RAM dealerships refuses to service my vehicle due to low survey score (long post)

[unxpctd]

While its funny...its also sad.

I was going to upgrade from my Durango R/T to a full size SUV several months back. I spent 2 months perusing the Yukon/Tahoe forums. Full size GM vehicles, including the pickups and the SUV's have a HUGE vibration issue. Its a crap shoot too...80% of people get a good vehicle. 20% or so get one that has major vibration issues...so bad in fact that it sickens passengers. GM isn't addressing the problem either. Its ALL OVER the internet...multiple forums.

I was NOT going to spend 70K on a Yukon Denali to have myself or other passengers getting sick 100 miles into a 400 mile round trip.

Started looking around...and BAM! Why not a pickup? I love Dodge/Ram and hadn't thought about a pickup before. More storage / more utility / full size cabin / as many if not more emenities.... $25,000 less....it was a no brainer.

I seriouly doubt I'll ever be in an SUV again. I love this RAM! I have no idea why I hadn't considered one earlier.

 

[Jared26]

While its funny...its also sad.

I was going to upgrade from my Durango R/T to a full size SUV several months back. I spent 2 months perusing the Yukon/Tahoe forums. Full size GM vehicles, including the pickups and the SUV's have a HUGE vibration issue. Its a crap shoot too...80% of people get a good vehicle. 20% or so get one that has major vibration issues...so bad in fact that it sickens passengers. GM isn't addressing the problem either. Its ALL OVER the internet...multiple forums.

I was NOT going to spend 70K on a Yukon Denali to have myself or other passengers getting sick 100 miles into a 400 mile round trip.

Started looking around...and BAM! Why not a pickup? I love Dodge/Ram and hadn't thought about a pickup before. More storage / more utility / full size cabin / as many if not more emenities.... $25,000 less....it was a no brainer.

I seriouly doubt I'll ever be in an SUV again. I love this RAM! I have no idea why I hadn't considered one earlier.

Yep, I won't go anywhere near a GM truck or SUV, stories like yours though are why FCA needs to smarten up, I bet if you're happy with your truck and dealer service if any warranty issues arise you'd buy another Ram in the future. I also bet that if you got ****** around buy multiple dealers you'd never consider a Ram again. This is their chance to capitalize and create loyal customers out of people coming from other brands.

 

[Pull Ya]

Reminds me of what I saw on the gm-trucks forum yesterday...

That might be a factory option!!!
Jay

 

[Jared26]

That might be a factory option!!!
Jay

Might as well be from the laundry list of issues that affects those trucks.

 

[Bdersch]

for those of you just joining us on page 31 of this thread.... i tried to get 5 things looked at the dealership bluetooth, some electircal things, a front end squeak and a broke tire winch and now a vibration. dealership refused all work and said nothing was wrong. I gave them a bad survey, they called said give us a better survey score or we will not look at your truck. took it to ram care and ram specialist had the same attitude that i modified my vehicle (AKA bigger tires) therefore nothing is covered under warranty.

 

[spoon059]

Thanks, I couldn't remember.

One thing at a time. Bluetooth and electrical aren't related to a lift. There isn't any other dealer you can take it to get worked on?

Front end squeak, broken spare tire mount and vibration could all very easily be explained by having bigger and heavier tires. I can't give you guidance there.

 

[Bdersch]

Thanks, I couldn't remember.

One thing at a time. Bluetooth and electrical aren't related to a lift. There isn't any other dealer you can take it to get worked on?

Front end squeak, broken spare tire mount and vibration could all very easily be explained by having bigger and heavier tires. I can't give you guidance there.

only other dealers are nearly an hour away and its not worth the drive for them to possibly just turn me away for bluetooth/ electrical.

if you read the first post i explain why the tire winch is not related to the tires.

the squeak COULD BE but i dont even know where there squeak is coming from and they refused to look into it.

the vibration started last winter and was "fixed" but now has started up again. so not related to the tires since before it was a broken piece in my overhead center console

 

[kccustom]

I am new to this forum so I don't want to come off as a jerk, but I there are a few things I feel compelled to add to the conversation.

Hopefully I can give an objective, fresh point of view.

First of all I'm not a big fan of dealerships, and this comes from collecting Harley Davidsons. HD Dealerships are notorious for their crappy attitudes and customer service. Therefore, I refuse to let them work on any of my bikes, and until this day an HD Dealership has never touched a bike that I owned. Unfair or not, my attitude has bled into my automobile ownership as well. I REALLY don't like dealerships touching my vehicles. Just as with my motorcycles I would much rather establish a relationship with an "Indy" shop and let them work on my vehicles.

