Traitor ? Jumping Ship

[rrl989]

Read many posts over the years, including the old site. One thing I've seen to often is complaints about DC service / customer satifaction / assistance to it's customers. Well, I was warned about buying my first, and last Chrysler product. I had a noisey bearing replaced in the external 47RH overdrive unit, cost me over $1700 for a $49 part. Had it looked at while under warranty, dealer did nothing (at least they documented my complaint) Small claims court or Arbitration will settle it.



Anyway, always liked my Cummins 12V, pure and simple. This isn't about truck wars, but after driving the Duramax with the Allison Automatic my mind was made up. Good riddance Chrysler,

you had your chance with me and you blew it.



On Order 2002 Chevy 3500 Silverado LT Crew Cab 4X4 Duramax / Allison Automatic.





Ron

 

[Adam_Dodgezilla]

Good Luck

I had the complete opposite experience, While DodgZilla is being rebuilt and

not knowing at the time if it would be totaled my wife and I went to check out the chebby trucks! I'll get back to the test drive, but first let my tell you about my chevy days I've owned two chebbys in the past a 93' Z71 and a 95' Suburban

I was the ultimate Chevy fan! After putting two transmissions in my Z71 with ONLY

57,000 miles, Thank God for the extended warranty I sold the truck to a friend that knew about the problems for a Very good price! So you think I would have learned my lesson!!!! No way I'm a Die-hard CHEVY MAN I have the hats with the bow ties to prove it… So I go back to the chevy dealer to look for a new truck, and wife says look at the new suburban with leather well we drove it home! The truck was flawless for 50,000 miles than it sprang a leak in the radiator, no problem with the extended warranty a new

Radiator and were on the road again, until the transmission started slipping around 63,000 miles

so this Die hard Chevy MAN said NO MORE and I drove to Brentwood Dodge and said

I want that one and I gave the key to the burban and took DodgeZilla home.



Now back to the test drive the wife wants a new burban bad so I say lets go look! They had a bunch of suburban's and a few duramax's so we test drive the crew cab 4x4.

The wife gets in and loves it "look at all the room" so I pull off the lot and stomp on it!!

It pulled OK, Not to impressed I let the wife drive, she gets in the driver seat and starts driving it like she STOLE it!! Then out of nowhere she yells out in disgust " What a Turd"

The sales man asked what I planed on towing," Anything I want" I replied, than he asked

What I drove normally? A Dodge! Than He said that is one hell of a truck! And that it would be hard to beat; He worked of dodge for a few years. So I gave him my card and told him if he goes back Dodge to give me a call!

Well we drive home in the renta car, and my Wife says if we can't get a new suburban I

had to keep my truck or buy a new dodge, no duramax's no Power strokes just a RAM!!



So what I'm trying to say is good luck!! They all have they there strengths and weaknesses I'm sure the Allison is a great transmission, I would worry about the engine my self.



Good luck

Adam

 

[Mactruck]

Same service , different company.

Sorry to hear your jumping ship. And I hope you enjoy your new truck.



But if you think jumping manufacturers is going to improve your service whoes. Think again. All these manufacturers sell hundreds of thousands of trucks a year. and they don't care!



Being an EX Phord man (owned 3) I thought the service stunk with them. New transmission here, Rebuilt motor there. Most of the time it's the dealers screwing it all up. The other time it's the manufacturer cheesing out an some inferior part to save 42 cents on each truck. They know the part will last after 36k miles and after that it's your problem not theirs. They don't think about the customer taking time out of their day to bring their vehicle in to get fixed and 9 out of 10 time you hear WE DIDN"T GET TO IT YET, SORRY ( how many times has this happened to us all wow this could be a new poll )



Anyways good luck with your new vehicle

 

[Bob Beauchaine]

Good luck with your Duramax and I hope you find their service department is a good one. I worked as a service department dispatcher and was not happy with their concept of how to treat customers. About 60% of all customers are walk-ins and they quite often took priority over those that made appointments. I always felt that this was not a good way to treat the considerate customer but it did generate a great deal of revenue. This entire concept was taught to Service Managers and Service Advisors by Chrysler - I am sure GM and Ford are the same. I feel it's the Service Manager that dictates how customers are treated. The techs. were top notch and rarely had returns but repair costs were high.

