posted 06-16-2003 01:36 PM         

Here's my dilemma - I need to get the ball joint recall done on my car and my local dealer has neither any experience doing them nor even the tool necessary for the job. I'm fanatical about my cars (I sense I might have that in common with a few of you) and I am completely paranoid about taking the car somewhere at random. Has anyone here had a good experience re the ball joint recall at a dealer anywhere within 100 miles of Daphne, Alabama? I'm just opposite the city of Mobile on the eastern shore of the Mobile Bay, about 40 minutes west of Pensacola FL. Any help any of you could offer would be greatly appreciated. I figured if I could get a valid opinion anywhere, this would be the place.

posted 06-16-2003 04:52 PM         

Causeway Chrysler in Covington, LA. (about 125 miles from Mobile) has done 10 ball joint recalls on Prowlers... Call 985-892-9165 ask for Howard, Hank or Duane to schedule (and make sure ball joints are in stock).

The dealer in Pensacola, FL Pensacola Chrysler has just received their special tools and are ready to start their recalls. I was with a friend of mine from Pens. Friday night for Ray Chrales Concert at Beau Rivage and he told me they were getting ready to start... You may want to call and make sure they have a set of ball joints (current stock is allocated to customer on their waiting list). Call 850-477-3385.

posted 06-16-2003 05:28 PM         

Appreciate the info very much. I'll probably call and speak with both of them, but I can't help but want to ask this question - if it was your car, which of the two would you prefer? Do you know anyone who has had the work done in Pensacola? That would certainly be more convenient, but I wouldn't mind the drive to Covington if I believed my chances of going home happy were somehow greater there. It may not be possible, but I'm trying as best I can to eliminate even the possibility of a mishap.

On a separate note, I'd like to talk to you about your custom bra paintwork. Have you done one for an orange car yet? If so, how'd it come out? How many millions of dollars is it gonna cost me to have you do mine? I have a brand new bra (never been on the car yet) so it's probably a good candidate. Probably go with some variation on the flame theme. Lemme know.

Thanks again

posted 06-16-2003 10:51 PM         

I think the Pensacola dealership will do a good job. My friend from that area has had very good results with work being performed on his Prowler. Just talk to them or the tech once they do the first one... Maybe it's worth a trip to visit Pensacola (not to far for you).

My was done at Causeway because it's within 5 miles of my house... It was the first one Clay (front end tech did) and we took lots of pics and they're posted here somewhere under recall and also includes a tip to remove the clip spring before removing the ball joint to prevent the tool from getting jammed...

posted 06-17-2003 10:46 AM         

Just got off the phone with Brian Phillips, the Service Manager at Pensacola Chrysler. Extremely nice guy and very accomodating. Aside from confirming that they had all the necessary "special" tools for the job, apparently their Certified Prowler Tech is also their shop foreman and is particularly conscientious - Brian went out of his way to assure me that they fully understand the fanatical nature of the Prowler owner and how important it is that the job is done right. He went on to say that he believed he could get the required parts in 48 hours and would call me back as soon as they arrived so we could schedule a convenient time to get the car in for the recall work.

So far so good. I'll let the board know how things turn out. If my conversation with him is any indication of how they treat Prowler owners over there, my local dealer just lost a customer

Thanks again. And thanks for the information on the custom bras too. I'll email you back about that