Latest car pic links at bottom of page-
2004 Chevy AVEO LS SEDAN and
2005 BUICK LACROSSE CXS
Take a look at my pictures. Took delivery on June 17th, 1998 from Madison Chrysler-Plymouth in Madison, CT. They "are" a "5-STAR" award winning dealer! LOL.....
Take a look at this ZAINO shine! This pic has 7 coats of Z-2 and Z-6!
This is a picture of the front end that won't go STRAIGHT!
CLICK ON MY THUMBNAILS TO GET A BETTER VIEW!
Ah....the infamous trunk net! It took several calls to Detroit to get this installed because my factory rep kept denying it after Chrysler corporate okayed it THREE times! Same goes for the Automatic headlight switch! Both are NOW installed, at Chrysler's expense, after 3 months and 2 weeks. All it took was persistence and a few phone calls to the right people. IF the factory rep minded his own business and didn't put his two cents in where it was NOT wanted OR needed, then this whole situation could have been resolved a lot sooner! These items were supposed to be installed on my car from the factory, but never were for some reason.
Sept. 30th- Selling dealer replaced the rack and pinion steering assembly and the power steering pump. Car seems better because the wheel doesn't feel like it's being yanked out of my hand, but it's still going left. The day I picked up the car, after they did this work, I was determined that I would NEVER return here for service because I was sick and tired of their runaround, excuses and attitude.
Nov. 30th-Brought the car to Branhaven Chrysler-Plymouth in Branford, CT. Another award winning "5-STAR" dealer. LOL....New dealer said that there's NO problem with the alignment on the 300! Must be me. Something is going on here. Just can't figure out what it is-yet!
UPDATE- February 4th- Zone office called me. They received word from someone that I spoke to at an auto show in January that I was STILL having problems with the alignment. Have an appointment on February 22nd with this dealer again. Let's see if they think there's a problem now!
UPDATE- Dealer said they performed the TSB for the alignment problem and they replaced the driver's defective, heated seat. Car NO different! Same as it was when I brought it there except now the seat cushion they replaced is the NEWER leather that Chrysler is now using. It has a dull finish to it as opposed to the sheen that is on the rest of the seats, plus it is a much softer feeling leather than the other seats which feel like "vinyl" to me. If you have seen the new leather, you would be able to notice the difference IMMEDIATELY before you even touched it! I contacted the Boston Zone Office to express my concerns. In addition, new door panels had to be ordered because the trim work near the door handles is coming unglued. Dealer said they have to order all 4 door panels from Canada! Have an appointment with the factory rep on March 15th.
UPDATE-March 15th-No meeting- snowstorm. Dealer said they'd contact rep and when they heard from him, they'd call me. I called rep also that day and left a voice mail. Never heard from the dealer again. Rep finally called me 8 days later at home and left a message that he wanted to meet with me the week of April 5th and that he'd get back to me to set up an appointment. NEVER from from him again!
UPDATE- April 21st I got a call from the dealer telling me that the door panels that were ordered on Feb. 8th were in and they wanted to set up an appointment to install them. I told her that I was NOT making any appointment until I heard from the factory rep. She said that he was waiting for ME to call him in MA. I informed her of the message that he left on my answering machine. She said that she would call him and have him call me. On Fri., April 23rd, he finally called me at work where he should have called me in the first place. We set up an appointment for April 28th. I asked him what took him so long to get back to me from March 15th and he said that he thought the dealer had "addressed all my concerns"!! What a crock! When the dealer did their follow-up call in Feb. to see how the car was after they did the TSB and replaced the seat, I told them the alignment was the same and the seat didn't match the rest of the car! The saleslady said that she would tell the service advisor and have her call me! I never heard from her until she called on April 21st about the door panels! In addition, I filled out the Chrysler customer survey form that they sent to me expressing my concerns and noted that I was waiting for the rep to call me.