When I bought my '93 in '93 I had already made up my mind that the dealer was a last resort for repairs. I've only had my '93 in twice for repairs and the techs. that did the work did an excellant job. This is a sad statement on Dealerships a their Service departments. As I said before Good Luck and keep us posted on your new Duramax. I'm sure everyone here would like to know what kind of a ride they are.

Happy Trails

 

[EMDDIESEL]

Good luck with your Chevy, you will need it. I have completley lost all faith in GM.

The beginning of the end was my 95' Tahoe i bought new. I had it for 14 months, 64,000 miles before i traded it in. In that time i replaced the following: radio 3 times, passenger power window motor, Complete rear end, Master cylinder, which the truck was in the shop for 2 WEEKS to have this done, when i finally picked it up, i discovered they broke the top portion of my grill and tried to hide it by crazy glueing it. It then took 3 weeks to get a new grill. When i left the truck to have the grill replaced, it got badly scratched which of course, they denied. The final straw was the front axle seal went. I ended up in court three times for the damage and finally they settled.

My next GM disaster was my 96' Impala SS which had FIVE WATER PUMPS in three years/58,000 miles. They NEVER gave me a rental car since it was not steering or braking related. In addition to that, the coil pack was replaced, A/C Compressor, electric fan and power window switch.

That is WAY too many problems for me to deal with when i only own one car. I am through with GM for good. There customer service center in Michigan is worthless, there service departments are run by incompetent people who's biggest concern is getting you to come in for there over priced oil changes. I tried different dealers, i tried complaing to headquarters, its a waste of time.



Those were my personal vehicles, we had Chevy trucks for the highway department i worked for and almost ALL of them had numerous problems that were bad enough to require them to be taken out of service.

I will never by another truck made by anybody except Dodge

 

[WCrovo]

It isn't just DC. All the new car and M/C dealers are a rip off. I hate to go in for anything. Good luck with the new ride.

 

[rrl989]

Some interesting reading, I went to Dodge after owning nothing but GMC / Chevy's. My best story was 5 weeks in the dealership to replace the rear end of my 88 GMC. Thought it would be easy since that model was only four years old at that time, not true, my LSD was obsolete, tooks weeks to get a new P/N and the correct parts. I agree 100% that the manufacturers don't give a **** about the customer. DC's no different ie: Tank fuel sender / Dowel pin / Add on 4th gear OD unit ? Hydraulically controlled automatic ? (Get into the 21st century DC !!) ... etc.



Yet I still love my undervalved Ram, Maybe the new chevy won't

make it in on time, and I'll get to cancel. Either way, 300HP with a 5 speed Allison can't be to bad if you absolutely have to get an automatic. The cost of these silverado's are way to high, I expect other's will follow. Also, this time I am buying the GM 6/100k full warranty. I suspect I will need it.



Ron

 

[KDRABIK]

I too have been a Chevy owner, but now of course have a Dodge. But I must say, I was the exception to dealer and repair woes with Chevy. My truck went 234,000 miles without a major repair and I ended up selling it for a profit!! That truck didn't own me a dime in the end, the only complaint was the body rusted wwaaaayyyyy too soon. But the story has changed drastically with my Dodge. I could go on forever with all of the problems, from faulty fog lamp repairs (3 times), leaky back window causing flooding inside the cab, leaky rear differential, leaky clearance lamps, broken door latch on driver's side 2nd door, fuel pump, brake problems, steering problems, the list goes on. Of course, most of these problems were fixed under warranty, but it took two attempts to find a decent dealer with a great service team. Now I am even thinking about jumping ship, but I really don't want to. But then again, I don't like the idea of spending $38K on a truck that has given me nothing but bi-monthly trips to the dealership for repairs. I love the engine, but I'm just waiting for the next problem. Sorry for the long post.



