Letter to Chrysler Jeep General Manager

[Pipeliner]

I am today sending the following letter to the GM of CJD in Melbourne. It will be interesting to see the response (if any).


The General Manager


Chrysler Jeep Dodge Australia


44 Lexia Place


Mulgrave


VIC 3170






Dear Sir,


<O:p


I have been a Jeep supporter for the past 7 years since I purchased my first KJ CRD in 2003. I currently own a 2006 build KJ CRD which is, unfortunately, 3 months outside its warranty period.


<O:p


Two weeks ago my wife and I started what was intended to be a 10,000km trip from Brisbane to Broome and back trip in company with two other vehicles, all towing camper trailers. However my Jeep started making a screeching noise when the clutch was depressed about 4 days into the trip: this was diagnosed as a failed clutch release bearing. We drove on to Mt Isa and took the Jeep to the local Toyota dealer as there are no Jeep dealers in that town. The service manager suggested that the pressure plate may also have been damaged and recommended that we replaced this as well. However investigations determined that there were no replacement parts in Australia, and since our companions could not afford to wait around for 2-3 weeks for a part to arrive from Singapore they continued on their trip and we arranged to have the Jeep shipped home to Brisbane: by this time the Mt Isa workshop had removed the gearbox and confirmed that the pressure plate release fingers had been damaged by the failed bearing.


<O:p


I have now ordered a new clutch assembly from a Jeep dealer in the UK and it will be flown out to me this week. This whole incident raises questions to which I would appreciate your response.


<O:p


1. Why is it that an essential component such as a clutch kit is not held in stock in Australia? I would have thought that sensible stock-keeping would have ensured that new stock was ordered when the stock level dropped to 2 or 3 units.


2. How does Chrysler Jeep justify pricing such a component at A$730 in Australia when the identical genuine Mopar part can be purchased for A$265 in the UK, inclusive of the local 17.5% VAT? Shipping costs cannot be the answer, as even with the cost of airfreighting a single item I have ended up paying less than the cost in Australia.


<O:p


The ridiculous cost of Jeep parts in Australia is a common topic on the various Jeep forum websites, and many Jeep enthusiasts order their spare parts from the US or UK. I shall soon be needing to replace my timing belt and know I can save around A$500 by ordering the parts from the VM specialist in the UK.


<O:p</O:p


I will be posting a copy of this letter on the web forums “ausjeepoffroad” and “LOST Downunder” and will also post your response, unless you request otherwise.


<O:p


Yours sincerely

[bruggz351]

I'd like to see their response, if any. Should be interesting.

I drive a Old XJ, so I half expect to have trouble finding spares. But your vehicle is relatively new, there should be spares on hand, especially regular items.

cheers

[Matty ducati]

This stuff keeps Wooders in the cash;)

[Windex]

Thank god for Wooders!

[TheOoz]

I had a $20K Yamaha motorcycle with a warranty issue and Yamaha Australia didn't want to touch it. I wrote them a friendly letter explaining my situation and the help I was hoping they would provide - they decided not to help.

I then wrote a friendly letter to the General Manager in Japan. I got a friendly phone call from the GM in Australia and they decided they would help.

Generally, someone in a senior position of any business is willing to listen to your concerns and are usually the best placed to make a decision that will result in a positive outcome. If this does happen, you can either go higher in the organisation or give your cash to someone who deserves it.

This post isn't negative to the Jeep brand, but more of a guide to those who have issues with any brand and would like resolution.

[jzp]

Hmmmm... I have the same complaint about engine mounts.

Australia.... nearly $600 for both....
US.... under $200 includes shipping to Australia.

It's called a captive audience = big margin. I don't begrudge organisations making a profit - just don't rip us off!

Unless you are prepared to do your own leg work, and won't tolerate being overcharged - most people will pay the price, then put it down to experience, and will then reconsider buying another Jeep because it costs too much to maintain it.

[Pipeliner]

might be an idea to take your address off the post......

:?::?::?::?::?:

All it says is "Brisbane" - what's wrong with that?

[TassieTJ]

My money is you will here nothing... may-be you might get some B.S.

