think of it as a dry run for the continual car.
2009-09-05
2009-08-27
the continual car rests
i've bought one of jetblue's all-you-can-jet passes, which means the
continual car is gonna be mostly sittin' from 9/8 to 10/8.
i have a new 'blog for my travel exploits.
and as search engine fodder you can buy AYCJ t-shirts here.
(profits go to carbonfund/org)
continual car is gonna be mostly sittin' from 9/8 to 10/8.
i have a new 'blog for my travel exploits.
and as search engine fodder you can buy AYCJ t-shirts here.
(profits go to carbonfund/org)
2009-08-14
39,111 mile service
i'm back in vegas and it's time for yet another oil change. chrysler has gone through a significant trimming of their dealerships as part of their bankruptcy proceedings and there's only one, yes one, official five-start dealer left in las vegas proper.
and that would be whom?
that's right, chapman. the only dealer in vegas that i'm suspicious about. so i grab my coupon and head on in, not having any idea what's going to happen when i hit my three red lights of their original inspection.
but hey, i'll get a cheapie, mopar-approved, oil change and the good news is i had them hold the parts so i'll get the trim and my interior light fixed (even though now i'm over 36k miles).
unfortunately i let my fricken driver's license expire so i'm not able to get my freebie rental car ... but they do have a shuttle, so it's not all bad ... i'm able to retreat back to the robot's house where i'm staying.
it takes chapman an extra day to fix my car than they originally predicted (making them 1 for 4 in being on-time), but when i get it back everything's done complete and correct. i give a little tug on the roll bar trim and it stays put, so maybe it has a chance.
and how did they handle the inspection? there's a huge red box that says "previously declined recommendations" that includes:
* tire rotation and balance
(i declined the balance before, i told them to rotate -- the work order says they did, the print-out says they didn't).
* brake system flush
(highly suspicious -- they say "brake fluid can become contaminated in as little as 2 years." one would assume this is a worst case scenario. my car is 4 months, or 17%, shy of this figure.)
* power steering flush
("should be replaced with new fluid as part of a preventative maintenance program." the normal maintenance for this isn't even in the owner's manual.)
* automatic transmission service
(needs to follow a "regular maintenance schedule." well, the owner's manual says that shouldn't be happening until 60k miles, and then only if it's a delivery vehicle. please.)
* fuel injector service
(they don't even have a nagging sheet about this one ... i use injector cleaner every oil change and i drive the vast majority of my miles at highway speed for hours on end -- a nice hot engine is the least likely way to have this build-up happen ... unfortunately it's also the only thing that is not covered by the mechanical part of my extended service warranty. hmm)
$21
and that would be whom?
that's right, chapman. the only dealer in vegas that i'm suspicious about. so i grab my coupon and head on in, not having any idea what's going to happen when i hit my three red lights of their original inspection.
but hey, i'll get a cheapie, mopar-approved, oil change and the good news is i had them hold the parts so i'll get the trim and my interior light fixed (even though now i'm over 36k miles).
unfortunately i let my fricken driver's license expire so i'm not able to get my freebie rental car ... but they do have a shuttle, so it's not all bad ... i'm able to retreat back to the robot's house where i'm staying.
it takes chapman an extra day to fix my car than they originally predicted (making them 1 for 4 in being on-time), but when i get it back everything's done complete and correct. i give a little tug on the roll bar trim and it stays put, so maybe it has a chance.
and how did they handle the inspection? there's a huge red box that says "previously declined recommendations" that includes:
* tire rotation and balance
(i declined the balance before, i told them to rotate -- the work order says they did, the print-out says they didn't).
* brake system flush
(highly suspicious -- they say "brake fluid can become contaminated in as little as 2 years." one would assume this is a worst case scenario. my car is 4 months, or 17%, shy of this figure.)
* power steering flush
("should be replaced with new fluid as part of a preventative maintenance program." the normal maintenance for this isn't even in the owner's manual.)
* automatic transmission service
(needs to follow a "regular maintenance schedule." well, the owner's manual says that shouldn't be happening until 60k miles, and then only if it's a delivery vehicle. please.)
* fuel injector service
(they don't even have a nagging sheet about this one ... i use injector cleaner every oil change and i drive the vast majority of my miles at highway speed for hours on end -- a nice hot engine is the least likely way to have this build-up happen ... unfortunately it's also the only thing that is not covered by the mechanical part of my extended service warranty. hmm)
$21
2009-07-19
public warning about chapman chrysler jeep service; henderson, NV
so here's the deal ... chapman chrysler jeep in las vegas, NV handed me a vehicle inspection (part of a chrysler coupon i had), that showed i needed $814 worth of services (bad fuel injection, dirty power steering fluid and dirty automatic transmission fluid). no inspection before this one by chapman, and the one immediately preceding it, showed any problems with my vehicle.
if you're new here, go ahead and read through some of the stuff i've written to decide whether i'm a flakeball just spouting off, or i have a legitimate complaint about something suspicious going on here ... after you're done with that my advice to you would be to get a second opinion of any recommendation by chapman.
it should be noted that their service, although often slow (they set me up an appointment at 10:00, but don't roll my car into the service bay until 15:30?), is done spot-on the money. everything chapman claimed they'd do eventually got done completely and correctly.
if you're new here, go ahead and read through some of the stuff i've written to decide whether i'm a flakeball just spouting off, or i have a legitimate complaint about something suspicious going on here ... after you're done with that my advice to you would be to get a second opinion of any recommendation by chapman.
it should be noted that their service, although often slow (they set me up an appointment at 10:00, but don't roll my car into the service bay until 15:30?), is done spot-on the money. everything chapman claimed they'd do eventually got done completely and correctly.
