Mopar Dealer Service Department - Am I Correct To Be Pissed Off???

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Assemblies..............I had a dealer tell me that they didn't stock the rack transfer lines on my 07 ram. I asked what they do if a customer has a leaking line and they said they replace the complete rack as an assembly. LOL......1/4 stock steel lines with an inverted flare. Man I feel bad for seniors!:(
 
Assemblies..............I had a dealer tell me that they didn't stock the rack transfer lines on my 07 ram. I asked what they do if a customer has a leaking line and they said they replace the complete rack as an assembly. LOL......1/4 stock steel lines with an inverted flare. Man I feel bad for seniors!:(
They didn't lie to you.
MoPar doesn't service the transfer lines on steering racks. None of them.
It's not that a decent tech couldn't make some up, it's that the dealers are bound by dealer agreements and contractual commitments made by Chrysler and every other manufacturer out there.
I've worked for Chrysler, Ford and Mitsubishi and they all have similar rules and polices in place.
You don't have to like it, but it's their business and no one forces you to go there.
 
If the winders are anything like the ones on my mom's 03 Dakota quad cab.....

...they are indeed an assembly, but the cable doesn't snap. The nylon guide blocks shatter causing the cable to go slack or the sheath to pull through.

It's a fairly straightforward job, but you may scrape off a layer of skin from your forearm the first few times you do it.

There are a couple of places in the door frame where it would be nice to have holes to get a socket and extension in. I drilled those the third time I did it.

The Dakota parts can be as cheap as $40 or as expensive as $250.
I've tried four different brands.

I've replaced each winder at least once, and two of them at least twice.

I also have a multi-piece wood prop set up and keep that around for the next time it happens.
Additionally, this last time I saved the old assemblies and have a mind to try fabricating an aluminum guide block.

It's a shame to replace the motor over a 1/2 inch cube of nylon.

They do sell the assemblies without the motor however, looking at the way the motor attaches, it looks like a nightmare to time it and keep the cables oriented correctly.
 
They didn't lie to you.
MoPar doesn't service the transfer lines on steering racks. None of them.
It's not that a decent tech couldn't make some up, it's that the dealers are bound by dealer agreements and contractual commitments made by Chrysler and every other manufacturer out there.
I've worked for Chrysler, Ford and Mitsubishi and they all have similar rules and polices in place.
You don't have to like it, but it's their business and no one forces you to go there.
Interesting.......I guess now a days they just have to pay for a parts changer to work at a dealership......No sense fixing anything:(
 
Interesting.......I guess now a days they just have to pay for a parts changer to work at a dealership......No sense fixing anything:(
Probably more of a liability thing. The company that makes the racks doesn't want anybody fixing anything.
 
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?

Sounds like the typical Chrysler dealership to me.
 
Probably more of a liability thing. The company that makes the racks doesn't want anybody fixing anything.
Warranty issues as well.
A repair made at a dealership has a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty good at any Chrysler Dealer in the U.S. and Canada.
It's their warranty, they get to make the rules as to how it's administered.
Just another industry that people on the outside think should be ran differently than it actually is.
 
Not just Chrysler, they all do this.

I've never (my personal experiences) had that issue with any of my Toyotas,Hondas or Subarus. I swear there is a class that the so called big three dealership guys go to that teaches you haw to treat customers like idiots and how to screw them.
 
I've never (my personal experiences) had that issue with any of my Toyotas,Hondas or Subarus. I swear there is a class that the so called big three dealership guys go to that teaches you haw to treat customers like idiots and how to screw them.
Ha!
Toyota was the worst! I worked at a Toyota Dealer for about 3 weeks before I decided that was no place for me.
The Japanese put it to people hard, they just do it in a way that you walk away thinking you enjoyed it.
Parts and labor was at least 30% higher than domestics.
I would watch advisors upsell snake oil flushes, unneeded services and other crazy work.
The craziest thing I ever saw was the A/C service & flush. They sprayed this stuff all over the evap coils to make them smell good, pulled down the system, put some dye in and recharged.
That'll be $250 please!
I saw plenty of unethical things go down there.
Not as bad as the Germans, but it was rough.
 
Ha!
Toyota was the worst! I worked at a Toyota Dealer for about 3 weeks before I decided that was no place for me.
The Japanese put it to people hard, they just do it in a way that you walk away thinking you enjoyed it.
Parts and labor was at least 30% higher than domestics.
I would watch advisors upsell snake oil flushes, unneeded services and other crazy work.
The craziest thing I ever saw was the A/C service & flush. They sprayed this stuff all over the evap coils to make them smell good, pulled down the system, put some dye in and recharged.
That'll be $250 please!
I saw plenty of unethical things go down there.
Not as bad as the Germans, but it was rough.

like i said in "my experience". much more pleasant dealership experiences at honda, toyota and subaru then any dodge or gmc dealership i've had to deal with.. then again my Honda, Toyota and Subaru's were worked on correctly the first time unlike my experience with dodge and GMC. the dodge and gmc dealers i've dealt with don't know what communication means.. never had that issue with any of my jap cars.. but again i can only speak to my personal experience.
 
I started at a Buick GMC dealer back in 77 for about 13 years. At close to the end of my time there, GM came up with CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) and the mailings and comment cards about the service visit. Lucky We didn't have any commission program going on. That's when the service departments went south. Advisors and techs figured how to upsell unneeded services and hang unneeded parts just to fatten their paychecks. That all happened about the time I quit and started selling MAC Tools. That was a better deal and for 28 years I had fun doing it as well.
 
1) The reason you were not charged the $185 is because they never planned to look into/diagnose anything. 99.999% of the time, any charges for time spent diagnosing will appear on the bill. IMHO, that is precisely why you were told the $185 would be taken off your bill.
2) In 1988, I bought a 1988 Chrysler LeBaron Convertible. 2.2 Turbo engine, red with grey leather interior, PW, PB, PS, A/C, loaded. I loved that car. Shortly after the bumper to bumper warranty expired, the left rear quarter window stopped working. The motor whirred, but no movement. I looked at it, and the round ball/tip had come off the cable. The dealer wanted about $250 for the entire assembly (probably about $900 in today's dollars). So I pulled the whole assembly, jury rigged a tip on the end of the cable with spare stuff laying around in my garage. It worked for the next years.
 
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