[Will239]

Woooders is da man!

[zerosecta]

Army Barby has knocked the nail on the head and I think everthing said there is absolutley correct -

However - I think with over pricing aside, the main frustration ans issue here is that that Jeep want to charge us 4 times for parts then not even be bothered about having them in stock in aus...

SO JEEP!!!! If you are going to expect us to pay 4x for parts we can just get from other suppliers, AT LEAST, have the coutisy to keep them in stock, IN AUS!!

[Pipeliner]

There's something in what you say, Barmy Arbie (sorry, Army Barbie), but it still doesn't explain why a Jeep dealership in the UK can sell parts for 1/3 the cost here in Australia - and as zerosecta says, if they are going to charge rip-off prices the very least they could do is have stock on hand. I paid Leo Muller $130 for the release bearing and another $130 to Toll Priority to get it up to Mt Isa overnight, and I would happily have paid another $1000 to get a clutch sent up - after all I had to pay $1250 to get the trailer and ourselves back to Brisbane.

If you just use your Jeep for local trips having it off the road for a few days (or weeks) is not a great problem, but when you are in the middle of a 10,000km trip with friends the delay ruins everything. The Toyota service manager in Mt Isa basically said "What else can you expect if you drive a vehicle that is so poorly supported by the makers" - it doesn't matter how much we love our Jeeps, if they break down in remote areas we're screwed.

[cmohr]

There's truth in that "Poorly supported" comment but, when I was on my SA Desert Trip in 2006, the Landcrusier that was the other vehicle started to leak from a front left axle seal. We stopped in Roxby Downs for repairs, and he was told it would need a whole new front axle shaft as well as a seal. None in SA, None in Vic, None in Qld, One in NSW, but it was a right side, not a Left. Ended up with a Secondhand reconditioned one, it took 6 days to get it there and cost over $500.00. We had sayed in Roxby for two days, thinking there was one coming O'nite, when we found it was going to be so long, we used another vehicle and went up to Dalhousie with it and the KJ, returned 6days later to get the Landcrusier. Roxby is not a small town, its a very well serviced place, daily deliveries, lots of mining money, lots of Toyotas, still, not an O'nite fix. Imagine even if it had happened 2 minutes from home, would have had the same supply problem.

Sometimes life just conspires against us :rolleyes:

[Pipeliner]

When I went to pick up the trailer today the guy in the office told me that he was supposed to be picking up a couple of new Jeeps from the Cairns dealer to deliver to another dealer further south, but they couldn't be shifted as Cairns had removed parts from them to fix customer's cars and were waiting for the replacements to arrive.

[zerosecta]

When I went to pick up the trailer today the guy in the office told me that he was supposed to be picking up a couple of new Jeeps from the Cairns dealer to deliver to another dealer further south, but they couldn't be shifted as Cairns had removed parts from them to fix customer's cars and were waiting for the replacements to arrive.

Now theres a dealer who is looking after its customers - Good one Cairns Jeep!

[davidd]

the cost and availablility of parts is just one more reason why chrysler will remain a niche market player in australia. they only concern hemselves with the u.s. market where government legislation prevents them from doing what they do in the rest of the world. a letter won't change anything. this has always been a problem with chrysler products. you must learn to look for aftermarket alternatives.

[drover]

I have always looked for aftermarket parts, whether it was the 'Cruiser, Landy or now the Jeep. Always found the dealer prices too expensive and it has been quicker to get the bits from other sources, in fact sometimes the part is exactly the same as the original only the price tag is differn't.
With the CRD I have tried to locate parts availability before I may need them so I won't be caught short, occasionally you will find the same part is pretty generic .

[Pipeliner]

Ok, I've got the bill from the UK.
Clutch kit £130.28
Shipping £125.99
Total £256.27

Equivalent to $444 at today's rates. So even taking bank fees etc into account I should get away with less than $500, compared to $730 from CJD Australia. And receive it sooner.

