Can we please get past the dealership model?

[Defuse]

I recently purchased a new RAM from my local dealer. The process absolutely abysmal with dishonesty and gaslighting at every turn. I have already talked to the ownership of the dealership that they have lost my business forever. Is there a path for customers to share these experiences with FCA for them to see how bad their brand is being represented?

I am not terribly interested in getting back on the soap box just for the sake of it if at the end of the day nothing happens to the dealer to change their behavior. I want nothing more than to be able to go to a manufacturer's website, configure my vehicle, have it built and delivered to me without having to ever talk to a dealership again.


Yes, I am bitter these **** bags can just lie to the public and there are no repercussions for their actions.

 

[SniperDroid]

Maybe you should have found a better dealer...

 

[Defuse]

Maybe you should have found a better dealer...

You are missing the bigger point here.

 

[SniperDroid]

No, I don't think I am. I shopped several dealers and asked a lot of questions before we bought my wife's 2016 Jeep Cherokee. Talked to friends and family about their purchases, and found a dealer 60 miles from where we live to buy from. We were so pleased with that one, I bought my truck from them. I send all my family and friends there. When spending that kind of money you got to do the legwork! I work too hard for my money... if someone wants some of it, they have to work hard, too!

 

[Redfisher1974]

I bought my ram in 2017 all online only going to dealer to pick up. Was smooth as butter.

 

[chri5k]

There is the whole service side to a dealership. And without dealerships who will do recall repairs? Warranty repairs? Other repairs that require special equipment from the manufacturer? Are you suggesting dealerships be turned into factory service centers only? Allow independent shops to do said repairs?

Not saying dealerships are fun but they do provide a network of local service and support as well as sales.

 

[jejb]

I recently purchased a new RAM from my local dealer. The process absolutely abysmal with dishonesty and gaslighting at every turn. I have already talked to the ownership of the dealership that they have lost my business forever. Is there a path for customers to share these experiences with FCA for them to see how bad their brand is being represented?

I am not terribly interested in getting back on the soap box just for the sake of it if at the end of the day nothing happens to the dealer to change their behavior. I want nothing more than to be able to go to a manufacturer's website, configure my vehicle, have it built and delivered to me without having to ever talk to a dealership again.


Yes, I am bitter these **** bags can just lie to the public and there are no repercussions for their actions.

You could contact @RamCares here about your experience. But besides that, forums like these and word of mouth, there's not many other places to shine a spotlight on bad dealers.

 

[Dean2]

DealerRater - Car Dealer Reviews, Car Dealer Directory, Vehicles For Sale, Vehicle Recalls

Read Car Dealer Reviews, Car Recalls & Helpful Consumer Information about dealerships written by real people like you.

www.dealerrater.com

There is A Canadian Version of this that gets used extensively. That and Google reviews are an excellent way to get the word out on dealers. You do need top be careful however as some dealerships solicit positive Google reviews with incentives, so you can find VERY large differences between theDealer Rater ranking and Google.

Most folks I know post the same review on both sites, good or bad. If the dealer has a Facebook page, you can copy the review there too.

REALLY bad rated dealer on 213 Reviews

DealerRater - Car Dealer Reviews, Car Dealer Directory, Vehicles For Sale, Vehicle Recalls

268 Reviews of Southtown Chrysler - Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Service Center Car Dealer Reviews & Helpful Consumer Information about this Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Service Center dealership written by real people like you.

www.dealerrater.ca

Google Rating

Go Dodge Southtown Chrysler​

4.1(1,931)


Very highly rated dealer on +1,800 reviews at Dealer Rater.

DealerRater - Car Dealer Reviews, Car Dealer Directory, Vehicles For Sale, Vehicle Recalls

1896 Reviews of Great West Chrysler Jeep Dodge - Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Service Center Car Dealer Reviews & Helpful Consumer Information about this Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Service Center dealership written by real people like you.

www.dealerrater.ca

Google Rating​

​

Great West Chrysler Jeep Dodge RAM​

4.3(1,835)

Not to hard to tell who you have better odds with.

