I purchased a 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan new from Sandman Brothers in January 2012. I really liked knowing I was supporting a smaller town car dealership and they had a specific model I was seeking (RT model). I would likely give the dealership a 4-5 star based upon my purchase at the point of sale. It was 3 years later the dealership earned a 1 star rating.
The background. I purchased an extended warranty for 5 years or 75K mikes. I was told it was exactly the same as the factory warranty with a $100 deductible. I NEVER buy warranties, but because the RT model has SO many electronics, once I confirmed the warranty was OEM through Chrysler, I agreed to the purchase.
Forward ahead to January 2015. I had a back-up camera that went out. It actually went out in Dec 2014, but because of the holidays and I did not get around to getting it fixed. With the exception of the $100 deductible, I was not worried about the timing. I had moved out of state since my purchase, so I had to go to my local Chrysler dealership. I will avoid all of the significant details (although if you heard the you would definitely not want to experience them), but I was told I did not have a warranty. After significant back and forth, Sandman indicated they made an error and it was never issued (remember, I am making multiple trips back and forth to the local dealership, making calls to Sandman, Chrysler, etc). They indicated they would get it corrected.
Once corrected, I returned to my local dealership, only to be told the warranty only covered “parts essential to the operation of the vehicle” and the camera would NOT be covered. I called Sandman and Chrysler, and both confirmed it would not be covered.
***NOTE: If you are buying a factory warranty form Sandman and they advise it is the same as the factory warranty, that is NOT correct. IT ONLY COVERS PARTS ESSECTIAL TO THE OPERATION OF THE VEHICLE***
So my $550 camera repair was not covered. It was not considered “essential to the operation of the vehicle”. I was furious. I confirmed items such as the radio, navigation, etc all are NOT covered. That is why I bought this warranty and even had that conversation with my slaes rep at the time of purchase. I immediately asked for a cancellation of my warranty and a refund.
Sandman drew out a significant number of interactions and initially appeared like they were working in my interest. Ultimately, they agreed only to reimburse less than 50% of my incurred fees. I did not want anything extra, just a refund of my warranty. I was not looking for anything else for the repairs, my time, etc.
Ultimately, I had to go to small claims to obtain a judgement against Sandman for the warranty cost and court costs. They are now refusing to acknowledge the judgement and I am forced to incur additional expenses to pursue the recovery my warranty cost and out of pocket court costs.
I highly recommend you read the fine print. Here is a last good one. I could not read the fine print because the warranty was not issued for 3 years post sale. The failure to issue the warranty and the verbal misrepresentation of the warranty was the basis of my small claim suit.
I told one of the owners of Sandman, I did not want to cause any problems for them. Although I would never return, I still loved the idea of some smaller town dealerships still being around. It kind of like a mom and pop restaurant vs a chain thing for me. I would have been far better off going with one of the mega dealerships in Indianapolis.
In the end, at least with a Big Mac you know what you are getting. I found out the hard way here.