Dodge Chrysler dealers not ashamed of ripping off thier customers.

[ChgrSteve67]

I took my PT Cruiser to the dealership to have them replace my radiator and multifunction turn signal switch.

I could give you the break down but simply they charged me just over $1,000 to replace the radiator.
Said they had to evac the AC system and flush the engine to replace the rad.

As for the multi-function switch
They wrote down my exact trouble shooting to determine the switch was bad and that I removed the fuse to keep from killing the battery.

The switch is on back order for a month and a half. $90
They charged me $115 to determine the switch was bad.
And they want me to pay $115 to install the switch if and when it shows up.
How convient for them they could not get a switch and that I now have to come back and pay them again to have it replaced.

I called the sales guy when I was finally able to figure out thier reciept of charges. He said they need to pay for the time the tech spent determining the switch was bad.  I asked him if the tech removed it from the car to determine the switch was bad or spend a whole 5 minutes to put the fuse back in and repeate what I told them I did to determine the switch was bad.  I also told him with what I spent to have them replace the radiator I think they could give me 5 minutes of a tech time to look at the switch without charging me for a hours worth of work. He said he would have to talk to the tech and get back to me.  Guess what he never called back.

If my switch ever shows up I'm just going to pick it up and install it myself.
I think I will just have them cancel the order of the switch and have them give me my money back for that too.

This Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep dealership can choke on my $115.
I'm going to take all my business somewhere else.

Elk Grove Dodge Chrysler Jeep
8575 Laguna Grove Dr
Elk Grove, CA 95757

My PT is 9 years old and I'm due for a new car.
I guess its time for a Toyota, Honda or MINI Cooper.

Steve

[Foreman72]

man thats a bummer...we had a similar issue with our family car...there was a timing issue that if it weren't for the warranty, would have cost about 2k...heck no thanks....if a new car is an order, i'd check the mini...

[69bronzeT5]

I guess its time for a Toyota, Honda or MINI Cooper.

I'm waiting for TUFCAT to post about buying American

[Chatt69chgr]

The dealers charge what the flat rate book says for whatever is being replaced.  Plus they charge for shop solvents, shop rags, etc.  And then they charge retail for the part.  Now what I have heard is that they are charging 10-20 % over book retail.  Apparently, they can charge whatever they want to for the part.  I ran into this at a local dealer where I had been buying parts for two years for my 69 Charger.  A guy in the parts dept liked my project and was letting me have anything I wanted for 10% over cost.  I would always look up the parts ahead of time on the net and write down the wholesale and retail prices.  Just for my own piece of mind.  The last time, he said that they had been told that they couldn't give me a deal anymore.  So for the heck of it, I gave him a part number and said how much would this cost.  He looks it up and gave me the number.  I told him I had the retail price and that's when he told me what they were told to start doing, ie, add the extra 10-20%.  Well, I told him that I appreciated what he had been able to do for me and would come back and see him from time to time.  But immediately started going to the dealer 20 miles down the road to get my parts.  But now, I think if you have the part number it's best to just order off the net.  There are several dealers around the country that will sell at good prices.  I would never buy a radiator from a dealer.  You can always get those from places like Cooling Parts Warehouse, etc at wholesale prices.  And it's good to find an independent garage to handle your repairs if you don't want to do it yourself.  Dealers are for warranty work and that's it unless you just have no other choice.

[TUFCAT]

I guess its time for a Toyota, Honda or MINI Cooper.

I'm waiting for TUFCAT to post about buying American

Each dealership is independently owned and operated. Therefore non warranty (customer pay) service charges are not under Chrysler jurisdiction...or any other manufacture for that reason - - so its best to look elsewhere in the event your local dealer might screw you.

Speaking of screwing....check out what people are paying at their friendly local Honda or Toyota dealers for non warranty work!  

And by the way Cody.... yes, I still support the Detroit 3.  However, getting rip off by a ruthless dealer is not in anyones best interest...foreign or domestic.  

Bottom line is - - dealerships must make money to stay in business, But screwing people over is VERY bad long term ....and even short term nowadays.

A good job at a fair price should always be expected for any business to be competitive.

This dealership obviously has no desire to grow his business, or retain his customers.

[bull]

Dealerships are good for warranty work and hard to find parts, that's about it IMO.