[Squall]

Just to throw my hat into the ring on the 'poorly supported argument'. I doubt if it matters what 4x4 you drive when it comes to replacements for a new car. At the end of the day the car will go into production using the just in time production method where all the components are produced at just the right rate to allow for the car to be put together. There is a very small margin of extra parts (to allow for QC issues) made for warranty fixes that are centrally located for "quick" distribution. Its not until the cars come out of warranty (Which is the expected lifespan of most critical parts) that Jeep will really look at supplying replacements parts with a hope of making a profit. This is just my economics 101 coming out and I could be miles of the truth. But AB also hit the nail on the head, us luck few who know what its like to take a Jeep off road are in the minority. Most Jeeps dont have as many problems as some people on this forum because they never leave the black stuff.

Not to mention if you look back 30 years cars were a lot more simple to fix (you could do it yourself) and people did not think to much about a two week wait for parts in the outback, because its the outback and that's just how long stuff takes in the outback. I think to many people are getting used to being immediately satisfied and are dragging their city timeline out into the bush where it means nothing to wait for two days for a river to go down after a big rain if it means its safer to cross. Sit back eat into you spare food and water and read that good book you have been putting off for weeks. If you only allowed enough time to just complete the trip and then rush home, then are you really going to enjoy the journey?

Sorry this is the July Rant thread right?

[Pipeliner]

Squall, I am mostly in agreement with you. However, a few points about my actual case.

1. Mt Isa is NOT the outback. It has a daily scheduled 737 Qantas flight plus regular daily courier flights (Toll, DHL, etc) so that parts SHOULD be available (at a cost) not more than one day later than a capital city.

2. CJD stopped making KJ's in 2006: mine was one of the last and is now out of warranty. So by your reasoning parts should be available.

3. Regardless of how the majority use their Jeeps, the advertising leans heavily towards promoting them as competent offroad performers (which they certainly are) so it seems reasonable to assume that parts which are likely to wear out faster in off-road use would be kept available.

[GMEMUD]

When I inquired about a front CV for the Grand in Alice Springs I was told it would be 10 to 14 days ex Singapore if air freighted to Alice or 14 to 21 days if by road from Melbourne. I fail to see why it would take that long as Darwin is only a stones throw away from Singapore with several flights daily and a squillion road or air services heading south to Alice daily. I can understand the economics of having a large Asia Pacific warehouse in Singapore serving the region but why does it have to go via Melbourne,(latte latte land).

[Grahame]

Just to throw my hat into the ring on the 'poorly supported argument'. I doubt if it matters what 4x4 you drive when it comes to replacements for a new car. At the end of the day the car will go into production using the just in time production method where all the components are produced at just the right rate to allow for the car to be put together. There is a very small margin of extra parts (to allow for QC issues) made for warranty fixes that are centrally located for "quick" distribution. Its not until the cars come out of warranty (Which is the expected lifespan of most critical parts) that Jeep will really look at supplying replacements parts with a hope of making a profit. This is just my economics 101 coming out and I could be miles of the truth.


Squall is pretty much on the mark here. I work for a large multinational industrial machinery manufacturer and we follow the "Toyota Model" which is Just-in-Time. The buzz words in industry at the moment are "Cash Flow" and the best way to achieve this is to reduce inventory. I doubt that you will see a change after the warranty period as it doesn't suit their economic model, they will continue with Just-in-Time and not hold stock. They get a commitment from their suppliers that they can supply when requested. Those suppliers get commitments from their suppliers and so on. At the end of the day the product suppliers get the sales and the end user gets shafted because he has to wait at times for the product to be manufactured. Remember too that Chrysler got hit pretty hard in the GFC and are only just coming out of it. I doubt that you are going to get a favorable response from them.

[drover]

When I inquired about a front CV for the Grand in Alice Springs I was told it would be 10 to 14 days ex Singapore if air freighted to Alice or 14 to 21 days if by road from Melbourne. I fail to see why it would take that long as Darwin is only a stones throw away from Singapore with several flights daily and a squillion road or air services heading south to Alice daily. I can understand the economics of having a large Asia Pacific warehouse in Singapore serving the region but why does it have to go via Melbourne,(latte latte land).

