Faults:

"Service Engine Soon" warning at 82,000 miles. Nothing else to report.

General Comments:

Smooth. Solid. Fast. Traction control is awesome. Premium 7 speaker system is very nice. Roomy. Great grille and body... solid and handsome. Very quiet inside. Nice custom wheels.

My wife and kid love it... and I admit I love driving it too. Drove up the mountain on slick, curvy road the next day I bought it used... handled great! In some curvy wet roads, I felt it gripped better than my Jeep.

Faults:

This van has been very reliable. We have not had any problems to date.

General Comments:

We test drove a Chevy Mini van and a Dodge Caravan the same day we test drove the Chrysler Town and Country. The Town and Country by far was the best van on the market. The LXi model comes with every feature you could possibly desire, including leather bucket seats. The comfort and ride is superior to the others we test drove. By far the Chrysler Town and Country is the top mini van.

Faults:

RE: Disputing charges dated July 27, 2002 by Harpeth Chrysler Jeep Dealership on 305 5th Avenue North in Franklin, Tennessee 37065-1429.

I am contesting the charges on July 27, 2002 by Harpeth Chrysler Jeep dealership in Franklin, TN due to faulty workmanship, which caused me to break down on August 6, 2002, 10 days later in the state of Michigan for the same problem that I complained on July 27, 2002 in Tennessee, which was never fixed properly. My vehicle is a 1997 Chrysler, Town and Country Van. The total invoice was for $2,572.62. My extended warranty company paid, $1,480.52. The extended warranty labor, which was arrived at by taking the labor rate of the dealership $70 per hour, times 4.6 hours, which is out of the Mitchell Manual and the Motors Manual. These manuals are the Industry's Time Manuals. My Phoenix warranty also paid for $26.30 in fluids, plus taxes, less my $50.00 deductible. The dealership in Tennessee installed a re-manufactured transmission from Chrysler, which was $1,683.00 vs. $1,150.00 for the approved amount paid by Phoenix for the used transmission.

I am disputing the extra labor charged for diagnostic and repair of $245.00 plus tax, which equals $267.66. Also, I was not given the option of receiving the used transmission instead of the re-manufactured unit. So, I am also disputing the $533.00 plus tax equaling an additional $582.30. The dealership did the repairs on a Saturday and did not receive approval prior to repair by my extended warranty company. Actually, they could have provided me with a rental vehicle over the weekend so that they could speak with my extended warranty company on Monday. The extended warranty company would have paid for the rental car.

To make things worse, I broke down again with the same complaint 10 days later. This repair was performed under my Chrysler warranty for replacement of a Power Control Module at Golling Chrysler Jeep, Inc. in Waterford Township in the State of Michigan, which has an 8 Year/80,000 Mile warranty. The fault codes obtained from the Power Control Module was the same as Harpeth Chrysler Jeep 10 days prior with the ABS light and Battery light on additional. Did my transmission really need to be replaced???

The transmission was never a problem before; I only had 52,760 miles when I had left my home state of Florida. When I arrived at the dealership in TN, my mileage on my Van was 53,761. I never heard of getting a new transmission with low mileage, when I never had any problems prior? My Van had been checked for all fluids prior to my vacation trip at Ferman Chrysler dealership in New Port Richey on July 19, 2002 where I had new front, and back brakes, master cylinders, oil changed, and a serpentine belt for a total of $915.00.

Also, according to the information on the Time Guide, faxed by Tammy Kelly who is the Service Manager at Harpeth Chrysler Jeep dealership in Tennessee, her technician also flashed the TCM, which is not indicated on the Invoice. I have been informed that there should be labels attached to the vehicle indicating a Flash was performed, and that this should only be performed if there is a recall or a technical service bulletin on my vehicle from Chrysler according to Federal Laws.

