JD BY Rider questions, concerns?

Question

After buying a 1998 dodge caravan from JD once it turned out well, I went back and just recently bought a second vehical last week (chrysler 300m 2001). Its only been a week and the check engine light is on. I called they want me to take it to their mechanic. I plan on staying and seeing exactly what goes on since they refused to pay for me to go to the chrysler dealer for this check engine light. Leaglly will I have a leg to stand on if I discover something was wrong with the car and they didn't address this in the contract since it is so early on. On the other hand, did I just get screwed and this is my responsibility and there is nothing I can do but complain? Am I allowed to watch the mechanic and see what he does under the hood ?

Answer 1

Most shops will not allow you to stand there and watch them. It's a safety thing and insurance typically requires that they do not allow people into the shop. Most shops abide by this, but will show you something on your vehicle, just not allow you to stand and watch while work is being performed.

You also can ask lots and lots of questions. There are a lot of steps when dealing with a check engine light, and you should ask them to document all of them, as well as the final outcome. Don't let them just write- labor: diagnose check engine light.
Make sure they record what they found after scanning the vehicle, and then how they diagnosed it and actually checked out the problem to verify. Make sure they test it again afterwards to be sure the problem is actually fixed.

As far as a leg to stand on, I doubt it. I don't know what state you are in and what their laws are regarding this, but if the vehicle was sold as is I think you are on your own. If the vehicle had a warranty and this happened during the warranty period they are obligated to fix it. Find out everything you can about the problem and keep all your paperwork. If the problem shows up again, and you are outside of the warranty they still need to fix it since you brought it to their attention during the warranty period.

Also though, a check engine light can mean a thousand things. It doesn't mean there is something seriously wrong, it could be very small, such as not tightening your gas cap all the way, or just a sensor, etc.
Say the light returned later and it was the same problem. They wont cover it unless you can prove it is the same problem, so that is why I say to make sure they document everything they did. The check engine light code, testing procedures, repair and verification. If they just say they diagnosed the check engine light, you really can't be sure it was the same thing, as again the light can come on for many different reasons.

Hope that helps some, all I can suggest is to get everything documented that you can incase this vehicle has returning problems. Also I don't know anything about this company, but I see many complaints against them on RipOffReport.com.