I'm sorry,
I must have stumbled into the wrong thread......

I thought this one was

Good experiences at a Dealership?

 

Shovelhead,
Thanks for coming to my rescue. I can sympathize with these guys experiences though. Luckily for us some of our competitors treat their customers like these folks have been treated. Most of our competitors are doing better and better though. Thanks again, Jim

 

Every time a post like this is brought up the same haters post. Never fails.

 

J Body,
I am fairly new to the site so I had not seen it before. I should have known better. Maybe I should research first to see if I am in hostile territory. Was not what I expected for sure. Jim

 

I got a good deal for my truck, bought it off a guy who wanted out of the lease. Great way to go, by from private party. I have had good service from one dealership though. They are about 60 miles away though. The next time I am looking fro a truck I will be sure to check them out. I went there to get fuel pressure checked out, they said it was low. I asked them what I options were (I already knew what I wanted to do) and they said I could put in a stock fp or an aftermarket one (FASS). I asked them what the difference was and I got a FASS from them for a decent price. This is the first dealer that I have been to that carried aftermarket parts. They also said they could get the FASS II but they didn't have any in stock. They had a good price and good service so they have won me over. They are also open late, until 11 pm. Now that is what I call a SERVICE DEPARTMENT!

 

I have mixed feelings on dealerships. I wish they had one price on the window and that is what I pay. No haggle crap. When I do an estimate for a customer I don't come to them with a 10531.50 estimate and haggle back and forth. Here is the estimate, take it or leave it. I never expect anyone to work for free (is our friendly local lizard listening?) nor do I expect anyone to win the lottery on me either.
I purchased my truck from a local dealer where I do the bulk of my work. I have received a couple of contracts from this dealer for some work. He shot me a no bull price on the truck (could I save 500 bucks somewhere else? maybe) I shoot him no bull estimates on the work I do. Am I going to go ballistic like a poster in this thread and personally attack the original poster over a few hundred dollars? Nope. Life's too short.
I (and alot of my close friends who I subcontract to and from) feel that the people living near the financial edge are the ones who hold the grudge and will shop everywhere for a price. They burst into the office DEMANDING things. I usually try to avoid contracting to people that only look at $$ as the bottom line. I want to have a successful business with repeat customers. I try to patronise stores that want the same.
Have I walked out of a dealership when the salesman (some call them snalesman because of the slime they leave behind) has bs'd me? Yep.
It's a tough world out there.
Merry Christmas

 

That sounds great. Open till 11 with aftermarket parts. We don't have that. Probably a good size store. Jim

 

I've got $70k worth of automobiles bought from dealerships. I'll pay a reasonable amount to be sure that I have a face to talk to when or if there is an issue, and to be able to beleive I'm valued as a customer. The problem is that too many dealerships at least around here (VA Beach) deal with transient people. It's largely a military area and people are transfered on a regular basis. If you don't come back someone else will.
The Caddy dealer I bought my wifes Olds van from has got my business until I can't afford it or can't drive. The salesman followed up regularly AFTER the sale. I had to take it back once to have the drivers heated seat fixed. I called to make an appointment. When I dropped it off I was greeted by name, driven back to work then picked back up after the warranty repair was finished (same day!!)
That is what would keep me at a dealership.

 

If Only All Dodge Dealers Would Treat Their Customers Like That I Would Wager Their Sales Would Skyrocket And Buyers Would Be Willing To Pay A Fair Price When Buying.

 

The dealer near my house has a posted no haggle price.. The price on the window is the price you pay and I have to say it was cheaper than my cousin who works at a dealer could get the truck for at his price.

The service dept is somewhat questionable, but the service wirter works hard to make up for the lack of diagnostic experience the tech has with diesels.

My truck is in the dealer now to have the high idle set, oil change, and the TSB for door seals and to redo the speedo calibration (last time it didn't get set properly).

I get a phone call yesterday and the servie wirter is witht he tech and asked about rev per mile on the tires. I told him the info and he said OK well lets set it at this and also to comfirm the High idle and how to turn it on (thanks DTR I was able to point his where to go in the DRBII). Since I helped him no charge for the Computer work.

I guess what it comes down to is.. Although they are not real familiar with the diesels they have a good parts changer and they try real hard to work with me to get the truck right. I'll continue to go back and we will learn about the truck together.