I just went to Repco, $22.....thank you. But I had to wait 2 days for a part for my aircon on the old ZG to come from Singapore, but that wasn't thru Jeep, my aircon bloke had tried Jeep but it would be 2 weeks. He got it in 2 days from probably the same place and a bit cheaper.

[Pipeliner]

My clutch has arrived in Australia and is currently awaiting customs clearance. Total cost so far has been $486 which includes $30 to the bank for arranging the money transfer - still cheaper and quicker than buying from Chrysler Jeep Australia.

No response to my letter - not even an acknowledgement of receipt.

[Dastanton]

Couple of months ago I took my Jeep to the dealership (Pickerings Townsville) for a 6 monthly service to be told it had a faulty O2 sensor. I told them to fix it under the warranty ... they responded the Jeep warranty was well out of date ... I responded with I have the Jeep extended warranty .... told no such thing exsisted ... showed them the warranty and was told that it was a "Brisbane thing" and needed to contact the dealership who sold me the car (Leo Muller in Brisbane). Contacted the warranty and told there was no reason why Pickerings Townsville coundn't and shouldn't honour the warranty since they also sold it and are a Jeep dealership. Recontacted Pickerings and told it was outdated ... contacted warranty and told no it didn't expire until 2011. Contacted Pickerings, told the km's were over, Contacted warranty and they wouldn't commit and told me it was Pickerings decission. What BS!!! Can't afford lawyers to fight, fired off an email to Comsumer Affairs, told to contact the regulatory body. Can't find an email address. Why buy warranty for it not to be honoured. My advice is to avoid dealerships!!!

[crawl3r]

i highly doubt were gonna get any response on that email...the best thing to do once your jeep is out of warrenty is find a good jeep mechanic that wont rip you off and actually cares and take your jeep to them from now on

rodg in perth is one of these guys that wants the best for us jeepers, yes we may have to buy parts from the stealership every now and then but i say avoid them as majority( im not saying all as there may be some good dealerships out there) wont want to help

iv rang my dealership twice in the past week just to get a quote on some parts and both times they have said the parts department is busy can we have your number and we will call you back in 10mins or so

2 weeks later and nothing, dont eve waste your time

[bruggz351]

The little that I've dealt with the mob in Lismore northern nsw, they have been great. Dear, but great service. Thats parts service by the way, the service dpt don't want to work on my old XJ:(. I e-mail most of my queries and orders and most times get stuff within a couple of days, if not in stock.

cheers

[ZJ from WA]

Squall is pretty much on the mark here. I work for a large multinational industrial machinery manufacturer and we follow the "Toyota Model" which is Just-in-Time. The buzz words in industry at the moment are "Cash Flow" and the best way to achieve this is to reduce inventory. I doubt that you will see a change after the warranty period as it doesn't suit their economic model, they will continue with Just-in-Time and not hold stock. They get a commitment from their suppliers that they can supply when requested. Those suppliers get commitments from their suppliers and so on. At the end of the day the product suppliers get the sales and the end user gets shafted because he has to wait at times for the product to be manufactured. Remember too that Chrysler got hit pretty hard in the GFC and are only just coming out of it. I doubt that you are going to get a favorable response from them.

i understand the value of saving. so how about they pass it on then.

Its no good to save money on products/service when all it does is drive people away from you. (look at the daewoos being marketed as holdens in aus) the product might be cheaper to import then haveit here and therefore more profitable but if they dont sell any... it also drives your customer base to up and leave, it leaves you no money. you might make a great return on the small volume of cars/parts you sell but you dont sell enough of them. thats a very poor business model CJD is running here.

But the fool and his money are easily parted.

[Pipeliner]

Guess what? I haven't received any reply to my letter, not even a "We have received your communication" from a lowly assistant. Not exactly surprising, and indicative of the way Chrysler thinks of its customers.

[bally12]

Guess what? I haven't received any reply to my letter, not even a "We have received your communication" from a lowly assistant. Not exactly surprising, and indicative of the way Chrysler thinks of its customers.

just keep sending them over and over until somtheing happens, or photocopy 600 pages of the original and send those off all at once........... im sure ul get a response of some kind then:)

[Pipeliner]

I just got through to someone there on the phone who apologised for not replying - she said that a letter like mine would normally have been delivered to her and she had never seen it. Possibly because I sent it to the street address rather than the PO box number!