The bully tactics that dealership used is inexcusable. To call up a customer and intimidate them into changing a survey is unbelievable. That should be reported to the corporate office and dealt with accordingly.

BUT, bullying (or worse) is exactly what happened to the tech from Texas in this thread. As a person who has a disdain for dealerships, I didn't care for anything he had to say but to make an overt attempt to put his professional reputation in jeopardy because of a spat in an internet forum is just as egregious as what the OPs dealership did to him. Especially when a "super moderator" uses his tools to assist in that endeavor. If the tech from Texas violates the TOS/Rules of the Forum by all means deal with him, but just because he says some crass or unpopular things I'm not sure that is reason to "undelete" post he chooses to delete, or allude to the fact that where he works could be found and these post could be used to harm him. Because of course we all know that everyone acts the same way in person as they do in internet forums......... In fact all he was doing is defending his profession (right or wrong) which is what anyone of us would have done if it were being trashed.

Enough about that though.

I'm definitely not here to defend dealerships, but to think we are completely "guilt free" in the attitude that some dealerships are taking these days is somewhat naïve.

For example throughout this thread and the OP's previous one I have seen people, including the OP talk about "what they can get out of it", and I think this is the wrong attitude. If someone does something wrong to me, I want it corrected and I want to be made whole, but I don't NOTHING more than that. And I think that is the attitude I have seen in several post. I just don't think that is right.

Except for my Shelby GT350 and my daughter's VW everything I own or have owned for the last 20 years is Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep but the only one they have ever touched is the wife's. One of my best friends and riding buddies works at our local dealership and it hurts his feelings, I just explain to him I don't do dealerships.

Just trying to give my objective dos centavos..

He shouldn't have pimped himself as a ram tech and then talk **** about the people he makes money from, he talked **** about "not making any money unless he was working on customers cars" then bragging about working on his bosses duster.

Screw that guy, I would fire his ass if he worked for me.

 

[2014Bluestreak]

only other dealers are nearly an hour away and its not worth the drive for them to possibly just turn me away for bluetooth/ electrical.

There is a Ram dealership 7 miles away from the offending dealership. There are at least 3 dealerships within a 20 min drive of Champion that you could go to instead.

Tom O'Brien, Bill Estes(Brownsburg), and Kahlo(Noblesville) just to name a few. Westgate, O'Brien south, and Eastgate are only 30-40 minutes away.

I dislike Champion CJDR alot as well, but complaining there are no other dealers around?

 

[spoon059]

Do you guys honestly think this is worth my time in court and lawyer fees? i mean i feel like ive got a super solid case. but i dont even know what my end result would be? Money? new truck? pay off truck?

only other dealers are nearly an hour away and its not worth the drive for them to possibly just turn me away for bluetooth/ electrical.

if you read the first post i explain why the tire winch is not related to the tires.

the squeak COULD BE but i dont even know where there squeak is coming from and they refused to look into it.

the vibration started last winter and was "fixed" but now has started up again. so not related to the tires since before it was a broken piece in my overhead center console

You asked opinions, I gave you mine. You can spend whatever money you want hiring a lawyer and hoping for the best. My advice is simple. Go to another dealer. Even if it is an hour away, that's a LOT more convenient than hiring an attorney, waiting to speak to him, paying him to listen to you speak, paying him to investigate, paying him to draft up documents, paying him to speak for you in court. Again, its your money. It would probably be far cheaper to pay to repair your truck out of pocket. For me, it would be more reasonable to drive an hour to another dealer.

I am not a mechanic, I don't know why your winch is broken or you have a squeak. I can tell you that aftermarket parts are a very very simple excuse to deflect blame by a mechanic. You chose to put aftermarket parts on, you have to start absorbing some blame. Unless you can PROVE that your aftermarket parts didn't cause the issues, it pretty easy for Ram to argue that heavier tires caused the spare tire winch to break. Unless you can PROVE that your aftermarket parts didn't cause the issues, it is pretty easy for Ram to argue that heavier spinning mass caused something to get out of spec, causing the squeak.

Again, you can invest a large amount of money and time into paying a lawyer to fight it, or you can pay out of pocket.

You requested opinion, I gave mine. You can feel free to ignore it, but I don't think a snarky reply to me will help with your problem. I understand that you are likely frustrated with your situation, but I had nothing to do with it. Good luck.

 

[Bdersch]

You asked opinions, I gave you mine. You can spend whatever money you want hiring a lawyer and hoping for the best. My advice is simple. Go to another dealer. Even if it is an hour away, that's a LOT more convenient than hiring an attorney, waiting to speak to him, paying him to listen to you speak, paying him to investigate, paying him to draft up documents, paying him to speak for you in court. Again, its your money. It would probably be far cheaper to pay to repair your truck out of pocket. For me, it would be more reasonable to drive an hour to another dealer.