UPDATE- Met with factory rep on April 28th. What a waste of time! He said that he really couldn't "see or feel" the difference with the seat cushion! I bet if HE was paying $478.00 a month for this car, he'd SEE and FEEL the difference! His suggestion- put some leather preserver crap on it to give it the sheen that is on the rest of the seats! He "suggested" that when I bought the car last June 17th, the detail guy must have put some stuff on my seats. I don't think that was the case because certainly after 10 1/2 months, that sheen would have worn off! THEN, he drove the car. He said- NO PROBLEM. It's just a "characteristic" of the car! LOL.... He did admit that the early 300's had alignment problems and that mine was one of them, but that they have now been resolved. The 300's are now "laser aligned" when they come off the assembly line! I told him that in the 10 1/2 months that I have been trying to resolve this problem, no one has ever let ME drive another 300. He said no problem. We can do that. Go back to the dealer and get a new 300- with 17 miles, the new leather, padded center armrest and reduced road noise- and go back on the highway. He's driving. As he's driving, he is holding his fingers around the steering like two o's- not touching the wheel. I just HAPPENED to glance over as he was doing this because this car even seemed different to me just from being in the passenger seat. As I did so, I saw that he had his left knee against the bottom of the steering wheel guiding the car from there while making believe he was not holding the wheel. The car was "going" left! Right then and there I knew this was a lost cause for sure. Actually, the minute he said that he couldn't see the difference in the seat cushion, I knew it was a lost cause! He drives BACK to the dealer and NEVER offered for me to drive the car! That was the WHOLE purpose of getting a new 300 to drive to begin with! IF I was a bolder, cruder person, I would have INSISTED that I drive the car!
Since the very beginning, I have been in touch with someone at Goodyear Tires in case the problem was with the tires. When I noticed that the front tires were wearing out when I really looked closely at them the day I met with the rep last Wed., I called Goodyear. They contacted the local dealer near me and made arrangements to have them look at the tires and drive the car. I went there this past Fri., 4/30. They saw the tread wear on the front tires and drove the car. They came back, rotated and balanced the tires and went for another ride. They told me to check it and get back to them. They said that they would put it on their alignment machine. Since there was rush hour traffic, I could not test it the way I wanted to on the highway because everyone was in my way. I went back and told them that I would drive it this weekend and stop back this coming week.
Well, I have driven the car on the highway with no one in my way. THE GOOD NEWS- It is PERFECT now in the left lane. Straight as an arrow for a LONG time without touching the wheel! The way all my other cars have acted on these same roads! THE BAD NEWS- Now in the right lane, the car wants to go RIGHT! Even off the highway, on regular roads, it wants to go right! WHAT GIVES???? Is it the tires OR the alignment??? Man, talk about being confused!
Can anyone out there answer this? Please scroll down for the link to my e-mail address. Thanks. PS- Car just turned 11,000 miles last night.
Short recap from the day I got the car- 6/17/98
8 alignments/rotations-useless
TSB supposedly performed-useless
TWO 5-Star dealers- joke
TWO factory reps- one a bigger liar then the next
TWO independent tire shops/alignment people agree with me- there's a problem
Replace rack & pinion assembly and new power steering pump- slight difference
Numerous visits to the dealer- sometimes with nothing being done!
Regular communication with Goodyear(and Chrysler)about the problem since June of 1998.
April 28th- meet 2nd factory rep. Says "NO PROBLEM" with alignment- it's a "CHARACTERISTIC" of the car! I REALLY notice how the tires are wearing out in the front. Immediately go home and e-mail Goodyear and ask if they will set up an appointment with the local Goodyear dealer to look at my car.
April 29th- Goodyear calls me and says that their local dealer is waiting for me to call them. Bring the car to them twice as they attempt to resolve the problem. They call me at work on May 5th and said that they are getting me 4 brand new Goodyear Eagle tires because the ones on my car are DEFECTIVE! May 6th- bring car-11,000 miles-4 brand new tires-NO COST to me!!!!!!! END OF SOAP OPERA!!
Almost 4,000 miles later- car STILL going straight! NOW what would Chrysler say about the crown in the road, right lane, left lane, roads in CT and all the other CRAP they tried to tell me!
NOW you wonder WHY I post(ed) the things that I do!! NO ONE at Chrysler(dealer, zone office, customer service, Auburn Hills) EVER mentioned tires! It never dawned on ANY of these "experts" that this "could" have been the problem. I resolved my OWN problem. It should NEVER have taken 10 1/2 months to accomplish this!
I HOPE this is the REAL end of all this aggravation and nonsense!