[nh_mopar_fan]

I did that multi-function switch myself. Took about 5 minutes.

Have you had to replace the override switch that controls your windows yet?

That went last year as well. Both were pretty simple.

[Old Moparz]

I think I posted it somewhere on here last month, but I was looking to get an elctronic ignition conversion for my Plymouth Satellite. I looked on line & found a couple of places selling it for about $215 plus shipping, then decided to try the local Chrysler dealer. I liked the idea of giving a local guy my money & even paying a few extra bucks since I wouldn't be paying for shipping. Guess what? The local dealer wanted $315 for it.   

Dealers have always been more expensive, but to want that much more is total BS. I found the Proform ignition set up at Jegs for less than $160 & no shipping & bought that. So much for buying local, or even just buying from Chrysler.

[b5blue]

Always get an "estimate" first! Then shop that price. Yea my local dealer is an A hole too. You know I can't help thinking if one of the big 3 would just go out of their way to NOT be like this they would come out on top! 

[Todd Wilson]

Dealerships are good for warranty work and hard to find parts, that's about it IMO.

That pretty well sums it up!


Todd

[ChgrSteve67]

I did get an estimate.  $178 to look at the car and get a final price.
The repair price they called me and told me. I have to have some level of trust that theya re not charging me for things they are not doing.

In the bill the devil is in the details, everything is broken apart and it took be about 10 minutes to go through each line item to find the charge for labor on replacing the switch which now they are saying is diagnostic time.

They do not list my radiator replacement as one job its three jobs.

Cooling System Flush Parts & Labor
Heating and Cooling Parts and Labor
A/C Minor Service Parts & Labor

They do not break labor down into $$ per hour only price for the job weather it took 5 minutes or all day.

Called them again this morning and got the "we will call you back" again.

Got my customer survey already and let them have it.
Since its a survey I don't believe anyone will actually ready it and care.

[Old Moparz]

Got my customer survey already and let them have it.
Since its a survey I don't believe anyone will actually ready it and care.

They'll read it, they read mine & called me about it. I had my truck in under warranty & decided to have the oil changed & get a dent removed by a paintless, dent repair guy the dealer uses. I got the survey & answered all the questions telling them the service was good. The problem was, there was one question asking something about how satisfactory the repairs were. Since the dent wasn't 100% perfect, which I knew would be the outcome before the repair, I answered that it wasn't perfect.

The service manager called me asking why I bad mouthed the dealership. I explained that the survey was very vague & that I didn't bad mouth anyone, & basically told him what I said in this post about the satisfaction level for repairs. He wasn't happy & seemed agitated, so I asked him if he saw the actual survey with my answers. He said no, so I told him that he should find it & then call me back if he still had any problems. I never heard from him, but I assume the survey goes somewhere other than the dealership & he was contacted by a district manager or similar.

[dodgecharger-fan]

The thing about those surveys is that anything less than a perfect score is a black mark on the dealership.
That's why the service manager got a chewing out.

Seems stupid to have a range of numbers to choose form then doesn't it?

I didn't say it made any sense, but that's how it works.

I've had three dealer employees - 2 Ford and 1 Chrysler - tell me that. Basically, if you're satisfied with the service, give a top score, no matter the degree to which you are satisfied.

[ChgrSteve67]

I called and canceled the order on the back ordered part.
5 minutes later the service agent called me with a list of excuses why he has not gotten back to tme.

Anyways che gave me a line of crap about how much of a valued customer I am and said his boss agreed to split the difference with me and only charge me $57 for testing the switch instead of $115.

I told him yeah sure.

I guess he has not heard about me canceling the order on the multi-function switch yet.

The survey I got just asked if I would recomend this dealership for service. Yes\No
I chose No

Steve

[hemi-hampton]

I had a dealer try to totally screw me over, Tried to charge me twice for same job. He didn't think I'd notice the double billing, When I complained he quickly snatched it (the evidence) from my hand, ripped it up & said just a mistake or misunderstanding & gave me another bill. SCAMS  LEON.

[Silver R/T]

sorry to hear about your trouble. These bastards are what gives some better dealers (very few out there) a bad name. I personally never go to dealer, if something needs fixed I fix it myself or take it to private owned shop, etc.

