R
raininthehills
Guest
What is the name of your state? We live in Ohio
In August 2004, we purchased a used 2000 Chrysler Town & Country in Huntington, WV (30 minute drive). It had 52,372 miles on it. The warranty was 30 days/3,000 miles with parts and labor at 50/50 between us and dealership if work was done at their garage. I do not recall being offered an extended warranty. Our previous vehicle died suddenly and we had to find something for me to get to work and take my son back and forth. Husband is an OTR truck driver and was not in town when I went to look at the van. I know vehicles pretty well - what to look for and listen for.
The van seemed fine.....no popping CV joints, no steering play, no clanging when shifting gears, no visible leaks. So, I drove off the new owner of a 2000 Chrysler Town & Country (big improvement over our 91 Dodge Caravan!). Since I wasn't sure when the last oil change was done, I took it FireStone in late October and had the oil changed - just so I knew when it was done. There was no reported leaks; however, the technician there did say that it could possibly be overdue for a transmission fluid exchange. Looking through old service records I discovered that was done around 27,000 miles.
On November 21, I noticed a transmission leak. I called my mechanic and he couldn't get me in right away. With my work schedule, it is very difficult to get to the dealer when the garage is open. On November 27, things went wrong! We were on the highway trying to get up to the legal speed of 55. The van did not shift up into the next gear. We were showing 4000 RPM at 50 miles an hour. We brought the van home (just a few miles) and parked it. On November 29, I took it to work (2.3 miles) and called my mechanic. He towed it to his garage. At first, it just looked like the front seal had blown. Since the warranty was up by now, I told him to fix it. He called me on 11/30 and said that when he pulled the pan it was full of metal shavings and would need to be rebuilt - to the tune of $1200.00. I told him to hold all work that I wanted to call the dealer. Finally on 12/1, I managed to talk to the used car manager at 4:00 pm. Basically, in order to help, he needs the vehicle there to let his mechanics inspect it. My mechanic won't tow it cause he has already pulled the transmission and the dealer hasn't offered to tow it or come down and look at it here.
On 12/2, I pulled the service records I had and learned that in June 2003, the previous owners had reported a similar problem to a Dodge/Chrysler garage and the input speed sensor had to be replaced. After speaking with the previous owner, I learned that they were returning to Charleston, WV from Cleveland, OH when this happened and that they proceeded to drive home with the vehicle not shifting into the next gear and high RPM's. This is anywhere from 250 - 300 miles if this started near Cleveland, OH. My father, who is a mechanic responded "Well, now you know where the shavings came from."
12/3 I left a message for the used car manager and have had no response. So around 4pm, I called and asked who their legal representation was, I got put through to the voice mail of one of the high-ups. Left my name and number and told him what I wanted. He returned my call at 4:28pm. I told him what was going on. Unfortunately, he was getting ready to leave for the day, but said that he that he would research it and get back with me on Monday. I called my mechanic and told him of this. He has not done anything other than pull the tranmission and order the parts. I asked him to wait until I speak with the guy from the dealer on Monday.
So....now that you know the entire story - What are my options at this point?? I have never bought a car, have always had junkers and used to the headache. Did not expect this from a fairly new, low mile vehicle.
In August 2004, we purchased a used 2000 Chrysler Town & Country in Huntington, WV (30 minute drive). It had 52,372 miles on it. The warranty was 30 days/3,000 miles with parts and labor at 50/50 between us and dealership if work was done at their garage. I do not recall being offered an extended warranty. Our previous vehicle died suddenly and we had to find something for me to get to work and take my son back and forth. Husband is an OTR truck driver and was not in town when I went to look at the van. I know vehicles pretty well - what to look for and listen for.
The van seemed fine.....no popping CV joints, no steering play, no clanging when shifting gears, no visible leaks. So, I drove off the new owner of a 2000 Chrysler Town & Country (big improvement over our 91 Dodge Caravan!). Since I wasn't sure when the last oil change was done, I took it FireStone in late October and had the oil changed - just so I knew when it was done. There was no reported leaks; however, the technician there did say that it could possibly be overdue for a transmission fluid exchange. Looking through old service records I discovered that was done around 27,000 miles.
On November 21, I noticed a transmission leak. I called my mechanic and he couldn't get me in right away. With my work schedule, it is very difficult to get to the dealer when the garage is open. On November 27, things went wrong! We were on the highway trying to get up to the legal speed of 55. The van did not shift up into the next gear. We were showing 4000 RPM at 50 miles an hour. We brought the van home (just a few miles) and parked it. On November 29, I took it to work (2.3 miles) and called my mechanic. He towed it to his garage. At first, it just looked like the front seal had blown. Since the warranty was up by now, I told him to fix it. He called me on 11/30 and said that when he pulled the pan it was full of metal shavings and would need to be rebuilt - to the tune of $1200.00. I told him to hold all work that I wanted to call the dealer. Finally on 12/1, I managed to talk to the used car manager at 4:00 pm. Basically, in order to help, he needs the vehicle there to let his mechanics inspect it. My mechanic won't tow it cause he has already pulled the transmission and the dealer hasn't offered to tow it or come down and look at it here.
On 12/2, I pulled the service records I had and learned that in June 2003, the previous owners had reported a similar problem to a Dodge/Chrysler garage and the input speed sensor had to be replaced. After speaking with the previous owner, I learned that they were returning to Charleston, WV from Cleveland, OH when this happened and that they proceeded to drive home with the vehicle not shifting into the next gear and high RPM's. This is anywhere from 250 - 300 miles if this started near Cleveland, OH. My father, who is a mechanic responded "Well, now you know where the shavings came from."
12/3 I left a message for the used car manager and have had no response. So around 4pm, I called and asked who their legal representation was, I got put through to the voice mail of one of the high-ups. Left my name and number and told him what I wanted. He returned my call at 4:28pm. I told him what was going on. Unfortunately, he was getting ready to leave for the day, but said that he that he would research it and get back with me on Monday. I called my mechanic and told him of this. He has not done anything other than pull the tranmission and order the parts. I asked him to wait until I speak with the guy from the dealer on Monday.
So....now that you know the entire story - What are my options at this point?? I have never bought a car, have always had junkers and used to the headache. Did not expect this from a fairly new, low mile vehicle.
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