Why use a dealership for anything other than warranty work?

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RedDwg

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Why does anyone use a dealer except if it is for warranty work? I have a 2003 Dodge Ram 3500 diesel that is hard starting if it is not plugged in if it gets below 50 degrees. Batteries are fine and grid heaters are fine. With 205K miles on it, it probably has some pressure problems somewhere. I decided the best first step was to take it to a dealership and have them test the system.

I got the standard response from this service work - change the fuel filter (which I did) but that probably won't fix it and will probably be looking at full injector replacement. For fun I asked them what that job would cost there. The Service Manager looked a few things up and then told me I should probably be sitting down. The cost for re-manufactured injectors was $5600. Labor was about $800. So with miscellaneous and tax I'm looking at $7,000.

After I stopped laughing I stopped at an independent shop on the way home and they quoted me $2800.

So, why does anyone go to a dealership except for warranty work?

RodeDawg
 

HemiLonestar

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Warranty work and recalls. Otherwise I can do better (and have) than any of the dealer techs who have actually touched my vehicles the few times that it's happened.
 

pajeepman

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Injectors on my one truck at work with a Cat engine will be around $4000.

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RedDwg

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I ended up buying new Bosch 50+ injectors, tubes and lines and had them installed for $3050 total. Now she starts when it's cold!
 

Fast69Mopar

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As a dealership technician for almost all of my professional wrenching career I have always had a love/hate relationship with having maintenance and repairs performed at the local dealer versus an independent shop. Don't get me wrong; I love to make money and flag a ton of hours so the more work the better. I totally understand the cost effectiveness of using an independent shop that you trust to save your hard earned greenbacks. But with that being said, I have found a really good reason to establish a relationship with your local dealership. This is something I have told my customers over and over throughout the years.

Let's say you purchase a new vehicle from your local dealer and you bring it in for your free oil changes and that's it. You stop coming in for any type of service. When your reach about 40,000 miles on the clock you have a trans failure or some other major powertrain failure. Well, now your vehicle is outside of the basic 3/36 warranty so the cost of the repairs are on your dime unless you have a powertrain warranty that extends past the 3/36 basic warranty. You have the vehicle towed to the dealership. They do their diagnostics and call you with an estimate for a replacement transmission. Now, this is where you call Chrysler and ask for some repair assistance and they turn you down or offer very little assistance at all. Why won't they help? It's just out of warranty.

Your upset that it happened as soon as your warranty has expired but you still need the vehicle to get back and forth to work and haul the family around so now you have to make a decision. What do you do?

What I am getting as is this. I have seen more customers over my 20 years in the dealership denied any assistance from Chrysler to repair their vehicle because they are not what is considered a loyal customer. It's a sh*tty thing to say but it's the hard truth. It goes on at other manufacturers dealerships as well.

The customers I have been involved with in situations like this who have had their maintenance and repairs performed at the dealership and spent their money at the dealership are the ones who have received the assistance from Chrysler or from the dealership themselves.

I have customers who get what they want. They buy several vehicles every couple of years and pay to have them repaired and maintained. When these customers come in with a vehicle on the hook and they need costly repairs they get repaired. Period. Chrysler covers them under warranty or the dealership covers the cost because they have been good, loyal customers. It sucks but it happens.

The other thing that dealerships have is what is called "Goodwill". They have in their floorplan budget what is called goodwill that they can use to give to customers for costly situations or even the small stuff. The service departments don't just dole out the Goodwill money to anyone. It is used for special occasions most of the time.

This is just my opinion. I have always told my customers or people who may be potential customers that it is a good idea to establish a relationship with a shop whether it be with mine or someone else.
 
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RedDwg

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I'm afraid the following is going to come off more snarky or deriding than I intend so I apologize upfront. Just can't figure out how to say this more eloquently...

"they are not what is considered a loyal customer" Meaning they haven't prepaid/overpaid enough on new cars and previous overly-expensive maintenance to justify dealership personnel trying to look magnanimous by grudgingly cutting them a break on the current repair.

Don't get me wrong. I love people who, "buy several vehicles every couple of years and pay to have them repaired and maintained". Because that increases the well-maintained used vehicle market for me. I've purchased one new truck in my life. On all the rest, someone else took the butt-kicking on the depreciation as it was driven off the lot.

And just like people can develop a trusting relationship with a dealership that can benefit them in situations like this, the same can be said for building a trusting relationship with a good independent shop for the exact same reasons. My extensive experience with this comes from Harleys, not trucks.

Your points are valid, but still don't justify $7000 for a re-manufactured injector replacement job.Sounds to me like they are trying to recover the lost revenue from some of that goodwill they're passing around to others. I only just moved here. And treating me like this on a truck I inherited when my dad passed isn't going to turn me into one of those loyal customers.
 

Fast69Mopar

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I cannot justify the cost of the reman injectors for the Cummins engines. The price is ridiculously high. I know why Chrysler sells them for so much because I get to see the price that the parts department has to pay for them. Chrysler could have and should have used a more cost effective supplier for them.

I don't like the "good, loyal customer" thing in the dealership world but it's there. I said it was a sh*tty thing. But in any business, like Chrysler's, they take care of the customers who take care of them like the ones who purchase new cars and trucks and Jeeps and spend their money at the dealership to maintain and repair them.

Like @RedDwg said about the independent shops, I am in full agreement that it is a good idea to have an established relationship with a quality independent shop that you trust. The independent world is more willing to take care of their customer because of how it can have a positive or negative affect on their business. Taking care of one customer or going over the top to take care of a customer goes a long way in the independent world. It can have a huge impact on their total revenue and bottom line profits.