I have faxed her a copy and she has promised to look into it and respond.

By the way the phone number is also the number for Mercedes Benz Australia Pacific - maybe no-one's told them that they sold off Chrysler some time ago!

[Gravel]

I was at party the other weekend and two guys there, one driving the Merc 4wd and the other had a BMW M5...

<O:p</O:pThe Merc in its 9 months had been to the dealer 29 times (according to the guy) and he now has given it back to them and is looking at getting anything other than a Merc...

<O:p</O:pThe BMW driver has also since handed his back after less than a year and got an Audi...<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p

It's an industry problem not just Jeep.<O:p</O:p
<O:p

[Mopud]

Couple of months ago I took my Jeep to the dealership (Pickerings Townsville) for a 6 monthly service to be told it had a faulty O2 sensor. I told them to fix it under the warranty ... they responded the Jeep warranty was well out of date ... I responded with I have the Jeep extended warranty .... told no such thing exsisted ... showed them the warranty and was told that it was a "Brisbane thing" and needed to contact the dealership who sold me the car (Leo Muller in Brisbane). Contacted the warranty and told there was no reason why Pickerings Townsville coundn't and shouldn't honour the warranty since they also sold it and are a Jeep dealership. Recontacted Pickerings and told it was outdated ... contacted warranty and told no it didn't expire until 2011. Contacted Pickerings, told the km's were over, Contacted warranty and they wouldn't commit and told me it was Pickerings decission. What BS!!! Can't afford lawyers to fight, fired off an email to Comsumer Affairs, told to contact the regulatory body. Can't find an email address. Why buy warranty for it not to be honoured. My advice is to avoid dealerships!!!

That's disgusting. A prime example of handballing and passing the buck. CJD warranties should be CJD warranties no matter where you are, not specific to the dealership - even if they have offered an extended one!

Jeeps are marketed as go anywhere adventure vehicles so it makes sense to support them country wide. Records need to be kept on a nationally accessible computer system (if they can do it for stock inventory, they can do it for customer records) to support this and especially any special exceptions like yours. If the dealer wants to penny pinch then they can take it up with CJD HQ, support the customer first and aid the image and reputation of CJD Australia to its consumers.

[vk2jdh]

[QUOTE=Dastanton;1101490]. Contacted Pickerings, told the km's were over, QUOTE]

Where they?

[Pipeliner]

Well, I have finally received a reply, signed jointly by the Customer Relations Executive and the General Manager, Service and Parts. They asked that I keep their response confidential and I shall respect that. Hoever I can say that the letter did not inspire me with confidence that they acknowledge the degree of dissatisfaction among Australian Jeep owners or that they have any plans to improve their service or reduce their prices.

[andyperth]

Its a shame you are helping Chrysler treat us so poorly. It is strange they don't want you to tell all Jeep owners what they said. (what have you go to lose).

[Pipeliner]

Its a shame you are helping Chrysler treat us so poorly. It is strange they don't want you to tell all Jeep owners what they said. (what have you go to lose).

In my original letter I stated that I would not publish their reply if they stated that they didn't want it published - and I stick by my word.
<!-- / message -->

[glend]

That is Ok Pipes, I for one don't really care what they have said. My dealings with them over the bogus extended warranty ripoff left me with no good will towards them at all. They make a big point of stressing that they have maintained their profitablity through the US recession and the parent company's problems, but that has come at the expense of the customers here: though a primary focus on maintaining obscene sales margins on all parts and service; minimising carrying cost of parts by simply not stocking things that they know will break; and ignoring vehicle quality related claims that they can weasle out of and claim ignorance.

The lesson here for all (in Australia) is that when you buy a Jeep you are on your own, but AJOR, LOST and other Jeep owner community organisations can and will support you. Issues with Chrysler Jeep Australia can only be solved through addressing our complaints about the situation to head office in the US or Italy or wherever.

