Badd Dogg Guy19

Bought my truck in this morning, had 6,300 miles on it, but I had it for a year and wanted to do some service on it. I asked for an Oil change, and to please fill up my Blackstone sample container, Fuel filter change, Rotate tires, and last, grease front end and that front drive shaft joint.

Well, I was sold the "6,000 mile" service package, which included everything with also an alignment check also, but it didn't come with the fuel filter, so I had to pay for that, And boy did I ever!! $45 to be exact!!

When all was done, I asked for the spec sheet to see the alignment specs, and I was told, There was no paper in the machine. Yea, right.. I have a gut feeling my truck didn't even go on the rack! And I also asked if the got to the front drive shaft joint with a needle fitting to grease her up, And I was told there "Is no fitting, these trucks don't have them". Than I said, "You have to use a needle fitting to grease it, being there is no Zerk fitting", Than I was told, Don't worry about it"

I paid $217.00 for this service, because I have a bad back, and cannot get under my truck and do it myself. I know I got ripped on the fuel filter, but I cant prove anything about the alignment, because I wasn't there, But that whole, "no paper in the alignment printer", is good enough for me to think it wasn't even done, Than after being told the front shaft can't be greased, I gave up!!
Now, with my bad back, and after paying all this money, I'm gonna wind up crawling under my truck anyway, to get this done!!

After belonging to this site for over a year, and reading MANY threads about how to grease the front shaft with a needle fitting, SEEING THE STICKER ON TOP OF THE RADIATOR SUPPORT, TELLING YOU TO GREASE IT, AND ALSO A SECTION IN THE OWNERS MANUAL ALSO, I couldnt beleive what I was being told!!

Yea, he might have the certificates showing what he knows, and where he graduated from, But half these mechanics need to freshen up, or go back to school for a little more, This is why I call these people educated idiots!!!

dale29

Sounds like one of the 5 star dealers.

1-2-3

Did you show them the sticker?

ptgarcia

They are where the name "Grease Monkey" comes from!

I wouldn't have paid them until they produced a printout and greased the shaft.

derek840378

in highschool, my dad borrowed my k5 for a day. when i got home he had taken it to a full service shop and had all kinds of stuff done to it. i checked the list and found they had only done about half of the stuff on the list, so i had a few words w/ them.

Badd Dogg Guy19

The only good thing that I did was put $50 of the bill on my credit card, so If worse comes to worse I can always put a greivance on the card and say I paid for a service I didn't get. Also I forgot to mention is this place is a 40 min drive and numerous tolls from my house. Theres no way Im gonna drive 40 mins one way, pay gas and tolls for a 30 second job if they offer me to bring the truck back in.

No, I didnt show the "mechanic" the sticker, I figured He's the "expert", He's the one that "works on these trucks all day long" and also, I figured it was staring him in the face for a good 15 mins when the hood was up while he was doing the oil change and fuel filter. For a mechanic that gets now $96 an hour labor, the average customer shouldnt have to take him by his hand, and point things out, especally routine maintanance that should come second nature when you supposebly... "Work on these trucks, all day long"

TAS05CTD610

This is why I spent the 387 dollars (or whatever it cost) on the 4 huge owners, service, and everything else manual. I figure if that's what these people at dodge use, I have been able to read since 2nd grade, I figure hey, I can do it myself. Yet to be a problem I couldn't find. And even if then say you have a drive issue, go to your favorite driveshaft shop with the owners manual, they'll love it.

I do all my own matinece and love it, learning more each day. I've been 5 star certified since the day I bought my truck Of course when I bought my truck he said these new trucks don't even need the grid heaters (then why do they come with them, why do they come with them )

CRXsi

First off I am not defending the dealer you took your truck to...but please do not generalize and say that all mechanics are 'educated idiots' Some of us educated idiots take great pride in doing good work. Second is that I don't know any mechanics that make $96/hour. That may be the shop rate but the mechanic is likely making $18-22 per hour so don't feel that they are making huge amounts of money based on the $96/hour figure. And lastly I don't recall seeing anywhere in the owners or maintenance manual that states you need an alignment done at 6k? I wouldn't take a vehicle to any shop that is trying to push more work before servicing the vehicle than what the owners manual states is due. If the tech came back after the service and said that you have uneven wear or the truck is pulling then an alignment would be justifiable but sight unseen at 6k is a little odd. I definitly would not have or ever would pay for an alignment without being able to get a print out of what it was at and what it was adjusted to. Most newer alignment machines save the before and after automatically and store them on a hard drive so they can be recalled at a later date if need be.

mraynor

I sure wish you were working around the area I live. I take mine for oil changes to a local place just so I have documents for warranty, and a lot cheaper than dealer and a rebate from Valvoline helps. I am thankfull that I can sit right up under them and catch things they miss. I wish every mechanic had your mind set.


