I'm really dismayed to read this story, and I'm full of sympathy for you Simon, too.
The only two things that are I find comforting about this have nothing really to do with being helpful to your situation.
1) Your experience is exceptional, not the rule.
2) It's unfortunate (btw, when I say "unfortunate," you can read it as "
f'ing tragic and
wholly pathetic") that after all these years, Chrysler is still so ill-equipped to deal with the exceptional challenges that some owners face. I'm sure both Daimler and Chrysler employees dropped the ball on this.
I hope Daimler Vans, LLC (or was it Daimler Vans North America, LLC?) is more able to manage the brand and the product, better transfer knowledge to field technicians, learns from the mistakes made from working with Chrysler, keeps doing what worked (I'm sure a lot worked, we're just not able to see the good things for all the fog), and brings the Sprinter to its rightful stature in the market as a van far superior to the alternatives.
It's probably naive of me, but I have to say that I am sorry to see the continuation of LLC shell companies.
I'm sure there's a good, "fiscally responsible" type reason for it, but really, it just seems to me that the LLC cr@p is just putting extra layers of abstraction between the customer and the OEM; just makes a gap into which faith, excellent customer service, exemplary product support may fall.
I wish we'd go back to dealerships that weren't independent contractors, but manufacturer employees that actually had an escalation path to product development for challenges like yours, Simon, in the field. Fat chance that'll ever happen. There has to be a better way. The eggheads have failed, says I. I think they should ask the field what would make things better and execute; the cost would be an "investment in the future."
Oh, and fire every single solitary marketing employee. The field is not the problem. Management is the primary challenge.
Wow... I'm ticked.
Obligatory on topic: let them struggle Simon, let the techs and support do their job, as slow and painful as it is. I am confident the result will be worth the wait. Work out compensation on the back end, perhaps by hiring legal representation.
-Jon