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I spent most weekends there too I got to do a lot of fun stuff. The coolest was a sea plane flight down into tracy arm fjord and then a trip back to juneau by boat. The whales were jumping, so it took us three hours longer than normal to get back. I also hiked mendenhall (sp?) glacier and caught a king and two silvers on a boat trip in the passage. Ahhh..memories. )
I have used 4 DC dealers for service in San Diego and all have been pretty competant. None of them communicate very well (I ALWAYS have to call them), and I too have been victim of the "must of ordered the wrong part" many times. Parts people are either complete morons or service guy learn to pass the buck early in their careers. But overall I get what I want without too much kicking and screaming.
I'd like to see the service training manuals for most dealers:
1) Be nice, understanding and prompt when the customer drops off the car.
2) Make cryptic notes about the problem so the technician has NO idea what he's supposed to do.
3) Promise the customer that you'll call once it's done. Don't call. Ever. When customer calls at 4pm tell customer you're "just now getting to it and it won't be done today".
4) When customer calls the next day tell them it's ready to pick up, and make them drive the 30 miles to your place.
5) Tell customer you could only replicate 2 of 5 issues.
6) Tell customer that the parts for one of the problems need to be ordered, and you'll call him/her when it's in. Don't call. ever. Maybe send a post card.
7) Tell customer the repair isn't covered under warranty. Any warranty. Even the extended one.
8) Forget to order part, and tell customer later that "it didn't come in", or "the wrong one was sent/ordered".
9) When part finally comes in AND it wasn't used for someone else AND the customer calls (never call the customer), make another appointment.
10) Go to step 1 and repeat.
The part# went down with PhotoPoint, unfortunately. But I do still have the letter I faxed to a list of dealers given to me by a 5* parts department after they did a computer inventory search:
"Dear sirs:
I was given your phone number by Bloomington Chrysler-Plymouth-Jeep because the computer listed you as having part# QV64LAZAA in stock. I do not know if this is the part I need, however.
I am looking for the clock/vent trim bezel, in black/Agate color, that was in some or all 1999 LHSs, that has an art deco “wing” on either side of the clock face. It looks like this:
http://public.fotki.com/Scotian/300m/winged_clock/ns.html
http://public.fotki.com/Scotian/300m/winged_clock/ns-1.html
The one I have is smooth, and looks pretty much like this:
http://public.fotki.com/Scotian/300m/winged_clock/ns-2.html
I have been given three part numbers: QV64LAZAA, QV65LAZAA, and MN591AZ, any of which may or may not be correct. It is also possible that there is no part# difference between the bezels with and without the wings.
I would like to know if you have the exact part I am looking for; please verify the presence of wings by visual inspection, because I don’t trust going by part# on this.
Thank you very much!"
Chances are the dealers would love to get these off of their hands. Also note that the indentation for the clock is considerably wider with the wings.
http://public.fotki.com/Scotian/300m/air_intake/
Latest setup:
http://public.fotki.com/Scotian/300m/air_intake/plumbing_plenum_tb_bend/
Igor
Silver
I was so excited, until of course drove it and realized it wasn't fixed.
I will say they tried, they replaced one wheel saying it was bent and came from the factory that way? I dont believe that because this car drove perfect when I test drove it.
Of course that didnt fix it. They then came back and said the front rotors were warped, so they replaced them. Guess what, that didnt fix it either.
They then came back and said the problem is with the Goodyear tires, that, was revealed to them in 1999. Keep in mind I was the one who told them about the problem with the tires after rading about it here. Yes, there is TSB on it, but of course NO ONE there knew about it! So they put the new CONTINENTIAL tires on it, the cheapest ones that would fit. And I was so excited when I drove my car home from the dealer and the shimmy was gone. I finally had back the beautiful car that I purchased. Until, 2 days later. Guess what?
The shimmy was back with avengence!