Mike

Geico266

From the day I bought my truck new. (4th new truck) I never once set foot back into the $ealer. The only reason the $ealer exists is to prep my truck and do warranty work, after that they don't exist. I even take them to court if they call me to ask how I'm doing with the new truck. It is none of their business, and it is an invasion of my privacy for them to call. I won a judgement for $150 because they would not stop calling. My time is worth something and so is yours.

Experience has taught me to go to establish a relationship with a shop you can trust. $ealers CANNOT be trusted. EVER. If you ever think you can trust a $ealer do a search on $ealers here. If you ever take your truck to a $ealer then shame on you!

NEVER take your truck to a $ealer. You are a FOOL if you do.

Geico266

I might be wrong, but Valvoline products are not rated for diesels are they? You may have documented your warranty being voided.

CRXsi

Again I don't want to stir the pot, I have also had bad luck at some dealers and good at others with my truck for warranty stuff. I agree completely with your statement about find a shop you trust and stay with them. I do disagreee with the statement about ALL dealers are, I happen to be a tech for a new car dealer (not Dodge) and can tell you first hand that our shop is very customer oriented. We go out of our way to try and please every customer...even the ones that are wrong. We also go out of our way to try and put items through under warranty when really they shouldn't be. Prime example was the other day we replaced a dash that a dog had chewed under warranty and the car was even out mileage wise but we found a loop hole that allowed us to do and the customer couldn't be happier. Not all dealerships are bad...I just don't know off hand how many good Dodge ones there are...but there are some. Not all us techs are dumb, greddy and crooked...some of us actually care to try and help people, but it gets frustrating when everywhere you go everyone thinks you are trying to screw them even when you are tryng to do a favour. Yes there are some bad ones...but keep trying until you find a dealer and tech you like and then always use that one.

Fueling around

I love litigation. You cost us an average of 25% extra on our price for goods & services.

I have a great relationship with my local dealer. They treat me very fairly for service in the shop and pricing at the parts window.
The main Dodge tech is pretty good with diesels, but when he runs into a hard problem .... He calls me! I got them to source parts from the local Cummins shop when the DC catalog doesn't list it.

Do you think they would give this extra edge of customer service if I sued them for periodic contact for service on my pickup and mommy van?

SHALLOW!

Badd Dogg Guy19

I am not calling all Mechanics idiots, I would never. I took my truck to this dealer in the past, whan all other shops wanted to charge me for the high Idle enable, and to re-calibrate the speedo for my tires. I went in there today with a hand written list, and when they saw what I wanted done, they told me I would be better off getting the service package, than paying for everything separataly. Thats when he said the alignment check is included in the package. I dont have a choice when It comes to servicing my truck on my own, I have the knowledge to do it, but un-fortunately, I have a very bad back due to an accident, Just had 3 cortizone shots in my lower back, and right now, and alot of other times, I'm to bad of shape to get on my back and do this stuff myself. I hope that any mechanics that read this, do not feel that I look at them as idiots.

But when its all said and done, You should no your basics about servicing vehicles that you work on at a daily basis. If it was up to me, While the truck was on the lift, I would of grabbed the grease gun my self, put on a needle fitting, and said, seee, thats what your supposed to do!

radshooter

We are full-timers living in a fifth-wheel. I rarely get to do my own maintenance on the trucks. Since we are in a different town every 3-6 months on a new contract, my truck rarely sees the same shop twice. I have learned that there are some super good shops out there, and some super bad shops. I usually can tell by just talking to them before I drop off the truck what is going to happen. I lost count how many times I had the tires rotated, and the dually stems either weren't lined up in the same hole, or sometimes not even lined up with a hole at all. I check before I ever drive off the lot. One shop had to do it 3 times before they got it right!

I guess the moral of the story is that there are some really sharp mechanics out there, and if you are lucky enough to live near them, let them know how much you appreciate their service and knowledge. As far as the not-so-sharp mechanics, look for alternative shops in your area after the first bad experience.

Steve