Checkered24

I am looking for a 2 door 08 Sahara and have found one that matches the options I am looking for. Unfortunately it is from a dealer that is about 70 miles away. Overall, I do not think that is so bad, unless I end up needing some warranty work. I have had big problems in the past with Jeep dealerships who were not my “selling” dealer when going in for warranty repairs. They are supposed to be able to do it, but have all been very reluctant to do the work and insist on turning me back to my selling dealer. I imagine this has to do with the rates Chrysler pays on warranty repair.

Anyway, I am a little hesitant to buy from a dealer 70 miles away, since that is a good haul for me to travel if I need to take advantage of the warranty.

Am I being overly cautious? Hopefully I would not need to have much done. (My 02 TJ had three trips into the dealer during it’s warranty, one for flaking hinges, one for warped rotors, and a third for pitted wheels after 9 months. The hassle came from the pitted wheels, as the selling dealer refused to look at them (in fact, they also gave me a huge fight to even speak with an area rep). In the meantime, I visited a couple other dealers who gave me advice, but wouldn’t touch it either. Now, I understand it is not as clear cut a thing such as a faulty mechanical part, but thought since it was so new it wouldn’t be a hassle. In the end, I did get them to refinish the bad wheel but only after dragging Chrysler and the area rep into it.

I just hate to have a big hassle if I do need a repair while under warranty.

I know many cross shop dealers all the time and do not buy from the guy around the corner as much anymore. Are my fears well founded?

Thanks a bunch folks!

Renegade

I bought mine from 300 miles away. If I have a valid warranty claim I expect any dealer to take care of it.

Rubidonn

I'd also expect any dealer to take care of warranty issues... I bought mine from 1300 miles away... had it shipped to my door. No regrets.

yetibear

70 miles, thats all? It's more than that to the nearest Wal-Mart from here! OK, I lied, its 64 miles to Wal-Mart!

Checkered24

Thanks folks! I know all deales should do it without question, but personal experience tells me differently. Maybe I just chose the wrong dealer for service.

Hey, thats a long way to drive for a car around here! There are probably 10 Jeep dealers closer than that one to me!

2k8RubiRed

I am driving 880 (4+ tanks of gas) miles to bring mine home. My local deal "Has" to service it,if it is a warranty item. Although I may not get immediate attention or 5 start service. My only concern is the condition when I pick it up. Anything that would be on a due bill (dents, dings, scratches, missing items??)

Checkered24

I am trying to get a quote out of them today. Try to work some numbers out. See how it goes.

Hmm. Hopefully everything is there and ready to go. Shouldn't be any issues. If there are, just be sure to get any comitments to send you replacement items, repair anything, pay for repairs, etc in writing before you sign on the bottom line!

Scott99999

Why not go to your local dealer and simply have him do a dealer locate? Sure, they might want to charge you $50-$200 for the hassle, but essentially -- in my experience -- these dealers are trading vehicles all of the time. Now, I'll be the first to admit that "dealer locates" are tougher when you have a very specific vehicle in mind (and a hot vehicle like the JK). However, the most power you have as a buyer is when: a) you realize that you're buying a commodity product sold through many vendors all over the country; b) when you're willing to walk away from a deal.

In these circumstances, I do the following:
1) I use a service like CarBargains to get the best possible bid from multiple dealers on a base JK, over or under invoice. They're agreeing that all options are at invoice. I might also use the "fax attack" method popularized by James Bragg and Fighting Chance, but I like to de-personalize the transaction by using CarBargains.
2) Look for dealers who have either a) the vehicle you want in stock; or b) lots of vehicles in stock so they're in a good position to trade vehicles with a smaller dealer.
3) By using CarBargains, you can get a commitment to a fee for a dealer locate. You could also do this yourself, but it's much tougher to be negotiating with the dealer. I've heard every line in the book, "nobody will trade," "they charge us," etc...

You're in the worst buying position when you've got a very specific vehicle you want, right away, and it's located at one dealer, and you're negotiating with only that dealer. You might get what you want sooner, but you're going to pay for that...

Good luck!

AdamH

I drove 4+ hours to get mine. Only Rubicon with all options anywhere close to me and the dealer with it would not trade it out. I see where you are coming from. This is my 6th Jeep and none of them came from my local dealer. I just make nice with a service manger if a warranty item comes up (case of beer goes a long way) and have had no worries.

07JKX

i checked on dealer reputation... i traveled, albeit not farther than 60 miles, to order my jeep. There are 3 dealerships within 15 miles of me, but none of them wanted to "order" a jeep and they just wanted to sell the lot (which was slim pickens)

on the other hand... i have found a dealer 2 miles from work that is excellent with service and warranty!