 

[Tulecreeper]

There is the whole service side to a dealership. And without dealerships who will do recall repairs? Warranty repairs? Other repairs that require special equipment from the manufacturer? Are you suggesting dealerships be turned into factory service centers only? Allow independent shops to do said repairs?

Not saying dealerships are fun but they do provide a network of local service and support as well as sales.

I think that's coming. I talked with the Ford dealer here when I was shopping for a new truck back in December and told him I had read that the manufacturers are trying to cut the dealerships out of the picture. They (salesman and sales manager) said they thought so, too. The manager said that Ford had only allotted them 22 F-250's for the entire 2023 model year. I commented that he could probably sell that many in a couple months. He replied that he could probably sell that many in a couple weeks, but that's all they were going to give him for the whole year.

 

[star_deceiver]

Are you suggesting dealerships be turned into factory service centers only? Allow independent shops to do said repairs?

Yes to both.

Although, I want to sit in the vehicle I’m buying, drive it around, crawl under and around.

The most important thing to remember is ‘Who’s in charge’, you! If you don’t like anything about your salesman, ask to see the floor manager and demand somebody else help you. If the car isn’t what you want, tell them. If you don’t have the knack for numbers, bring along someone who does. Remember that if you don’t like the deal and they won’t budge, at any time you are free to walk out of the building and go home, their feelings aren’t your problem.

 

[mikeru]

I recently purchased a new RAM from my local dealer. The process absolutely abysmal with dishonesty and gaslighting at every turn. I have already talked to the ownership of the dealership that they have lost my business forever. Is there a path for customers to share these experiences with FCA for them to see how bad their brand is being represented?

I am not terribly interested in getting back on the soap box just for the sake of it if at the end of the day nothing happens to the dealer to change their behavior. I want nothing more than to be able to go to a manufacturer's website, configure my vehicle, have it built and delivered to me without having to ever talk to a dealership again.


Yes, I am bitter these **** bags can just lie to the public and there are no repercussions for their actions.

They send out surveys after a visit to the service department. Would be nice if they sent out a survey after purchasing a truck too. I get surveys from Audi for every interaction at the dealership. Filled one out out after the initial purchase, and have filled one out any time I use the service department. Fortunately for me the local Ram dealership has a great sales team. Unfortunately the service department sucks. Which is why we drive to a different dealership an hour away if we need to use the service department.

 

[Travelin Ram]

They send out surveys after a visit to the service department. Would be nice if they sent out a survey after purchasing a truck too. I get surveys from Audi for every interaction at the dealership. Filled one out out after the initial purchase, and have filled one out any time I use the service department. Fortunately for me the local Ram dealership has a great sales team. Unfortunately the service department sucks. Which is why we drive to a different dealership an hour away if we need to use the service department.

It’s worse than you know. FCA does do post-purchase surveys. Unscrupulous dealers are adept at intercepting them and submitting it themselves. I know this because it’s been done to me.

 

[Defuse]

There is the whole service side to a dealership. And without dealerships who will do recall repairs? Warranty repairs? Other repairs that require special equipment from the manufacturer? Are you suggesting dealerships be turned into factory service centers only? Allow independent shops to do said repairs?

Not saying dealerships are fun but they do provide a network of local service and support as well as sales.

I am saying that having a third party between consumers and vehicle manufacturers is a bad practice and needs to be eliminated. I am far more likely to take my vehicle to a specialty shop than to a dealer for work. If that specialty shop could also do warranty work I would be in heaven.

I KNOW that when I take my VW to my VW, Porche, Audi exclusive mechanic they are going to do the work required to maintain their business. That means good customer service and good work in the garage. Dealerships are far too large to operate like that.

 

[Defuse]

It’s worse than you know. FCA does do post-purchase surveys. Unscrupulous dealers are adept at intercepting them and submitting it themselves. I know this because it’s been done to me.

