I ordered a Mopar camshaft over the phone from the local Szott M-59 Jeep dealership. I provided the part number to the parts rep and he said the part would be here the next day because it was in Cleveland. I paid for the order with my Amex over the phone because the order could not be placed until I paid, and I was not able to visit the dealership during business hours for the next few days. I was not informed that this was considered a special order, or that I would not be able to return the part if there was a defect.
The camshaft arrived the next day and I picked it up near the end of the day. I opened the package the following day and immediately noticed several manufacturing defects on 3 different lobes of the camshaft. I never attempted to install it because the visible defects would likely cause engine damage. The reason I ordered the Mopar OEM camshaft is because I thought it would be the best quality camshaft available for my engine. After seeing the quality of the part I received, I became convinced that Mopar is not the high quality that I thought it was. I decided then that I wanted to return the part and purchase a different brand of camshaft.
I visited the dealership on Saturday to return the camshaft. This is when I was first informed that it was considered a special order because they did not have it in stock, and that I could not return it. Note that this is not a custom part in any way, it is a standard Mopar part. It just happens to be a part that they apparently don’t stock at this dealership so they had to have it shipped from their distribution warehouse in Cleveland. I told the parts rep that I was not informed it was considered a special order, nor was I informed that it could not be returned. He said the information is on my invoice. I explained that I was not provided my invoice until I picked up the part on Thursday, which was the day after I paid for the part over the phone. I would not have paid for a part that I couldn’t see if I had been informed it was not returnable.
The parts rep then called the person that took my order over the phone. They said they could do a warranty replacement of the part. I said I did not want a replacement part because after seeing the low quality of the part I received, I am going to purchase a camshaft from another manufacturer, and that I wanted to return the part. At this point he said it could not be returned because I provided them the part number. I asked what difference it made that I provided the part number? The part number is correct, and I received the correct part; the part just has manufacturing defects. I was again informed that the part could not be returned because it was a special order. I started to get the sense that the rules were being made up as the situation progressed, so I asked to speak with a manager. The parts rep called the manager on his cell phone, but did not explain much of the situation to them. The manager also said it could not be returned because it was a special order. I asked to speak with the manager on speaker, but the manager told the rep he was too busy and didn’t even want to take his call. I was told to come back next week and speak with the person that took my order. I asked what would be different about speaking to them in person, when the rep had already called them on the phone? The rep could not provide an answer. I then asked to speak with the general manager of the dealership and was informed that they do not work on the weekends and again was told by the parts rep that I could not return the part. At this point I realized that there was no one of authority at the dealership willing to listen to me or address my concern, so I asked for my camshaft and invoice back, and I left.
At this point I intended to use Amex return protection to get my refund. When I started that process I realized that for some reason auto parts are not eligible for Amex return protection. Awesome. My only recourse at this point is to go back up to the dealership a different day and hope that one of the managers will actually do their job and listen to my situation instead of hide behind a phone saying they are too busy to help.
Some photos showing the casting defects:
