ComplaintsforRed's Auto and Truck

• Initial Complaint

  07/10/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  -Paid for it June 15th 2024 (prior to going out of town for a vacation), we found there were several recalls so they agreed to take the truck to Dodge dealership while we were out of town to fix the issues. _Returned 6/26/24 and picked up from the original dealership on 6/27/24 -Drove to work 7/1-7/3/24, then let it sit for until saturday 7/6/24 at which point on the screen it showed: "engine will not restart in 200 miles ******* DEF See Dealer - we immediately called the dealership who appeared less than interested in assisting but stated if we wanted we could try to come in and maybe leave the truck for the following week when their technicians come back in. - We drove in and the owner spent time connecting the truck when he saw that we were not pleased. My husband even talked to him about taking a different truck even if we had to pay more and he said "I feel like your getting over excited about something that might be small".- we agreed (because we didn't have a choice) to allow his technician to look at it on Monday the following week (left the truck there) and he said we would need to pay for 1 hour of his techs time. And that maybe it was something his tech could press a button and reset so the code goes away. (makes me think he did this before we purchased the truck from him).-Monday he called us and stated that the DEF tank does need to be fully replaced, and that he could replace it with a used one for $1200 and we would need to purchase a warranty which would not have covered this but that he would be nice and cover it then. Emotions were all over on both parts. He reported he couldn't speak to us anymore and to come pick up our truck. - had it towed from them same day to Dodge dealership down the way from them that did the recall work . -7/9/24 Dodge dealership stated the costs for the DEF tank would be $4700 + taxes.

  Business response

  07/10/2024

  We are sorry that Mr. and *************** experienced an unforeseen issue with the 2017 Dodge Ram 1500 they purchased from us on 06-15-2024. We performed a 30-point pre-sale inspection of the truck and corrected any items noted by our technician at that time. The repairs included an oil change along with an oil filter, new front brake pads and rotors, and new rear brake pads and rotors,this work was completed on 05-03-2024 with ****** miles. We also sent the vehicle to be emissions tested at a 3rd party diesel inspection center on 05-09-2024 with ****** miles where it passed with no issues and no check engine lights, or service messages noted, (this is required, or the truck would have failed the emissions inspection).

  
  Mr. and *************** purchased the vehicle from us on 07-15-2024 with ****** miles. They asked us to send the truck to the manufacturing dealer to complete several open recalls. As a courtesy, we sent the truck to ******** Dodge Jeep on 07-17-2024 with ****** miles. ******** Dodge performed the recalls along with a multi-point inspection (see attached repair order # *******/1) This inspection yielded no recommendations and no issues currently present with the truck.

  Mr. and *************** picked up the truck after the recalls and inspection were completed by ******** Dodge. They later called and stated they observed a message on the dash indicating 120 miles left before the emissions system would not allow a restart. They brought the truck in on Saturday, July 06th with ****** miles (533 more than those at purchase) to leave so our technician could check it out the following week. As the owner, I attempted to assist them on the spot, and I scanned the vehicle for codes and performed a quick visual inspection of the electrical connections relating to the code present in the *** which was a P206A. This code indicates that there is a circuit issue present with the Diesel Exhaust Fluid Quality Sensor.  I informed Mr. and *************** that I would need my technician to inspect this next week to confirm and provide an action plan for repair and this may be later in the week due to a booked schedule in our shop.

  
  In an attempt to get Mr. and *************** back on the road quicker I moved a few things around first thing Monday and had our technician inspect and verify the failure. He confirmed there was an issue with the sensor and that unfortunately that sensor is part of the Diesel Exhaust Fluid Tank and could not be serviced separately. The retail list price for the tank from ******** Dodge was $3,345 and 2 hours of labor to perform the repair which would have been $3,715 plus tax. I did some digging to find a more cost-effective solution and I was able to present ************** with the option to send out the current tank and have it repaired by a company in ****** that specializes in this exact repair for these trucks. This would be $400 plus shipping and labor or around $770 plus shipping. The second option I presented was to replace the tank with a used one from an auto recycler and this would be around $1,100 in total.
  I told ************** that I would perform this repair at no cost as a goodwill gesture and he could use the money he would have spent on that to purchase a protection plan that would help protect the truck in the future so that he would not have these unforeseen expenses. I presented him with several options including one that was only $2,354 and would cover the truck for 2 years and ****** miles. He thought this sounded like a great idea and that he needed to run it by his wife.

