ACCC And JEEP.... About time
 

Unfortunately I'm a tragic Jeep devotee, but geez I've been pissed off by their crap manufacturer support when things go wrong with my car particularly under warranty.

Nice to see they are being reminded how to behave.

https://www.accc.gov.au/media-releas...-investigation

I suspect some other large brands would benefit from this treatment too.

Great news for all Jeep ,owners who are still having problems that are not being promptly acted on .Now the ACCC will take your call .about time.!!!

Whilst its a step in the right direction, I'm curious to see if many previously ignored requests to replace or refund a car will be honoured.

Chrysler have agreed to follow the ACL rules, but the issue is that they think all the problems are minor, not major. That means they can continue to replace parts on lemons.

But now there is a precedent for some cars that were refunded. And now ACCC are 'interested', I think there will be a bit of cultural change within their organisation and how complaints are handled.

In the States they have a simple lemon rule. If a vehicle is off the road for a certain period of time under warranty, it gets replaced.

Something to read about lemon laws.
http://www.carsguide.com.au/car-news...tect-you-18502

I get annoyed about the parts issue.....I don't expect them to hold a full stock of every part for every model....but when I can privately buy a part from the US and have it posted here in a few days, I don't see why FCA can't have a comparable parts delivery arrangement for warranty work.

I am now up to 6 weeks waiting for replacement flares on my Trailhawk after they damaged both of them removing them to fit the tow bar. Damage is only minor and several people have called me a winger but stuff it. Its a brand new vehicle that they damaged and I want all damage to be my fault alone :)

Here in Mackay they only put in all non urgent parts orders in to Melbourne every Wednesday so if you want something on Thursday the request sits here for six days before it even goes to Melbourne and then it is a two week delivery from warehouse, simply not good enough in this day and age where everything is done electronically anyway. I have had parts from Florida delivered to my door here in four days from payment confirmation but mostly it is around seven to twelve days, still a lot quicker than the dealer can get them here from Melbourne.

Yeah, when Morris4x4 can get parts to me from Florida to Sydney in 4 freaking days, I can't see why FCA can't do better!

To be fair Jeep Australia had my back when getting the XJ's chassis tear repaired locally as it was the "local boys" kicking up quite a stink, they still had me waiting between 6 to 8 weeks to get the car back...

Just recently I needed a new timing cover and for what they wanted (local dealer) and how long it would take I just went to eBay and saved $200.

The ACCC are currently wanting to hear from any Jeep owners who are being led up the garden path waiting for parts,service problems etc In place of a large fine from the ACCC for lack of parts ,complaints not promptly acted upon etc etc FCA agreed to pick up their act re customer service problems.
However remember a number of points.!!!Chrysler were broke broke and owned by the US govt 4 years ago until taken over by Fiat.Fiat are still in a bad way , plus the new FCA aust directors are looking for $30000000.00 that has gone AWOL on the previous directors watch 2012-14 .This is going to court early Feb.Know wonder service and parts delays are still happening.!!
If anybody wants action I suggest you tell the dealer etc you will make an immediate complaint to the ACCC.
However FCA are not the only company with parts supply issues.!!

The Chrysler Jeep operation in Australia has always been profitable and I recall them crowing about that when the US company was being bailed out by the US govrrnment. Much of the profitability was built on heavy markup on parts, and simple low cost supply chain tactics like not holding anything in the warehouse that is not fast moving. Dealers, which are separate businesses, have no incentive to hold parts, and they are bound to get them from FCA. My son has been caught a few times by the Mackay dealership Wednesday order deadline so its not unique, and maybe just them trying to bundle into one handling/shipping charge to save them money.
We are at the end of a long profitable supply chain , where each member, Chrysler Jeep USA, FCA, and the dealers get their margin at our cost. The part manufacturers, many are not affiliated, get paid almost nothing. Morris 4x4 can deliver parts to us from Florida cheaply and still make a health margin on their sales because they buy from the parts makers or have sourced from other suppliers cutting out the many middlemen in the Aus Dealer supply chain. It's not unique to FCA but they do it well and of course make good profits which can then be embezzled by some of their mgt team for personal use. I know a few stories about how they behaved at the last Victorian Jambo, and observed first hand one case, frankly they won't ever get another $ from me.

No def not... was talking to my neighbour on the weekend as he has just returned from his 8 week trip to far north QLD. I didnt actually realise he was back as I hadn't seen his unbreakable hilux... oh no, its sitting at a dealer up north after being towed from Camerons Corner where the gearbox died. Manual gearbox bent one of the internal shift linkages. No parts in Australia and 5 weeks into waiting for a new gearbox from Japan. No loan car. He completed the trip in one of the mates vehicles that was with him. He still has to fly back up there to pick it up when the parts eventually arrive! With no airfares either.

I believe it's not only FCA, dealers also need to start taking more responsibility. I just had my service done in August and apparently identified that ball joints should be replaced under warranty. It was not until this tuesday that I got a bit suspicious of why the parts department still haven't sent me the sms regarding this part. It turns out that dealer didn't finish the request for parts properly and it takes one day to confirm parts in stock and can book for service. It seems that ordering wrong parts, forgot to finish requests are just part of the human nature (not Jeep specific). :)
But at least, Jeep dealers hopefully start taking things more seriously.

Cost and availability of spares
 

We broke a sunvisor clip on our GC and the local dealer flattened me with a quote of $63 for ONE clip which is no more than an extruded piece of plastic with a hole in it! Mind you there was NIL stock in Perth!
Finished up getting a PAIR on Ebay for $18 including postage.

Made a complaint to the ACCC based on what I would call 'price gouging on spares' but they're not interested as they consider it the right of the company to set their own RRP.

Seat belt stalk sensor is now playing up so I dread to think what the cost of a replacement will be. Might have to wear that one as the pinging sound is driving me mad.