Stepping It Up a Notch

Thursday, April 21, 2005
We finally got around to putting decals on our van to advertise this web site and the problems that we've been having. We didn't really want to go to this extreme, but we've had enough. We are stuck with a vehicle that is riddled with issues due to manufacturing defects. Daimler Chrysler is unwilling to resolve the issues and we are being forced to continue making our lease payments. So, we are now going to ensure that everywhere we drive people are aware of how Daimler Chrysler is treating us.

We have been leasing our van now for 23 months. It has been in for repairs for 179 days of this time. That means it has spent more than 25% of its time being fixed. Does that seem right? This represents 1 out of every 4 days that we've had the van. How can Daimler Chrysler not think that there is a problem here!?!?!

Does this seem like a vehicle that is in "very good condition" (as stated by Jim, the National Service and Parts Manager)? Daimler Chrysler's "solution" is for us to continue to bringing our van to a dealer every time that we have an issue. I don't want to spend 25% of the remaining 2 years on the lease with my van in for repairs. This is not a solution! And, what about when the warranty expires? Am I expected to pay for all the time spent trying to diagnose and resolve these ongoing issues?

Sorenson Page replaced a hinge on our left sliding door yesterday. Now the door is no longer flush with the panel behind it. We'll have to head back into the dealership again to have this resolved. They are scheduled to replace the left rear light assembly anyways, so I guess it doesn't really mean an "extra" trip to the dealership. I'm unsure though why Daimler Chrysler feels that replacing the lighting assembly is going to fix anything. MacIVER Dodge already claimed to have done this months ago, and we've still been experiencing the same issues. I fail to see how doing it a second time is going to rectify anything.

We arrived at Sorenson Page with our van - complete with decals. I was quite impressed at how we were handled. They were obviously upset with the decals - which is understandable - but they still treated us in a courteous and professional manner. They moved our van into the service bay quite quickly - obviously to reduce the amount of attention it might get. We went with our boys to get ice cream. Half an hour later, we got a call that all the repairs had been completed.

We had forgot to mention a fairly new problem that we were having - that our van was making an odd noise when turning. They took it for a quick test drive and determined that there was something wrong with one of the power steering hoses. They took it back into the service area and made the necessary repairs.

I must admit that this was probably one of the best experiences I have ever had in the last 23 months of having my van serviced. I tip my hat to Peter, the service manager at Sorenson Page, and to the rest of his staff. My van is covered with decals telling people not to buy their products. They are having to deal with ongoing repair issues that really should not be their concern. Yet, they were still more pleasant than any dealing I have ever had with MacIVER Dodge.

I must mention though that the owner of Sorenson Page didn't look too pleased to see us with our decals. I can't blame him though. I do apologize if I have cost his dealership any sales. Our issues are not with Sorenson Page. They have somehow been stuck in the middle of all of this. Hopefully any dissatisfied customers from MacIVER Dodge (and there are a lot of them based on e-mails that I've received) will start visiting Sorenson Page for any future service or sales needs.

We spent a couple of hours this afternoon driving around Aurora and Newmarket. We have been really surprised by the number of people honking at us and giving us thumbs up on our decals. We really should have put the decals on earlier. I think that they are going to be the most effective form of promotion that we've used thus far.

One more thing... We went to visit MacIVER Dodge this evening. Remember that we are not allowed on their property or they will charge us with trespassing. I can't stop laughing when I think of this in relation to their slogan - "Our goal is to make you a customer for life". I don't claim to be an expert in customer retention, but threatening customers with trespassing is probably not the best way to get them to buy from you again.

Anyway, we stopped by the police station before going to MacIVER Dodge. We wanted to verify our rights and to ensure that the police had no issues with us protesting in front of the dealership. The two constables at the front desk were very helpful and provided us with all the information we needed. So... we drove off to MacIVER Dodge.

There is a great little section of pavement between the sidewalk and the road in front of MacIVER Dodge. This is public property and we are completely within our rights to park there, provided that we are not obstructing traffic. So, we did just that. We parked our van, turned on a movie for the kids, pulled out a couple of good magazines, and sat. It was getting close to rush hour so there was a lot of traffic going by.

We had lots of honks, lots of thumbs up, and lots of smiles from people passing by. It was great. After being there for 5 minutes, we knew that MacIVER Dodge was aware of us. We could see Frank, the general manager, scurrying around, and then peering out the window at us. He even called the police who showed up about 30 minutes after our arrival.

After about 20 minutes, which I'm assuming was spent talking with Frank, two police officers came to speak with us at our van. They asked us for some background information, checked our licenses, ensured that we were aware of the trespassing order from MacIVER Dodge, and instructed us to make sure we did not obstruct traffic. Of course, we had no problems with any of this. And, that was it. We are fully within our rights to peacefully protest outside the dealership.

Given that we have 2 more years left in the lease on our van, I'm sure that we'll be spending a lot more time parked on that little piece of pavement outside MacIVER Dodge.

Friday, April 22, 2005
I was catching up on some reading this morning. I came across an article by the Automobile Protection Association (APA). This is a Canadian non-profit organization that promotes consumer interests in the automobile industry. You can read the article here. It basically shows how useless the CAMVAP program is - especially in my situation.