[Silver R/T]

Reminds me of my boss who's 03 Ram water pump went out and he was getting estimates anywhere from $1200-$1500. He hardly believes me that it takes an hour at the most to do it yourself for about $60 for part. People will pray on you if you're dumb and can't fix your own car/don't know much about cars

[2Gunz]

The last time I went to the dealer I made an appointment took off work.

When I checked in they told me they couldnt get to it that day.

Which was NOT the story over the phone, I even told them specifically I had to have it done
on the spot as I was taking the car on a long trip.

I was so pissed I briefly thought about driving the car into the check in hut thing.

Had to have the cam position sensor replaced.
Online I read that it was about $350
Took about 40 mins and $50 to do it myself.


Had to have the inner tie rod bushings redone.
Online I read it was about $825
Took about 3 or 4 hours and sucked. but I suspect with the proper tools and experiance it could be done in under an hour.
$18 in parts.

After that BS I decided to change my own oil.
The Oil plug was in so tight I stripped it trying to get it out.
The Oil filter was also on WAY to tight.

It has always been to the dealer for oil changes.


F$^K thous guys. I hate em!

[Ghoste]

The oil plug reminds me of another pet peeve although it isn't just Dodge dealers, it's ALL "professional" shops that change tires for any reason.  Every single damned last one of them use an impact gun to put your wheels on.   

[Brock Samson]

  My first and last dealing with the "Stealer" was the $110 they ripped me off of to put three washers at the bottom of the inner door panel on the 300 after the plastic cracked down there and jammed the door closed. if I had known that was gonna be they're fix i could'a done it myself in under 10 minuted for free... this was a fix not included in the bumper to bumper complete warrenty... 

never ever am i going back to a "STEALER".. Ya' reading this Chrysler?! 

[RECHRGD]

Several years ago my wife had a Voyager that I took in for the 50,000 mile service ripoff.  After spending several hundred dollars, I get in the car to leave and the "Service Engine" light was still on!  I told them that they had forgotten to turn the light off and they said that it was not included in the service fee.  After a short discussion with the service manager, it was turned off free of charge.  But, they still had the nerve to charge for their "shop consumables".   Bob

[Ghoste]

Why even call it a "service" department?  It should just be labeled as a factory authorized repair center.  If they were doing you a service, they'd wash the car for you as a gesture of thanks instead of worrying about hosing you for consumables. 

[jaak]

I had it with the local Dodge dealer, back about 6 years ago, and haven't bought anything from them since. It was all over a broke wire going to the egr valve. I had an extended Warranty...thats when I found out Chryslers extended warranty wasn't worth the paper its written on.
They charged me like 120 bucks to find and repair this wire. I asked does my extended warranty cover wiring, they said it only pays to replace wiring harness(es) but not to repair exsisting wiring. So I told that ass clown to pull the car back in....replace the wiring, and give me my 120 back, of course he said no. We even called Chrysler over this..they were willing to give me a partial refund, but they were still blowing smoke up my ass. Since then the only mopar I have bought (for a driver) was a 02 Intrepid, in 07. I bought it off the used lot of the local Honda dealership.
F*ck Chrysler/Dodge dealerships!

Jason

[Sublime69]

I've said this time and time again. Get rid of these "stealerships" and turn them into factory outlet dealers owned, managed and employed by Chrysler. Cars would be cheaper, no BS, no haggling. Dealerships are just the middleman, I thought we were suppose to avoid the middleman? Why should we pay EXTRA to some backyard shmoe just because he is authorized to sell Chryslers cars to us? They return nothing back to the Big 3 as far as I'm concerned, or very little it seems. 

[TruckDriver]

This is news that car dealships love to rip people off? I knew that 25 years ago. They still want $325. a wheel for the new old stock alunimum wheel for a '96 Dakota. I cant get the same wheels from a salvage yard in almost mint condition for $65. a wheel.

[darkfiire5000]

I use to work at a Lithia Dodge in Pocatello Idaho it sucked.As for the rates they charged people $85 bucks an hour. As for the parts I saw the parts department mark up parts by up 50% so yah they screw you royaly.

