Hopefully the last update on http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/sprintervan/message/23179
Early week of November 6th, I received a call from Baltimore Freightliner indicating the part was in and sitting in front of them (I only listen to them now if they say that they physically have the part in hand). So I set up an appointment for Friday, November 11, 2005,8am, first Sprinter to be worked on. This happens to be the 1 year anniversary date of this ticket.
11/10/2005 I delivered evening Thursday.
11/12/2005: I called Saturday, the front desk said that they couldn't find the paperwork, so the mechanic must be working on it, and call back Monday.
11/14/2005: 9am: I called asking about the status of the van. Front desk said the paperwork was being checked by the warrentee person. I asked how could that be, as this ticket was a return on warrentee work approved from the 11/11/2004 open ticket. He said thathe would call me back.
10am: No call, so I called back. The front desk said that they were busy with customers and that I must wait for them to call back.
11/19/2005: No call back, so I called again. Front desk said that they had no paperwork and that I must call back later. I inform them that I will be out of town starting 11/22/2005 and not able to pick up the van until 12/8/2005.
11/21/2005: 9am: I called asking about the status of my van. Front desk says that they did not know my van was there, nor do they have the paperwork for the van. I told them what numbered parking space the van was parked, and suggested that someone go look for my van. I reminded them that if the van was not ready by that evening, I would be out of town and not able to pick up the van until 12/8/2005. They said that if they found the van they would call back.
11am: Baltimore Freightliner calls back asking if I could help them identify the key to my van over the phone. I provided information as to an ID tag I had attached to the key I gave then on 11/10/2005. I asked if they found the van - no response.
11/22/2005: My family and I leave for California (visit and look in awe at Dudley's Sprinter van) and Japan.
11am: messages from Baltimore Freightliner on both home and office answering machines that the van is ready.
12/6/2005: Message from Baltimore Freightliner on home answering machine that the van is ready.
12/8/2005: I pick up van. Instead of 1 transponder key, they give me two transponder keys. Front desk explains that they lost my key, so they made up another key off my VIN, then subsequantly found my key (and attached to my key was some of the paperwork). Front desk saysthat they will let me have the key without charge in partial compensation for all the trouble I have been through. A mechanic then butts into the conversation saying that the electronic locks were a pain. I informed him that the electrical problem had been solved within two trips under this ticket, and that all the other delays were related to Baltimore Frieghtliner problems. He then stated that they had been short Sprinter mechanics recently (see http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/sprintervan/message/20438). I asked if that explained everything from 11/11/2004. He was silent.
I checked the van. The lock works. I noted that the Freightliner emblem on the front of the van has become delaminated over the last month while parked in their lot. Notwithstanding, glueing it back on is no longer covered because my van went out of warrenttee while sitting on their lot!!!!!!
--- In sprintervan@yahoogroups.com, "hkpierce" <yahoosprinter@p...> wrote:
>
> The trials continue on my warrantee repair ticket from November 11, 2004:
>
> Baltimore Frieghtliner ordered the missing clip again after the June
> posting copied below. In July, they lost it yet again, but didn't
> tell me. So when I called in July to find out what was happening,
> they owned up to losing it, and ordered for the 4th or 5th time
> (remember, I have been contending that it is the wrong part, and I
> even had them in agreement for a while, but they seemed to have
> changed their mind and gone back to the alleged missing "clip"). So,
> it arrived yet again, and this time they stapled it to my ticket as
> not to lose it again.
>
> So I took a day off work and went up. They got to me within 2 hours,
> and spent an hour deciding that it was the wrong part. Then I was
> lectured that my passenger van's door was misassembled by the Gaffney
> plant. Ignorance compounded as passenger Sprinters are imported
> whole, and it is highly unlikely even the cargo vans' doors are sent
> in such an disassembled state. So now they have order the whole rear
> door lock assembly.
>
> >
> > --- In sprintervan@yahoogroups.com, "hkpierce" <confirm@t...> wrote
> > in Post 14520:
> > >
> > > Since I have expressed my long running experience with my auxilary
> > > diesel heater to the group over the years; recap:
> > >
> > 1) worked beginning of winter 2002-2003, fitfully and
> > irratically petered out by the end of the winter;
> > 2) never worked winter 2003-2004 while waiting for sensors to be
> > sent. When they arrive, the heater still didn't work when the sensors
> > were installed;
> > 3) start of winter 2004-2005 replacement heater ordered.
> > 4) January 2005: The replacement heater finally arrived after 3
> > months (according to the dealer, took two separate orders to get one
> > heater). I took and posted pictures of the smoke as the heater light
> > up! Drove home (45 miles). Found it leaking antifreeze. Took it
> > back within the hour. After examination by the mechanic, found the
> > new heater is defective. It has an internal fluid leak. New heater
> > is now on order again. Should arrive just in time for Spring.
> > 5) Latest update:
> >
> > In early May the second replacement aux heater arrived and
> > installed. It was immediately put to use. My troop of Scouts came
> > off the Shanandoah River, all wet and in a driving rain. Once they
> > stopped paddling, the younger Scouts started getting hypothermia. I
> > stuffed them in the van and turned on the aux heater. Nice and
> > steamy on the inside.
> >
> > Did that close out the ticket? Noooo...
> >
> > The orginal November 2004 work order also included the rear electric
> > door lock. It took longer than the first replacement aux heater to
> > arrive. When it arrived, it was the wrong one. The second order
> > arrived in late April or early May 2005. Baltimore Freightliner
> > installed it early May with the second replacement aux heater. I
> > found that now the manual button did not work anymore, and asked that
> > it be fixed. Upon examination in May, they found that they had
> > thrown away a part that had to be salvaged from the old electric lock
> > body - that body long since thrown out by the mechanics in November
> > or December 2004. It is a clip weighing about 1 oz. DC shipped it
> > by boat from Germany (guess they didn't want to pay the extra money
> > to drop it into airmail BundePost), and Baltimore Freightliner
> > insisted that they must do the warentee work intead of sending it to
> > me and letting me do it. So I was called in late May saying it had
> > arrived. Made an appointment, left the van for 2 days, went to pick
> > it up on the appointed day - nothing done. They lost the part and
> > are now deciding whether to look somemore in their shop or to
> > reorder. Another 270 miles down the drain and another 270 miles yet
> > to go for a little 1 oz clip.
> >
> > Now the Baltimore Freightliner people are getting so frustrated that
> > they are blaming me for not leaving the van long enough for them to
> > do their job (I am normally asked to leave the van for 1 week at a
> > time [I am not a commerical account so I am given a lower priority -
> > only bothers me when I need the van as it can park just as well in
> > their lot as mine], not the 2 days this time - all by appointment).
> >
>