I don't know what is wrong with this car, I'm not suppose to know how to fix it, the dealer is! Well the bottom line is, the arbitration board called out a third party (a retired gent from GM)who has been wanting to buy a car like mine and he was SHOCKED at the difference between the way my car drove and the new one drove. Beautiful no problems at all. It was ugly inside compared to mine, I have the beautiful 2 tone interior with the taupe and the pearl, and mine has the chrome tape on the door switches, cheap but looks better (I think) Well he ruled in my favor and this dealer was ordered to fix my car. They didnt tell them how to fix it. He suggested to them that a set of Michelin tires and new wheels would probably avoid a buy back of this car but so far I dont know if thy heeded his advise. They have had my car for 4 days now, so I guess we'll see. I for awhile thought I was crazy, not this car, but finally someone agrees with me there is something wrong with my car. Dont get me wrong, this was my dream car. My husbands father died and left us the money to pay cash for it. I wanted it to be everything I had heard it was. I love my car, I just want it to drive like the car I know it was meant to be.
Just for some comparison, the local BMW in my area has a reputation as being "one of the best". A friend of mine had purchased an used 5 series there w/no problems or complaints. Her husband later decided to buy himself one too so was negotiating for a 3 series. When he tried to walk out because they wouldn't come down on the price, the saleman threw the car keys at him. I mean really threw them hard. That to me is pure snob. I can't believe that a couple months later he actually went back and bought the car from the same dealer. An guess what....it was a lemon. Nothing but trouble. All their fixes didn't work and he was really unhappy with their attitude. He filed the lemon law and had his money back from them within 2 months (they weren't too happy about giving him that check either). Guess what he bought to replace the brand new Bmer? A '69 Camaro.
LHS Wings emblem Part #4857279AA From Wyckoff Chrysler off the net at $25.93 plus shipping. Goes on very easy with the sticky backing. I have mine just above the lock on the trunk, it is flat enough to adhere fine there.
Doc
sdmike2: sent you ANOTHER htm document I modified from your original code using a stylesheet created in Dreamweaver. The first message gave me a "delivery failure" message. Hope this helps you out....
drpixel/Glenn
Click on my name and you'll see what replaced my "wicked" Christine! ;-)) Some poor soul in Providence, RI is driving her now.
You were luckier than me. At least your problems didn't START until after 10 months! Mine started on day one and took 10 1/2 months to resolve when I solved the problem MYSELF with Goodyear.
Through reliable sources, I found out that Chrysler spent $3,300 in WARRANTY repairs on Christine in the 33 months and 35,500 miles that I had her! SOME might call that "normal". NOT me!
fastdriver
I have been an occassional lurker but now could use your collective advice. Last week I was bumped in stop and go traffic (Hwy 94 in St. Paul for any twin citians). It was hard enough to knock everything on the passenger seat onto the floor- my guess is about 5 mph. The guy that hit me said "don't worry about it the bumpers are made for that". Anyway I can't see any damage - not even a paint scrape. Do you think there could be any hidden damage to the bumper support etc? Or if it was bad enough to do that I would notice something external as well?
Any thoughts?
2000 300M 30K
Sounds like Blonda and sdmike et al are getting together in their area. Anybody in Dallas/Plano want to meet for coffee? I would enjoy seeing your rides.
Silver
Also, check all rear light functions.
If everything checks out OK, at least your mind will be at ease.
Good luck!
Lynn Flowers
McKinney, Texas
I'm looking forward to getting my M washed today after the rain we've had lately, but it was nice to get to really check out the wet weather handling of my Goodrich Gforce KDW's!
Lynn Flowers
McKinney, Texas
I would say you have the dreaded radial tire pull. In my experience the only way to correct this problem is to isolate the bad tire and have it replaced. It will continue to pull no matter what you do with the alignment. Having the bad tire on the back does not produce a pull as bad as it does when it is on the front. Usually the bad tire is on the side the car is pulling towards. Hope this helps.
-MMCCCM
This article sounds like it is trying to tout new tech, and I am sure there is some subtle difference that make it different that what we have. There is a comment in the article about letting up on the accelerator at a shift, should I be doing that in my M. Right now I just keep it down and she shifts smooth, but am i screwing up my car?
