Minus 5 Star Dealers

[yellow jacket]

On 12/10 coming thru PA on rt 80, with 40' gooseneck race car trailer in tow, I stayed nite in Clearfield. Next morn I had dead dead bone dead batteries! I got a jump from AAA and was told the trlr probably sucked the juice. I was all set to go. Well 40 mi up the rd to Snowshoe I thot it was Xmas already! All the dash lites blinking & about 2 mi truck laid an egg. AAA now got me down the rd to Rich's Amoco in Milesburg PA Great Guys!! They thot it was my alt. took it off, but it tested good. They didn't have computer for truck testing so Bret their tow trk drvr brought me to the Dodge dealer - Joel Confer @ Auto Mall --in State College PA. Bret told them I was 500 mi from home & broke down. Could they plug me in computer to see what was wrong? The service mgr said yes we can do that next Wed or Thurs! I told her but I'm broke down could you squeeze me in for quick diagnostic? She said I told already told you next week. With NO HELP here Bret & I left. Mind you I still had trlr hooked up w/all lites flashing! Bret knew where there was another Dodge dealer in Bellefonte PA -Dunlap Mattis. Off we went again. We went to that service dept and told him my break down prob. He said yes he could diagnose my truck -- the earliest next Fri the 19th!! I said I'm really in a jam here -- 500 mi from home with trlr, no way to know if I could keep trk running and I couldn't stay in Pa for 10 days. He said he had customers to take care of. I said what do I look like? He just looked at me blankly so I just left. Bret brought me back and got me to a motel for the nite. We had bought a charger and extension cord so I could recharge batteries and run as far as I could go. Next morn after batteries charged all nite, I set out. To my great surprise the amp gauge went right up to 14. Got home with no more probs! Went directly to my Dodge mechanic & after he checked he told me the first tow drvr should have charged up the batteries because there was no way the alternator was going to do it. With electronic fuel injection you have to have juice to run the engine not like the older diesels. I did get home ok with NO THANKS to the Dodge dealers!!! I am going to write D/C and suggest that there's a couple of jerks who should get out of Dodge.

P. S. After running around with me all day,bringing me to buy charger, bringing me to motel, and trying to get me going Rich flat out refused any more money than what AAA pays for his tow. Great Guys!!! At Rich's Amoco- -Milesburg PA 355-5933

Yellow Jacket

03 2500 quad cab slt 40/20/40 pwr seats HO ETH DEE 373 ltd slp 2wd jake brake BD short shift pwr trlr towing mirrors tow group goose neck

 

[Bob Wagner]

sad story, at least there are a few Rich's left in the world.



glad you made it home safe

 

[EMD Diesel Power]

another reason to stick with the old 12-valve engines.



but all kidding aside, glad you made it home safe, and there are still good guys out there to help in a jam.



Why is it that the simplest things cause the most aggravation when you dont think of em. (the engine power draw vs. alternator output on dead batteries). oh well.

 

[rholcom2]

Its definately the "Riche's" in life that you remember. The good in peoples hearts is what you remember, and what they tell their wives about when they go home at night.



Just one of those things in life, you never give enough.

 

[robobx]

If there were only more Rich's in the world...

but there ain't and it's too full of the dodge service adviser types.



Glad you made it home safely!

 

[PJ]

It is my understanding that Chrysler pays the towing to the nearist Dealer. If the repair takes more than 8 ours, they put you up in a hotel and pay for a rental. If Im wrong, forgive me. I know my Isuzu warranty claims to do that. I also have the AAA and if you pay just a bit more and get the "plus card", they will pay all expences and deliver you and your car home.

 

[DPKetchum]

That sucks. Call D. C. 18009921997 and tell them what dealers. also call dealers owners. It was the Service people who let you down. I never in 25 years in dealers EVERY did that to someone in route.

 

[adsharpe]

Sad tale! But, that is about how my 5-star dealer treats me and I bought the stinkin thing there.



They got upset cause I complained when they put the wrong gear oil in differential.



But, a good story. I lost my wallet at Walmart sometime ago and 10 days later they called and said they had found it.



Everything was still in place!



There are still plenty of good folk working in dealerships around the country, but...



there are some muttheads out there!Oo.

