Ever had one of those days?.....Wait years? Man Saturday made me want to take up golf! And then of course on Sunday just to tease me back in, there on the front page of the business section of the paper was me and North County Tours, and exclusive interview during the FLW. FREE PR! Anyway, I need to cry on someone so I don't go kill me an auto dealer. For you GM fans (Sorry Mac) TOLD YOU SO! I shoulda never ought dun bought dat stupit chevy! LOL Lets recap,
April, I announce it's time for a new tow vehicle and go back to the same dealer I got my dodge from and HAD a good relationship with. Was ready to by a 4X4 ext cab dakota when he shows me this Bravada. OK, $5k, price is right, leather, all the toys, SOLD! "Runs GREAT" he says, "No problems, pay not attention to the brake light, it's nothing"
OK, 1 week later and 3 near misses from failed brakes, back in she goes, AFTER I pay $300 for a new speed and odometer module that didn't work. Well, he puts in a new hyd/elec ABS unit, and whata ya know, STILL brakes act up. So finally after dumping my boat in the ditch one night to keep from rear ending someone, I go back. Take the dealer for a little "RIDE" see. Well, After the right wheel grabs, and then the left, truck swerving ALL over the road at 60 mph (a back road), then NO brakes at all and it takes about 400 yards to stop, white as a ghost he says, "yeah, you gotta problem all right. We'll fix it" Now, it had just barley over 100k on it (coincidence?....no) so no warranty, but he was "doing the right thing" Ha! Well, I just went and unhooked the stupid ABS box entirely. Bang, problem fixed. No ABS, but normal brakes just the was I want it. OK, then it goes back because, the breaker for the seats, defrost and locks had a short, plus the handle for the tailgate (that he had put on NEW when I bought it) fell off in my hand. And THEN last weekend, I got to the gorcery store, and when I came out, it wouldn't start. So then I bring it back to him, $130 for a new fuel pump and filter. That was the 4 time it had gone back! Then THREE days later, this Saturday, while towing home, service engine light comes on, and it runs like a yugo firing on 1 cylinder! Plus the tongue of my boat trailer is soaked in gas? Hmmm? Replace the pump did he?
OK the boat, Brought it to the VT guy I posted about that tore it apart but didn't do any work, that's a whole other post in itself! Then I take it to a guy over here, he puts $900 in it with a new throttle control and a wire harness, plus 2 new thermostats upon my request. 1st day out with it, won't run, so I tow it over to a different VT shop, Northland, and you all know the deal with that, $3200, a total rebuild, THREE trips back over for them to get it right, a dinged prop, yada, yada. Well then I get it back, have it a week, BANG, need a new lower unit! OK!....FINE! $1400 later and a new lower unit I'm up and running. Run it for 2 days, BAM, throttle stuck WOT and near redline. Guy that did the throttle box is "too busy" to help, so I try my 5th shop of the year, $140 and 2 new cables. Problem fixed. So I go out this weekend, take 2 skirts (not really, just 2 cry a$$es) that my brother works with, fishing. They wimper as we hit wakes so I let off of one, and SLAMMED the next. Impact tears out my CD player, breaks the front fishfinder...WHICH BTW is the 3rd one up there this year. All fishfinders were new, and have to go back AGAIN. Oh yeah, one time, I had lost my trim after the rebuild, and had to pay the throttle box guy $30 to tighten the screws that Northland left loose and to get power back to my control panel. Well this impact knocks out the power again! AND I'm STILL getting water in the boat! I can't take this anymore! So.......today, the boat and truck go BACK to the stinkin shop for like the 6th time each in 2 months! I give up! What would you do? Golf is looking mighty interesting right now!
April, I announce it's time for a new tow vehicle and go back to the same dealer I got my dodge from and HAD a good relationship with. Was ready to by a 4X4 ext cab dakota when he shows me this Bravada. OK, $5k, price is right, leather, all the toys, SOLD! "Runs GREAT" he says, "No problems, pay not attention to the brake light, it's nothing"
OK, 1 week later and 3 near misses from failed brakes, back in she goes, AFTER I pay $300 for a new speed and odometer module that didn't work. Well, he puts in a new hyd/elec ABS unit, and whata ya know, STILL brakes act up. So finally after dumping my boat in the ditch one night to keep from rear ending someone, I go back. Take the dealer for a little "RIDE" see. Well, After the right wheel grabs, and then the left, truck swerving ALL over the road at 60 mph (a back road), then NO brakes at all and it takes about 400 yards to stop, white as a ghost he says, "yeah, you gotta problem all right. We'll fix it" Now, it had just barley over 100k on it (coincidence?....no) so no warranty, but he was "doing the right thing" Ha! Well, I just went and unhooked the stupid ABS box entirely. Bang, problem fixed. No ABS, but normal brakes just the was I want it. OK, then it goes back because, the breaker for the seats, defrost and locks had a short, plus the handle for the tailgate (that he had put on NEW when I bought it) fell off in my hand. And THEN last weekend, I got to the gorcery store, and when I came out, it wouldn't start. So then I bring it back to him, $130 for a new fuel pump and filter. That was the 4 time it had gone back! Then THREE days later, this Saturday, while towing home, service engine light comes on, and it runs like a yugo firing on 1 cylinder! Plus the tongue of my boat trailer is soaked in gas? Hmmm? Replace the pump did he?
OK the boat, Brought it to the VT guy I posted about that tore it apart but didn't do any work, that's a whole other post in itself! Then I take it to a guy over here, he puts $900 in it with a new throttle control and a wire harness, plus 2 new thermostats upon my request. 1st day out with it, won't run, so I tow it over to a different VT shop, Northland, and you all know the deal with that, $3200, a total rebuild, THREE trips back over for them to get it right, a dinged prop, yada, yada. Well then I get it back, have it a week, BANG, need a new lower unit! OK!....FINE! $1400 later and a new lower unit I'm up and running. Run it for 2 days, BAM, throttle stuck WOT and near redline. Guy that did the throttle box is "too busy" to help, so I try my 5th shop of the year, $140 and 2 new cables. Problem fixed. So I go out this weekend, take 2 skirts (not really, just 2 cry a$$es) that my brother works with, fishing. They wimper as we hit wakes so I let off of one, and SLAMMED the next. Impact tears out my CD player, breaks the front fishfinder...WHICH BTW is the 3rd one up there this year. All fishfinders were new, and have to go back AGAIN. Oh yeah, one time, I had lost my trim after the rebuild, and had to pay the throttle box guy $30 to tighten the screws that Northland left loose and to get power back to my control panel. Well this impact knocks out the power again! AND I'm STILL getting water in the boat! I can't take this anymore! So.......today, the boat and truck go BACK to the stinkin shop for like the 6th time each in 2 months! I give up! What would you do? Golf is looking mighty interesting right now!
on't let it bog you down just keep on fish'n hard. BTW,I have a 2002 901CDX for sale if your interested, Har!