[andyperth]

In my original letter I stated that I would not publish their reply if they stated that they didn't want it published - and I stick by my word.
<!-- / message -->

Lucky them

[Steve F]

I have got parts from my local Jeep dealer the same day, things like the oil filter adapter o-rings for my XJ etc, just small bits. In saying that I had to give them the part number as it was really a Holden dealer who sold Jeeps and had no idea what I was even talking about.

My local Honda dealer still supplies me parts for my 30 year old motorbike, and knows what I'm asking for. They can even tell me how much stock they have of a particular item so I can buy up just incase ;)

Cheers
Steve

[GMEMUD]

In my original letter I stated that I would not publish their reply if they stated that they didn't want it published - and I stick by my word.
<!-- / message -->
Hi Chris,
Good to see you at least got a response and I respect a man who will stick to his word. It's a pitty though that so many buisnesses in the motor industry will try and weasel their way out of sticking to their word or code of buisness ethics.
Regards Ross

[Davesjeep]

All i have to say is thank god for trade discounts.. I can get most of my parts at cost price, from a ford dealer...

[Ben73]

So anyone else here who bought a brand new Jeep, did the dealer ring you a few months after your purchase and ask how it was all going?

[Dr Phil]

Talk about a wait.

I have a 2008 JK CRD (2 yr old and 54,000klm) that stopped.:wall: After much investigation and tests it was found to have lost compression on a cyclinder. Time to replace the head gasket:idea:. After the dealer mechanics removed all the accessories and peeled off the rocker cover they discovered lots of bent and broken bits. To the best of our knowledge it appears it has had a problem with the timing belt and just got worse from there. I have to give credit to the dealer and Jeep. They very quickly assessed the engine and decided the most prudent action would be to order a whole new engine rather than find and replace the multitude bits that would have failed. All under warranty:D. So far I am sad that my trusty JK is off the road but pretty pleased at the actions from my local dealer and Jeep.

That was 2 months ago!! :(

I knew that it is an Italian engine that would be shipped out of Germany so it would take a little time. It seems that this little unit does not implode very often as there was not one (complete engine as a spare) available anywhere on the planet. What was delivered was a short block and a head assembly. The dealership has been waiting on delivery of the camshafts for the last 2 weeks and there has been no indication from Mopar on where they are and when they may arrive.

So I wait patiently.

Once again the dealer has been great and supplied me with other vehicles while my daily driver is waiting for its new heart. I tried to convince them that I would put up with a 6.1l Hemi as a replacement**) if the diesel was too hard to get hold of. No-one at Jeep has signed off on that one yet.

I do try and find a silver lining in everything; I will end up with a fresh engine with 54,000klm on the clock.

Still waiting,
Dr Phil

[CHEQUER-PLATE CHICK]

Hang in there Dr Phil. I know you have withdrawals. :)

[Pipeliner]

Final response from the Customer Relations Executive:

Dear Mr ######,

Firstly please accept our sincerest apoligies for not addressing all your concerns.

The points you have raised are valid and have been escalated to our Parts Operations Managers for review. I can assure you that Chrysler Australia will continue to work on improving our parts availability.

In relation to your first paragraph I can only advise we are doing our best to ensure that our serviceable parts are readily available in the near future to all of our Chrysler customers so they do not experience the delay you did.

We look forward to continuing our support to you and your vehicle.

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.

So let's see if things improve.

[JKohn]

I doubt it!

I took my JK in for an end of warranty service on the 21st June. I explained to them that the radiator fan would only spin on fast and not slow. They told me that they found a faulty speed resistor and would order in a new one for me.

6 weeks later I phoned them to see if it had come in yet and their response was "aaah not yet!" Next day I get a call to book the JK in for the fix - which I did for the next Friday.

Next Friday I drop my car in, then in the afternoon I get a call. "You can come and get your car, but we will need to get you to bring it back. We replaced the radiator motor, but found that the speed resistor was faulty so will have to order you one in. 8 weeks from Germany!!!!"

You've got to be kidding me!!!

I'm still waiting!