That does not mean that the dealers are linked, only the warranty and
service information are linked via the computer. Case in point. While
living in Louisiana, I purchased a 1996 Neon for my (now ex-) wife in 1998.
The vehicle, still under the factory 3 year/36K mile warranty developed a
oil leak that I was told was a blown head gasket. The Shreveport Dodge
dealer repaired the defect under warranty. In 1999, with the mileage over
the 36K mile mark, the car developed another oil leak. By this time I had
moved to Delaware and was sure I would have to perform a major repair job
out of my own pocket. I took the car to Holden Dodge here in Dover and told
them I was going to do the repair myself, just wanted confirmation of what
exactly was leaking. The service manager at Holden looked up my name and
the vehicles VIN in the computer and told me they would look at it. They
called me about 30 minutes later and told me it was another blown head
gasket. I told them that I had just had a head gasket replaced within the
last year and less then 8K miles ago. He told me he knew I had that work
done as it is in the computer as warranty work and even though Holden Dodge
did not do the original repair, since it was within 1 year and 12K miles
they would repair it again under warranty. Within a week I had another leak
and took it back to Holden. They checked it out and told me the cam sensor
seal was leaking and since they had to pull the cam sensor package to do
the head gasket they would cover the repair under the same warranty. They
should only be able to input to the system the date, customers name, VIN,
mileage, complaint, and the corrective action they accomplished. If when
they perform a repair and they determine the cause of the defect was
vehicle abuse or was caused by something other then a defective part from
the factory, then they can input into the system what they believe the
cause of the defect was. To put it in perspective, if you buy a new big
screen TV and you call for a technician to come to look at it cause it quit
working and the tech determines that the reason it quit working was because
you had it set up on the deck behind your house and it got rained on by a
hurricane, then that's not the fault of the manufacturer and is not covered
by the warranty. By the same token, if you have the tv set up in the house
and have installed a screen cover on the set and the tech tries to tell you
the reason its not working is because you put on the screen cover and that
its not covered by the warranty for that reason would be total bs. I fail
to see how the Hurst shifter could void the warranty on the transmission
since the only job of the shifter is to change the gears and if the
transmission is making noise before the shifter change and is making noise
after the shifter change, its obvious to me that the shifter is not the
problem.
Just my 2 cents worth....
Ray Irons
Dover, DE
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