I purchased a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan (not purchased from Doug Smith) along with a 5 year / 75,000 mile maintenance contract back in January of 2008. My wife has been taking the van to Doug Smith for the scheduled maintenance according to the service contract schedule.

The main frustration is that every time my wife takes the van for service, it is a battle to get the dealer service department to perform the items as listed on the maintenance contract. For example, a maintenance interval might say it is time to rotate the tires, yet the service department will say, "That is not covered under the plan. You will have to pay extra for that." Then it is a back and forth, yes it is, not it is not - and eventually resulting in a talk to a manager and a physical showing of the verbiage of the contract, stating in clear terms that the items listed in the contract are covered. The service department keeps trying to convince my wife that the only thing covered is the basic oil and filter change.

Just today my wife took the van in for maintenance, again the same old thing. The tires are scheduled to be rotated, but the service department says the rotation is not covered under the contract, and will cost extra. Really? Tire rotation is written in plain English in the contract pretty much every other maintenance interval, and it will cost extra? Also, the air filter needed to be replaced - clearly covered by the scheduled items of the contract - yet my wife was charge $24 dollars for the air filter replacement.

Upon hearing my wife had to pay for the air filter, I told her to go back and speak to the manager of the service department, and demand a refund and an explanation for the continued frustration and poor service. I also immediately called Chrysler corporate to get clarification as to what the contract covered, and what is not covered. It was confirmed to me by two Chrysler support representatives on the phone that the items listed on the contract were to be covered at no additional cost.

My wife was able to speak to the service department manager, and obtain a refund for the cost of the air filter replacement. The service manager apologized to her, explaining to my wife that these maintenance contracts were rare, and also stated that he needed to better train his staff regarding the maintenance contract and how they work. Really, a Chrysler dealer sold maintenance contract is rare to see at a Chrysler dealer service department?!?! You have got to be kidding me!

Another point of frustration is that on one occasion my wife takes the van in for a post 36,000 mile service, and the service department tries to tell her that the service contract had expired at 36,000 miles. Excuse me, what does 5 year / 75,000 mile contract mean then?

In summary the Doug Smith Dodge service department clearly does not understand the terms and application of a Chrysler scheduled maintenance contract, not only by stating that items listed on the contract require additional expense on my part, but by also trying to tell my wife that her contract had expired at half term. They continue to provide frustrating and poor service.

I am especially worried and not convinced that Doug Smith Dodge in American Fork, Utah has been performing all of the necessary scheduled maintenance for my vehicle, as outlined in the service contract, in order to maintain proper performance and lifetime of my vehicle.