Bob Ellis | Page 2

I bought a used 2001 Ram 1500 in the spring of 2010. It was a good price for what I was looking for. My problem is with the last 2 months. The check engine light went on one day, so I plugged in the code was a good price for what I was looking for. My problem is with the last 2 months. The check engine light went on one day, so I plugged in the code scanner I have and saw that it was an apparent transmission fault of some sort. I took it in to them since I had bought the extended warranty which would cover this. 4 days later, I got my truck back after they determined that the valve body had to be replaced. So, I paid my $100.00 deductible and was happily on my way for the weekend. This was on a Friday. The very next Monday on my way to work, Suddenly I have no transmission working at all and I'm hearing whining/grinding noises. I managed to hobble the truck off the road, and had to walk the rest of the way to work at 6:30 in the morning in the freaking snow. I was BEYOND P!$$ED. I call up Paul at Elgin Toyota and share my opinions. Now for the record, Paul was very professional and attentive to the situation. He was also extremely appologetic and wanted to make things right for me. In this entire experience, Paul was genuine and straight forward with me. His professionalism and concern/understanding of my feeling regarding this were what kept me from creating a scene on the shop floor. This dealership owes him a big thanks for keeping my less than psychotic. They tow it in, supply me with a loaner, and go in to take a look. Now, general consensus among just about anyone I talk to is that they perhaps forgot to put in trans fluid when they did the work the first time. Of course, when I talked to them after their review of the situation, their work was done completely and correctly, and what had now happened was that the torque converter had now failed and there were metal peices in the trans pan that were not there before. Hmmm, sounds to me like they fracked up but were not about to admit it. So now they had to wait for a replacement trans to come in. Now, Paul told me he wanted to put a brand new trans in it, but because the insurance company that was handling the warranty was upset with them because of this situation, said insurance company wanted to go the cheaper route and put in a rebuilt trans in. I was not happy with that decision, but it was not my call since they were paying for it. They also had to replace my power steering pump because that magically failed too, hence the whining/grinding noise I heard. Finally after them having my truck from 1/31/11 to 2/11/11, I get a call that it's done and I can pick it up. I go in, talk to Paul, and he relays how this has all been a huge headache for him as well and that he really does not want for me to have to come in for anything else. I agree, and tell him that I don't ever want to have to come back either and that I just want to drive my own vehicle that I am paying for. So, I pay yet another $100.00 deductible for the steering pump, since that was a new and unrelated problem. Fine, I just want my truck back and to never see these people again. Two days later, yes, TWO DAYS LATER(!) I see a huge spot on my driveway under the transmission. The damn replacement trans that was put in is leaking all over the place!! I took it back to them 2/14/11, just drove it in without calling. I gave them all my pictures I took, asked for Paul, and was told he called in sick. I explained the situation to Bryan in 30 words or less and he said he'd take care of it for now and I'd have to wait for a loaner car from Enterprise since all of theirs were spoken for. I'd think that after my being in twice already, the very least one would do is make sure nothing was leaking. So this was a definite failure on the part of the person or persons working on my truck. I get my truck back on the 15th, Paul is beyond apologetic and tries to make good for me after all I have gone through. I end up driving away satisfied, but still unsure of what else may come. So, at that point, I get on here and start writing my review, most of which is the above with minor editing. I get contacted by Bob Ellis, the GM of Elgin Toyota, through this site. He apologizes for my very bad experiences and wants to sit down and meet in the hopes of changing my opinion of the place. I tell him I need a week to have my truck so I can form an opinion of the end result before discussing things. He then contacts me again a week after that (2/23/11) making the same offer. I consider the offer for a day and then decide that it would be best for all of us to have that meeting. BUT WAIT, There's more... So come that Friday, the roads are kinda bad and I put my truck into 4WD for the first time since taking it to them the first time. BAD NEWS! To sum it up, here's an excerpt from the email I sent Mr. Bob Ellis that day: "I think today would be a perfect day for us to meet and talk. The reason being that I am now having my truck towed in to you, again, for service. This time it is for the transfer case which allows for the truck to go from 2WD to 4WD. Today was the first time I have used 4WD since getting my truck back for having the transmission replaced. In short, it is now totally ruined and pouring oil everywhere. Please note that I have used 4WD several times before bringing it in the first time. I never had any problem with it before. But this morning when I put it in 4WD, the whole truck shook. I pulled over, stopped, put it in neutral, took it out of 4WD and into 2WD. I pulled forward, heard a ‘thunk’, but it seemed fine. When I got to work, I tried again in the parking lot. This time, I heard loud grinding and banging sounds. I put it back into 2WD, parked it. When I got out I noticed that there was now fluid pouring out of the transfer case. Since I never had previous problems before turning this truck over to your service dept., and since the transfer case is directly connected to the transmission which was replaced by your service dept., I feel it most certainly related to that service." I continued to elaborate on my great displeasure. So, later that day Paul, Bob and I have a meeting. We go over everything I mentioned above. They are wanting nothing but to make me a happy customer at this point. I do not doubt their sincerity. And moreover, I am sure that this whole thing has beyond embarassing for them, not to mention costly for them. They agree to take some proactive steps beyond fixing the problem at hand (replacing the transfer case), and Paul agrees that when all is done, He personally will take the truck out for a test drive and put it through all the gears and inspections to make sure all is right. So two of the replacement transfer cases sent through the warranty companies parts supplier arrived cracked. They also happeneg to have the cases cracked in the same place as my original on. The replacemants were damaged by mishandling and possibly by being dropped. So now the question is, was my transfer case dropped when the transmission was replaced? That could very well be the reason for this latest problem. Hmm. Well, it turns out that my situation has been taken care of by a far more capable mechanic that the previous one. (I heard mention about the fate of the previous mechanic, but will not claim to have verification of that). Because this particular mechanic, Chad, takes his work very seriously, I was told that he even requested specifically to handle the correction of this situation that had gone FUBAR. That is how the damaged replacements got caught the first time; because this guy does his job well and pays attention to details. Unlike someone else who I don't even know his name and probably never will. In the end, both Chad and Paul put it through it's paces and made sure all was done right once and for all. Elgin Toyota kept to their word all across the board and went beyond to make this previously disgusted customer happy and content that a job was done well. It was admoittedly very painful to get to this point, but it's how someone deals with a horrible situation that will tell you if they are any good and worth business in the future. I feel comfortable saying that Elgin Toyota learned a lot from this experience, and has probably made the corrections necessary internally to prevent this from happening again. Despite all the troubles from the start, in retrospect I feel that had this scenario happened anywhere else, it would have been far more costly to me and I would have been treated with a lot of distain or indifference. Regardless of all that had been happening, these guys were more that willing to treat me right with dignity and sensitivity to my situation and my feelings about it. If it was meant to happen, I'm glad it happened here. And if you are looking to buy a used car and they offer you an extended warranty, GET IT!! You will be so glad you did if anything were to happen. You just don't know. More

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