lemon exchange question

[fireman-175]

I've been approved to exchange my 1500 for a 2021 1500 under Lemon Law. It will be a MSRP for MSRP. No rebates can be used towards the new truck. That being said, has anyone done this? If so, I am curious as if the new selling dealer makes a huge profit or not. If they do make a large profit, is it possible to have them offer me some perks like the Stellantis oil change warranty of like 8 oil changes or a 7/100k warranty, maybe a 2" leveling kit... I wonder if Stellantis would allow that? I am special ordering my replacement. Thanks for your advice.

 

[Trailbr8ker]

When I did my lemon return the dealership I took it to had nothing to do with the return process. Ram sent their own representative to do all the paperwork and inspect the vehicle. Then it got slapped a tag of do not sell on it, auction vehicle. So in my experience in getting a new truck it was like startng over. No special kick backs from dealer because they were getting nothing out of my returned lemon truck.

 

[GaryT]

A mediator for Ram will handle everything, and the inspection process is quite thorough. I had a Challenger bought back for paint issues, and the mediator even measured the tread depth on the tires and verified that the HK sub in the trunk was still there.

 

[Hydroblueguy]

I've been approved to exchange my 1500 for a 2021 1500 under Lemon Law. It will be a MSRP for MSRP. No rebates can be used towards the new truck. That being said, has anyone done this? If so, I am curious as if the new selling dealer makes a huge profit or not. If they do make a large profit, is it possible to have them offer me some perks like the Stellantis oil change warranty of like 8 oil changes or a 7/100k warranty, maybe a 2" leveling kit... I wonder if Stellantis would allow that? I am special ordering my replacement. Thanks for your advice.
[/QUOTE
Just went through this a month ago! My dealer told me that ram pays them very little for this deal. So no I wouldn’t expect your dealer to give you anything extra. I ordered a 2021 hydro blue Laramie sport, loaded with air ride and power steps, I love both them options, 12” screen and 360 camera the best! Why did yours get bought back? Mine was for unfixable vibrations! Good luck and enjoy your new truck, hopefully it’s problem free

 

[Quint]

My experience was with a Ford Ranger, but they basically gave me my money back minus an adjustment for mileage. It was officially an exchange so I had to use the money to buy another Ranger, which I was happy to do. It seemed to me that the dealership wasn't making out any better or worse, they were just executing the process for Ford.

 

[fireman-175]

out of service more than 30 days. Mainly, as you see my other post, the transmission issues and two similar issues. I don't trust the truck anymore.

 

[scottmoyer]

I went through this with Dodge in 2017 on a Charger Scat Pack. The program works MSRP to MSRP. If there are cost increase for the same options on the same model, you can benefit, but if the costs are the exact same, you pay nothing and the dealer gets nothing. The dealer may get a small fee for taking care of the transaction and ordering the car, but that is from Chrysler, not you.

There was a $100 increase in the shipping costs between my 2015 Scat Pack and the replacement 2017, so they reduced my mileage penalty considerably.

 

[Nukegm426]

So if your doing a msrp to msrp exchange with no rebates... doesn’t that mean your getting shafted? The old vehicle was most likely bought with rebates which means the amount financed is a lot lower than what the new truck will
Cost. That means the new one will finance for a lot more making your payment higher doesn’t it?

 

[scottmoyer]

No. You don't get shafted. They change the VIN number on your loan if you have a Chrysler loan. You keep making the same payments and the balance of your old truck becomes the balance on your new truck.

What happened with mine is I owed about $32k on my 2015 Scat Pack. Chrysler replaced it with an identical Scat Pack, but it was a 2017 model. After the transfer of paperwork and loan details, I now owned a 2017 Scat Pack with a $32k balance. They basically gave me a new car with the equity of the used car. My only costs were the formula they use to calculate the mileage penalty, but mine was reduced because the new car cost more than the old car.

Here's how it works. Your old truck cost $55k MSRP. It doesn't matter what you paid for it, rebates or discounts. When it gets replaced, your payoff might be say $41k. You order a new truck with the exact options and let's say the price hasn't changed, so it has an MSRP of $55k. When the paperwork is completed, you will own a new truck, with a $41k payoff.

If the new truck costs more because you upgrade, you have to pay the difference and it gets added to your $41k. If the cost is more for the exact options you originally had, they will work with you on the mileage penalty to offset the costs.

 

[Nukegm426]

I guess other loans would work the same way? Never dealt with lemon law stuff and honestly wondered how it worked lol.

 

[scottmoyer]

I don't know how it works exactly if you have another loan. I don't know if they work with your lender to update the lien information with the new VIN, or if they payoff the loan and write a new one at the same terms under Chrysler. All I know is that you basically win by having a new truck with the same payment and remaining loan terms.

 

[Nukegm426]

Interesting, thanks

 

[Njramman19]

Curious as to how anyone goes about lemon law through Chrysler? My 21’ Laramie will be at the dealership 30 days this coming Thursday and there doesn’t seem to be a fix for an electrical issue. Do I just go to the dealership and tell them I want a new truck or is there more to it?

 

[scottmoyer]

You can talk to the service manager and ask if they can initiate a manufacturer buy back, or you can open a case with Chrysler Customer Service. If your truck is at the dealer that long, I'm assuming you already have a case opened with them. You can always ask them about the buy back also. In most cases, the buy back will follow state lemon law guidelines, but the outcome CAN be better.