 

[DPKetchum]

Five star or not thats terrible way to treat any on passing through. Five Star is mainly a deal that dealers have to obtain to get better sale incentives and inventory allowances. I had trailer brakes problems in Nebraska and on LABOR DAY had a Freightliner Quickie lube shop in Grand Isl Nebraska take me in ASAP and in 1. 5 hours fix a burnt wire,a blown grease seal and clean and adjust all the brakes(4)for $85. 00 parts and labor. There were other stranded autos with a bad alt. one with a seized pulley. Had BIG rigs pulling in for service also. Shop manager said this is the start of the boonies and WE DON'T LEAVE ANY ONE Stranded if possible. Great Guy. I cant even get a part HERE for my horse trailer much less by phone and it was in his hands in 15 minutes.

 

[GIT-R-DONE]

Next time I roll thru that area I'll stop in at Rich's and let them know there help was appreciated. It's great to see that the world isn't all bad. There are still a few people that will help you out in a jam. Do they sell diesel at there sop in Milesburg?



Don

 

[bmoeller]

Yellow Jacket- Report them on the dealer survey http://dodgeram.info/survey_dealer/Dealers.htm

 

[Alaskaskiff]

Thanks for reminding me. Just updated the dealer survey to include the one where I bought my new truck. They are 5 star and pretty much have their act together. In a small town that is not connected by road to any other that also may be necessary for a profitable business.

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

I asked my dealer (Yellowstone Country Motors, Livingston, MT) why they weren't listed as a five-star dealer. I was wondering because they have beaten the price on all the big dog five-star dealers for my last two trucks including: Dave Smith, Lithia, Sayers, JC Billion, Fremont, and Dishman. Plus they tend to stock trucks for work folks, e. g. ST models, to meet the local ranch folk's needs.



He told me it was because they refuse to move from the downtown brick storefront to a bigger metal framed facility. Bet the storefront is paid for.



Just check their ratings at Genos: double smilies That makes me

 

[Big MAK]

I probably shouldn't say this; but... ... ... .



I'm reasonably certain the '5 Star' is based more on the dealers profitability then on their service rating. If a dealer shows good profits DC wants to push more customers their way so gives them a 5 star. In the defense of the dealer they're in a catch 22 -- they have to play DC's game to get the rating and the associated 'positive' press it brings. Bottom-line; the dealer's profitability is better by denying warranty (low margin) repairs. Consequently a '5 star' rating is in all probability an indication of poor service (especially warranty). On the other hand; a dealer could not have the '5 star' because they actually are no good. So what to do? Find a good dealer through referrals and experience. The star rating is just a gimmick and doesn't mean squat.



As for dealers that refuse repairs while on the road: park in front of their service entrance and refuse to move until they fix your vehicle. I did that to a Chevy dealer once; thought I'd get in a fist fight with the service manager he was so mad. But they fixed it (under warranty). The morons told me to drive a dead alternator 700 miles home -- across S. D. towing a trailer!

 

[jamesjohnson]

About 11 years ago the dodge dealer here was taken over by a new

owner. It was a 5 star dealer ship. THe new owners played some

real dirty deals on people like promising a low interest rate and

after they would leave they raised rates and all kind of crued

things. Over the next 6 months CHYSLER took 4 stars away and

told them to get there act to gether or they would remove the

last star. Its taken them years to get back alittle from Chysler.

So I know they do care about what the dealers do.

 

[DPKetchum]

BIG MAC it has nothing do do with service/warranty denial etc. WRONG!. Its sales incentives and CSI. and in house training programs ect. NOTHING to do with how much or little warranty work or Customer pay repairs. It affects hold back money,inventory levels,how much up front warranty money D. C. keeps in their account etc. D. C. would NEVER tell them(dealer)to give folks a hard time about warranty repairs etc. In fact sometimes its just the opposite. They dicuss and allow more gray areas then you would ever know.

 

[Dean Upson]

I have been lucky with Dodge Dealers while on the road from Medicine Hat, Alberta (City Dodge) to Bozeman (JC Billion) Wolf Creek, MT (Canrud Motors?) and Gulf Shores, Alabama. They have all gone out of their way to get me going. The dealer in Ashland, WI gets high marks, too He also sells Fords. My local dealer tries to take care of folks on the road. The bums that Yellow Jacket ran into give all the dealers a bad name.



Dean