This dealership tried to convince me that the survey they were strongarming me to do was only for the sales guy and not the entire dealership. Not today you smelly snake..

 

[GTyankee]

You unfortunately are not up to date.
FCA, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
merged with
Stellantis
who is now
Stellantis (Netherlands) is the corporation formed from the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot S.A. merger. The FCA brands sold in the U.S. are now under Stellantis: Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, and Ram.
Overseas brands also include Citroen, DS Automobiles, Opel, Peugeot, and Vauxhall. Abarth,

If a Dodge dealership gets enough complaints filed with Stellantis Headquarters, that dealership can lose any affiliation with Stellantis.

When FCA was still in charge, several dealerships were dropped, but we will never know if the reason was Covid , poor service, or poor sales

 

[crash68]

I KNOW that when I take my VW to my VW, Porche, Audi exclusive mechanic they are going to do the work required to maintain their business. That means good customer service and good work in the garage. Dealerships are far too large to operate like that.

So are you saying you do or don't like having a dealership? You do realize that VW, Porsche and Audi are a dealerships?
What your pissed off about is crappy service from the dealership you went to. As mentioned above it comes down to the dealership your going to. You think a dealership screws you over, wait till there's no competition with a manufacturer direct model.

 

[tjfdesmo]

I am saying that having a third party between consumers and vehicle manufacturers is a bad practice and needs to be eliminated. I am far more likely to take my vehicle to a specialty shop than to a dealer for work. If that specialty shop could also do warranty work I would be in heaven.

I KNOW that when I take my VW to my VW, Porche, Audi exclusive mechanic they are going to do the work required to maintain their business. That means good customer service and good work in the garage. Dealerships are far too large to operate like that.

One of the worst dealerships I ever dealt with was a VW store.

Are you insinuating that going factory direct would be better? That the factories are benevolant boy scouts? Good luck with that.

 

[Dean2]

So are you saying you do or don't like having a dealership? You do realize that VW, Porsche and Audi are a dealerships?
What your pissed off about is crappy service from the dealership you went to. As mentioned above it comes down to the dealership your going to. You think a dealership screws you over, wait till there's no competition with a manufacturer direct model.

You are reading what he wrote incorrectly. He is using an independant shop that specializes in vw Audi and Porsche, not the dealership. There are quite a few specialty independants that I have dealt with and they are generally exceptionally good at fixing their specialty makes. Most are factory trained earlier in their careers, some were even trained on factory sponsored race teams. They are the guys that take extraordinary pride in their work and expertise. These are exactly the guys the dealers need to have and consistently lose because of how their shops operate.

 

[DILLIGAF]

Anyone who goes to a stealersh!t deserve what they get...

Specialty shops are where it's at.

Its like people that go to fast food joints and complain when the foods garbage...lol...

 

[tron67j]

I have only ever bought from dealerships myself, and generally a good experience. One sent handwritten cards on my birthdate for like 5 years, another sent my wife flowers after her purchase (don't think bad thoughts). If a dealer doesn't treat you right, then leave; that's what my family has done.

I have had friends who bought via the company order/pickup model, and the experience was meh at best. Oh, by the way we had a price increase after you ordered so cough up more or we sell it to someone else. Oh, yeah, we dropped the "all the same price point" by $5k yesterday but since you already paid, you are out of luck. Yes, all this has happened.

Service, what a joke because the store front is just that, no one around cares after the sale and while some may feel that way about a dealer at least there are different departments to go to to find someone who cares. Dropping a Tesla off for service is "park over there, enter your data here, and we will tell you what is wrong and fix it for an exorbitant price.

I will always want a dealer but I think states should allow manufacturer stores as well. Give the dealer a level playing field to start and it all comes down to service. Make people want to come to you. Worked for me, we owned a local store that was a franchise of a large national chain with 3 mall stores within an hour drive. We sold more of certain items than all 3 mall stores combined (verified through yearly stats) and it was all because of our service versus the mall " I got the sale, I don't make any more money helping you so go away" lack of customer service.