Just to clarify, manufacturer buy back and lemon law are two different options. The buy back is the manufacturer willing to work with you and make things right. Lemon law is the dealer not willing to work with you and you need to go through an arbitrator to settle the case. In many states, you need to contact the attorney general and open a case and the BBB acts as the arbitrator. You sit through a hearing where you plead your case and the manufacturer has a representative that argues their case. The arbitrator makes a decision based on the materials presented. If you win, the manufacturer replaces the vehicle, or buys you out. You lose and you end up trading the vehicle, probably at a loss.

 

[Quint]

Spot on. I spoke to my Ford dealer because not only had the vehicle been in the shop for many fixable items, it had a brake/rotor issue that could not be resolved after many fixes. The dealership was not motivated to do anything so I wrote Ford Motor Company a few letters documenting my problems. They offered peanuts so I contacted the attorney general's office and the BBB. In Minnesota there were several criteria that would qualify for lemon law. I claimed that the value of the vehicle was substantially impaired because when I eventually sold it, buyers would see the maintenance history and walk away. My advocate at the BBB stepped in and basically negotiated for me. He would call to tell me Ford's latest offer. I held firm for a buy-back. When they finally relented after three or four low-ball offers and granted me a trade for a new truck, I agreed.

People on forums don't tend to believe that the BBB could do anything, but I am bonafide proof that they can be helpful. The guy basically took over negotiations for me....like having an attorney advocating for me. I didn't take the lemon law lightly but I wasn't going to let the manufacturer take my good money for a piece of garbage. In the end I was very happy with the replacement truck.

Good luck with your issues.

 

[scottmoyer]

While unfortunate, I've been through it a couple times now with both Ford and Chrysler.

There was an issue with my 2015 Scat Pack where the heat would blow at full blast while driving in Florida! The dealer was baffled and so was Dodge. In an effort to fix the issue, they replaced modules, but the issue continued. At day 34, they finally found the issue being the upper radiator hose clamp was expanding and the little excess from the end was shorting out the temp sensor making it read -82*. So the heater thought it needed to get from -82 to 70*, so high heat. The service manager started the buy back during this 34 day timeline. After getting the car back, we were willing to keep it, but then we had electrical problems that put the car back into service. The issue turned out to be they installed a 2016 module in a 2015 car, so things didn't work right. Chrysler "offered" the buy back.

I also had a 2017 Mustang GT that had a paint defect from the factory. Instead of replacing the car, Ford offered to repaint the entire car. The shop did a great job, at $8100 to Ford, but didn't prep the aluminum hood correctly and after 6 weeks in for complete repaint work, the paint started flaking off the hood. No questions asked, Ford initiated the buy back. They said it wasn't fair to me to put me through the repaint process again.

Lastly, I replaced the Mustang with a 2018 F150 XLT. Almost immediately, I had it in for service due to transmission issues. The truck kept jumping gears and delayed up to 2 seconds when accelerating. Ford said it was normal, but multiple service managers all agreed that it was a problem. One dealer actually helped me with my lemon law claim by stating that the trans was acting weird, but Ford engineers said it was normal. All of this helped with the BBB representative making a decision in my favor.

So I have two buy backs and one lemon law claim between 2016 and 2019. Luckily, I have not had any issues with the Rebel yet, or any other car since.

 

[Quint]

Damn scottmoyer....you've been through a lot. Here's to smooth sailing from here on out!

 

[jastevenson]

Damn scottmoyer....you've been through a lot. Here's to smooth sailing from here on out!

Yeah, in fact maybe you can help. I’m choosing between 2 similar trucks on the lot. Which one would you pick? Let me know, so I can pick the other one.

 

[EJ84]

A mediator for Ram will handle everything, and the inspection process is quite thorough. I had a Challenger bought back for paint issues, and the mediator even measured the tread depth on the tires and verified that the HK sub in the trunk was still there.

What issues did you have that they agreed to buy it back?

 

[fireman-175]

No. You don't get shafted. They change the VIN number on your loan if you have a Chrysler loan. You keep making the same payments and the balance of your old truck becomes the balance on your new truck.

What happened with mine is I owed about $32k on my 2015 Scat Pack. Chrysler replaced it with an identical Scat Pack, but it was a 2017 model. After the transfer of paperwork and loan details, I now owned a 2017 Scat Pack with a $32k balance. They basically gave me a new car with the equity of the used car. My only costs were the formula they use to calculate the mileage penalty, but mine was reduced because the new car cost more than the old car.

Here's how it works. Your old truck cost $55k MSRP. It doesn't matter what you paid for it, rebates or discounts. When it gets replaced, your payoff might be say $41k. You order a new truck with the exact options and let's say the price hasn't changed, so it has an MSRP of $55k. When the paperwork is completed, you will own a new truck, with a $41k payoff.

If the new truck costs more because you upgrade, you have to pay the difference and it gets added to your $41k. If the cost is more for the exact options you originally had, they will work with you on the mileage penalty to offset the costs.

Yeah, that is how it is in Washington and 12 (i think) other states with good consumer protection laws in place. Just swap the VINs I am told. Anyway, I got mine ordered the other day. A little upgrade to a Longhorn model.