WRONG!!! May 3, 1999 bring car in to replace all four door panels because the trim work near the door handles was coming unglued. Also ordered a blower motor and wheel for the AC/heater because it was making a "putt, putt" sound when it first started up in the morning. Special lubricant was ordered for the squeaking front windows when they were going up and down. Only the rear door panels could be replaced because there were NO provisions to attach the power window controls to the new front door panels! Parts guy was going to check with Chrysler to see what the problem was.
May 4, 1999 the saleslady from the "5-STAR" dealer calls to see how everything is. I told her EVERYTHING including the factory rep holding his knee against the wheel to make the car go left and about him not letting me drive the new 300 so that I could compare it to my car. She was shocked and very sympathetic and said that she would have the "service advisor" call me back. Just like the last time, she never did call me back or follow up on the complaint like she is supposed to do according to Chrysler's 5-Star strict new guidelines! May 6th, I have a passenger in the back seat for the first time since the door panels back there were replaced. She can't get out of the car from the inside! I checked the child-proof lock, but it was set where I wanted it.
May 7th- stop by dealer to find out about the status of the "defective" front door panels and what they found out from Chrysler and to tell them about the back door not opening from the inside. NO news about the front door panel. Chrysler was going to check with the supplier to see what the problem was. As for the back door- they attached the door handle to the mechanism inside the door like they should have done in the first place.
May 14th- Called the parts guy to see if he had any news about the front door panels yet. After all, how long does it take to get a simple answer? The ONLY reason why I kept calling the dealer is because they RARELY call me for anything whether it's for follow-up information or to tell me that my car is ready or whatever. The first "5-STAR" dealer NEVER called me about anything even when they were supposed to call me with info. Anyway, the parts guy said he is getting the runaround. I told him that I was going to call the "customer service" number to see if that would speed things up. Called and spoke to Carl. He put me on hold while he called the parts guy at the dealer. Came back on the phone and said that he got disconnected and that he would call them back and then call me. Twenty minutes later, "customer service" called me back and said that the parts guy was getting the runaround! That's what I had JUST told HIM when I called. Told me he was opening up a file on the door panel. I also gave him an earful about the alignment issue, the 2 factory reps and their devious ways, the front end parts that were replaced, the two "5-Star" dealers and a few other things. Didn't seem interested at all.
May 19 4:38 PM- called Chrysler "customer service" for an update on the front door panels. Puts me on hold at 4:43. Comes back on at 4:52 and says that he's going to talk to some people there. Calls me at 5:15 PM and says that the dealer's parts department closed at 4:30. He had spoken to the service advisor, but wanted to speak to the parts guy. He said that he would call the dealer again tomorrow and call me at work.
May 20 3 PM- Service advisor from dealer called and said that Chrysler was sending the missing parts for the front door panels that would allow them to attach the power window controls to the new panels. It took 17 days to get this simple answer! Good thing it wasn't a complicated question!
Same day-4:14 PM Chrysler "customer service" calls me to tell me that the parts were coming in.
May 27- picked up car from the dealer. They installed the front door panels, replaced the blower motor and wheel and lubed the squeaky front windows. They also checked for an oil leak that I had noticed since my last trip to them. They said that it was "residue" from the oil change that I had when the car was there the last time on May 3rd. As I was leaving, the service advisor said that one of the owner's sons wanted to see me. Found him in an office off the showroom. He wanted to "chastise" me for the way I filled out the last customer survey form! He told me that these forms were very important to him and that they had a monetary value for him etc. I filled his ears full with a few things about his service people and the factory rep's antics of making the car go left with his knee and not letting me drive the new car. When he said that they try to follow up on customer's complaints within 24 hours, that really sent me over the edge! I told him how the poor saleslady at night calls the customers and gets their wrath instead of the service advisors and that she tells me that she will have the service advisor call me back and that there is never any follow-up! I told him that this happened BOTH times that the car had been to this dealer for service. He then said- "I guess that's an internal problem that I have to deal with"! I said- I guess so and left.
October 25, 1999- Went to the dealer to make an appointment to bring my car in because my gas gauge had not been going all the way to FULL since the summer, the key FOB only worked if I was real close to the car and the transmission was jerky-shifting at times when I would slow down to turn a corner or when slowing down for a red light and then accelerating again before coming to a complete stop.
