Local mechanic of Dealer for your Ram?

[greywolf2112]

Started calling around for some basic 60k mile service, multi-point inspection, differential oil change, etc. TWO dealerships near me apparently don't want my business as neither of them have returned repeated calls, emails, etc.

Just wondering if most of you take your Ram in to the dealership or to a local mechanic you trust?

 

[ibike]

Local mechanic. Me.

 

[greywolf2112]

Local mechanic. Me.

I honestly wish I could hit the rewind button on my life and take Auto shop class in high school and spent more time under cars with my dad.

 

[mboymopar]

Depending on what needs to be done, while under warranty like using the dealer I bought the truck from, 10 miles away, but I have a local shop that also works on it.
70/30

 

[Hawkman]

Most of the time I go to the dealer. I have not had good luck finding an Indy shop in my area that does quality work.

Well, I did find one about two years ago. But he packed up in Oct and moved to Ky.

I can do a lot of the maintenance work myself. But its the getting rid of the used fluids and parts that’s the hassle. Just as easy to let the dealership take care of it.

 

[GTyankee]

I see that you inquire about maintenance in the 5th Generation Ram section of this forum

but you do not mention just what year or how many Liters

 

[ibike]

Or what work?

 

[greywolf2112]

I see that you inquire about maintenance in the 5th Generation Ram section of this forum

but you do not mention just what year or how many Liters

In my tagline, but it is a 2020 Laramie 1500 5.7 with Etorque, 2WD, 60k miles

 

[Dean2]

Guys, what does the year and engine size, or which forum he posted in, have to do with the question. He wants to know, dealer or Independent for general maintenance and in his original post, "Started calling around for some basic 60k mile service, multi-point inspection, differential oil change, etc."

To the OP, if you don't want to do it yourself, spending the time to find a good independent is well worth it. I have a great dealer and use them till I am off warranty, but the 2 independents I have and use are great too and quite a bit cheaper.

 

[turkeybird56]

Guys, what does the year and engine size, or which forum he posted in, have to do with the question. He wants to know, dealer or Independent for general maintenance and in his original post, "Started calling around for some basic 60k mile service, multi-point inspection, differential oil change, etc."

To the OP, if you don't want to do it yourself, spending the time to find a good independent is well worth it. I have a great dealer and use them till I am off warranty, but the 2 independents I have and use are great too and quite a bit cheaper.

Warranty Work: DEALER. But I do not go to local Dealership, oh HECK no. I drive 50 miles away to another county to Dealership. There are (2) decent local shops and I have them do the other stuff, BUT like oil changes, I walk in with Parts in Hand.

 

[ibike]

I’m getting older so changing the oil on this dam ram is a pain, but I’ve got a pac oil relocation kit waiting for me to put on. I bought it used with 36,000 miles on it. So far I’ve had to put a new starter on it. That was easy. Then the drop down air dam went out, that took about thirty minutes or less to replace.
It started its life in New Jersey so I’m thinking the salted roads had a bit to do with those failures. Can’t decide if the lifter/cam problem or broken head bolts problem come up if I’ll do the work or go to the dealer. Dunno?

 

[runamuck]

I go to the dealer only for recalls and warranty work. there's a pretty good one about 3 miles away. do all the maintenance I can myself. oil changes, belts, small stuff. same with my harleys and the wife's infiniti. always buy or download the manual when I get a new vehicle. if the wife's car or my ram truck needs anything major done, I get a price from the dealer and our favorite indy nearby.

 

[Wild one]

I’ve got a pac oil relocation kit waiting for me to put on.

Take a die grinder and smooth out all the sharp edges you can get at,and i'd even look into having better hoses made up that use high flow 90's. The oil pump pushes roughly 5 to 7 gallons of oil per minute,so you want to give that pacbrake kit some help

 

[Sandevino]

Mike’s garage. Located conveniently in my garage.

 

[ibike]

Take a die grinder and smooth out all the sharp edges you can get at,and i'd even look into having better hoses made up that use high flow 90's. The oil pump pushes roughly 5 to 7 gallons of oil per minute,so you want to give that pacbrake kit some help

Hey thanks for the suggestion. I am a bit paranoid of the pressure drop folks are getting when they install this system.

 

[Wild one]

Hey thanks for the suggestion. I am a bit paranoid of the pressure drop folks are getting when they install this system.

After i got a close up look at the pacbrake kit,it sure didn't impress me,especially for the amount of money they want for the kit.Whoever designed it,i don't think they knew how much oil the oil pump actually pumps,as their use of low flow 90's is about as poor an idea as i've seen lately.
I'm sticking with my patched together Transdapt dual filter set-up,it actually gained me a couple psi over the stock filter or my prior single oil filter set-up.

 

[Tulecreeper]

I'll got to the dealer for warranty work. Local mechanic for everything else.

 

[Hawkman]

Warranty Work: DEALER. But I do not go to local Dealership, oh HECK no. I drive 50 miles away to another county to Dealership. There are (2) decent local shops and I have them do the other stuff, BUT like oil changes, I walk in with Parts in Hand.

I actually buy my own oil and filter. Then I take them to my dealer for change. I do this for my Ram and Durango.

Dealership charges my $25 plus tax to change the oil and rotate the tires.

 

[GTyankee]

My dealership will not allow me to supply anything.
I asked & they told me that i can go elsewhere with my Oil & Filters
Even though the stuff that i had, was exactly what they supposedly would be using

I don't know what OIL is in their 50 gallon barrels, for all i know, it may not be Rotella ??

I do not trust dealerships, since Covid, their good Service Writers that really cared & ASE Certified personnel left to go to other shops.

I will only use the Dealership for Warranty & Recall work for now

 

[mtofell]

I've always had everything done at the dealership to make warranty claims easy (Lifetime MaxCare). But yeah.... getting them on the phone can be a real challenge. Always makes me laugh - I wish I could run my business by not calling people back