As I said earlier I was only staying my opinion based on my experience as a dealership level mechanic.

To @RedDwg, I took no offense to your post. I expected to see something like that from our readers. You made several great points that I hope can help the forum when they go looking for a shop to maintain and repair their vehicles.
 

Bloody_Knuckles

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Most people don't have a business with a fleet of vehicles. They have one or two and have a tough time making ends meet and can't afford to have a car maintained at a dealership and out of commission for a day or two because they have to work. BTW, if a tranny fails after 40,000 miles, your vehicle is a POS.
 

Bloody_Knuckles

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Or a motor @60,000 like the poor guy in the other thread.

I was waiting on someone to say this. :bowroflwerd6:


Sounds like a Vega, if you are old enough to remember them. They used silicon impregnated aluminum cylinders that wore out after 30,000 miles and made the body panels out of very thin steel to save weight so they were rusted out in 2 years. A total POS.
 

OCDTech

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Sounds like a Vega, if you are old enough to remember them. They used silicon impregnated aluminum cylinders that wore out after 30,000 miles and made the body panels out of very thin steel to save weight so they were rusted out in 2 years. A total POS.

I know of them yes. Never heard they were bad cars though. Learn somthing everyday. Im 41 they were the cars before my time. Think my dad said his mom had one actually she prob didnt keep long. I will ask him about it


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WY-Dave

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Im short old and fat, the $20 difference between me and dearlership doing the oil change, they get to do it. Now the $85 for the filter change, that's when I do it.
 

chrisbh17

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I cannot justify the cost of the reman injectors for the Cummins engines. The price is ridiculously high. I know why Chrysler sells them for so much because I get to see the price that the parts department has to pay for them. Chrysler could have and should have used a more cost effective supplier for them.

I don't like the "good, loyal customer" thing in the dealership world but it's there. I said it was a sh*tty thing. But in any business, like Chrysler's, they take care of the customers who take care of them like the ones who purchase new cars and trucks and Jeeps and spend their money at the dealership to maintain and repair them.

Like @RedDwg said about the independent shops, I am in full agreement that it is a good idea to have an established relationship with a quality independent shop that you trust. The independent world is more willing to take care of their customer because of how it can have a positive or negative affect on their business. Taking care of one customer or going over the top to take care of a customer goes a long way in the independent world. It can have a huge impact on their total revenue and bottom line profits.

As I said earlier I was only staying my opinion based on my experience as a dealership level mechanic.

To @RedDwg, I took no offense to your post. I expected to see something like that from our readers. You made several great points that I hope can help the forum when they go looking for a shop to maintain and repair their vehicles.
The transmission on our 2003 Acura TL died, 5k miles outside of the extended warranty that Honda put on all of them because of their bad design. Had it towed to the selling dealer, for whom I paid $0 for any service. Car was 6 years old at the time. Honda picked up 97% of the cost...I paid$750 out of pocket for a replacement trans installed by the dealer.

My 2001 Infiniti i30 had a bad blower motor, 1 year out of warranty. Took it to selling dealer, who we paid$0 for service. They fixed it free of charge.

Point being.. Chrysler CHOOSES to be that way. And if they choose to be that way, I chose this to be my last Chrysler product.

They could do well by changing their ways a bit, it seems

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pacofortacos

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Those were all high end cars decades ago.
Wonder what honda would do with a Civic in today's world.

Mazda didn't want to replace my 2012 Mazda 3 blower motor resistor for free just out of warranty.
 

JohnnyMac

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As others. I had a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder. Had 5y/60k warranty. I was at 5 years 2 months, but only 36k miles. They had a known issue with the timing chain guides wearing through to the metal on the VG motors. Even had a TSB out on it, but after some complaining and conversation, it did nothing for me. I paid the full $1200 to the dealership to repair it because they said had I ever brought the rig in for service, they would have noticed it prior to the 5 year mark. Nothing I could do about that, but I did sell it and my other Nissan and have sworn a blood oath to never give Nissan another dime.
 
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RedDwg

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but I did sell it and my other Nissan and have sworn a blood oath to never give Nissan another dime.

I understand. Had a '95 Blazer and I had 02 sensors replaced at a dealership. I was on a contract in a strange city so I went to the dealership and paid full shop price. Three (3) days after the one year warranty, they went out again. I went back to the dealership and they told me I was out of luck. Turns out I used a "GM Goodwrench" Certified shop, not a "GM Goodwrench Plus" Certified shop. The difference? They both use the same exact parts but if one shop puts the parts in, they warranty them for a year. If the other shop puts them in, they are warrantied for life. I called GM on this and they stood firm. I told them to pound sand. I finally was able to put in my own and promised to never spend another dime on any GM product - and I haven't. They had a chance to endear me and make me a long-term customer on something that would have taken them 20 minutes and I probably would have split the cost with them without any hard feelings.
 

chrisbh17

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What is the"spending level" required to get future goodwill from fca/dealer?

Lots of people cannot afford 125+/hr for labor, so because they have stuff done elsewhere, our don't ever even need anything done, means they are disqualified from any possible relief if something big goes wrong just out of warranty?

I'm guessing 3 oil changes per year at the dealer is not enough for them to help out when the time comes?

If I pay them $600 per each of the 3 mileage based services the manual suggests during the first 60k miles, is that enough?

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