Every state is different, but here in Wisconsin, if a car is repaired three or more times under warranty for the same thing, you can open a lemon-law claim. That also applies to a car that is out-of-service for a certain percentage of days due to being stuck at the dealership, either waiting for parts or waiting for the problem to be figured out.
When Chrysler has a lemon-law buyback vehicle, they insist it must be properly repaired, regardless of cost, then it goes to a car auction. When GM has a buyback, they just give up and donate them to technical college Automotive programs. We had about a dozen of them at my school.
The problem with lemon-laws is the car owner never makes out. You think you're going to get back what you paid, but they deduct an amount equal to what it would have cost you to rent the car for as long as you had it. A week's worth of renting is a lot higher than a week's worth of leasing.
The good news, at least with Chrysler, is if the dealer is unable to help you, they will get the district representative involved, and he has way more authority over what can be done to solve the problem. The dealer is bound by franchise agreements and government regulations. The dealer is your advocate, not your adversary. The district rep. is much more interested in keeping you happy than you would expect. Having your best interest at heart, it is preferable to figure out how to repair your car so this problem doesn't occur again. Even that can be frustrating because thanks to the four or five dozen computer modules, over half of them, and a whole long list of other things can cause no-start problems. It seems to be something today's drivers are willing to put up with. The frustrating part is all you know is the engine doesn't start, . . . again, but the cause can be totally different than the last time.
So far nothing you're described is unusual or out-of-the-ordinary. Since cars have become so unnecessarily complex, we see electrical problems all the time that defy diagnosis. My next concern is what are owners going to do when these cars get to be five to fifteen years old and the dealer no longer wants to work on them? I drive stuff that's 22 - 36 years old because if something needs to be repaired, I know I can do it myself. There's just too much on new cars that require a trip to the dealership. I'm a mechanic; I shouldn't have to go to someone else to fix what I'm trained to do.
Aug 19, 2016 at 9:29 PM
