2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission My truck was molested at the dealer today

[The patriot]

Went there yesterday for a few recalls. Throttle linkage, fuel heater, and the hood latch.

They "couldnt get to it" and promised to do it Wednesday. OK. I got a call at 10:30 AM. It's done. COOL!

When I went to go pick it up, I gave it the once over. Immediatley, the drivers side fender caught my eye. SCRATCHES!!!

Pretty much the length of the fender, some were pretty deep.

I called out the service manager, and asked him if he knew what a fender cover was, and what it's used for!!!

Well after he recieved a barrage of choice profanity, he asked if they could bring it in to "detail it".

I told him "You've gotta be "F'in kidding me".

Well, after apologising, and plenty of "I dont see how this could happen" BS, I left.

When I got home I saw a fresh gouge in my right rear tire.

It's in the SIDEWALL! Some yellow paint scuffing too. Now I'm really:mad



Back to the manager.

He calls out the mechanic. Of course he dont know how it happened.

The only other person (so they say) that drove it was ther service writer.

Of course he didnt do it!!

The night before, I asked that they keep my truck inside. I know the bay they kept it in, because I drove by to check on it!!!

I asked the manager :do you have anything that's safety yellow in the shop? I can see the safety yellow on the sidewall. "

The lift that was in the bay my truck was parked in was safety yellow.

All the while, him saying, "I dont see how this could happen, my guys dont lie. "

I told him, "Lets measure where the gouge is, and see what matches up with it"

Sure enough, the lift foot matched the scuff mark on the sidewall.

Of course, the service writer that drove it, and the mechanic that worked on it came over..... both proclaiming their innocence.

I just turned to the manager and said, "I'm not saying either one of these guys actually did it, I'm just saying it happened while youre dealership had the truck, and in your shop. "

Well, I polished out MOST of the scratches in the fender, and they ordered me a tire.

I AM NOT having them mount the tire. I dont know if theyre compitent enough for that.

This is exactly why I do all the work on it that I can.

This isnt the first time that I've gotten my truck back with scratches, but is by far the worst it has ever been.



Eric

 

[illflem]

Eric, stories like yours are the reason I don't even take my rigs in for recalls. I feel much safer just buying the parts and getting reimbursed.

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

I bet they were five star? Ya know what an owner of a five star gets... ... ... First they get an extra percentage of the sold car price. Then the get a bunch of different vacations, Hawaii, Mexico, Bahamas,... ... ..... The local dealership for me says they loose money on service. They keep the service department open to keep the 5 star status. It is a big ego trip and doesn't mean Ship. I took mine in for an oil change(free) and when I changed my oil last week, I had to get a breaker bar out to bust loose the drain plug... ..... That is it for me. I am now at 42,000 miles. I for one am done with the five stars of crap.

 

[Big Dawg]

Patriot,



... and don't forget the dealers charge $70 an hour to destroy someone's prize possession. As long as your vehicle will roll, it's probably best to avoid the dealers. I've had similar experiences too. I was talking to a Dodge fleet manager today and told him if the service departments would just do what they are supposed to and do it RIGHT the first time that they would have all the business they could handle. Lordy... somebody take away my soapbox before I really get started...

 

[Jeff H]

Recalls . As far as I'm concered they can come out to my place and waste there time to fix there screw ups. I have a stack of recalls on mine too.

 

[IdaH.O.Train]

Patriot,



I had a similar experience when I took my previous gasser in to our local chubby dealership to get it smogged (small town and only smog station). When I went to pick it up I noticed numerous scratches on the left fender. When I confronted the service manager he said, "There's no way that happened here. " I told him the truck is brand new and I know those scratches were not on it when I brought it in. His reply, "My guy couldn't have caused those, he was working on the other side of the motor. " So, to prove him wrong, we walked over to the right fender and low and behold, scratches. I happened to look at what the mechanic was wearing and noticed the jacket he was wearing had a metal zipper in the front. Go figure. The service manager never would admit that his guys could have caused the damage; however, he did agree to pay to have the scratches buffed out. Fender covers? We don't need no stinkin fender covers?

 

[benhall]

Patriot,



I am a little jealous of you, because at least you have seen your truck in perfect condition when it was new. I wasn't so lucky on that. My 02 2500 from Mexico came in with five dents in the hood from a dropped chain:{ .



Just before we were to go to the body shop to switch hoods with another Ram that came in on the same transport, one of the mechanics backed into the right rear corner tapping the bumper and sheet metal:{ .



The only good thing that came out of this, is that I have another new hood and bumper. Too bad that hood is coming off and being replaced with a cowl induction hood soon after my return back to the states.

 

[HEMI®Dart]

"It's a pick-up truck. "

"It's a work truck"

"It's probably a company truck"

" No raise?"

" My last day is tomorrow"

" The owner doesn't give a crap"

"I hate this place'



This must be what the tech or employee is thinking. ???



