Do various dealers monitor this site???? hummmm

[klenger]

KLENGER if your dealer reads that he'll know your full of it. No one hardly ever says that many good and positive things to ONE dealer at the same time.

Yea, but part of it was true... "If my dealer is reading this" part was true.



Actually, I've never had a bad service experience with my dealer in Denver (Broadway Dodge) or in Tucson (Breck Dodge). That part is true.

 

[jwduke]

I don't have anything bad to say about my dealer, either. This is my 2nd truck from them.

 

[Kvic]

Heck my service manager told ME about this site. Nothing but good things to say about them. Been doing business with them for thirty years. Santa Cruz Dodge.

 

[DPKetchum]

Can't imangine a REP wanting to look at a trac bar. Hell unless it was a RED FLAG item like a Cummins engine you had to plead to get them to look at anything other then paper work and LUNCH. its normaly not warranty guys its a ONE GUY or Women deal tho I've never seen a women service rep.

 

[JHardwick]

I'm sure some of the techs, if not the manager has read this board. If not they shoud have as many times as I've talked about it! They knew I had an EZ too, but also were smart enough to know the difference in a part that was torn up, as oppoosed to a part that wore prematurely.



Actually a few of these guys are into off-roading jeeps and would break out the pics to share a few laughs.



My only complaint is the downhill slide they took when they went from a Dodge dealer to a Dodge/Mitsubishi/Hyundai/Daewoo/****zyoutoo dealer!!



They had to build a new showroom, and I'm sure all the service people had to go through a lot of training ... ... ... ... . but the Dodge service paid a price during all of this. I'm sure they'll get back up to snuff, but I'll be out of warranty by then :{

 

[livetodrive]

Can't imangine a REP wanting to look at a trac bar. Hell unless it was a RED FLAG item like a Cummins engine you had to plead to get them to look at anything other then paper work and LUNCH. its normaly not warranty guys its a ONE GUY or Women deal tho I've never seen a women service rep.

The woman service rep at my dealer has been great - competent, committed, and friendly!

 

[jrobinson2]

UMMmmm - not to be a smart%^&, but why WOULD you hafta "take off the boxes before going in", *IF* you were responsible, straight up and honest with ANY dealer?



After all, THAT is what most of us seem to be talking about here... :-laf

:-laf

Gary,

Your quaint notion that *ANY* dealer will treat you fair if you are honest is rather naive. Many dealers don't care if you're being honest, if it comes in with a box the warranty on the entire truck is gone, PERIOD. Many have had the entire vehicle warranty voided by modifications that have no effect at all beyond the drive train. When I had my brake booster replaced under warranty I removed my EZ and BHAF to avoid any chance of a fight with the dealer. The law is very clear that the manufacturer needs to prove the modification caused the problem but it just does not happen that way most of the time, the dealer holds all the cards so why risk it?? Is it ethical for DC to deny the warranty on the instrument cluster because you have a BHAF? it happens all the time. Am I immoral for simply not giving them the opportunity to ILLEGALLY void my entire warranty?? I have no problem accepting responsibility when it is my responsibility, if I broke it I fix it. When **I** damaged 400. 00 worth of parts on my truck that could have easily been claimed on warranty **I** simply called Mopar4less, put them on my credit card and installed them myself. Defrauding Daimler Chrysler (which increases costs to all honest folks) by removing modifications that have caused damage is not ethical. **MY** conscience is totally clear with removing modifications that have not caused problems simply to remove any chance of confrontation with a dealer who just doesn't care. In the 5 years since I bought my truck I have not had even ONE person provide a positive review of a Las Vegas area Dodge service department, *I*don't have time to personally visit the service department in all the dealers in the Las Vegas area hoping to find a good one, If I have a choice between spending half a day on the phone or worse, driving all day in Las Vegas traffic, and missing work in the process, to find a fair honest service department, or spending 15 minutes removing a BHAF and EZ *I* will take the latter option every time



Jared, AKA dishonest warranty weasel

 

[ThomasLawrence]

*IF* you were responsible, straight up and honest with ANY dealer?

Gary, I agree with your point of view, but that knife cuts both ways... there are dealerships out there that will use the simple PRESENCE of something aftermarket to deny legitimate warranty coverage. A few years back, a dealership tried denying warranty coverage on a leaking oil pan gasket because, "hey, you put a lift kit on it - the warranty's void". After I explained to him (calmly, of course ) that he wasn't allowed, by law, to do that, and asked him to explain to me exactly how elevating the suspension on a vehicle would cause the oil pan gasket to fail, he said he'd call back. LAter that day, he told me how he was "doing me a favor", and how they'd sneak this one in "this one time". I wanted to smack the guy...



And let's not even discuss the complete circus I went through with them over a cracked head that was leaking coolant ("No, see - we think that when you have the valve covers off, installing your new rocker arms, that you bumped a heater hose, and spilled a little coolant"). Forget about the TSB on head porosity that was out... forget about how you could pressurize the system and WATCH the coolant seep out... "hey, it's lifted - do you know how hard it would be to pull the head off?". "Yes, I do... that's why you're doing it... manufacturing defect, covered under warranty".



So, I'm aware of both sides of the coin. No, I won't remove anything I've done to my truck if I ever need it serviced again (drove it right in with all boxes, turbos, transmission, etc. in plain view when my stock battery decided to blow up... they asked what all that "stuff" was... "aftermarket performance enhancements", I told 'em - with the underlying tone of, "and if you even MENTION that as a reason not to give me a new damn battery, we're going to have words"... they didn't. The fact that they couldn't even install a freakin' battery correctly was a whole 'nother story... )



well - that wound up being a little longer than originally intended :-laf



-Tom

 

[Tim]

Because I've heard of dealers voiding entire warranties because of a performance box. If something tears up because of my box, then I'll pay to repair it, or at least offer to. I'm just not in the mood to loose my warranty on my windshield wipers because of my TST. .

