

 

[Sigarms]

yet the dealer is technically not obligated to help.

This is the issue I have with your post.

You claim the dealer is a crook, yet you're admitting that "technically" the dealer didn't do anything to make them a crook.

22 year old buying a 20k car? Did she need a someone to cosign the for the loan? What did her parents say when she told them she's buying a 9 year old car for 20k? She may not have much experience, but hopefully her parents do.

Assuming a loan was taken out on the vehicle, at most, a extended wrty might run like $1,200-$1,500. Add that into a car loan, and you might be paying and extra $20 or $40 onto the loan.

Could the dealer done something? I think you stated that they offered to do the fix for half of their labor, so although they may not of offered what you wanted, they still offered something.

I'm still trying to figure out why if the car was making a noise within the first month the car was bought, why did it come to you to look at 3 months later?

All that said, I completley understand the reality that you can't pick family

 

[bspeedy]

Lots of interesting discussion and points of view. Here's mine:

I buy only used and only from private parties for just about everything. I can typically get the item much cheaper AND - most important to me - I am in charge of my own destiny.

If you cousin had bought the same vehicle from a private party, she would have likely saved a couple grand. If the t-case grenaded, the solution is simple - get it fixed on her dime. No hand wringing, no arguing, no asking, pleading, begging, threatening. Just take care of it and pay the bill.

Still sucks, but at least you don't have some illusion that it's someone else's problem.

I can't count the number of times friends / relatives have been frustrated by a (car / tractor / whatever) dealership's inability or unwillingness to take care of problems / warranty / issues. With no warranty, I skip that part of the process and go straight to the 'fix'. And that's the goal - get it fixed and move on with life. And, I am 100% sure it costs me less money in the long run.

 

[kenmac]

if this thing leaked oil out while driving, there should still be oil all under the vehicle. It's possible the Transfer case was bad the from the start.
I can't figure out a bad seal. My 2500 has 110 k and hasn't had any seals replaced.
Seals rarely go bad , unless you have been in mud ,etc, that has eaten the seal up.
I think this is just going to have to be one of those lessons learned. I have had to learn many in my life.

As to the extended warranties. Many of these are sold by the dealer , but are serviced by someone else other than the dealer (private company) You have to read the fine print