I am not a mechanic, I don't know why your winch is broken or you have a squeak. I can tell you that aftermarket parts are a very very simple excuse to deflect blame by a mechanic. You chose to put aftermarket parts on, you have to start absorbing some blame. Unless you can PROVE that your aftermarket parts didn't cause the issues, it pretty easy for Ram to argue that heavier tires caused the spare tire winch to break. Unless you can PROVE that your aftermarket parts didn't cause the issues, it is pretty easy for Ram to argue that heavier spinning mass caused something to get out of spec, causing the squeak.

Again, you can invest a large amount of money and time into paying a lawyer to fight it, or you can pay out of pocket.

You requested opinion, I gave mine. You can feel free to ignore it, but I don't think a snarky reply to me will help with your problem. I understand that you are likely frustrated with your situation, but I had nothing to do with it. Good luck.

I hardly think my response to you was snarky. but okay... anyways i do listen and appreciate yours and everyone elses opinion on this matter. It has been a month already its super annoying to be honest.

I do agree that its not worth it to talk to a lawyer as they are expensive and there is no guarenteed it will be fixed or i will get anything out of this.

I am more leaning towards trying another dealer or selling the truck and cutting my losses. I owe what its worth if not slightly less so it would not be a big loss.

 

[Bdersch]

There is a Ram dealership 7 miles away from the offending dealership. There are at least 3 dealerships within a 20 min drive of Champion that you could go to instead.

Tom O'Brien, Bill Estes(Brownsburg), and Kahlo(Noblesville) just to name a few. Westgate, O'Brien south, and Eastgate are only 30-40 minutes away.

I dislike Champion CJDR alot as well, but complaining there are no other dealers around?

I do see these dealers now. When i originally spoke to ram none of these were mentioned to me ( iwas going off what she recommended)...

also keep in mind this is Indianapolis 7 miles is more like 20-30 minute drive at least depending on the day/ traffic/ time.

 

[spoon059]

I hardly think my response to you was snarky. but okay... anyways i do listen and appreciate yours and everyone elses opinion on this matter. It has been a month already its super annoying to be honest.

I do agree that its not worth it to talk to a lawyer as they are expensive and there is no guarenteed it will be fixed or i will get anything out of this.

I am more leaning towards trying another dealer or selling the truck and cutting my losses. I owe what its worth if not slightly less so it would not be a big loss.

Okay, my apologies for reading into it too much. I understand your frustration and imagine that it sucks. I would try another dealer first. Selling will be a big loss, because you will have to start all over with new debt on a new truck. Hopefully another dealer will fix your issues for you.

 

[huntergreen]

The initial consult with an attorney should be no charge. IMHO, 20 to 30 minute drive is more cost effective than trading in your truck. The reality is some dealers suck.

 

[Purplert]

30 mins is nothing to go to another dealer... it sucks but sometimes you just get dealers that don't want to go that extra mile or their more about selling you something

 

[Bdersch]

Maybe I'll have to try one of these other dealers out and see what I can do. I donly really love my truck and it would suck to sell it but just am worried and the long term. Guess i need to get it in before the next 3000 miles.

 

[O.R.T.]

*New dealer could easily offer you a solution, as a good-will on their part. Hell, I've even seen a certain one contradict their competitor's feedback and info with a statement from the CorpRep attached, thus eliminating any and all pushback from that point forward. The one I speak of may well be earning some referrals from me for that reason, knowing what I saw from their competitor.

At this point it costs you nothing but gas and time, well possibly some frustration/stress, to goto a different one. Be straight up as to why you're there and what you'd like to see about. Don't ******** and don't be pushy, just ask for assistance and let their actions speak to their interests in a new customer and possibly who else you can now bring to them. Know what I mean?

*WAITS FOR "THESE GUYS ARE AWESOME!" REPLY*

 

[Trooper2]

So I kinda been following the thread and I have a question. If I bought my Ram at dealer A but live closer to B do they not have to do warrenty work if some comes up?

 

[Ramnewbie]

So I kinda been following the thread and I have a question. If I bought my Ram at dealer A but live closer to B do they not have to do warrenty work if some comes up?

Theoretically any dealer has to do warranty work no matter where you bought it. Now they may give you some flac for not buying there but they can't refuse warranty work. I really don't know why the hassle, they get reimbursed.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[JPT]

So I kinda been following the thread and I have a question. If I bought my Ram at dealer A but live closer to B do they not have to do warrenty work if some comes up?

They will do it, but most wont offer a loaner and may not give you priority. I am doing the exact same thing, if I have quick work where I can wait, or dont need a loaner I use B, if it is long, I will get a loaner at A.