its a feature
January 13, 2004
our new spankin car has a microchip embedded in the key. regular keys will unlock the doors and turn in the ignition, but the car will not remain running. the dealer forgot to mention to us that all spare keys will have to be made at the dodge dealer in town.
$46 for the key and its cut.
$20 for the stupid thing to be programmed.
over $60 per key.
and i cant get this 'feature' disabled from the car.
great way to ensure cash flow back to the dealership.
3 Comments
from a marketing perspective it's rather brilliant. from a customer satisfaction and retention perspective it's pretty damn stupid.
If (a) you bought the car new, (b) you were not told that this "feature" would be installed when you bought it, and (c) the same year/model is available with normal keys/locks, then you _can_ demand reparations. You'll have to shout, threaten and talk to a manager or three, but they will eventually agree to either replace the locks or give you a couple of extra microchip keys at no charge. You may not feel like it's worth that much of a fuss, but I certainly would.
On the other hand, if any of those three conditions is not true, you're probably screwed.
we didnt buy it new, no. its a 2002 and we got it from a used car dealership. if it were a brand new 2003 or 2004, i would raise hell about it. guaranteed.