Regards, KDrabik



2001 QC LB 4:10 4X4 Driftwood. Completely stock except for air horns

 

[HeberRam]

Aloha!!!! You will be back in 2003.

 

[Bad340fish]

Hydraulically controlled automatic ? (Get into the 21st century DC !!) ... etc.

Wow has someone made an automatic trans that does not take fluid?? WOW.



Not to sound like an $%^&&^%$ But have fun with that Allison, remember the POWER TOUR GM put on with a DM/Alison truck?? Well they did all this testing and only got 40K on the truck. . some big test. Go to the 6. 5/DM page and look at the "pull off" they had. They had a DM truck with a Black box on it. It was adjustable, you turned this knob up until the transmission slipped and then backed it down!!! Only adds 80HP to the truck... if you can turn it up all the way without the famed Alisson Slipping on you.



That was on the GM dieselpage not something a ford or dodge guy made up. Seriously good luck with your new truck... . but if I were you I would let that engine/transmission combo get debugged for another few months.

Clark

 

[rrl989]

Clark,



I believe the shifting within my 47RH works off pressure, rather than being controlled electronically as in the GM L60, L80, Allison, etc... ... . and the vast majority of automatics. (ie: 21st century)



I can see your not a fan of the Duramax / Allison. I thought it was my 47RH that you 5 & 6 speeders disliked so much. Are you saying the new 1000 series Allison is another POS ? Should I have went for the ZF 6 speed? If the Cummins is mated to the Allison in 2003 would you feel the same.



You mention adding 80 HP when the transmission slips ? What actually would slip with "lockup" in 3,4, & 5th ? The 1000 series is rated for around 350 HP?, What other stock automatic could handle the kind of power out of the factory in a light duty class truck ?



Ron

 

[KDRABIK]

Wait for debugging period?

Clark-



I am a firm believer of waiting for a new product to have its bugs worked out and tweaked here and there, but how long do we have to wait for DC and the Turbo Diesel?? They have had the Cummins and the truck design for a number of years now, and still the line is plagued with problems. There are a number of TDR members that have taken matters into their own hands and have become their own warranty service, due to overwhelming frustration and let down. Where does one draw the line? Are we just supposed to sit back, fork over close to $40K, and just except the low manufacturing quality of DC's products? There is only so much complaining and b*tching one can do to a company and its service department before you just lose heart and interest in their product. I am really torn about selling my truck, but what is going to happen when I am beyond the warranty? Am I just supposed to sit back and say, "Well okay, this is just how its supposed to be, and if I want to make things better, I will have to spend the extra money and buy after-market products inorder to make my truck a quality, reliable machine"? I don't know about the rest of you, but my wallet is not a boundless pile of money.

 

[chuck3]

GO FOR IT. Let us know how it works out, you can allways come back if you need too.

 

[Bad340fish]

I cannot comment on the problems with DC as I have had no bad expierience with them whatsoever. My dad has always had chrysler products(you know stuff like that runs in the fam kinda) and has never had problems with them. My mom just bought 300M and has had 0 problems at 30K now. My truck just turned 30K and has been in for the hitch recal and a coolant noise(yes you read that right) TSB. And my dad has had 3 Daytona and currently still has one with 200K on it(not sure why he likes those cars) with minimal trouble. That is just my expierience. And you guys know as good as I do that the dealer is 75% of the problem. I am fortunate enough to have an excelent dealer.



I guess I was a little harsh on the Duramax/Alisson combo. . I think i had just run out of beer when i wrote that lol. The link is somehwere in the General Diesel Forum for the contest that I spoke of. The part slipping is the actual transmision clutches themselves... according to the article.