I stopped into my dealer to see if I could get the parts for the Hood latch & throttle cable recall and install them myself. Nope, can't do it. Screw it then.

 

[zimman20]

Noticed when I got mine back from the dealer (where they were replacing the LP under warranty) that there was a spot on the fender about the size of a pencil eraser that had been touched up, badly. I KNOW it wasn't there when I dropped it off.



I didn't even bring it back after finding it. What's the use, these idiots couldn't care less and I'm not letting them have at it again to try and do a better job fixing it.



Chalked it up to the cost of doing business w/ these boneheads.

 

[duaneparks]

"It's a pick-up truck. "

"It's a work truck"

"It's probably a company truck"

" No raise?"

" My last day is tomorrow"

" The owner doesn't give a crap"

"I hate this place'





Man, I HATE this type of attitude when it comes to MY $30K truck. Luckily my dealer's service department has treated my truck well while it was there. I have only left it with them once, the other two times it's been there, I went with it to the service bay and talked with the tech who worked on it (Danny) at Archer Dodge in Stafford, TX, in case that helps anyone...



Danny looks like he could kick some serious a**, and he's a pretty darn good diesel mechanic too.



Duane

 

[illflem]

Hemi, just buy the parts you need, don't say anything about the recall. Then just send the receipt to DC, there are instructions with the recall notice. Takes a while but they will reimburse you.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Just ANOTHER reason I wasn't concerned about my "lost" warranty when I installed the Comp on my truck - I'd rather take a chance on the basic soundness of my engine and drivetrain, than trust the UNtrained chipanzees that seem to inhabit most dealership dervice departments... Not just DC, pretty much ALL makes - to them, after months and years, any car, old or new is "just another job to do... " - but to ME, it's my pride and joy - and so, I do all my own work, as much as possible...

 

[HEMI®Dart]

I never thought of that illflem.



Thanks for the idea.

 

[Doc Tinker]

The only time my truck went to the dealer was for the hitch recall. It bugged me to even get that done there. I was tempted to just go buy a new hitch. I should have.



Doc

 

[M Barnett]

I do the same as illflem. I might have told this story before about when I got my Dodge. I left my Bronco at the dealer {which has always treated me great!} for the weekend while I took the dodge to see if I wanted to trade. Came back Monday and traded. Much later I learned my bronco got crushed by a semi truck during the weekend before we traded. Maybe thats why I got a great deal?

Michael

 

[The patriot]

Originally posted by illflem

Eric, stories like yours are the reason I don't even take my rigs in for recalls. I feel much safer just buying the parts and getting reimbursed.

I asked the dealer if he would just give me the parts, and I'd do it myself. No good. Guess I'll do it your way next time.

I told the service manager "I wouldnt expect to have my vehicle treated like this if it were a new *F'in* Yugo!! And certainly not a f&*^%'in $38,000 vehicle!!!"



Well, they cant get a new Michelin for me, they said to "get it from wherever I got the last ones from. "

Sears. $225. 00+ mounted and balanced!!!!!

Up yours DC!!

The service manager STILL wanted to have their shop mount and balance the tire. Said it was a "good will gesture"

This brought forth another verbal assault from me.

I told him that it would have been good will if his shop didnt *F* up my truck in the first place.

Sears will be mounting and balancing the tire.

Eric

 

[sdalton]

I had Wally World screw up a car of mine in the past. I went in to have a flat patched. I drove for about 20 miles with the worst balanced tire in my life after that. I took it into a sears to have it checked. They called me over, and they found a screw driver, a pair of pliers and an open exacto knife. I had them bag it, I took it back the next day, REaised holy hell, and told them what I would have done to the mechanic if any of my family members would have been hurt. They refunded me the money, Told me they would replace the tire if I felt uncomfortable with it, and gave me a 100 dollar gift cert and fired the mechanic who did it. This was the second time he did something like that. .

Somehow I doubt Dodge would ever be that nice.

 

[illflem]

Eric, couldn't you find a place more expensive than Sears? I have one I'll sell you for $300, mounting and balance will be extra though.

 

[Deezul1]

Sometimes its a blessing not being able to afford a new truck with warranty , man what a bunch of cr-p. Sorry to hear about your troubles, its a shame when other people just dont care about stuff.

 

[B KIRK]

Hemi, just buy the parts you need, don't say anything about the recall. Then just send the receipt to DC, there are instructions with the recall notice. Takes a while but they will reimburse you.



Great idea illflem. Will they still reimburse you if you buy the parts after you get the recall notice?



Had the throttle cable / linkage recall. Stopped in at dealer to see what was involved. Parts guy showed me the kit and said to make an appointment. While I was waiting for him to get the part, I looked over at the mechanic in the first stall that was putting brake pads on the front of a dually. The calipers were hanging down buy the hoses. Screw this place. Asked how much kit cost. Was only $13. 00, so I told him I was going to buy it and do it myself. Said he couldn't sell it to me because it was a safety recall. Got the service manager, argued a little, ended up giving it to me, no charge.



Brad