stimp774

Here is the short ugly version of my nightmare.
2007 jeep grand cherokee with 5.7l hemi. owned from 36k-100k
jiffylube let me leave with no oil, seized motor. offered to pay for everything.
Jeep Dealer put in replacement motor with 100k miles.
They offer a 1 year warranty on the engine for $300 extra. I accept.
Upon payment he says because it took so long (6 weeks) they included
the warranty in the insurance payment so i owe nothing out of pocket.
I am 7 months in now with a breakdown. its the engine but they wont tell me what exactly yet its been a week now. The same service advisor as before says we are working through red tape. I ask how so?
He says well paperwork says only their labor is warrantied. I reply. No you offered a warranty on the motor itself which i accepted and was prepared to pay out of pocket but you included it in the price. did you not write it up that way? He replies: i dont want you to worry I know exactly what was said and promised and we are going to work it out. I have already discussed with my boss and we are working with the shop we bought the used motor from.

So what if they come back and try to say im not covered? My initial reaction I think will be to hire a lawyer to work it out with them.

Any of you work at a dealer? whats your take. The fact they wont say much is making me think its a serious engine issue but they honestly keep saying its not fully diagnosed give us more time. thats bull**** they are trying to figure out how to cover themselves. This is the largest jeep dodge ram dealer in my area and im shocked how poorly they have handled my jeep situation from since i chose them. They were paid $7,251.07 for this work.

CAT_Tech2

Working in the service industry we have situations similar to that called "service warranty" when our labor or warranty parts fail regardless of the customers actions do to use. Whenever this happens especially in a corporate dealer situation there has to be a specific reason as to why said part failed which means (for us) troubleshooting, oil sample analysis, service reports have to be gone through. There is a lot of red tape and this is coming from a technician. The only problem is I know in the automotive industry when I had a reman put in my f150 they said warranty only covered "lubricated parts" which was messed up. But I imagine the warranties vary from brand to brand where as cat everything has an unconditional 30 day warranty. As far as fighting them making you pay out of pocket those are issues I've never seen that side of. Hope I helped some and maybe someone can pick up on the legal side

stimp774

Thanks Cat Tech,

The way I remember it what he offered was specifically to the cover the motor because it was used with 100k on it. I would assume they always warranty their labor for a period of time.

Anyone know the typical coverage period of a dealership on their labor for a repair?is it one year?

I would think the business that sold the motor would be responsible? correct? How do you sell a engine for $3900 with zero liability on them?

I specifically asked the dealer how much confidence they had in this place and the motor and I was reassured they buy used motors often from them. They are throughly checked out and quality products.

I tried to convince the insurance rep and dealer I wanted to pay more for a better motor but the insurance guy said that was not an option.

I should know more soon and will report back.

sycoglitch

You ask for advice but you're not giving us all the information.

You have the replacement motor for 7 months. In that time, did you have any misfiring, loss of oil, coolant etc. What happened that engine broke down. What were final symptoms. What oils were you k using.

stimp774

The vehicle was used very little as its primarily my wifes ride and she is not working now.
No symptoms. The vehicle ran fine. Wife was driving home and it stalled out while in motion. When I got to her and tried to crank it heard some real bad engine noise so I knew to stop and get it to the dealer for evaluation. before the tow truck picked it up I observed Good battery, good oil and tran fluid levels, good coolant, no loss of any fluids under the jeep. Nothing I could see wrong.

dave1123

The first thing a lawyer will ask you is do you have that 1 year warranty in writing? Unless your receipt specifically states that, they can say it didn't happen. It sucks, but that's the truth. The service manager is probably an honest guy, but he works for somebody higher than him. I've got a nagging feeling that's the way it's going to go since they're covering all their bases in the investigation.

stimp774

Dave, Thats my fear as well. They acted like they were doing me a favor, but now i dont have a receipt that i paid for the warranty. They said it was included in the price but they never changed the paperwork to specifically state it. I should have looked for it on the paperwork before accepting it.