Dealer can't void your warranty, (they do not have the authority) and as stated, if they could, it'd be illegal.

 

[DPKetchum]

Didn't mean a woman service advisor. I've hired several. I mean a D. C. REP.

 

[jrobinson2]

Dealer can't void your warranty, (they do not have the authority) and as stated, if they could, it'd be illegal.

The dealer reports the violation and Daimler Chrysler voids the warranty on the truck, this has happened to many owners, those who choose to spend the time making calls and writing letters will probably get the non affected parts warranted but in most cases its not worth the fight. If the whole thing can be avoided by removing a few modifications I don't see how its a problem.



Jared

 

[WyattEarp]

I would say that this could go either for us or against us depending on what you may or maynot have done to your truck as far as warranty voiding, mine is still stock and on 3. 25. 05 rolled up 100,000 miles but a truck is a truck used for work or play.

This could be good for us that they would obviously see that we do have alot of legit gripes and complaints and realize that yes their dealership fluids are way to high along with their oil filters etc, of course who sets those price is it DC, regional, or the one running the dealership themselves, who knows...

Anyone thats here knows that genos have the best prices on filters ect... I only take my truck in when its needed and mine has not seen the dealer since around 37,000 miles so im proud of that, but when it does need their attention(something i can't handle) they will see me.

What im trying to say is that these tech, mechanics and so forth actually reading this could very well help up in the long run as we (TDR members) seem to know these trucks better inside and out than most of them do so possibly they are learning from us which can help in the long run when going to your dealer or mechanic. Oo.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

"Defrauding Daimler Chrysler (which increases costs to all honest folks) by removing modifications that have caused damage is not ethical. "



And THAT ^^^^^^^ was entirely my intended point!



While a few here DO have reason to distrust local service reps, the vast majority passing thru these forums HAVE done mods they full well KNOW endanger their warranty, and removing those mods is done PURELY to cover their tracks for warranty purposes - and yeah, the eventual fallout of increasing prices DOES eventually come back to haunt us ALL!



Further, if I distrusted the honesty of a specific dealer in regards to warranty repairs on my truck, I'd DERN sure not want his mechanics under my hood or truck for ANY service, warranty or otherwise! I have generally found that garages and mechanics who will cheat or defraud in one situation, are quite likely to be dishonest in others as well - and I prefer to not be their willing victim...

 

[roperteacher]

Update!!!

My dealer read this site and also read this post!!!! Took the truck in for service and he explained that I had responded to a post that he recognized and put 2 and 2 together... Very smart cookie!! BTW they have a new BEAUTIFUL dealership now, they used to be kind of small and 1 on 1. I hope this attitude continues!

 

[Jumbo Jet]

I hung a GearVendors OD off the XFR case on my 2000 RAM and the XFR case started leaking. The dealer knew about the GV OD. Since it wasn't installed by the factory, I removed the GV OD myself. I left the GV electronics installed along with the switch.



When I carried the truck in to have the XFR case replaced, my service manager wanted to know why I removed the GV OD. They would have removed and reinstalled had I left it on there.



I have probably one of the best service departments available to me around. I have purchased 4 new vehicles from that dealership in the last 6 years. They work hard to earn my business.

 

[DPelletier]

Good post, Dan



Dave

 

[CajunDieselMan]

I wish dealers would offer aftermarket "performance enhancers" or, at least, gauges. Like many, I'd like to tweak my truck, but worry about the warranty.

I can install running boards, bugshields, etc. myself, but would like gauges, boxes, etc. installed by someone who knows my truck. Anyway, Salsbury Dodge in Baton Rouge, if you're reading this..... you're good, how about these suggestions and... my truck is bone STOCK!! :-laf

 

[jrobinson2]

Have you experienced this firsthand, or is it hearsay?

Dan-

Dan,

Not me personally, a few friends and quite a few legends. Perhaps the cases I have heard about are not corporate but dealers not wanting to throw a "red flag" to DC or Ford? Maybe in my friends case his dealer didn't want to risk a corporate audit and simply refused all warranty work on any vehicle shown as modified in the computer?



Jared

 

[TWORAMS]

Wow, thanks for that Dan. I really learned a lot about something I often only wondered about. I have only had one small warranty item (a shock) and that was handled exactly like I thought it should have been-immediately and no questions asked. I guess a shock is pretty simple compared to all of the stuff you guys have been talking about and I don't have any trick stuff on any of my trucks. However, I've been around for a number of years and I treat good service by a business with loyality, honesty, repeat business and references to anybody that I think might be interested. I'm on my 4th Dodge truck now, all bought at the same place. They do service for me for the major stuff and as I get older, more of the minor stuff too. The service department at this dealer (South County Chrysler in Gilroy Calif. ) has always been honest with me, treated me with respect because I'm the customer, given me a break a couple of times when things didn't go exactly right and I appreciate it. The sales guy I use is also a no BS kind of guy and he knows I'm looking for the best price I can get. Bottom line is, I travel 30 miles out of my way to go to this dealer and skip my local dealer because of the above. They've earned my business and my loyality.

Mike

 

[Tomeygun]

I know one thing:

Unless ya'll are nice to one another, I'll have to get my big book of truth:



The archieve of all Last names VS mods done... ... . :-laf



Heck my service manager doesn't even begin to know what we talk about here