I mentioned the Debugging period in the above post for the reason stated above. Be careful, that is a new transmission in a new application. And I would put $$ on that transmission costing more than twice the amount of the DC auto when it comes time to fix it and its out of warranty.



Alisson behind a Cummins?? Wouldn't matter to me... I like to shift . I would doubt that happening since Alisson is a GM company. Also mercedes has lots of large trucks with diesels in them. I would think that if a new auto is offered it would be a DC unit IMO.



Clark

 

[Cobra]

FF1063



I want to wish you all the luck in the world with your new ride. I don't blame you for the switch. I must say I am not real happy with the Dodge, but I truely love the cummins. I have had two fords and one chevy before this dodge. I liked the chevy best but none of them were diesels. I can't say enough about that cummins.



How can a 5. 9 six have sooooo much power. I use my to haul a coachman slidein which weighs in at 3200# before water, food and cloths. I run the moutains of pa and have no trouble pulling the hills at 50 plus in 4th gear most of the time.



The last time out my daughter drove her durango and followed me. she couldn't believe how that truck ran.



Anyway enough about nothing. Good luck, keep the shiney side up and happy trails to you.

 

[Power Wagon]

I wish you good luck. Your experience with Chrysler is really your experience with the dealer. If you get a good dealer, you'll get reasonably good service. If you get a bad dealer, and keep going back, you will FOREVER think it was the worst thing that happened to you in your life.



As someone who has worked in a shop that did warranty work for all 3 makes over the last dozen years, I can tell you that on the average, dealers suck. Much as it pains me to say so, I honestly beleive that the good dealers are very much in the minority.



Funny, the Dodge guys complain about a weak transmission, and the ford guys rant about the weak dodge transmission... and the ford and GM offerings have historically been NO better. Just ask any transmission shop about the 4 speed GM autos... Or the various 4 speeds ford has offered. Funny... I don't see any GM OR Ford diesel trucks running 12 second quarters with an auto and having it stay together at all. The guys I know who tow BIG stuff and have a chip aren't getting any life out of the ford autos either.



Overall, I'd say your chances of having a trouble free life aren't good. But, hey, I've been dealing only with the lemons for a dozen years... I suppose that has jaundiced my view a bit...

 

[work2muchplay2little]

FF1063, keep us posted on the new truck. Chevy's billing the Duramax as the "state of the art" and would love to know how everything washes out. Hope you love it - nothing beats a vehicle that's dependable - regardless of brand

 

[CRWilliams]

Just had to throw my two cents worth in. My girl had a 96 Z34 Monte Carlo, nice car. With less than 50,000 on it it develops a miss. The local shop quotes $400 to change the one bad plug wire or $500 for all six. I tell her I'll fix it and just buy the plug wires. (We weren't dating yet. ) No dealers willing to help AT ALL. Yeah so much for 100,000 miles before the first tune up. Called the dealer, $150 for 6 plug wires, finally find 1 set at NAPA, $120. Fairly easy fix, about 3 hours and removing the plenum to change plug wires. 2 months later got a recall notice from Chevy, says if work is already done to go to nearest dealer for reimbursement. Into repair for about $200 in parts only. Chevy dealer offered $88, says that is all it would cost him. Says his cost on plug wires is $40( retail was $150 remember. ) Call Chevy cust. service, get the same from them. After 9 months call back to see where money is, guy put file aside and never touched it, by the way they wanted her to send in all original receipts AND THE ORIGINAL TITLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well anyway after just over two years and over a dozen calls finally got the money. NEARLY A 400%MARKUP ON PARTS, NO WONDER I DONT BUY PARTS AT THE DEALER. P. S. sorry so long, needed to tell the story.

 

[CRWilliams]

P. P. S. traded the P. O. S. Monte on the below 93 Cummins, got one hell of a deal and like the truck much better.