European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 25, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse In commenting on the Case cafes notes that each car company provides a limited liability warranty on its products which is very Clear As to what is and is not Cov ered. Cafes can Only make suggestions to a manufacturer s warranty organization. Am was understandably reluctant to provide a Short Block for this customer until it was firmly established that a Short Block was required under the terms of the vehicle cafes however has not been Able to arrive a satisfactory solutions for All those who complained. Sgt. Edwin m. Oliver of Munich for example is so sour about defects he says exist in his new car he or dered the vehicle from pm in Munich in october of 1976, received it february 8,1977 that he is writing letters to a Ralph Nader group and the Federal Trade commission and also is demanding that pm either give him a refund or a new car. Cafes is very concerned about this Case and will continue to Monitor its Progress in an Effort to assist the customer states Peterson noting however that efforts to assist Are blocked by the customer s refusal to accept Relief due him under his contract and vehicle War Ranty. His insistence on a replacement car is not provided for in his contract or his cafes notes that the car was delivered by a pm dealer whose contract was not renewed the dealer was slow in providing warranty service. Gaffes was contacted and arranged service. The customer has not responded and has advised pm he intends to seek Relief in the German courts m. Sgt. Harry f. Pontious of Kaiserslautern is another customer cafes failed to placate. A Mechanic he was indignant about what he Felt was the poor Workman ship that showed up on the 1976 pacer that he Purchase from am. In investigating this Case Petersen commented that Pontious expected a lot More than the Industry Standard in his vehicle and his background As a Mechanic contributed further to his customer complaints of poor workmanship have Bee directed toward All of the car manufacturers by the Way and Are heard not just from american customers in Europe but in the . Also. In any Case in his letter to stars and stripes Pontious wrote that the troubles began when he bought the Sedan out of Bremerhaven Stock last August. If i had been smarter he admitted i would have heeded the warnings when i picked up the car. But the new car smell and look made me then followed according to Pontious continual prob lems the new car was in the garage More often in the first three months than my old ones in the last two years. The hassle is taking time off from work to go to a shop arranging for other transportation and waiting for reimbursement he wrote noting that he has had to pay for warranty work and then present claims. It took 30 Days for two to be paid and two weeks for the the main defect he found was a leak which he said left three fourths of an Inch of water on the floor after the first rain furnish the 1977s with overshoes and umbrellas he wrote the am president. Petersen of cafes notes that Pontious problems of water leaks were serious and uncommon but were taken care of by am. Petersen added that though Pontious complained that the car was not properly serviced before he picked it up he had signed a delivery acceptance Sheet without indicating there was anything wrong. Says Petersen each customer regardless of the company he is buying from who picks up a vehicle at Bremerhaven has an Opportunity to View it test drive it and list any problems before he takes delivery. Customers should take full advantage of their Opportunity to have the vehicle repaired on the spot or obtain a copy of the acceptance form listing problems for future use in obtaining he notes that Pontious wanted a replacement for his car because of its Many deficiencies but that no Ameri can car company can or will replace vehicles due to problems that can be taken care of under the warranty. It s the policy of each company that once a vehicle is sold unlimited work covered by the warranty will be accomplished but that the vehicle will not be Petersen further notes that am did follow the full requirements of its warranty and had Pontious brought the problem of delayed repairs to the attention of cafes instead of engaging in a Long Exchange of letters with am in the ., the problems would have been he notes that his letter to Pontious who sold the car in question and vows hell never buy another of the company s products netted an unpleasant and Gerry Schilling Chrysler s military sales manager in Europe also talked about complaints received by stars and stripes from new car purchasers. Rust along with missing parts was among the complaints of Philip Good of Frankfurt but Good s main beef was that the new $9,932 Dodge Kravco travel Home he picked up in Bremer Haven had 954 Miles on the explained the mileage originally we had the recreation vehicles transported by transporter and we were having delays. Because of t for buyers punning on buying a new . Car protect yourself by doing the following before signing a contract 0 shop around. Check into performance records of the different brands and models. Study literature about the cars at your Leisure at Home. Check into the possibility of purchasing a car already in Stock in Europe that you can look Over and test drive. Remember you become owner of a car specially ordered from the states when it is delivered to the stateside port. In other words you Are buying sight unseen. 0 read the Back of the contract the additional terms and conditions carefully every word. This part of the contract covers such important items As payment handling of shipment overseas and rights of both customer and company As to cancelling an order. 0 if the Salesman makes any special promises have him write them on the order for both of you to initial. 0be sure the order form lists correctly exactly what will be on the car As to Standard and optional equip ment. 0 ask to see a written copy of the company s warranty. Read it carefully and compare it to that of other companies. 