Wow. Fuck those guys.
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Yeah. I resisted the urge to post a whole new saga about it. Basically, when I snapped off the top of the gas filler tube by being an idiot, I was just going to eat it. But then I thought "Why didn't the hose disconnect itself like it was designed to instead of ripping part of my car off?"
After a very simple Google search, I discovered that a whole shit ton of people had snapped that same part off of their 500Ls while simply just trying to get the nozzle into the damned thing, which was something I always worried about before I broke it. Bad design. Simple as that.
I went to the dealer to schedule the repair. I walked in to the service department holding the broken off section and set I on the counter. The service writer says "yep, got 'em in stock."
"Really?" I asked. "That seems strange considering it only fits the 500L, and there's only like 20 of them in the whole county. I can't imagine a rare part, for a rare car that's only existed for a year and is built in the former Yugoslavian Republic, would be a regularly stocked item. In 20+ years in the business, I don't recall ever having to replace a filler tube."
He then tells me that they have already had to replace several of them, but since it was a known issue, it was fully covered.
Cool. So I set the appointment to do that and get the regular scheduled service. When I dropped off the car, I got a work order listing all of the things being done, including the replacement of the part, and a dollar amount of $0 because scheduled maintenance is free for 3 years.
I then walked to the rehearsal studio about a mile away on a 110 degree day.
As soon as I got there, my phone rang, it was the service writer telling me that they wouldn't cover it after all since it was "clearly my fault". Huh?
I told him they had known that since set the appointment, and that he himself told me it was because of a bad design. Sure, I fucked up, but the part should not have broken because the pumps are designed specifically to detach the hose automatically in the event of a drive away.
He gave no fucks. Was a total tool. His boss was a bigger tool. Both told me it would cost $667 to fix it. Fuck that. It was only the top section. The door/flap that the nozzle fits into was still intact and functional. It's covered by the gas door, so you can't even see it. The only reason I wanted to fix it was because it's one of the new "capless" types with a two stage top section. Without the first stage that extends out to meet a rubber cup on the gas door, I was concerned that water could get into the tank.
Anyway, the dealer were assholes, FCA was completely uninterested. Waste of time even calling.
Learning a few days later that the first stage was a $14 part that literally clips into the second stage really pissed me off. Sure enough, upon a closer look with a flashlight, I could see the rest of the broken piece still clipped into the assembly. Some 2-part epoxy would have fixed it for good, but fir 14 bucks I just bought a new one and snapped it in.
$667.
Fuckers.