Complaint Review: Williston Honda - Williston North Dakota

WE CAN SAY- "KNOW HOW YOU FEEL...WE BOUGHT A 2001 INTREPID AT WILLISTON HONDA. THE MOTOR WAS AGAIN A 2.7 THE CAR HAD 39,000 MILES ON IT AND WE TOOK OUT THE EXTENDED WARRANTY UP TO 75000. AT 70000 MILES THE MOTOR WITHIN A MATTER OF 50-75 MILES BEGAN TO KNOCK. WE CALLED A LOCAL MECHANIC THAT WAS ALSO CERTIFIED TO WORK ON DODGE'S. THE NEXT 10 TO 12 MONTHS WAS NOTHING LESS THAN A NIGHTMARE. WE MADE PAYMENTS ON A CAR THAT WAS NOT RUNNING,WE FOUGHT WITH THE WARRANTY COMPANY, THE MOTOR WAS COMPLETELY TORE DOWN TWICE!! FOR THEM AND FINALLY AFTER 2 DIFFERENT ADJUSTERS THEY HAD TO REPLACE THE MOTOR. I GUESS THE THING WE FOUND OUT IN THE RESEARCH WE DID IS THAT THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF THESE 2.7 MOTORS THAT GO BAD WITH LITTLE OR NO FOR-WARNING. MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT AS FORTUNATE AS WE WERE. WE NEVER TOOK THE CAR BACK TO WILLISTON HONDA BECAUSE WE HAD IT IN FOR OTHER MINOR ISSUES AND HAD TO REPEATEDLY TAKE IT BACK. OUR FRIEND THE MECHANIC TOLD US THE ONLY THING THAT SAVED US ON GETTING THIS MOTOR FIXED- (WHICH BY THE WAY THE NEW MOTOR IS ALSO A 2.7..) WAS THAT WE HAD CHANGED THE MOTOR OIL TO MOBIL ONE SYNTHETIC WHEN WE BOUGHT THE CAR, THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT MY HUSBAND HAS ALWAYS STRONGLY BELIEVED IN. WHEN THE MOTOR WAS TORE DOWN THERE WAS NO SLUDGE FOUND BUT WHAT WAS FOUND WAS THAT THERE HAD BEEN PREVIOUS DAMAGE TO THE MOTOR AND IT EVIDENTLY HAD BEEN VERY HOT AND ANTIFREEZE HAD GOTTEN IN THE MOTOR AND PITTED. OUR FEELING IS THAT WILLISTON HONDA WAS NOT UP FRONT WITH CUSTOMERS ON THE PROBLEMS WITH THESE MOTORS. OUR INTREPID IS NOW CLOSE TO 82000 MILES AND GOING STRONG..WE DO CHANGE OUR OWN OIL AND ALWAYS HAVE!!!---KEEP ALL OF YOUR RECEIPTS AND NEVER BUY ANYTHING ELSE ON THAT RECEIPT SO THAT THERE IS NO MISTAKE OF WHAT WAS BOUGHT...KEEP A LOG BOOK ON ALL MAINTENANCE FOR YOUR VEHICLE WITH ALL RECEIPTS ATTACHED..THAT IS WHAT WE DID AND WITH THAT EVIDENCE WE WERE ABLE TO GET THIS MOTOR REPAIRED FOR ONLY A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS AND THE NEW MOTOR WAS ACTUALLY OVER 6500 DOLLARS. WE CONTINUE TO RUN MOBIL ONE SYNTHETIC OIL AND ALSO CHANGE OIL EVERY 2 TO 3 THOUSAND MILES, WHICH IS WHAT THE MOTOR MANUFACTURER RECOMMENDS.

If you yourself changed the oil on the car and the car's engine seized a few days later, there's a pretty good chance your warranty is not going to cover the repair. The warranty requires, more than likely, all servicing to be done either at the dealers shop or at a reputable mechanic's shop. If you changed the oil, failed to replace the drain plug under the car, and then all the oil leaked out and the engine seized... Of course a dealer, or anyone else, would void your warranty at that point. You took it upon yourself to work on your car, so you're going to have to accept the consequences of that action. Of course, perhaps you didn't forget to replace the plug. Maybe you just installed the filter incorrectly? Or maybe you used 10w40 and it should have been 10w30? Maybe while you were under the car you whanged the catalytic converter with your wrench? You most likely see the problem here, now. By you working on the car and potentially messing something up, you've opened a lot of gray-area as it pertains to scheduled maintenance for your car. There's no way to prove what you did messed up the car... but of course, there's no way to prove it didn't. At this point if you want to persue this, you're going to have to get an attorney and a 2nd repair shop (preferably the manufacturer, just a different dealership), and take this to court. You're going to have to get the 2nd repair shop to certify there's something mechanically wrong with the car which your changing of the oil didn't cause. The dealer isn't going to repair your car under warranty, no matter what. And, I'm sorry to say, I'm going to have to side with them on this one. You worked on the car and suddenly it doesn't work anymore. It's a forgone conclusion that SOMETHING you did caused this to happen. It really isn't reasonable to expect the dealer to pay for something you yourself did to the car. Maybe both the dealer and I are wrong, which is why you're going to have to get the attorney and the other dealership involved. I hate to tell you where I think this is going, but the attorney/other dealership is about your only option. Good luck and I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help!

I tryed to get a report on the car.. they recieved 3 cars on the same day. I cant remember the state they came from .Yes it had a warranty.. they said my warranty would not cover this, as it was my fault the car quit.. Only chain of event is was driving the car and it just quit. no oil in the engine. Just changed it a few days before..myself..so that doesnt make the warranty good?? This honda dealer is also a dodge, chrysler dealer.. The other dealer said Williston honda did not put my warranty on line for whereever it was suppose to go.. and wouldnt it seem funny to you. after the mechanic put in the new used motor, that he would ask to buy my old bad one?? I also told them to change only the bottom part of the motor, not the whole thing!! This dealer has a good reputation,, but I will do my damndest to let everyone know what happended tome.. I hope this answers your questions.. also I did call the dodge office, they would not even consider talking to me,, and that was the main big office

I have a couple of questions for Linda: 1-Did you do any research on the car you were buying before you decided on it (such as reliability history)? If you had done this, you would see that the Stratus is just another of Chrysler's lemons. You are not alone in the premature engine failure problem that Chrysler/Dodge is trying to keep secret. 2-What were the circumstances when the engine failed? You completely left that story out of your report. That would be a very helpful chain of events to share. 3-If this is a 2004, what about the factory warranty? If you are still under the factory warranty and the Honda dealer did not refer you to the Dodge dealer for repairs, then SHAME on them! 4-When you say the Dodge dealer told you that you were ripped off, how did they say you were ripped off? Poor workmanship? Or is it because they repaired your car and charged you for it when you could have gone to Dodge and received warranty work? Bottom line: Do not buy a car without researching it to know of it's strengths and weaknesses, it's warranty, and whether the dealer you are considering is less than reputable.