David,

As you know it's never been an issue of your intent. And as I mentioned above, the intent is definitely worth a shot (noble) since after all you were trying to save some money for us Jeep owners. I intentionally left the vendor out of the post because it was not about bashing anyone. I agree whole heartedly that we (you, me, and Superior) tried extremely hard to get to the root cause of the problem w/the Dealership. And as I mentioned above, the dealership is a whole nother issue (they still have my Jeep). Their approach on the installation was obviously another contributing factor to why I still don't have my Jeep back. You have been extremely easy to deal with and the intent of my posting here was to figure out if I was way out of line with having an expectation that due to the problems as it relates to the wrong parts being shipped and that causing more install charges that I'll be paying that I'd have some compensation from the vendor. Not even a lot, just something to ease this painful experience. I know you and I spoke about this in our last phone call/e-mail and all I got out of it was that you would check w/your supplier to see about some credit. I was actually hoping that you'd say, "Look, I doubt my supplier will step up to the plate, but I will... and here's what I can do, give you a store discount/credit of _____. Since that phone conversation, I never heard a word back from you so I figured you had just forgot about the whole thing.

Again, for all those reading this... this is not about the service from the vendor... David has been responsive... it's really been about whether or not we (people buying stuff) might hope for or expect from the contributing parties some sort of compensation if there is a mishap happen and the end result gets costly. This isn't a blame game... honestly if it were; I would definitely say that David and I got stuck in the middle. It's really Precision and the Dealership to blame... Since I only have a relationship with my vendor and installer, that's the only two parties that I can go to and say "hey, can you help me out here"... and they in turn should take the same recourse w/their suppliers.

The reason it "made sense" to have this post on this forum... was to just get people's opinion as to setting an expectation when $hit like this hits the fan. If I'm way out of line, I would certainly accept people's opinion for that and will now "shut up"... David, again no hard feelings here, just let me know if there is anything further you feel you can do or think is the right thing to do in this big ole mess.

BTW, don't be confused... The dealership has some hide in this as well, and I will be taking actions w/them as well. And for those looking to do gear installs... TAKE YOUR JEEP TO A WELL QUALIFIED 4x4 SHOP! By the time this is all said and done, I will be getting my Jeep back from the dealership w/the stock 4.10s, will have been w/out my Jeep for 5 weeks, will have some new parts they screwed up during the 5.13 install, will have spent more than I should have, and will still have my 5.13s still in hand that will be taken to a 4x4 shop that I've been referred to and again be w/out my Jeep for a little longer (hopefully only a day or two this time).

 

I definitely think Rubidonn's post was worthwhile for three reasons.

1. It made people on this forum aware that not all Jeep dealerships / shops are created equal.

2. If you are doing a similar upgrade, understand that not all the parts you order come from the same shop you order them from and you need to check and make sure you got what you ordered - if you can.

3. It shows that Northridge is one of the few companies out there that really give a damn about their customers and is willing to own up to a mistake. Plus they are not only a sponsor here, but they actually read what we are posting.

 

Dave,
Just to verify, do you now have the correct overhaul kits available for an X w/ a D30/D44? I still haven't gotten around to ordering.

 

Yes everything is fixed now and we have them available.

David

 

Followup:

Thanks for everyone's replies. I think the consensus on the post was a productive one and since my initial post a few things have happened. I did e-mail David again and he is still on board to do what he can to help.

The dealership is more $#%&'d up than originally thought and it now looks like they are going to (potentially) eat what ever additional costs there might have been. They have now agreed to send it to a 4x4 shop of my choice and they will pay to send it there as well as any extra charges there may be due to their inability (it's still binding on the front even though they've put the factory 4.10's back in).

SO BEWARE: Lesson Learned - Be careful who you take your Jeep to. I would have assumed since it was a Jeep Dealer and 'they said' they could do the work, that they could... well my mistake (and theirs too)...

I will let you guys know what else develops. Again, thanks for the replies, and thanks David for your continued efforts in this fiasco!

 

I think that this thread is a testament to the best of people in the Jeep community. I hope that Dave at Northridge feels good about this thread being posted. I certainly think it shines a positive light on his company. This is a very touchy situation. Clearly Rubidonn is not one of those front passenger door dent, foot-well light missing, missing paint behind the door hinges kinda guys.

 

Wait... I'm missing a foot-well light and my paint job is not that of a Ferrari... I'm gonna have to talk to someone about this

Thanks for the comments Woods and 'yes' I agree the people in this forum are great and based on my discussions w/David as well as the postings in this post, you're right, it does reflect well for Northridge and his continued efforts to do what's right.

 

Thought I'd follow up to conclude all the mess that has occurred w/my Jeep and the Dealership. Ended up (finally) getting my gears installed at my local shop. The dealership ended up having to ship my Jeep to my local shop (1 hr travel time) on a flatbed because they couldn't even put it back to stock (how embarrassing) I also renegotiated the work that they actually did do (3" FT Premium Lift w/shocks) for a total bill w/tax of $300 Bottom line is BE CAREFUL WHO YOU TAKE YOUR JEEP TO! A JEEP DEALER ISN"T ALWAYS THE BEST OPTION!!

Also to Note: Northridge (David) and I have gotten back together and he has certainly met EVERY expectation I'd have for a vendor for Customer Service. In fact, I truly believe he honestly went out of his way in the end to make sure I felt I was treated fairly and felt good about his actions as a vendor. He did an AWESOME job taking care of me and it is truely appreciated. So much so, I canceled an order w/another company for something else and ordered it through him. Thanks David!!!