Everywhere I look on the internet I see hemi engines for $3-3.5k all say with 1 year warranty. I Paid $3900 for a used hemi with 100k miles. for that price it should also come with a 1 year warranty right? I am hoping they are going back to the company they bought the motor from for resolution.

So new question for anyone following this. If they come back and say its needs a new motor and it was not covered. what to do with a 2007 jeep wk limited every option and 100k miles but needs a motor? put a new motor in or parts vehicle? Jeeps like this one sell all day for $10k. I just paid it off last month.

ct67_72

Yup, better have it in writing. Typically used parts come with a part only warranty, usually 30-90 days, and for an upcharge they will extend that and add labor coverage. The dealer would have had to purchase this from the used parts supplier. If they did not than they me be trying to buy time to save their asses, or locate another engine for as cheap as possible to get your replaced for as little as possible out of their pocket.
There isn't a whole lot you can do until they tell you something one way or another unfortunately. In the meantime check all of your paperwork and try and find any sort of warranty that may be stated on it.

stimp774

they finally called to say cylinder number 6 has no compression and its need a new motor.
I did find on my paperwork it says all repairs have 12 month/12,000 mile warranty.
This is happening at 8months and 8,000 miles on this replacement motor.
I asked so what happens now? He said we need to get with the company we bought the motor from. He also said I may need to call the insurance guy.

I was thinking ( but did not say) why do you need to call him he paid you $7400. its not like he is going to pay for another motor.

He didnt ask me for anything or act like i will need to pay. They will just find the first **** motor they come across and throw it in to be done with me.

I think I need to get a lawyer because all these people are going to take care of themselves and leave me and my jeep hanging in the wind.

dave1123

For $7400, they could have put in a new crate motor with labor included! They don't pay anyway near the price YOU pay for it!

Fred/N0AZZ

Your first mistake was accepting a used engine from Jiffy Lube a BIG MISTAKE either a new crate motor or a complete rebuild. They say no go to your lawyer I personally have been down that road where on my first oil change at a dealership on a new truck they left the drain plug out.


#2 if you don't have it in writing I'm afraid your SOL, I feel for ya man.

stimp774

I fought hard for a better motor but the insurance company would not budge. Many people told me that even a lawyer is not going to get a new crate motor valued at $17k to replace a motor that had 90k miles on it at the time.

I even offered to pay more out of pocket on top of the insurance check for a remanufactured motor, even still the insurance nor the dealership would budge.
So I am back to the same spot. I think they plan to get another used motor from the guy who sold them the first motor.

it may at least get me a running vehicle again, what other options do I have?
I found a guy on ebay who has one with 39k miles which he goes through and checks everything and offers a 3 year warranty, all he does is hemi motors. its $3,000.
but how to I convince the dealer to go that route? they dont want to pay for the motor. they are going to make the junkyard guy give them another one, and they will eat the labor for install.

I know what your saying they probably bought the motor for $2,000 and billed it at $3900.

andrewmp6

Id let them throw a junkyard engine in it and sell it but thats just me.

sycoglitch

Honestly, rebuilt engines aren't the worse thing and they can last a very long time. It depends what the company actually did to the engine. Iirc jasper has really good rebuilds. I use to hang around my friends shop. He did a couple of engine swaps for chevys and fords, work vans, and they were abused afterwards and still went on for miles.

stimp774

Andrew - thats what i am thinking also.

Sycoglitch - totally agree. i would prefer a rebuilt to a junkyard motor. I plan to push for that even if I have to come out of pocket.

I think the dealer got that first motor cheap but charged $3900 for it. they could have got a rebuilt with a 12k mile warranty for $2500-$3000. so they made a bad choice on my behalf in a effort to maximize their profit on the job.

I am going to talk to them tomorrow and find out exactly what they plan to do and who is paying for what. if they plan to charge me i will talk with a lawyer to review my options.
They were paid $7400 and I only made it 8k miles on their work. Unacceptable.