Originally Posted by JKlad

Yep, in theory that is exactly how it should be, and maybe after a lengthy and expensive court case the judge may agree and rule in your favour. However in the real world things tend to be different I've found over the years.

I've discovered in past dealings with several different vehicle manufacturers (Ford, GM, Chrysler, Mercedes, Mazda) that the polite, friendly and obliging approach often works magic and at the very least results in the 50/50 payment offer the OP was offered even if the warranty has expired (had a cam bearing let go on a car years ago with 50K miles on the clock & they came to the party, even though it only had a 12K mile warranty).

It's just human nature I guess; I work in customer service (running bars, so I often encounter the most potentially volitile situations) and tend to mentally switch off and become defensive the second someone starts "demanding their rights"; treat me with respect like a fellow human being and I'll tend to listen and even be understanding and helpful (sure you can have another drink before you have to leave, I know you really didn't mean to call the bouncer a steroid-pumped nazi, and sure, I'll call you a taxi). I know I could get my Jeep serviced cheaper elswhere, but every time I go to my dealer with a warranty issue (& I've had a few, admittedly minor, ones) they fix them no-questions-asked, even though some have been due to obvious trail abuse & they didn't really have to.

There's a guy here on my local forum who had a spun bearing after his motor suddenly burnt all the oil in his sump over a period of a few thousand miles and ran dry. Chrysler pulled down the motor for examination and then offered him a 50/50 split on the repair bill even though he was out of warranty (so they obviously found something that could suggest they may be partially liable). Not happy, he demanded they cover the full replacement costs and posted his strongly-worded opinions (and unfortunately identified himself) on the forum, which it turns out Chrysler monitors (as they probably do this one). They withdrew the offer immediately and now he's up for the full replacement cost.

So I think PocketWatts has probably taken the right couse of action and taken a minimal loss.

Originally Posted by PocketWatts

The dealership guy also told me that corporate notices when they help me, if I return the favor,, he said let's just say that several months down the rd, something else happens and I want to request help again... He told me that corporate will look in the system to see what I have done for them since they helped me. In this case baking them cookies won't cut it. He told me I didn't HAVE to, but It would look good to them if I went to them for maintainance /service when I need it.. Rotations, oil changes, tune ups, diagnostic, ect. Apparently it's a " well we helped you, what have u done for us to make us want to help u again...".

Originally Posted by TheQuiet1

This was a costly repair and the vehicle was out of warranty, yes, but only by a small amount of time and not mileage. Later if the OP spins a main bearing, or something catastrophic happens, I would hope Chrysler stand behind their product and help the customer out again regardless of how much money he has spent at the dealership since the first issue arose.

Originally Posted by PocketWatts

She*. :-).

But I notice the tranny is still slipping and or shifting a bit rough. Same as before. What should I do? What could be wrong??