Mopar Dealer Service Department - Am I Correct To Be Pissed Off???
Please bear with me for a long post with all the details.
This is about my 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab:
If I don't have the AC running I usually drive around town with both drivers-side windows open for ventilation without too much wind circulation inside the cab.
Six days ago I was getting on the freeway so turned on the AC and hit the window controls to raise both windows. The front door window raises normally but the rear window only comes up about 20% and then I hear something snap and the window stops coming up. When I stop, I found I could manually pull the window up without any problem but gravity pulled it right back down. I could still hear the electric motor run if I clicked the window control button.
Not having any experience with electric window repair I decided to take my truck into the factory dealership close to my work.
I made an appointment online for early the next morning, took my truck in and dropped it off. The Service Advisor tells me they'll check it out and call me. They also tell me the "check it out" cost will be $185 but that will go toward the repair if I decide to go forward.
Mid-afternoon I get a call from the Service Advisor telling me, "...the cable that lifts the window snapped and we have to replace the complete assembly" and he quotes me over $900 for the repair. Oh yeah, and they don't have the parts, thought they could get them from another local dealership, sent their driver out, but the other dealerships computer records were incorrect and they didn't have them, also checked out aftermarket parts online without success so ordered the parts and they'll be in in 2-3 days.
So I wait four days without any communication from the dealer. I call about mid-morning but could only leave a voicemail message for the Service Advisor asking for a callback and an update on the repair parts. I waited a couple of hours without any reply.
I've been driving around now for five days with an open rear window and having to put a trash bag over the door whenever I park to plug to big open window hole from the weather.
Not wanting to go through the weekend like this I called around and found a local auto glass repair that quoted me $250 to come out to me and do the repair at my work. I told them what the dealership diagnosed but they're certain they can do the repair.
They come out and take close to two hours working in the parking lot but complete the repair.
Turns out the issue was caused by a "plastic cable guide block" that had worn and let the cable jump out of the track. The technician told me it's a very common problem on almost all brands of vehicles. He carries a bunch of the repair parts on his service truck.
So, am I correct in feeling like the dealership never even pulled the interior door panel to check out the actual repair entailed and just quoted me a huge price for parts and service that were not actually needed? I feel like I was about to get f**ked without even a movie or dinner first.
What say you FABO?
And who do I complain to?
I worked at a Dodge dealer for a few years after I got out of the Army.
I mostly worked in the parts dept, but I wrote service as well.
The part not being at the other dealer was a pretty common thing. Especially if they were going off of the locator info alone.
It used to be that the techs and service writers couldn't access that. They decided that the parts dept was lying to them, so they were granted access to the locator.
So instead of calling and verifying that another has that part and it isn't ordered for someone else, they just send a runner after it bypassing the parts room.
As for the the part, yeah a Mopar window regulator is two things.
1. a common failure part and,
2. expensive.
Mopar does not service any component parts for a window regulator.
Dealer agreements prevent the service dept from calling a sublet glass service out to repair these. Can't hang aftermarket parts either. This done due to warranty issues.
Should the service dept called you back? Hell yeah they should have. That was the #1 reason the owner of the dealer I worked at refused to have voice mail on the phone system. He was right when he said it would give certain employees something to hide behind.
It's one thing to be busy and be able to answer the phones, it was another to just ignore customers. If you called our place and couldn't get an answer, it always rang back to the girls in the office and they would take a message. Trust me, they would rat anyone who didn't take their calls out.
Did the dealer not pull the molding back? Probably not, but you weren't charged for it, so what's the problem? You don't have to look at a wiper pivot on an A body to know the bushing broke, these techs have seen the problem enough to know the regulators go bad. The problem is almost always the cable jumps off it's guide because the plastic guide cracked and broke.
Where you getting fucked?
I doubt it, the regulator comes as an assembly with a motor. It's about $150 labor is probably 4 or 5 hours flat rate.
The dealer correctly diagnosed the issue, this was confirmed by your glass man. Your glass man was probably able to repair the regulator while it was still on the door. Something the dealership can't do.
I don't know what the dealers flat rate is, but the dealer near me is at $250 a flat rate hour. If the dealer you were at was going to charge $185 for check out, I'd say their flat rate is $185 an hour.
You may not like it, but that's just how it is.
You can complain all you want, but it isn't going to change a thing.
Dealers are bound to agreements, all of which were changed to benefit Chrysler in 2009.
So in the end, what is your complaint? That you weren't charged an hour check out time? That a component part isn't available cheaper? That the dealer wasn't willing to violate their dealer agreement?
The only ***** you have is that the service advisor didn't return your call and that is unprofessional.
Don't worry, the parts dept will call you asking when your want to get the regulator installed. When that happens, ask to speak with the parts manager. Let him know what happened. I guarantee he'll raise hell with the service mgr when they have to eat a part or pay a restock fee.
