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SUVs Jeep Cherokee and Jeep Grand Cherokee Jeep Owners: Dealer & Service Experiences 
30 messages, Last post on Jul 22, 2007 at 2:19 PM
You are in the Jeep Cherokee and Jeep Grand Cherokee Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
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I've only dealt with 2 dealerships in my short experience (i'm 25 - jeep is my second vehicle), but i have to believe that no other dealership in my life will come even close to the pathetic service i got from Champion (off of 183 & Lamar). I went there knowing exactly what i wanted. Decided that if they didn't have one on the lot that i liked (2000) that i would order a 2001. I was told i could get my 2001 in 8 weeks. Well, i ended up ordering a 2001 the end of July. Told him all the options i wanted and we quickly settled on a price since i knew how much i was willing to pay and he offered it immediately(200 over invoice). No problems so far. Was extremely pleased. However, it was all down hill from there... 1. Was told that i'd get my jeep early september (was given an update the end of august). Actually got my jeep mid October (12 or so weeks after ordering) 2. Was NEVER pro-actively given an update on the status of my order in the 3 months it took to come in. I had to call first, and they'd sometimes call me back. I wasn't a pain either - only called 3-4 times (not including calling again when didn't get called back) the entire time. 3. They didn't know my jeep was in 4 days after it came in! I walked the lot everyday. When it came in i went in the following monday to test drive it. I had to argue with them before they'd even believe my jeep was on the lot! 4. Rode out in their golf cart in cold weather and rain specifically to test drive it (was in back of lot). When got there the guy made sure it was mine, and then said he had to go back and get the keys now!!! Jesus christ! He didn't bring the damn keys with him! When he returned 6-7 minutes later he looked at the jeep and said it hadn't been prepped (didn't have a prep sticker on it) so we couldn't even take it out! 5. Jeep didn't have Trak-Loc on it - which i specifically said i wanted. They said it was on there (even though it didn't say it on the sticker). I had to prove this to them myself by crawling underneath the jeep and pointing out the tag wasn't on the driveshaft. Decided rather then wait for another one or go to different dealership to just have them throw in a man. full service manual for free to make up for their screw up. 6. Getting an invoice from them was like pulling teeth. When i finally got it i found out they were trying to charge me $100 more then what we agreed to back when i ordered it. 7. They conveniently forgot about their promise to give me the full service manual until i reminded them. I'm still waiting on the damn thing (yes, 6 months later). I've bitched numerous times, and they say they'll call me when it comes in, or to give me an update. I've NEVER received a call from them. 8. Was given the BS about how the customer survey was all important to them, blah blah, and that someone from the dealership would be calling me prior to DC calling me. Was actually waiting for it so i could do some bitching and fail them in every aspect of the survey. However, didn't receive a call from either. Working on a letter now - wanted to wait till after i received my manual... 9-100: I blocked the rest of this experience out of my mind cause it was terrible. Never buy anything from Champion if you're in Austin. Of course, i heard bad things about the other jeep dealership in austin as well (the reason i went to Champion in the first place). I think i'm going to go to San Antonio to get my jeep serviced. |
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That IS terrible! I don't think I have ever heard of any WORSE experience from anyone. That outfit needs to be reported to DC! I sure hope they're not a "Five Star" dealer. They don't deserve to be. tsjay |
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I had about the same experience with Champion in Austin as jacorob had. We purchase a jeep from them about a year ago. We wanted the tube bumpers but when they told me they were $3000, I declined. I went ahead and ordered the jeep and was then looking at a brochure and notice they were only $1200 which was high but not $3000. I called and cancelled my order. They called back and gave them to me for $500 which was good. We also had problems on delivery but we did finally received the jeep without the bumpers, they were supposed to be in in a week. We made the mistake of picking up the jeep at night and then I went out of town for a few days, when returned I was looking at the body and there was hail damage all over the jeep. I took it back to the dealer and they said this had happend after I got the car and they were not going to fix it. I don't think I have time to go over all of the problems, but we did after a month get the bumpers. Prior to this however they call and said the papers I had signed were for the wrong jeep, the VIN was not correct. I would not sign the papers until they fixed the hail damage. About two months after all of this I received a notice form Chrysler that my jeep had been a a rail car that was in a hail storm and wanted to know if the dealer had fixed it. Rather than sign the release I call and explained the problems with the dealer and they offered me an extended warenty. They were extremely nice and helpful. I refuse to take my jeep back to Champion, they are actually a GMC dealer and know nothing about jeeps. (PS, i am not satisfied with the GMC I bought there either.) They had no idea what the parts numbers were and ordered the wrong bumpers, they assured me there was a license plate braket on the front bumper because it is required by law in Texas. The list goes on and on and on. |
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Where do you take your jeep to get serviced in Austin? I wouldn't use champion in a million years but don't have any experience with other places - cept for oil changes which is all they do. Jeep Masters? Bob |
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Man, that's a big time BUMMER! I am so sorry to hear of your problems.
