The thing is, I got the Renegade with it first came out. There were some kinks that needed to be worked out. One major one was the electrical system. I had a problem with that the first week and had to go back for an "update". However, I don't think this is actually unique to this car. I think that now that we've made this move away from actual mechanics and toward total technology for cars, it's causing us major problems. Back in the day, if your car was broke down, you went to the mechanic. Now you need to go to the I.T. guy! I think this is every brand now. When you have computers running anything, you're going to have bugs. I get that.
Which brings me to what happened to me: My Renegade's electrical system went haywire last Friday. I don't know what happened, and it doesn't really matter. It resulted in the battery not working and me needing roadside assistance. Which, by the way, was covered fully. I knew I had to bring it in to the dealership though, which is totally inconvenient to me, since it isn't around the corner.
I emailed the service department but also emailed my friend Joe Loonam, who is a sales manager there, and who helped me get the Renegade the first time. It's not his department but with as much as I'm in the city with E for auditions and stuff, I can't come back to a parking garage for car that doesn't start. The Precision service department called me on Monday morning and had me come in on Wednesday morning. They told me by eight in the morning, but I came in at seven-thirty just to make sure I was like, first. Or close to it.
Luckily, I got Brian Pangione in service, and he was awesome. He did whatever tests he had to do, then came back to tell me that it was an electrical issue and I had about another hour. After another forty-five minutes, I thought to email Joe to say thanks for making sure they called me, and to tell him I was in the service area.
Joe came back to say hello and we started talking about how my lease would be up soon. He said he was going to look at the specifics and maybe we should just get me into a new car right away. He worked numbers and saw that he had two 2018 Renegades on the lot and was trying to figure out how to get me in one with relatively the same payment I had already. Then he set me up with Tommy Deroberto as my actual salesman. Joe knows me and thought Tommy and I would be "intellectually aligned" and he couldn't have been more correct. I was so pleased, even if I ended up spending the better part of the day in a car dealership.
They got me into a new Jeep Renegade Limited 4x4. While I thank Brian for his fantastic service and helpfulness, I was happier to take a new car home. I have to assume at least some kinks were worked out with the electrical. Also, I don't want anything bigger. If I can't have a Mini, then the Renegade is as big as I can go. It totally flies under the radar as an SUV. Garages in NYC don't consider it an SUV so I don't have to pay an oversize charge. Plus, when I had the CRV, and B's Pathfinder, I hit everything in those SUVs.
My new car is black, which isn't really me, as you all know. It's boring. Have no fear, I already put my magnets back on - the ones that still stick, and I ordered like five more. I'll just cover as much as I can with my Damn-The-Man feelings in magnet form.
*Let's also say that I was clearly not prepared to be giving up my car that day because it looked like squatters were living in my car. For months. Good times having to transfer all my stuff. And while I was catching up with Joe, Tommy was the one who actually took my piles of crap and put it in the trunk of the new car. Let's also say it was hot as balls yesterday, and Tommy was in a shirt, pants, and maybe even a tie (I forget).
If you're looking for a Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, or Ram. Joe and Tommy at Precision are the way to go. I wouldn't trust anyone else. Buying or leasing a car is a big decision. Normally, for big decisions, B and I do things like that jointly. I would normally have him there or at least consult him. I trust Joe, and Tom, so much, that I didn't even tell B until after it was already underway and I had some questions about minor things, like whether to get coverage for dings and dents. I'm pretty independent, but it's a well known rumor (fact or fiction, I don't know) that women tend to get taken advantage at car dealerships when they come alone. Both B and I knew that Joe would do right by me, so I felt totally comfortable making a unilateral decision.
Tom was just a bonus- fun to talk to, got the job done, and if you get to talking to him, a really interesting guy. He sells cars by day and writes screenplays in his downtime. He's not the typical "car salesman" that gets referenced all the time. You know he's doing his best for you.
**What's changed in the 2018 Renegade vs 2015: I read there's more storage. There's a little bit. Same tiny on-the-door compartments. But there's an added space in between the front seats for your phone and whatever else fits in there. It's like a side long slot that wasn't there before. I don't know what else. The back up camera/navigation/control screen is bigger and I think you control everything from there. It's touchscreen. Other than that- it's only been less than twenty-four hours and I haven't even finished combing through all the stuff that came out of the old car. Tommy set Howard Stern 100 and 101 on Sirius for me and that's pretty much as far as I got. You know, the most important things first.
https://www.precisionjeep.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment