Van Nuys Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram - Service Center

Our experience with the service department was horrible. On November 12, 2019 our Jeep broke down while driving in North Hollywood CA. After a few moments I determined that the car was undriveable, called f On November 12, 2019 our Jeep broke down while driving in North Hollywood CA. After a few moments I determined that the car was undriveable, called for a tow truck and had the Jeep taken to Russell Westbrook Jeep in Van Nuys where it was received by Oscar Gallegos Service Advisor. Mr. Gallegos drove the car into the service receiving area and indicated to me that the problem appeared to be the transmission. He further advised that the Service Department was behind and would likely not be able to assess the car for “a few days”. A coworker arranged for a loaner for me and off I went to continue with my day thinking all would be well. Had I known then what I know now, I likely would have paid the extra towing and taken my Jeep to the Bakersfield CA Jeep dealership where we originally purchased it. We waited a few days before calling to inquire as to the status of the Jeep. After two calls, we received a return call from Oscar indicating that per the computer, the transmission module had been recalled, the part would be ordered, but he did not have a delivery date and a technician had still not looked at the Jeep. By now, Russell Westbrook had been in possession of the car for 10 days. Oscar had indicated that if it was the transmission, it would be covered under warranty. We phoned the Jeep corporate help line to get the specifics regarding the powertrain warranty and was assigned Jayze as our liaison. Over the next several days we made 20 calls in an attempt to talk with someone at Russell Westbrook. We left messages in each case and on a couple of occasions phoned the main operator and asked to be connected to someone. We told the receptionist that we had phoned numerous times and were unable to get a return phone call from the service department. On one occasion the nice receptionist was able to connect us directly with Oscar who told us that the transmission would have to be replaced, was under warranty, and he would let us know when that work had been completed. By now, Russell Westbrook has had our car for 4 weeks. We again waited for a few days and then began attempting to reach someone at Russell Westbrook in what were now becoming futile attempts to get a call back from either Oscar or Mike the Service Manager. We went so far as to ask my sister, who lives in North Hollywood to go to Russell Westbrook and get someone to call us back with some information. My sister, spoke with Mike the Service Manager explaining the numerous attempts to reach one of his staff members as well as Mike, and the complete lack of communication we were experiencing. That day, after her visit, we received a call from Oscar. He indicated that we would need a new battery. The battery in the car was dead, not able to be recharged and they needed to pull more codes from the car’s system in order submit the warranty request to corporate. Oh, and there would be a charge for the battery. By now Russell Westbrook had the car for 5 weeks. In the meantime, We and Jayze from Jeep corporate have been in contact with each other numerous times in an attempt to determine the status of the repair of our car and, if in fact the work was warrantied. I will compliment Jayze by saying that she was working very hard to help us resolve our situation. She returned our calls and shared what information she had. However, as she said many times, Russell Westbrook is an independent dealership and as such, she has no power or authority to direct their business dealings. I get it. I understand, and we appreciated her help. It was nice to at least get our calls retuned. We made a total of 61 phone calls to Russell Westbrook between November 17 and December 16. During that time he spoke with a staff member who could help us with our car twice. Twice. 61 phone calls were made in an attempt to learn the status of the repair on our car. When were we going to get our car back? What was the status of the warranty work, was there going to end up being some huge repair bill? Jayze was having about as much success getting her calls returned as well. I have never, in my 62 years, experienced a business that so completely ignored a customer’s request for communication. Russell Westbrook had our property in their possession and we were not able to determine the status of or condition of our property. Clearly, the message from Russell Westbrook was “We don’t care, you are not important to us”. We called at the end of December, among the numerous calls we made, our new service advisor Alex happened to pick up his extension. We were so surprised, someone actually picked up the phone! Alex told us that a reconditioned transmission had been installed, but had broken due to torque converter failure. They had requested additional authorization to replace the transmission. Jayze confirmed that the authorization was provided at the beginning of January. A few days after our conversation with Alex. We once again attempted to contact Russell Westbrook to get the status of repairs. Now we were back to the status quo, leave a message, no call back. I asked my sister to return to Russell Westbrook and ask someone to call us back. Alex called after her visit, and said that the car would be ready in a couple of days and that I could come and pick it up! Off I went on the appointed day, only to be recalled as I was getting on the freeway. It seems that a bolt had seized up and they were not able to install the new transmission. Did they not know that the bolt had seized when they uninstalled the reconditioned transmission? By now Russell Westbrook had our car for 10 weeks. I cannot explain the level of frustration we felt at this point. We have very real questions regarding the level of competency of the service department staff, the service technicians and the service manager. Is it typical for something as straightforward as a transmission replacement to take 2 ½ months? Finally, we were able to make contact with Alex again and was told that the transmission had been replaced, the service manager was going to test drive it and we could pick up our car the next day. They would wash it and there would be no charge for the work or the battery. Great right? No. Another call from Alex, the car was not ready. The transfer case was actually what was broken and was being replaced. Wow. How can the service department at Russell Westbrook be so ineffective in their communications to each other and their customers? The car was finally available for pick up on 1/29/20, 2 ½ months later. Our car was dusty and dirty inside the outside had been dusted off, but not washed as promised. Was I surprised? No. This is what it looks like from where we sit. • 109 phone calls (including to corporate) • 5 actual contacts with Russell Westbrook service staff • 2 visits from a family member to ask for return calls • 1 transmission module • 1 battery • 2 transmissions • 1 seized bolt • 1 transfer case • Possession of our car for 12 weeks This has been the worst experience we have ever had with anyone we have conducted business with, hands down. Russell Westbrook’s service department is broken. Your service manager clearly does not care. His staff, clearly does not care and it appears that his technicians are incompetent. The only bright spot here was Jayze. We appreciate her efforts on our behalf, but at the end of the day, even the corporate helpline was impotent. There is no one to hold Russell Westbrook service staff accountable. Not corporate, not the General Manager and certainly not the Service Manager. I wonder how Mr. Westbrook would feel if he knew just how bad his namesake service department treats customers. It is a safe bet that we will never purchase another Jeep product. It is also a safe bet that we will tell as many people as we can that Russell Westbrook’s service department is a bad as it gets. Pay the extra money and have your broken vehicle towed ANYWHERE else. More