  
  I did not hear back from **************, after this phone call. I later received a call from *************** expressing her disappointment with the situation and chastising me that she never even wanted to buy this truck and it was her husband who wanted it, and that she was not happy I told her that I sympathize with her but that unfortunately modern cars and trucks are very complex and sometimes these things pop up. She stated that she had spoken with a lemon law attorney and that. I needed to take the truck back.

  
  I politely informed *************** that since she had already spoken to legal counsel our store policy would not allow us to continue or discuss this matter with her or provide further assistance and that she would need to pick up the truck.
  We are very transparent with our clients and do our best to inspect and service our vehicles before sale, as we did with this. However, sometimes things can just fail. This vehicle was inspected by 2 other independent shops before Mr. and *************** took it home, and neither noted any issues. We tried to find a cost-effective solution versus the high cost of using new OE parts and they were not interested. We provided options at the time of the sale to invest in a protection plan and they were not interested. Attached, I have provided the Repair Order from ******** Dodge showing no issues on 06-17-2024, the Diesel Inspection performed by a licensed Colorado testing center on 05-09-2024, also showing there were no issues as well as paperwork Mr. and *************** signed at the time of sale indicating the vehicle is AS IS, A form stating what does as is mean a form offering ways to protect their purchase, a form showing they declined to protect their purchase, a waiver form stating they knew they would be responsible for any future repairs, a form showing we did provide a limited 3-month 3,000-mile warranty, (unfortunately this failure was not listed for coverage) and the repair order from the most recent inspection we performed where we good-willed the agreed on $194.52 fee for inspection.

  
  We understand it is frustrating when vehicles have a failure and did our very best to come up with a solution to help Mr. and ***************. We respectfully disagree with the resolution demanded by Mr. and *************** to either refund the vehicle or pay ******** Dodge 4 times the amount that we offered to repair the truck. We wish Mr. and *************** the best and respectfully request this complaint be closed as we have done nothing wrong and have made multiple good-faith attempts to offer a remedy.
  
  Respectfully submitted,
  
  **** Widhalm
  
  PS: The forms submitted are copyright protected, contain nonpublic information and are not to be publicly posted by anyone. 

  Customer response

  07/10/2024

  Complaint: 21964595
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  I did not wish to pay over $25k for a used truck and be given some options after driving a few hundred miles (also twice to the dealership or away from there which is not down the road from us) for the truck to shut down the engine. 
  

  And now our options are to purchase a plan of protection that would not cover this issue again in the future as well as the truck options were to be repaired only with the current broken part or another used part that could have the same issue. 

  
  Regards,
  
  ****** and *****************

  Business response

  07/11/2024

  Mr. and ***************,

  
  I apologize for the frustration this issue has caused you. I understand and sympathize with your situation. I attempted to provide you and your husband with a more cost-effective solution to address what appears to be a design flaw from Dodge. It's unfortunate that modern vehicles are increasingly complex, which can lead to unexpected challenges.
  When I spoke with ************** initially, I believed we were making progress and was awaiting his return call. Instead, I received a call from *************** expressing her intention to seek legal counsel rather than exploring potential resolutions together. The ultimatum to either return the truck or pay another business four times our cost for a repair isn't a feasible solution.
  Since our initial discussion about replacing the part, I managed to find a lower-priced option that could bring the repair cost down to approximately $700significantly less than the expensive dealer quote. I regret that *************** didn't give us the chance to explore alternative avenues to resolve this issue.

  Customer response

  07/13/2024

  Complaint: 21964595
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  This company does not realize the emotional turmoil that we went through when after purchasing the truck, going out of town for a positive reason that lead to something negative when one of my husbands sisters passed away. Then it turned into attending a funeral and dealing with grief and loss. Then my husband coming home to his new used truck to have it fail after he drove it to work July 1st-3rd which did not help at all. We Brought it back to the dealership the same day the code came up on the screen saying the engine would shut off and not start again. We did this due to remembering the dealership provided a 3 month/3,000 mile warranty and hoped we could just get a different truck or just give it back. We were told by the owner of Redds that he would be open to trading it back in to him, but felt that we were overreacting and he thought it would just be a code issue or something minor which we now know it is not. The owner has stated the warranty previously described above is "just for catastrophic things?" Who is defining what a catastrophe is? It feels like this meets that criteria. 