2009-07-16
37,042 mile service
i wasn't able to stop by the shop in vegas before i headed out so i dropped back in to autowest dodge chrysler jeep in fremont, CA on my triumphant return to the bay area.
i had a coupon for tire rotation, oil change and inspection. the inspection should be interesting because if it matches chapman, then i can more firmly suspect there's something legitimately wrong with the car -- and if it doesn't match, it could mean there's something very wrong with chapman's service.
i say nothing about the former inspection and wait for an hour in the waiting area with some guy making hilarious comments about jerry springer (i swear to you, if he sat with me through all TV shows, i'd watch television every day ... instead of only when i travel, like i do now).
the car gets done and guess what? nothing is wrong in the inspection.
hmm.
$19
i had a coupon for tire rotation, oil change and inspection. the inspection should be interesting because if it matches chapman, then i can more firmly suspect there's something legitimately wrong with the car -- and if it doesn't match, it could mean there's something very wrong with chapman's service.
i say nothing about the former inspection and wait for an hour in the waiting area with some guy making hilarious comments about jerry springer (i swear to you, if he sat with me through all TV shows, i'd watch television every day ... instead of only when i travel, like i do now).
the car gets done and guess what? nothing is wrong in the inspection.
hmm.
$19
2009-06-19
35,141 mile warranty service
might as well call this one "roll bar molding, part III"
i'm approaching the magic distance of 36,000 miles on the continual car. to be clear, this is the point where i drop away from the factory warranty (read: "free repairs") and go to the extended service contract (meaning "$100 deductible").
the continual car has had the roll bar trim come loose twice (it's a problem with the air turbulent rolling over it with the top down) and it's loose again, so i need to get it done now ... while i'm at it, i'm going to have them repair the lens on the roll bar interior light -- the fit and finish isn't quite right.
i roll into chapman with 35,141 miles. it takes them a full day to look over the car (i get a rental) and decide that: yes i was right; no, they don't have the parts.
no matter. it's not something that needs to be done right away, but it is something they need to be aware of before i cross the magic number ...
oh, and a mild kicker here is i won't be able to get the roll bar trim fixed in the future under my service contract because it would definitely qualify as soft trim.
no problem ... if it comes off in the future it'll definitely be "paging mr. glue, mr. super glue" ... but i'll take one more chance on chrysler, sure.
a minor catch here is i won't be in town when the parts do come in, but if i can get them to hold on to them long enough, i can get it done next time i'm in town ... maybe even with an oil change.
i'm approaching the magic distance of 36,000 miles on the continual car. to be clear, this is the point where i drop away from the factory warranty (read: "free repairs") and go to the extended service contract (meaning "$100 deductible").
the continual car has had the roll bar trim come loose twice (it's a problem with the air turbulent rolling over it with the top down) and it's loose again, so i need to get it done now ... while i'm at it, i'm going to have them repair the lens on the roll bar interior light -- the fit and finish isn't quite right.
i roll into chapman with 35,141 miles. it takes them a full day to look over the car (i get a rental) and decide that: yes i was right; no, they don't have the parts.
no matter. it's not something that needs to be done right away, but it is something they need to be aware of before i cross the magic number ...
oh, and a mild kicker here is i won't be able to get the roll bar trim fixed in the future under my service contract because it would definitely qualify as soft trim.
no problem ... if it comes off in the future it'll definitely be "paging mr. glue, mr. super glue" ... but i'll take one more chance on chrysler, sure.
a minor catch here is i won't be in town when the parts do come in, but if i can get them to hold on to them long enough, i can get it done next time i'm in town ... maybe even with an oil change.
2009-06-02
a call to chrysler
i call the service contract people with a question that is this:
if you do an inspection on my vehicle and find something's wrong, like automatic transmission fluid is dirty, and i don't change it, and it fails, am i still covered?
you'd think this is a simple question. i certainly do.
but try asking this to a politically correct corporate spudnut that may be being recorded for quality assurance purposes. the guy hems and haws and spews wild different forms of gibberish that are all essentially non-answers.
during the conversation (which takes more than 20 minutes), i point out that the inspection isn't required, that i could have a vehicle serviced anywhere (which means i may or may not change the transmission fluid and they wouldn't know) and that if my car did have bad transmission fluid it would be so early that it should be covered by warranty repair.
after beating him like a rabid dog for an extended period of time he finally said something close to yes, i would be liable.
i'm not happy and this is far from over.
pre-emptive letters are going to go out to the heads of all the operations here. you'll see.
if you do an inspection on my vehicle and find something's wrong, like automatic transmission fluid is dirty, and i don't change it, and it fails, am i still covered?
you'd think this is a simple question. i certainly do.
but try asking this to a politically correct corporate spudnut that may be being recorded for quality assurance purposes. the guy hems and haws and spews wild different forms of gibberish that are all essentially non-answers.
during the conversation (which takes more than 20 minutes), i point out that the inspection isn't required, that i could have a vehicle serviced anywhere (which means i may or may not change the transmission fluid and they wouldn't know) and that if my car did have bad transmission fluid it would be so early that it should be covered by warranty repair.
after beating him like a rabid dog for an extended period of time he finally said something close to yes, i would be liable.
i'm not happy and this is far from over.
pre-emptive letters are going to go out to the heads of all the operations here. you'll see.
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