0 Check out the garage that would service your car. Is it located at a convenient distance from your Home Are other customers satisfied with its warranty service time involved workmanship � ask for a delivery Date and address of delivery destination. After you order a car � keep copies of All paperwork and be sure every part of transaction h backed up by something in writing signed by the dealer or car company representative. 0 ask the dealer when you can expect confirmation of your order. If it is not forthcoming within the appropriate time complain to one of the offices listed below. The confirmation should list the Auto Model color optional equipment Price Date it will be delivered to the military or commercial shipper or . Dealer. If the dealer cannot meet the provisions of your order contract he is obligated to let you know immediately and give you the option of cancelling without liability. 0 do not travel to the european port of delivery until you have received notice As to when the car will be ready. 0 do not accept the car before it is fully prepped after All you Are paying for this service. 0 be prepared to stay overnight if there is a delay keep hotel receipts and present them to the dealer for reimbursement. 0 Don t be rushed into accepting a car that is different from what you ordered. Check with a Legal office to clarify any question As to your right of refusal of such a vehicle. 0 look Over the car very carefully for any body or Interior damage and test drive it for at least an hour before taking delivery. 0 do not sign the vehicle delivery form without listing All the defects you might have noted. This documentation is necessary in determining liability for repair of the vehicle. 0 when you have warranty work done insist that the garage present a detailed Bill of what was done including charges for parts and service. If you have a complaint pertaining to a new car Purchase through the cafes program seek Relief first from your dealer then the local Exchange manager. If you Are still dissatisfied complain to Headquarters cafes Europe new car sales program Apo 09245, or capt. Peter Duffy office of the Usa eur judge advocate Legal assistance division Apo 90403. Mary Neth their larger size Only a few can be put on a truck at a time. So we went to cafes and said we can get better de livery if we drive them. Gaffes said Fine put it in the contract " Schilling says customers Are told this and asked to sign a statement authorizing Chrysler to drive the car to the de livery Point. The mileage includes the trip from the Chrysler Plant to the Vendor who puts in the conversion and then to new Jersey for the overseas shipment. That s at least 954 Schilling said he would Grant Good a discount of 10 cents per mile however because of the misunderstanding that had occurred in his Case. Good had seen a camper at one of the pcs. It had something like 800 Miles on the speedometer and he was told that if he had purchased it there would be a 10 cent a mile Price reduction. He said he did t want that unit he wanted a new one. Then however when his new vehicle arrived he found it had More than 900 Miles on it and was told that there would be no mileage discount because there Only Are Given on show units. I can understand his confusion. We give the discount on the show units to make up for any scratches Etc. They May get while on View to the Public. We base the discount on the mileage on the partic ular vehicle. He states that the other work on the Good car the dual Battery system was missing we we had it installed Over Here has been or will be taken care of. Here Schilling interjected that we try to satisfy All the complaints. When i read these names the cases came Back to me. They were cases where customers were having a problem and we in turn were having a problem in satisfying he says that he believes Many complaints Stem from overeager Oess on the part of the customer when he goes to pick up the vehicle. The cars have to be unloaded from the ships inspect sunday september 25, 1977 de and prepared. We would prefer that they were completely inspected and any missing parts ordered before the customer takes according to him however customers frequently Don t arrive to pick up their vehicles on the Date the were supposed to. We notify the customer As to when the car will be ready for delivery and then Send him two postcards to mail Back to us one comes to this office giving us the Date he d like to pick up the car. Fifty per cent show up on that Date. The rest show up later. The result they find there Are other customers waiting and the car which had been washed the week before is no longer showroom ready. They begin complaining and we have the problem of trying to fit them in to an already Busy he also said that when the customer is in Bremen he is asked to sign a letter stating the vehicle he was delivered was in Good condition with no deficiencies or if there Are to note just what they involved. Other complaints to stars and stripes included that of a Captain who had purchased a camper and found it was virtually stripped when he went to pick it up. Schilling explained that this occurred at the begin Ning of their overseas camper program and interiors were being stolen at the stateside docks. Is the problem solved yes. Now we ship Over the campers As Bare As Possi ble air freight Over the interiors to Bremen and they Are installed generally complaints entered around the length of time it took to get warranty work Down much of this based on slow delivery of parts. There can be a problem on delivery of parts admitted however we have now established with Detroit a special coding on downed no operating vehicles. A special y classification will be put on the telex and that will mean if Detroit is out of the part they will go to All their regions in the states to obtain that part then it will be air mailed special the stars and stripes Page 11
