Reliability, Dealerships

[Tombato]

brought my ram in for an oil change last week at roughly 80,000 miles, asked to check for something that might be causing a rattle over small bumps sounded similar to a rattle I had a month after I got it and the stabilizer bolt had loosened. was told that I need left and right front axles, differential and intermediary link replaced. excessive play in the axles and link. not 100 percent sure why the diff but they mentioned leaky seals or something. can't really remember because i was in a state of disbelief. already had to replace a cracked manifold outside the standard warranty. these things should not be an issue at 80,000. i don't off-road and have only used 4wd 10 or so times. 4 wheel auto a few times when it was wet and slippery. dealer services every 6-7 thousand miles. wtf?????!!! Thoughts??

 

[mikeru]

Definitely get a second opinion from another shop. You don't have to limit yourself to Ram dealers either since you're not looking at a warranty repair.

 

[2020PW]

Why does everyone think dealerships are out to get them? You don’t think they have better things to do? My dealership takes care of our vehicles to the point I tip the mechanics. They fix all kinds of things with no issue or hassle, something’s for free. The funny part is when a conspiracy theory owner shows up, they can see the attitude and don’t go out of their way to help.

 

[turkeybird56]

Definitely get a second opinion from another shop. You don't have to limit yourself to Ram dealers either since you're not looking at a warranty repair.

DITTO 2nd Opinion. I hate to say it: There are good Dealerships, bad, and some in the middle. Kinda luck of the draw. My Dealership is pretty good, but I did not buy in town, but traveled over 50 miles away to another County to get my Current Vehicle.

 

[mikeru]

Agreed. There are good, fair, and bad dealerships out there. Just like there are good, fair, and bad non-dealership repair shops. All it takes is one bad Ram dealership to cause someone to mistrust all Ram dealerships. Word of mouth in forums is more effective at spreading the "dealerships are all rip offs" myth. My local dealership has been very accommodating to me. Not all dealerships are bad, but it doesn't hurt to get a second opinion, especially if you're footing the repair bill.

 

[Docwagon1776]

Why does everyone think dealerships are out to get them?

Experience. Both as an employee, briefly, and as a customer. My experience has been smaller towns are the most likely to be straight. Reputation still matters. Big cities, you're more likely to get a bad one because they can screw you over and you can't taint enough of the customer base to matter.