November 2, 1999- Go to pick up car at the dealer. Was told that they checked all the gauges and there was nothing wrong with them. The gas gauge went to FULL and the computer had no error codes in it!. Ordered the parts per the TSB for the key FOB which they should have done when I was there on the 25th! Was also told that there are NO adjustments to the transmissions on the LH cars! My repair order slip says that they test drove the car and found no problems. However, the mileage on the car was EXACTLY the same as the day I dropped it off! The dummies even wrote the same mileage on the slip for "miles in" and "miles out"! Maybe they tested it on the CATIA computer that designed the car in the first place!! LOL... I insisted that the gas gauge was defective! FINALLY, when he saw that I was not leaving until they decided what could be wrong, he decides to go talk to the mechanic. They decide that the sending unit/float must be defective so they are going to order one. Said they'd call when the parts were in.
November 4th I get a rare call to tell me that the parts are in and to bring in the car on November 8th.
In the meantime, I get in touch with someone from my 300M group in Edmunds.com who had an adjustment done to his 300's tranny. He gives me the name of his dealer and tranny tech guy in California. From Connecticut, I call this tranny tech at the 5-Star Chrysler dealer in CA and explain my dilemma. He gives me ALL the info to tell my dealer. I write everything down when I drop off the car Sunday night.
November 8th- go to pick up the car. They fixed the key FOB range with the new parts. Can now open the car/trunk from across town! LOL.. Installed new float/sending unit. Gas gauge works perfectly now! Guess it must have been defective no matter what their gauges or computer codes told them! As for the tranny, he said I don't know where you're getting your information from the Internet, but there are NO adjustments on the LH trannies! I told him EXACTLY where I got the information, but it didn't seem to phase him one bit. To make a long story short, when they replaced the float/sending unit in the gas tank, they must have disconnected the battery to prevent any sparks from occurring because I noticed that my dash clock and radio clock were about 20 minutes off. As a result of this, they "accidentally", solved my shifting problem because the memory in the tranny computer module was erased! Tranny shifts fine now. NO jerkiness. Before I knew that they had disconnected it, I had asked the service advisor if disconnecting the battery would erase the memory in the computer module and he told me no! He said that the only way to change the shifting was to replace the transmission control module OR get a new transmission!! Ah...."5-STAR" intensive training. Isn't it wonderful!
Now I sat back and waited for the follow-up call to come within the 7-day period according to Chrysler's new, strict "5- STAR" standards to see if everything was satisfactory with my latest service visit!! LOL..... STILL waiting!! February 20, 2000- NO follow-up call EVER came! They have EVERY number where I can be reached! The funny part is, that THIS time, everything was fixed! I got their number. I KNOW why she never called me! I have that stored away in the Chrysler storage bin section of my brain! Might need it some day IF I ever bump into her and she makes some comment to me! That should shut her right up! She thinks WHO she is! LOL....
December 27th- Early Monday morning I get a call from my brother, in Rhode Island, where I was for the holidays. He said that there was a puddle of transmission fluid on the ground where my car had been parked for the 3 days that I was there. I never drove the car during that time because I had no need to. I jumped out of bed and went to get my car out of the garage to warm it up so that I could check the transmission fluid. Sure enough, it was all the way below the ADD mark on the dipstick. At 8 AM, I called my "5-STAR" dealer and was informed that they could not look at the car until WEDNESDAY! I decided to call the 5-Star DODGE dealer down the street- Branford Dodge. I informed them of my dilemma with the tranny fluid and the other dealer. They said to bring it right in. Dropped it off and picked it up a few hours later. The transmission cooler line clamps were loose. They removed them, repositioned them, tightened them and replaced the missing transmission fluid. All covered under warranty. I filled them in on a "few" of the things that I have been through with this car since I got it in June of 1998. They told me that I could bring my car to them anytime that I wanted. This was even AFTER they saw my car's history in the computer!
December 28th- Dodge dealer called me to ask if I was satisfied with the service on my car and asked if there was anything else that they could have done to make it better!!! Was I ever impressed. Looks like this will be my 3rd new 5-Star dealer from now on. At least they were friendly and smiling! I'm sure that the 2nd "5-STAR" dealer will be thrilled that they won't see me anymore! Too bad, because EVERY single thing that I have EVER complained about has been a LEGITIMATE complaint and has been resolved ONLY because I NEVER gave in to their ridiculous excuses and answers to my complaints! Just because they don't like to be questioned when I don't accept their findings is their problem, NOT mine! We have plenty of 5-Star dealers in So. CT. I'll just keep moving on if things get out of hand again. No problem. It's a lease! It's their problem car, not mine! ;-)
That's the latest as of January 8, 2000. I'm sure there's more to come. Stay tuned and thanks for reading. Remember, if you have a problem and KNOW it's legit, hang in there and DON'T give up! That's EXACTLY what the dealer/Chrysler/factory reps want you to do! Call anyone and everyone who can help you, including Auburn Hills! If you want a corporate telephone number, contact me! The "customer service" number is about as useless as the dealer!