 

I've only had one bad experience at a Dodge dealer, where Timberline Dodge in Portland, OR tried to do a bait and switch on me and ended up wasting a good part of a day.

Vancouver Dodge in southern WA treated me nicely when I was looking for a truck. I asked what they had, they showed me the usual high profit margin vehicles, and when I asked about an advertised loss leader he showed it to me, told me he was supposed to steer me to a different vehicle, but said that it was the best deal on the lot. I do appreciate honesty, and told him so. If it had been a short bed I would have bought it.

I couldn't find a stripped down 4x4 short bed with a stick, and almost gave up buying a truck after looking at inventory online in four states. Finally I found a dealer in Cottage Grove, OR that had three ! I called and when I said that I would probably buy one they asked for some personal information as they said by law that they had to hold it since it was an advertised loss leader. Before I was able to leave the house they called back and said that they could start the paperwork if I prvided a bit more information. They only had two left and I picked a silver one. By the time I arrived it was sitting in front of the dealer, I looked it over but didn't test drive it, and in about an hour was on my way. I told them that I very much appreciated the service.

A Dodge dealer in Woodburn, WA went out of their way to fill up a low tire, as one of the Dodge alloy wheels that I picked up somewhere else for some winter tires had a slow leak. This is the only problem on the truck that I've had that Dodge has chosen not to fix.

I've had the alternator bracket replaced, a driver's side visor, a yoke at the tranny/transfer case replaced for a slight leak, and water leak on the passenger side fixed at Gresham Dodge in OR. It took about five trips to get the water leak fixed but they did finally fix it. Gresham Dodge has always provided very good service.

I typically get filters at a Cummins shop in Portland, OR, and otherwise don't need parts. I do my own fluid changes. Except for one dealer I've been very satisfied with my treatment from Dodge. In turn I've helped to sell several trucks; a coworker bought a diesel after checking out my truck, a family member of his bought one, and another of his family bought a half ton. I helped a friend to buy a 1 ton by finding a loss leader. One of his friends may yet buy one.

 

1sttruck,
Great story. I enjoyed it. To the others above you are making me believe that are other good stores out there. We sure don't know everything but that does not mean we cannot look for the answer. Jim

 

Wow Jim, you really opened up a can of worms here! I am one of you. My family own's two dealerships. I am mainly involved in the Dodge store and manage most of the day to day operations as well as selling. We are a small outfit. We'll sell about 150 new Dodge's this year, very small by today's standards, but we are a small country dealer in a town with a population of only 2,000. What part of the country do you work in Jim? I am really sorry for some of the experience's you guy's have had. There are a bunch of jerks out there in the auto retailing business today, but there are a few of us nice guys left. When you deal at our dealership you are either going to deal with myself or my father if you want to buy a new Dodge. We are a pretty laid back no pressure place. I am not a slick talking hair slicked back lying crimal who is two steps out of jail as someone previously said. I am honest, I live in the country, I farm on the side, I never miss church, and most of my customers were either friends before we started dealing with each other or we have become good friends since. I do believe we are entitled to make a profit. I have never seen a profit of $10k on a vehicle in my life as someone else mentioned earlier, generally we are happy if we can end up with $1,000 to $1,500 an a new Dodge diesel, if we meet our quota at the end of the month great. Maybe we'll make another $5-10k that month. But in the grand scheme of things we will make about $120,000 off of our Dodge store this year. We have about 2.5 million invested in it, that is a 5% return. Our other store won't make that much this year, it has been a rough year in this area. And if you guys think that a 2.5million invesment doesn't deserve a 5% return than I am sorry, go to the bank and get some money and start your own and you could take 2.5%, or even 1%. I wish I'd have had the privalege to sell some of you guys, because then maybe you wouldn't hate people in my profession quite as much. It is pretty bold to group all salespeople into one group of crooks and jailbirds. I for one don't know what any of your professions are but I would not label the whole lot of you because of a few bad experiences.

 

Luke,
Thanks for hopping in here as I knew you were in the business but was not going to bring you into this. Your numbers are pretty accurate and in our area a lot of dealers are going to take a loss. We are located in NY. Sounds like you guys have a great attitude and a bright future where you are. Best of luck to you. Jim

 

sCreamin400 and Luke S

Why don't you both add the location you are at in your user CP? That way if there are any members here that are looking and are close they can go and check you out. It would be good to know.