[david hunt]

  Yes the dealership is high priced. I took a v-10 3500 dualee in twice to turn off engine light. Grand total was 900 dollars. I finally bought a OBD 2 reader and shut my own engine light off. Shows a misfire on number 1 plug wire. I probaly could use a new set of wires.  Stay away from any dealer. No parts for my old Mopars too boot. Learned a lesson!  Inspector Mopar

[ChgrSteve67]

Update

After cancling the order on the switch and the dealer saying they would give me back 50% of the labor cost they have yet to actually give me back any of my money.

Now its off to the BBB and BAR to see how they like getting complaints filed against them.

[b5blue]

Go get em Steve! 

[451-74Charger]

When I was at school, i did a weekend job at a bike shop.
When we ordered parts we added 34% to the cost, and for retail parts (helmets, stickers etc, we added 84% to our cost to give us the retail price.

[quapman]

No offense, but why did you talk to a salesman instead of the service manager? Salesfolks don't give a carp about anything but their commission.

Did you try the Chrysler 800 number?

We had issues with the wife's 97 Charger and I called. Got nowhere, but made me feel better after unloading on the "customer service" guy.

I'd try to get the DISTRICT manager's number, give him a verbal bitch-slapping and get ALL your money back. YOU diagnosed the problem, right?

[ChgrSteve67]

I never dealt with a sales person, I worked with the Service agent.
Supposedly he conveyed my complaints to the Service Manager to get approval to reduce the labor cost.
When my money was not refunded I tried to talk to the Service Manager but always got routed to someone else or dumped into voice mail. After that it was BBB and BAR complaint time.

The survey person I conveyed the story to told me that my comments would be read by a manager at the dealership however she did not exactly say who that was.

[Ghoste]

When the service manager was blocking you did you try the dealer principal?  I'd be ragging on him too.

[68charger383]

Remember the dealer makes about 70% of their profit from the service area.

Selling new cars is only a small piece of the profit. Actually when you think about it, selling new cars is more of a way to keep a constant flow of cars to come in for service/warranty work.   Why do you think they sell most of them for $200-300 above invoice 

[ITSA426]

I must be the odd guy here.  I just bought a set of identical replacement Michelins for my RT Daytona.  I shopped around and the  dealer beat everyone's price, installed, including tirerack.com.   They were installed promptly and I just got a letter from Chrysler for $50 VISA card for purchasing tires from the dealer. 

They do most of my oil changes, but I can buy air filters and a lot of other stuff cheaper elsewhere.  They usually ask if I want the car washed when I pick it up.  They have settled any disagreements I've had promptly and fairly.  They are a little poor about explaining their work, however, unless you ask a lot of questions.  I'm not particularly happy with their rental/loaner car program so I don't use it.

I know at least one of the local MOPAR clubs holds an occasional meeting there.  I get discounts on aftermarket trinkets and accessories for the cars.  I think they work hard to keep relationships going.  It's very competitive out there and they know that.

[ChgrSteve67]

Complaints are now filed.

I'm not expecting much.

Bad customer service is the norm in CA not the exception.

[quapman]

OK, I get it now, wasn't paying attention, I guess.

Unfortunately, it's not just CA. Poor service in general seems to be the norm and when you complain, it's nothing but excuses.

How did the U.S. lose its competitive edge again?

[Ghoste]

ITSA426 you are becoming an odd man out and you should be sure to promote that dealership whenever you hear of someone complaining about a dealer or asking where to go for a new car or service and parts.  If they  treat people right they deserve the support. 

[moparheater]

I finally located the hard to find turn signal terminals for my 66 charger at Larchmont Dodge in New York (I'm from KS). They charged me 11.01 shipping only to send the little teminals in a regular envelope which got torn somewhere from NY to KS. Opened it up and you guessed it, only 6 terminals in the envelope. Got 2 calls into the service mangager since the middle of June and have yet to have this problem resolved  All for an .83 terminal.


The other dealership that i tried to get these parts through sent me the wrong terminal, but luckily didn't charge me because he lost my information. Stupid.

[ITSA426]

ITSA426 you are becoming an odd man out and you should be sure to promote that dealership whenever you hear of someone complaining about a dealer or asking where to go for a new car or service and parts.  If they  treat people right they deserve the support. 

I try.  It took several tries to find a good dealer.  I bought my Rumble Bee from a dealer who is now closed down, involved in a huge bankruptcy, under FBI investigation, fraud claims, and it gets more bizarre each day.  Chrysler claims he owes close to half a billion dollars.  Too bad, because he had some good people working for him.  That's not the dealer I use now.

