St. Louis Dealer Experience
07-20-2009, 09:37 AM
#1
JK Freak
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St. Louis Dealer Experience
Now since Reuthers is not excepting warranty work, I will discuss my latest experience with All Star I will not mention names but I am sure all the St. Louis Jeepers know which one I am talking about.
I drop my 2007 wrangler off at the All Star on Wednesday for an alignment and oil change. The reason for the alignment was because shop I usually go to said that the right front passenger wheel was off camber by 3*. I know this is not that bad but I decided to get a second opinion and if it is truly off then maybe the warranty would cover the damage.
When I dropped the Jeep off Wednesday night, the Jeep did not have a steering stabilizer, rear swaybar link, and it had a warped right rear rotor. Thursday afternoon, I received a phone call from All Star. They said that the alignment is within spec, the oil is changed and the Jeep is ready to be picked up. They never mentioned the missing parts or the warped rotor. I did not pick the Jeep up until Saturday morning because of previous engagements.
On Saturday, I paid the $70 for the alignment and drove off the shop floor. A quarter mile on the highway, which is behind the dealer, I experienced death wobble again. I immediately went back to the dealer and explained to them that it did not have death wobble when I dropped it off on Wednesday (this is true, I went to Moab and back without anything). They said that I was missing the SS and that is causing the death wobble and they never touched alignment.
Remember, they just charged me for an alignment they never did. We went around and around with the SS causing death wobble. I ended up giving the mechanic a ride in the death machine, during this deathly ride he said "Please do not kill me". We returned to the shop, I agreed that if it is truly a SS that is could fix the death wobble, then I would pay for one. They immediately took the Jeep into the shop.
An hour past while I was watching from the bay doors, the service rep told me to go back home and retrieve the missing SS bracket and a bigger SS. They could not get a bigger SS.
I retrieved the SS bracket and went straight to Napa to get a 1991 Cherokee SS, which fits perfectly and is bigger than stock. Once I returned, I hand over the goods. They put the parts on and take it for a test drive. My roommate followed them to see if it would wobble on them. They came back with no wobble. I crawled under the Jeep and inspected every nut and bolt.
Between the time I was sent for parts and handed the parts over, they did another alignment. My front lower control arms were changed.
Anyways, the death wobble is no more but it was not due to the SS that the dealer installed because we already had one on before while diagnosing the death wobble. I do not know what they did to fix the issue but I do know they messed with the alignment while I was gone.
The reason why I am writing this is that All Star did not drive the Jeep after they did an alignment, thus sending me off with death wobble. Someone could have died, if they never experienced it before. Plus the dealer should have mentioned the missing and warped parts before it was ready to be picked up. The dealer also did not want to do any of the work because the Jeep is lifted but only after the mechanic went for a joy ride with me, then they decided it was not safe to send the Jeep home without fixing it.
I do not care what anyone else does with their Jeep and this dealer but I will not be going to All Star again.
I drop my 2007 wrangler off at the All Star on Wednesday for an alignment and oil change. The reason for the alignment was because shop I usually go to said that the right front passenger wheel was off camber by 3*. I know this is not that bad but I decided to get a second opinion and if it is truly off then maybe the warranty would cover the damage.
When I dropped the Jeep off Wednesday night, the Jeep did not have a steering stabilizer, rear swaybar link, and it had a warped right rear rotor. Thursday afternoon, I received a phone call from All Star. They said that the alignment is within spec, the oil is changed and the Jeep is ready to be picked up. They never mentioned the missing parts or the warped rotor. I did not pick the Jeep up until Saturday morning because of previous engagements.
On Saturday, I paid the $70 for the alignment and drove off the shop floor. A quarter mile on the highway, which is behind the dealer, I experienced death wobble again. I immediately went back to the dealer and explained to them that it did not have death wobble when I dropped it off on Wednesday (this is true, I went to Moab and back without anything). They said that I was missing the SS and that is causing the death wobble and they never touched alignment.
Remember, they just charged me for an alignment they never did. We went around and around with the SS causing death wobble. I ended up giving the mechanic a ride in the death machine, during this deathly ride he said "Please do not kill me". We returned to the shop, I agreed that if it is truly a SS that is could fix the death wobble, then I would pay for one. They immediately took the Jeep into the shop.
An hour past while I was watching from the bay doors, the service rep told me to go back home and retrieve the missing SS bracket and a bigger SS. They could not get a bigger SS.
I retrieved the SS bracket and went straight to Napa to get a 1991 Cherokee SS, which fits perfectly and is bigger than stock. Once I returned, I hand over the goods. They put the parts on and take it for a test drive. My roommate followed them to see if it would wobble on them. They came back with no wobble. I crawled under the Jeep and inspected every nut and bolt.
Between the time I was sent for parts and handed the parts over, they did another alignment. My front lower control arms were changed.
Anyways, the death wobble is no more but it was not due to the SS that the dealer installed because we already had one on before while diagnosing the death wobble. I do not know what they did to fix the issue but I do know they messed with the alignment while I was gone.
The reason why I am writing this is that All Star did not drive the Jeep after they did an alignment, thus sending me off with death wobble. Someone could have died, if they never experienced it before. Plus the dealer should have mentioned the missing and warped parts before it was ready to be picked up. The dealer also did not want to do any of the work because the Jeep is lifted but only after the mechanic went for a joy ride with me, then they decided it was not safe to send the Jeep home without fixing it.
I do not care what anyone else does with their Jeep and this dealer but I will not be going to All Star again.
Last edited by JKRockStomper; 07-21-2009 at 02:30 AM. Reason: Added dealership's name
07-20-2009, 09:51 AM
#3
JK Freak
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I figured that if I post the name of the dealership would be against the rules of the forum and the post would be removed. If it is not against the rules, I will be happy to post the name for others whom might not know which dealership I am talking about.
07-20-2009, 09:52 AM
#4
JK Enthusiast
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Rules are meant to be broken.
I don't know what the rules are. If there is a rule against it, I think in this case it would be silly to not warn other people to at least double-check any work they do.
Just IMO, of course.
I don't know what the rules are. If there is a rule against it, I think in this case it would be silly to not warn other people to at least double-check any work they do.
Just IMO, of course.
07-20-2009, 11:19 AM
#5
JK Super Freak
I'm sorry to hear about that bro. Glad they fixed it, but not thrilled to hear about the quality of service or the fact they made you buy unnessciary parts.
07-20-2009, 12:23 PM
#7
JK Freak
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The lesson I learned from this is next time I take it to the dealer I will be using a wax marker on all my bolts to show me which ones have moved.
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07-20-2009, 12:33 PM
#8
ummm...No, rules are not meant to be broken - however, there is no rule against posting a dealership name. Post away. Just don't link to them or post their direct contact information.
07-20-2009, 12:41 PM
#9
JK Freak
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07-20-2009, 02:24 PM
#10
:/ All Stars? That's a heck of a name for a dealership...sucks to hear you had such a bad experience, but definitely glad you got it fixed! Did they end up replacing any of your ball joints I wonder?