The people dealing with the reimbursement sent me a link (that initially didn't work and had to be resent) so I could upload a copy of the invoice I'd paid and explain to them why they should pay for it. (And if you read what I wrote yesterday, you already know why they should pay for it.) They told me I should hear back from them in a week or so. As I write this, it's already been a week or so and I haven't heard anything back from them. But I'm not going to let them spoil my Christmas Spirit anymore. They got the better of me for a day or so, but they're not getting any more. If I haven't heard from them by early January, I'll start tracking them down.
The other issue I had to deal with was getting the power train warranty reinstated. I was led to believe by both the dealership and the independent mechanic (who had worked for Chrysler for over 25 years) that this would be easy peasy. Since there was no issue with the power train and never had been, it should be easy to inspect it, certify it and reinstate the warranty. The "matter of fact" woman I spoke with told me it could not be done. Apparently there is a 90-day window in which the warranty can be reinstated and that was over in 2012. Nothing to be done.
I pointed out that if someone had told me that I would need an inspection after five years in order to keep the warranty active I would have remembered. My memory is darn good. I would have remembered, but no one said anything. Not ever. Not when I bought the car and not when I took it in for service. I got a bunch of phone calls wanting me to trade in my car, but no reminders about a much needed inspection. And here's the zinger. She told me I SHOULD have known because it was in the owner's manual. I've got to admit that I have yet to read an automobile owner's manual. I've looked up specific issues as a means of trouble shooting a problem, but I've never read one for general information and even then I'm more likely to Google the problem or search the online version of the owner's manual rather than searching through a book. I didn't think I was alone in that so I did an impromptu and unscientific survey of my 300+ Facebook friends. Four people read the owner's manual for general information unrelated to a specific problem. That's just over 1 percent. I think it's safe to say that it was Chrysler's intention to nullify my warranty because the odds that I'd actually get the inspection without any notification from them were about 1% - meaning that there was a 99% chance they could weasel out of the power train warranty.
But the other thing I found out is that everything besides the power train is warranted by Chrysler until the year 2092. I guess that is a lifetime. I'll be 142 in 2092. Not likely I'll be driving at that age.
But the mechanic who fixed the wheel bearing told me I was probably going to need something done with the struts. I guess Chrysler will get to fix that. (So there! But not Hoyte.) I'm also guessing that as long as I continue to maintain the car, it will probably be fine. I was tempted to run out and buy another car (not a Chrysler) because I didn't have the warranties that I should have. In reality, yes - they screwed me out of the power train warranty but the other warranty is still in place. And it will almost certainly be cheaper to repair it than buy a new vehicle, even if it is the power train. The car only has 133K miles on it. It has one scratch. It's been well looked after and should do me for a good while longer.
But you can count on one thing - when the day comes that I replace that car - I will NOT be buying a Chrysler nor will I be buying it from Hoyte.
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