My Shelby Dodge Nightmare Begins....
Hello everyone I am new to the website here, and reviewing this site it's amazing. It it well put together. I like it very much.
I would like to address the title of this thread. My Shelby Dodge Nightmare begins. If you are on some other mailing lists, and/or forum sites, you might have heard this story. If you have not, I will include you in on the total nightmare. I am going to be asking a lot of questions as far as where to start and where to go on doing things. So, without further adew, here is my story.
Hello everyone, now that I am going to be an overnight mechanic, I thought that I would be able to tell everyone my story regarding my 87' Shelby GLH-S. Some of you may have already heard the story, but then some of you haven't... So here goes the story...
It started out in the summer of 06' when I decided to become Mr. BF Goodwrench. I decided that I was going to do a simple oil change. Note to anyone, when you are not thinking clearly, please don't work on a Shelby. Some might have said I was a blonde that day. I only put in 2 quarts of oil. I know I am going to get a lot of slack for that one. Needless to say my Shelby didn't take too good to that.. It started knocking. So, I parked it right away and added the rest of the recommended amount of oil. But, it still kept knocking.
I thought that it would be a lifter that was causing the problem. So, I went to get a lifter for the car, and replaced it, and in doing so... Man am I going to be getting some heat from this. Let's say when I went to put the valve cover back on, I didn't have a torque wrench with me. And from that point I am sure you all know what's coming next. Yep, you guessed it, the bolts that hold down the valve cover snapped. 3 of them snapped. I was freaking out. Well, the car now leaks oil really bad.So, I decided to not drive it anymore because, now it's making a lot of clicking noise. So, my Shelby sat for the rest of the year.
I promised my Shelby, once I get my tax return, I was going to get her fixed back up to par.
Now, we are in February of '07. Making the car now considered a classic automobile, 20 years old. I called all around town in Des Moines, IA. I was looking for a mechanic that would be able to restore/rebuild the engine, because I knew that there was problems in it. No one in my area would touch a car that old. I was directed to the dealership of Des Moines Chrysler ((515) 270-8100 - 4410 Merle Hay Rd, Des Moines, IA), where I spoke with a man named Kevin. I asked him if he would be able to rebuild engines. He said, "Yes they can do that." I advised him that it's a 1987 Shelby GLH-S Dodge Charger. He advised me that shouldn't be a problem. I then proceeded to ask, how much it would cost to do something like that. He advised me that it would cost around $3,500.00, and that's with the parts and labor.
I knew that would be kind of pricey, but in the long run I can make that work. I advised Kevin, that I would have a tow truck bring in the automobile so he would be able to start working on it. 2 days had passed by and I hadn't heard anything from him. So, I called the dealership and he said that he is going to lunch and he would be working on it right after he got back. I told him that would be fine. Later that day he called me and told me that his boss would like it if I could make a payment of $1,000.00 for the work that they are going to be doing.So, I said that I could do that, and made me believe that I only had $2,500.00 left to pay now.
Well, here is where the story gets interesting. 2 days later Kevin, calls me back. Now, let me clue everyone in. I work at nights from 7:00pm to 7:00am. So, when I get home I like to have at least 7-8 hours of sleep. Which would make it about 4-5:00pm before I would wake up. He called me around 2:00pm and told me that he found several problems with my car, and it's going to cost me an additional $5,000.00 to fix. Now, I am awake. He told me to think about it and give him a call on Monday, because he called me on a Friday.
Well, Monday came around and I was still thinking about everything that he said. So, he called me on Tuesday, and I asked him what the total cost would be for everything, he told me a different price this time which came to a price of about $7,100.00. I told him that there is no way shape or form, I can get my hands on that kind of money. I asked him if there is any type of payment arrangements, he said that he would check with his boss, and call me back. 30 minutes later he called me back and said that they don't offer any kind of payment arrangements (In my mind, if you don't offer any kind of payment arrangements, and I am sure this isn't the first time someone has asked this, wouldn't you know right off the bat?)
I told him just get my car put back and I will have a tow truck come and get it, and bring it home. This is where it caught me off guard. He told me that they wouldn't be able to put it back together (And in there shop it says they are ASE Certified, which I now know means NOTHING, except they might know more about changing oil than I do at this point.).
I then asked, "What condition is my car?" Of course I am thinking just what you would be thinking if you were in the same situation.
Come to find out the only thing wrong with the ENGINE (The thing I wanted them to fix only), was a crank shaft, and two pistons were messed up. They told me that they couldn't find a crank shaft for this year of an automobile, so they would be able to get a re-manufactured engine. That's not going to keep my car in the classic condition that I want it. :bang head So, now I called the tow company and told them to go and pick up my Shelby at Des Moines Chrysler. I told the towing company that there is no engine, no transmission, no steering column, and no tires on the car. They told me that wouldn't be a problem.
Well, luckily the guy that went to pick it up called me and said there is a problem. He suggested that I get the tires on the car before he tows it. He later told me that Des Moines Chrysler, wanted him to just tow it like that, and not caring the damages it would cause. Not in those exact words, but they tried to get him to tow it just the way it was with no front tires on it, with a flat bed. He refused, and wanted to speak to me first. I told him that he did the right thing in calling me. :banana: So, today I went out with the tires and told Kevin, that I am there to put on the tires. He said, "Ok." And, went on his business, and didn't offer anyone to assist me.
I have posted pictures of my Shelby as we speak, on a web page that you will be able to view. I didn't want to post it on this forum due to the fact that they are large in size. There is no pop-ups and is ad-free. So, no worries there, and it's work friendly. You will be able to view all of the photos, and I also posted the invoice, and the thank you letter I received from Des Moines Chrysler. It's completely horse dung on what they did to me. The site address is listed here.. http://www.soulserpentmedia.com/Dodg...elbyStory.html
So, I want everyone to know I have contacted the Better Business Bureau, and the Attorney General, and filed cases upon the issues. I have tried to contact the local media regarding the issue and I have gotten no response. I have gotten a response from the Better Business Bureau, and they said that a case has been filed and they are waiting for response from the Company. If they contact me I am to go to their website right away and post exactly what was said and what was done. If I don't get resolution with that, I will take the next step and take this company to small claims court.
Thank you for taking your time on reading this. All comments and post are welcome.
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Originally Posted by Anonymous_User
Clay