Dealers are in business, and can't stay in business if they give everything away but they don't have to change their attitude after you make a big purchase either.

[Ghoste]

Exactly, the crappy service and attitudes make the prices even worse than they may or may not actually be.  The dealer I go to for parts always treats me good and sometimes the part is more than another place but as long as it isn't stupid more I go there because he gives me a discount when he can but just as or more important, he always knows my name, he always asks about the Charger and if I phone and say order this number he doesn't question me or ask for a deposit.

[b5blue]

I wish someone around me was like that! My local guys are smug A-holes who just look at you like they are some kind of know-it-all.

[ChgrSteve67]

Update

Better Business Bureau called me and they contacted the dealership.

The Dealership told them they would refund the money for the switch but not the labor.
They also told the BBB that I should have contaced the service manager which I tried to do but the dealership never returned any of my calls.

I'm not going to hold my breath on seeing any of my money again so the best I can do is let everyone know about my experience and keep filing complaints.

I'm also currently working on a letter to the Chrysler Corporation which I figure will land on def ears as well but it will at least make me feel I have told and warned everyone I could.

I still have 5 years left on the warranty on my wife car so now I will need to find a new dealership to get it serviced at.

[b5blue]

Why not contact a local TV station....Like one they advertise on?

[ChgrSteve67]

Waiting for the whole story to unfold.  Believe me that option is still on the table.

I want to give each company and organization an opportunity to step up and do the right thing.

In the end for the $115 its worth it to know who not to do business with when it gomes time to spend the BIG money.
My PT Cruiser will be 9 years old in October and needs to be replaced in the next year or so.

Guess I need to go down a take a look at the new Camero or Mini Cooper.

20 years ago I said I would never own another ford, so far thats been pretty easy to live with.

[ChgrSteve67]

Well to close out the thread I figured I would give everyone the results.

After filing complaints to the Better Business Bureau and the Bureau of Automotive repair the Dealership finally refunded me the money for the switch but that was it, they said they would not refund the hour of labor (or the half hour they said they would) they claimed they needed to plug in the fuse and check that the switch was bad.

I got a switch from another dealer for $25 less ($59 for the switch and $15 shipping - local dealer was screwing me for $100 for just the switch) and for the hour of labor they wanted to charge me twice for it took the removal of 6 screws and about 15 minutes to replace it (no special tools required)

Steve

[greenpigs]

I'm done buying new Mopar products since they closed the archives. I buy a new car about every 3 years so I guess now its a Ford. No way im buying an obama wagon.

[moparheater]

if you want to file a complaint with an out of state business, do you file it in that state, or go locally? my guess is contact the out of state better business bureau. or is the better business bureau national?

[ChgrSteve67]

The BBB is National
http://www.bbb.org/

I don't know if each state has a consumer affairs department or not. I would guess they do.

[moparheater]

thanks for the info steve, got my compaint sent!

[moparheater]

I finally located the hard to find turn signal terminals for my 66 charger at Larchmont Dodge in New York (I'm from KS). They charged me 11.01 shipping only to send the little teminals in a regular envelope which got torn somewhere from NY to KS. Opened it up and you guessed it, only 6 terminals in the envelope. Got 2 calls into the service mangager since the middle of June and have yet to have this problem resolved  All for an .83 terminal.


The other dealership that i tried to get these parts through sent me the wrong terminal, but luckily didn't charge me because he lost my information. Stupid.

Got one nicely packaged turn signal wire terminal in the mail this week from Larchmont Dodge. Going through the better business bureau worked for me, just took a little time to get results.

[ChgrSteve67]

 

[Charger440RDN]

NEVER go to the stealer, I mean the dealer unless you have too. There are some parts I HAVE to go to the dealer for on my Cadillac and they gouge the hell out of you every time. 

[vancamp]

we have taken the wifes jeep in for warranty issues 4 different times in the past 4 months same issue every time, they kept it 3 weeks at one time till we decided to pick it up, we have been waiting for over 2 1/2 months for parts for an 07 jeep. they had 2 trucks their that had been at the dealership waiting on parts for over 3 months for engine issues.