This has been the worst experience I've ever had with Krietz. We’ve always had excellent experiences with the sales team—so much so that we bought three cars in about two years: two lifted trucks (a 2020 Lariat and a 2022 Platinum) and a full-size SUV (a 2023 Tahoe Premier). Everything was great until we tried the Customs department.
My better half bought me new rims for my birthday on August 4th, but we couldn’t get them installed until August 12th. We dropped off the truck, got a loaner, and everything seemed to be going smoothly. They called to say the truck was ready the same day, so we picked it up on August 13th. However, there was wax all over the new wheels and tires. I didn’t make a fuss, thinking, “No big deal, I can wash it.”
But once we hit the highway at 50mph, the steering wheel started shaking badly. By 75mph, the entire cab was shaking. I immediately called them, and they told me to bring it back, which I did on August 23rd, as that was their earliest availability. The truck was there for a week, and on August 29th, they called to say it was ready. I picked it up the next day, only to experience the exact same issue. By this point, we were frustrated. We live in PA, and clearly nothing had been fixed.
Now Marissa is involved, saying the tech should’ve ridden with us from the start. So, the tech finally rides with me and agrees the shaking is terrible—it could be a warped tire or a bad rim. The truck stayed at the dealership, and a week later, Marissa tells me it’s a defective rim and they’ve ordered a new one.
Given that, I decided to upgrade the suspension, thinking my trust in them was restored. They scheduled the suspension install for September 16th. But since August 30th, the wheel issue still hadn’t been fixed. We started calling for updates the week of September 16th. On Wednesday, September 18th, Marissa began avoiding our calls, passing messages to her team, and making promises to call back, which never happened. She claimed the suspension was done and that the new wheel they ordered was also defective, just like the one installed on August 13th, but that another replacement was on the way.
By Friday, September 20th, she was still avoiding calls and making empty promises. Now it’s September 23rd, and there’s been no call, no update, and my truck has been sitting there since last month. I even know she lied about the suspension, because when I drove down there, they had just finished the work on Friday at 11 a.m.
At this point, I’m wondering if they put used wheels on my truck. Two defective wheels back-to-back? Plus, I’m confident they didn’t remove the tire to test the so-called defective wheel. My truck would’ve alerted me if there had been a tire pressure issue from removing the tire. I told Marissa I could see where the truck was parked—it hadn’t moved since August 30th and only barely moved on Thursday, September 19th.
I feel like I've been lied to, and it’s extremely frustrating. Marissa has been avoiding us for almost four weeks now, not counting the other delays in August. It’s unfortunate to be going through this with such a well-known dealer. While we’ll still buy cars from Krietz, we will definitely avoid the Customs department for any future upgrades.
To make matters worse, when I first picked up the truck, it wasn’t even washed. Wax was still all over the wheel lips and tires, despite other customers mentioning how clean their cars were when they picked them up. I guess we’re just unlucky or treated differently for some reason, even though we’ve been nothing but polite.
We’ve spent $6k, a month into this, and still don’t have our truck. I’m deeply disappointed. Krietz is a great place to buy a vehicle and get it serviced in the regular service department—the sales team and automotive service team are excellent and honest—but this experience with the Customs department has been beyond frustrating.
Jeff V
Harrisburg, PA
September 23rd 2024