  We do not want to have to go through all of this after the loss my husband is in and paying a lot for this used broken truck. I admit we both (us and Redds owner) had a lot of emotions, but we (the buyers) also do not want to repair something like this in a CHEAP way, putting lipstick on a pig and resell to another person/family who just needed a good truck. Only to have the issue become reoccur. We would have been ok with giving the truck back with a restocking fee or something, but not be left in the cold having to pay even more for a truck that now even when it will be repaired we do not plan to keep it. The idea that we would want to pay to fix this part that will probably fail again according to online records or to go to a salvage yard and find a piece to put into this car that is absurd. If it's in the salvage yard it's probably there for this issue or something worse. 

  In addition I don't want to have to leave bad reviews online and everywhere else or reach out to attorneys just because we can't resolve this issue as professionals/adults. We have had the truck since paying on June 15th, we went out of town and they said they would take it to Prestige to have the recalls taken care of while we were gone, which they did and it was appreciated. My husband stayed longer for the funeral and then picked up the truck on June 27th, drove it home and until July 3rd and now it's been in the shop being repaired since then and for the price of $25k for a truck  and now over $5k for repairs. Does this happen to be a coincidence ? I extremely doubt it. 

  I told my husband to go to a certified dealer, but he didn't and look where we are at now. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  04/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My 2012 ******** engine seized after Red's Auto and Truck performed an oil change and major maintenance. Issue #1: The Red’s Auto and Truck invoice documented that they used 15/40 oil. 15/40 oil is not the recommended oil. The invoice shows that they used 10 quarts of oil and charged me for 10 quarts, however, the engine holds 8.5 quarts. Issue #2: The Red’s Auto and Truck invoice documented “replace front brake pads and rotors”. They did not document that they used non-OEM parts. Issue #3: The mechanics at Red’s used incorrect screws to reattach the engine guard. Issue #4: No invoice for the re-work they did on the brakes. Issue #5 & #6: The repair was incorrectly completed. I cannot describe what the repair was because I was not provided an invoice. Issues #7, #8 & #9: Incorrect bolts were used for the intake manifold repair. (Several of the correct bolts were found on the engine.) Metal shavings were found on the engine. Silicon was used for a repair. I can provide more details if needed. Issue #10: Red’s Auto and Truck admitted to using an oil that is not recommend for the vehicle. Issue #11. The engine holds 8.5 quarts of oil, they only purchased (5) quarts. His documentation, shows they purchased 5 quarts and thus, short 3.5 quarts. In conclusion, Red’s Auto and Truck has violated the Colorado Motor Vehicle Repair Act (MVRA) numerous times as detailed in issues: #1, #2, #4. Red’s Auto and Truck mechanics failed to repair the vehicle properly and used incorrect parts as detailed in issues: #3, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9. Red’s Auto and Truck admits to using an oil that is not recommended by ********. Red’s Auto and Truck has failed to provide documentation that proves he used the correct amount of oil as detailed in issue #11. I have illustrated that their documentation is not adequate, their workmanship has been substandard. Red’s Auto and Truck is currently refusing to open a claim with their insurance company. Additional documentation is available if needed.

  Business response

  04/18/2022

  We are sorry to hear about the issue the customer had on his vehicle. We can understand how it can be frustrating when your vehicle has a major failure. However, the failure this customer experienced had nothing to do with our service which was performed over 7,000 miles prior to the failure and after 2 other shops had worked on the vehicle. We provided the customer with the receipt for the proper oil which matched the repair order and date of the service and informed him the oil type/grade is auto generated in our system and was not the grade/type used on his oil change and the receipt confirms this. The customer also stated that we did not fill the vehicle to the proper level at the time of service since our receipt only showed 5 quarts and not the 8.5 recommended by the manufacturer. This is due to us already having 4 quarts in stock and only needing 5 more to complete the service. If indeed we we did not fill it to the proper level there would have been a visual indicator on the dash cluster immediately and the vehicle would not have been able to travel 7,000 miles. 

  As is relates to the question regarding the brake pads and rotors installed, we performed an initial service but the customer did not like that they were "squeaky" so we replaced them with a higher quality pad and rotor at no charge to the customer. He did not request OE or ******** branded parts at any time. 

  The customer also mentions that there were "different" bolts/screws installed when the motor was removed and thinks this was due to our repairs. We only installed the bolts/screws that were removed for the repairs. 

  The customer requested we open a claim with our insurance company to pay for the motor which we can not due as our repair had nothing to do with the failure and if we did this it would be insurance fraud. 

  Again, we sympathize with the customer and can understand their frustration but our repair was in no way the cause of the engine in their vehicle seizing up. 

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