PS I have to laugh at some of the anonymous comments left in my guestbook recently concerning the problems with my car, especially with the alignment. It's obvious to me that the same person wrote them and does not understand what I wrote above OR doesn't care to understand what I wrote above. I know all about the crown in the road and the front wheel drive torque steer. I've had new cars since I was 16 years old many moons ago! IF all these things were the "cause" of my left pull, then how come AFTER I got the four brand new Goodyears, the car did NOT exhibit ANY of these problems and STILL doesn't with 27,000 miles on it! It's also likely that they either work for Chrysler or have stock in Chrysler. If they had any guts at all, they would have left their name and e-mail address. I just hope that someday they get a car like my Christine. Then we'll see if they still love Chrysler! From what I have seen with the dealers and reps, what they do for a living is just a job to them. They don't really care about you or your car and don't have as much knowledge about the cars they deal with as their customers do.
April 24, 2000 Latest problems: driver's side foglight filled with moisture and trunk leaking. The spare tire area and the trunk carpet were all wet. Also, the rear carpet under the floor mat on the passenger side was all wet. Dealer had the car for 2 days to repair these problems. There was a TSB on the trunk leak.
UPDATE Saturday, July 15, 2000
Car was in the garage for 6 days while I was on vacation. Went out to the garage to start Christine up and NOTHING! Dead battery. NO clicking, no lights, no warnings- DEAD! Called Chrysler Customer One Care on Sunday and had someone come and jump it. Has been fine ever since. Have had no time to bring it in to get the battery checked. Something must be draining it? Even when I DON'T drive her, I have problems. She never fails to amaze me! ;-))
July 24, 2000- Took the car in to Keene Chrysler-Plymouth in New Hampshire while I was there visiting friends to get the oil/filter changed and the battery checked. Diagnosis- NO PROBLEM. Couldn't find anything wrong. We'll see what happens the next time it sits in the garage for any length of time. The 1964 Cadillac that you can see below, used to sit in my garage at my house in FL for MONTHS with NO problems starting up! The car was 10 years old when I started leaving it in FL. Guess they just don't make batteries the way they used to!
Click HERE to see my new Acura CL- Type S with and without Zaino!!!! You should see the shine now!
Click HERE to see more Acura CL-S pics and that great ZAINO shine!
ClickHEREfor more Acura pics and some New Hampshire Fall foliage.
Click HERE to see more pics of my '99!
Click HERE to see even MORE pics of my '99 300
Click HERE to check out a current(8/99) big pics of the 300M.
Click HERE to see October 17, 1999 pics of the 300 on its 16th month birthday!
Click HERE to see the 300M's I saw in Mexico.
Click HERE to check out my first Chrysler 300- a 1963 convertible
Click HERE to check out my 1966 Cadillac deVille Convertible
Click HERE to see my 87 T-Bird, 79 Cadillac, 61 Plymouth Fury Convertible, 64 Cadillac and 86 300ZX.
Click HERE to view my 1980 Oldsmobile Toronado-Diesel!
Click HERE to see pics of my 1990 Buick Riviera
Click HERE to view my 1996 Buick Riviera
Click HERE to see pics of my 1994 Infiniti J-30.
MY NEW CAR- May 22, 2004
Click HERE to see pics of my new 2004 Chevy AVEO LS Sedan
Coming soon- pics of my 2005 Buick LaCrosse! Stay tuned. Just waiting to see it in the right color. The "Cardinal Red Metallic" is out. So is the Silver.
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300M and LHS pics.
Zaino Car Polish- THE BEST-HANDS DOWN!
Detailman's Trans Am. A Great Car and great ZAINO tips!
Chrysler 300M Owners' Club Page.
Great GM forum.
ramrod2@snet.net
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This page last updated January 29, 2005
ALL MADE ON A MAC!