Please let us know how this turns out! I will be hoping for the best for you.
My Jeep had a paint blister on her hardtop, and my dealer authorized a complete re-paint of the hardtop. I had it done at a private body shop, since my dealer doesn't have a body shop. The job turned out very well, and I have had no problems since then with the paint.
What color is your Jeep? Mine is white. I wonder if your paint problem is related to one particular color?
tsjay
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
See my Jeep at.... |
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It shouldnt matter what cause the paint problem.. it is still under warrenty...You might try to take it to another dealer. if that doesnt work.. Call DC 1-800-925-JEEP... Got Jeep? BamaTazz |
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I recently bought a loaded 2001 Sahara and I put about 3500 miles on it. After the initial excitement of the purchase wore off I noticed that my back and neck hurt everytime I drove it. Whenever I hit a bump I would bounce out of the seat(and not a off road bump, either). Closer inspection revealed that both front seats were skewed outward. In other words, when I sat in the seat comfortably(snugly with my back aligned with the centerline of the seat), I was NOT looking down the center of the steering wheel(as would be expected), but slightly toward the tachometer. Subconsciously trying to crrect this obvious factory defect was causing my neck and back pain. Attempting to sit facing the exact front of the jeep caused me to line up on the seat incorrecty, thereby allowing me to easily bounce out of the seat when hitting even the smallest bump. I am absolutely astonished a major defect could be relased from the factory in this fashion. It is so obvious(I should have seen it, but bear in mind my initial "first new car" excitement) it is almost laughable. I see three possibilites for this: 1. The floor pan has been incorrectly drilled and studded. 2. The subframe used to fasten the seat to the floor was incorrectly tooled from the subcontractor. 3. The seat itself was incorrectly tooled from the subcontractor. I can not believe #1, so it must be #2 or #3. The dealer acknowledged the problem, and actually went so far as to redrill the mounting holes in the bottom of the suubframe. How laughable! Could you imagine my dismay when I heard that? And it was done without my knowledge or ok! All this for $25000+! Has anyone else had this problem? You can easily verify if you do by just looking at your front drivers seat on a Sahara(Sport and SE may have the same problem). The stitched centerline on the seat will visibly veer to the drivers side view mirror(not to mention the feeling while sitting it it). Like the passenger seat will do the same(albeit not as much). If no one else has this problem(and I would qualify even mild cases of the seat yawing as having the problem) than perhaps the problem is not pandemic and can be resolved by a new subframe(or seat). If more people than me have the problem then Jeep must address this issue as it is one not only of aesthetics but safety as well. Having a dealer redrill the seat subframe is unnacceptable on a new car. My question to the dealer when I heard he did that was "Are you personally going to now crash test this car since you changed the stress points and g-force limit on these front seats?". The answer? Stony silence. frankfarrell  hotmail.com
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I have owned many vehicles during my time and I must admit that my recent purchase of my XJ was the least time consuming and most enjoyable one to date. I purchased my XJ from Trader Bud's here in Columbus, Ohio without ever setting foot in the dealership prior to coming in to sign the paperwork. I had done a considerable amount of homework (Thank you Edmunds) and went to the lot after they closed. I was originally looking at a Sport, but my wife, knowing me, suggested I "look at the one with the neater rims." So I called the next day and spoke with Benny and gave him the stock number. I told him that I previous sold cars and knew the game. I told him the number I wanted to pay and my justification (discounts and incentives) on how I arrived at that number. Benny put me on hold a minute and came back and said "Deal". Went in that night, in and out in 20 minutes. Service is also great. Always get me in immediately when I call for an oil change, and wash her up for me. The coffee may be what comes out of my oil pan, but it's drinkable. Have not had any major service yet. 30K is coming up soon. Thanks. |
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