"For another, the missing clutch pedal makes you forget to let up as you move the shift lever or buttons, as you'd do driving a regular stick shift. What you get if you hold your foot on the gas during a shift is a sports car that falls on its face between gears. Unseemly. But if you perfect the art of letting up at the right instant, and returning to the gas a moment later, then you get lovely, crisp, effortless shifts. But it takes work to become consistently good at the technique"
I lodged a complaint and informed them that they have lost a customer. I only saw 1 M during my stay and this was a rental with base equipment. I saw a almond M on display at the MGM Grand and it had a big dent on the drivers door as well as a big scratch or black mark on the rear bumper. Not too impressive. I did the Red Rock tour which I am impressed with. My rental was a Neon, which was cheap, and reliable. I hear that the Alladin which just opened I believe last year is really in financial difficulty and is ready to close, a shopping center just south of he strip on Las Vegas Ave. is almost vacant and a car dealer is using part of the parking lot as a storage yard for new SUV's Security at airports were not really that bad and is running smoothly.
I hope you folks enjoy your meet wherever it may be. I also noted that there were over 200 posts in four days. What do you people talk about??????
remember...you heard it from me first...about 5 months ago,
Since I live in Park Cities and you both live North side maybe we could meet in Plano some Saturday morning for coffee. Name a place we can all find easily and decide when. I am busy tomorrow. We will be at the Olympics from 2/13-17, otherwise I'm free. Just let me know. Thanks for the interest.
Silver
It was quite comical but there was one old babe who had 4 flags flying from an older Caddy which was in great shape. She was travelling so slow that the flags hardly moved in the breeze and all other drivers were honking at her to make her speed up, and I guess she must have thought that it was her patriotism that they were honking at. So she would wave and smile, wave and smile, all at 5 MPH. LOL. Last Monday we did Red Rock and we were about 2 miles from the turn off to the entrance when we observed a pick-up which had lost control and rolled numerous times and emergency vehicles were just arriving. We came back about 2 hours later and the Police were still on scene so it must have been serious. The vehicle was back on it's wheels, looking worse for wear, but the US flag was still standing straight and proud from the roof, but did look a little weathered and dirty. Someone has sure made a pile of money on these flags and flag holders. I was impressed, I wish my country would be a little more patriotic, but you only have to look at our leader and you'll know why we aren't.
Mike - It would be great if you could call up to the carlsbad DC dealership and see if they want any involvement with our meet. We're looking at March 16. I still plan to go up there and scout around, but if you have an "in" already we might get further.
Glenn - When I chased you down the freeway onramp I heard YOUR exhaust over MINE! Nice! After I got gas at the Mobil (I assume you saw that I was tailing you) I went over to Betty's Car Wash and found the owner/manager. I dropped your name and he had great things to say about you and your wife. I had them polish out the scratches in the rear quarter panel and it looks simply amazing! I gave him $20 even though he said payment was optional (he seemed more interested in me being happy). I'm going to have my whole car done next week. It removed even the very fine swirl marks that were there when the car was brand new. Great job.
Blonda - It was also great to meet a female car nut! Your husband is a lucky guy. Glenn and I were sharing how our wives just don't understand our love of our cars. Hey, if I need help trimming that dash piece to fit the cell phone holder I'll come see you. I'm not sure I have the stomach to take an exacto to my car. heh. Let me know if any of you guys want help installing a clock face if you have scotian make one for you.
Anyway, I just wanted to tell you all how much I enjoyed the meeting. We'll have to do it again sometime...maybe lunch or beers somewhere.
Mike
I got in to enjoy my first Friday drive home from work in the new M and pressed one of the load/eject buttons to switch a CD and nothing, it's jammed. Tried all the way home, it makes a faint effort (you can hear it trying to reposition and eject) but it's obviously physically stuck. Anyone experienced this? God I hate the thought of having to have the dealer take the console apart, I fear it will never be quite the same.