Here's an update on the Daimler-Chrysler lawsuit.
Box Score:
Soehnlein -- 2
Daimler/Chrysler/Benz -- 0
I think I've mentioned elsewhere on the site, probably in some past chat topics, about Round 2 of warranty battles with the Daimler conglomerate. When Daimler took over Chrysler, warranty and service contracts went out the window.
I had the "Bumper to Bumper, 7 year/ 100,000 mile" extended warranty on my Dodge truck. Some serious problems like stuck wide open throttle and a cruise control that would accelerate the vehicle 20 mph in cold weather. And a host of lesser problems. Things were OK when it was Chrylser, but when Daimler bought them out and it became Daimler-Chrysler, forget it.
The started not fixing things, refusing to write them up, and not even performing the bare minimum diagnostics per shop manual or even test drives. I finally wrote the President of Daimler-Chrysler. He had one of his hench-men (actually woman) call me and tell me they didn't honor those extended warranties -- that was a 'private dispute' between me and the dealer. Then she told me to go ahead and sue! Lady, wish granted.
After two rounds of legal manuevering, the 3rd trial date was the full thing. They didn't even bring a witness -- their lawyer spent most of his time trying to nit-pick the contract terms. Result, we won! I got a full refund of the entire service contract, $1850! The judge's comments were also a little scathing. He ruled the customer had bought a full contract, not just parts of it; that unsuccessful attempts to repair did not count; that it was obvious Chrysler refused to repair items that were known defective until ordered to do so by the Feds (mandatory recall on the stuck throttle) and that when they refused to fix an item, they couldn't then use my taking it to an independent as an excuse for further non-repair.
In a way, it was a circus. They produced no witnesses or evidence. They did try one suprise affidavit from a service manager at a dealership that never looked at the car, but that had already been covered during testimony. Their whole contention was that if they tried -- no matter how pitiful the attempt -- that was all they had to do. And if they hadn't fixed something by the time the original warranty ran out, then it was exempt under the extended warranty.
They spent way more on the lawyer than fixing the car would have cost. Then lost the entire Service Contract fee & court costs. Go figure.
This isn't my first round with Daimler. I had to sue them on my wife's then-new '89 Mercedes Benz (paint defect) and won that one hands-down on breach of warranty and violation of the NC Lemon Law. Spent thousands defending an $800 law-suit. Appealed it to district court, pulled every shyster legal trick in the handbook, and still lost. For a repair that finally cost $150. (A factory repaint had been put on too thick so scratched & hazed. Only needed curing time and buffing out.)
I can't figure it out. Honoring the warranty would have cost a few hundred dollars. The spend thousands, lost even more and now I won't every buy a Daimler product again and do tell all my friends. I know I've cost them several sales already.
Look, I love the Cummins turbo-deisel in my Dodge pickemup, but the Dodge side is a piece of crap. If something ever happens to my tow truck, my next will be a Ford with the Power Stroke Diesel V8. Don't like the engine as well but damned if I'll do business with a company whose warranty and contracts are no good.