I feel like I was totally taken of advantaged and raped for my vehicle that was serviced at Harpeth Chrysler Jeep dealership in Tennessee. To make matters worse, the Service Manager, "Tammy Kelly" had bragged how SATURDAY'S IS THEIR BEST MONEY DAY, taking advantage of women from out of state, then later in a phone conversation, she called my relatives in Michigan to tell me how mad she was, then she insulted me with very vulgar language in reference to my extended Warranty Company. Then she threw in my face for staying late when my vehicle was being serviced, which I am very much appreciated at the time, but now find it profanely unprofessional on her part as being a representative from a 5-Star dealership! I would think staying late is part of 5-Star services, wouldn't you? It should be all about customer satisfaction, and informing the customer with honest, correct information and not causing them to break down from their oversight due to their biggest money day on Saturday's!

I do not have customer satisfaction here and contesting the whole amount of $2,572.62 for Shoddy, Unprofessional, Rudeness, Reckless Workmanship, Violation of Federal Laws with Chrysler Vehicles, Including my Additional Hotel Bills, Countless Charged Phone Calls, and Roaming Cell Phones Calls, and now Additional Home Calls in DISPUTING THIS BILL! Not to mention the added stress and cutting my vacation short due to pure negligence on Harpeth Chrysler Jeep dealership in Tennessee. I am filing an out of state complaint with Better Business, All Government links, NHTSA complaint, in addition to Channel 8 News station on your side here in Florida, and my Suncoast Schools Credit Union in Tampa, Florida as I paid with my Visa Debit Card regarding this matter for a full refund of the transmission which was sold under false pretenses. My other alternative may be a lawsuit to be filed if necessary. I faxed this complaint also to Harpeth Chrysler Jeep Dealership in Franklin, Tennessee to the General Manager and also called the owners and left several voice messages. Waiting to see what will transpire and if the agency's I contacted will investigate this mess! I will never buy another Chrysler product again if I do not get satisfaction with this claim. I am third time customer, and would like the public beware of so called 5 star dealerships, as you may need to read in between the stars!

Also, I found out with extended warranties on Chrysler products, the best one is from Chrysler according to Golling Chrysler as other company's that do sell this insurance required from the consumer to pay up front first. If you are not in your home state where it was purchased from, this may be a problem so ask before you purchase the plan. With Chrysler Warranty it doesn't matter if it is on a Saturday or out of state. Golling Chrysler dealership in Michigan was very much up front with me. I do believe that my home dealership is better than most 5-Stars, but they are the ones that sold me the policy which doesn't cover everything like they said. It must have been the commission fee that the salesman makes when selling these type of policy's. Make sure you check it out before buying and what you are covered for, in case you get stuck out of state like I did.

Overall, it has been pretty good compared to my other nightmare Chrysler products, I had to replaced the air conditioning at 32,000 miles, the brakes, belts, at 52,760 miles, then the transmission at 53,761, then the Power Control Module at 54,769. Prior was 1995 Le Baron Convertible, had lots of problems, even the driver's car door fell off, my Chrysler Cierra had terrible transmission problems where I traded it for this Van. Now, I am wondering about this recent problem where the PCM was giving out false codes. The dealership didn't want to do the free warranty repair, they wanted their sales quota for Saturday at my expense! The last time I will buy a Chrysler product and home headquarters for Chrysler does nothing at all, but listen to your complaint, then tell you they are sorry they cannot help you. BEWARE of so called 5 Star dealerships, check with everybody before you purchase the vehicle of your choice is my advice. Read all the reviews, many as possible. Maybe it is time to buy foreign cars, not sure? My American Motto is to, "buy our cars instead." We will see. Thank You.

Faults:

Before 36000 miles:

New water pump and new front brakes (both done under warranty). As a result at 35,000 miles I paid $2000 for an extended warranty. Under that the right rear brake was replaced, front struts replaced and the CD also needed repairing.

At 40,000 miles the fuel economy went from 18 to 15 almost overnight. Have spent nearly $500 with the dealer as he fooled around with one system after another - no results. Then at about 60,000 miles the fuel economy jumped to about 17.5 without explanation.

My major complaint with this well designed, poorly built car is that the brakes are so poor as to be a hazard. Complaints to the dealer, and the company have brought essentially no response. THE BRAKES ARE DANGEROUS.