Let's talk about my 2021 Jeep Wrangler and Pothier Motors Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat here in…read moreWindsor Nova Scotia.
I bought my Jeep in April of 2022, it had 1k km on it when I drove it off the lot. Fast forward to my first oil change at 15k and my reporting paint issues I noticed on the vehicle that could not possibly be from wear and tear. At 15k km the vehicle was covered in surface scratches and the paint was wearing off the hatch door, despite never seeing anything but touchless wash. I consistenyl brought these issues up at every oil change and service call on the vehicle and was assured by staff before the warranty was up, they would address them, I noted what I reported on my service records. This went on for two years and when it was time to address these issues as the warranty was almost up; more issues were noted at this time by the sevice department, including bubbling around the hood of the jeep.
Then I was told the issues were not all covered and there are many. At this time I was not aware that there were several class action lawsuits in the US due to paint erosion, bubbling and premature rusting on Jeep Wranglers for the model years 2018-2021. Which I sorted because I went looking, thinking I can't be alone. And I was not alone. There have been warranty extensions, continuous issues with paint corrosion on the model years listed as well as various other legal challenges regarding the paint on these vehicles and a refusal by Chrysler to do a recall.
I tried to work with Pothier and Chrysler for several months and they did agree to warranty part of the issue. I requested in writing what was covered and what wasn't as in order to join a class action lawsuit to have the rest of the issues repaired, I had to show the dealership / Chrysler had declined parts of the repairs. I was then ghosted.
Then life events happened and I did not have time to address these issues until today when I tried to address them once again at a service call.
Today I went for an oil change and asked to talk about the paint issues that are now getting worse. The service manager Pino was there when I checked my vehicle in and I said to him I'm still waiting for something in writing as to what's covered. To which he responded quite condescendingly I told you you mentioned a lawyer so you're not getting anything from us. He never told me this and went on to state that the dealership Manager, Chad, made that call, I could deal with my lawyer. To be clear I don't have a lawyer, I was trying to join a class action lawsuit to get all of the needed repairs done.
I spoke with the manager Chad today, my hands shaking as I was so upset at how I was spoken to, who informed me that I declined the repairs due to outside influence and they would not be able to help me. This is simply not true, I did say the repairs covered were not adequate given this is a well known issue. There was no apology for how I was spoken to, there was no acknowledgement of a long term paint failure, he in fact stated he was not aware of any class action lawsuits involving the paint on these vehicles. Apparently the moment I brought up lawyers, that gave them the ground to brush me off, oh an I was rude after their staff misrepresented the issue for two years. And brush me off they did, today I was told they will not paint the vehicle, they will not honor the repairs they already approved and I was told take my jeep to another dealership that may be able to help. I took my vehicle and left without an oil change as I will not put one more cent into Pothier.
This is a $70,000 vehicle that has a NOW well known paint failure that causes corrosion and rust. The paint is literally melting off the vehicle and because I got sick and never followed up (and let's not forget I was rude because apparently I don't have the right to be upset after two years) now the vehicle is no longer warrantied and I am stuck. I don't even know where to begin, who to call, but I do know this, this dealership lied to me for two years, depaite constant complaints about the paint they never advised they were 100% aware of the issue and it's a well known failure (that a service technician at dealership who was inspecting the paint advised was a well known failure) as they don't prep certain parts of the vehicle when they're painted and it's been determined that these failures were due to parts of the jeep being made out of aluminum to improve fuel efficiency.
My advice to you, is to shop elsewhere.
