congrats! BUt how can you compare vehicles or service when that Caddy cost double what your Durango cost?

 

Yep and can't beat the premium price for it ....

 

The Escalade price premium is comparable to a GL class Benz and probably that of a X5, isn't it?

 

Not if you figure it by $ per Cubic FT of usable space, the Tahoe's, Yukon's and Escalades are definitely roomy.

 

I agree that having an premium car does not mean better cust service. I know in this instance, the local Cadillac dealership / Service is run much better than the dodge dealer. My wife had an Acura RDX and the local Acura dealership is on par with Cadillac. The local Lexus, Benz, and BMW dealerships are same. The dealer I purchased from only sells Cadillac and no other GM brand.

Looking back, I would not have purchased the Durango in the Citadel AWD Hemi again. The Durango has a lot that no other SUV in its class offers. The final price on the Durango was around 47k. That price point is that of range Rover, Benz, x5, Porsche, and Tahoe. The Durango when loaded with all the options had more features then those that I have mentioned, buy lacked the ownership experience.

I chose cadillac above all other brands because its the only premium full size SUV next to Range Rover. I like the cadillac over the rover.

 

That makes sense for your situation. Also Range Rover are ridiculously unreliable junk imo. The only reason they are considered luxury imo is because of marketing. I also agree a $49k Durango doesn't make sense when you compare it to other luxury brands at the same price, despite it having more features you're still stuck w/ a Dodge. That's why I went w/ a Crew with just a small number of options that were necessary, got in at 7k under MSRP and then bought the lifetime extended maximum care. That maximum care was the only reason I went with the Dodge and got rid of the Benz. I'm pretty lucky though, my Dodge dealership thus far have been amazing customer service, however, they can't compare to the Benz dealership experience. There's something to be said about walking in , dropping off the keys and leaving w/ a luxury loaner hassle free within 15 mins of arriving. My dealership apparently doesn't offer complimentary loaners esp not luxury ones but I guess that's why they're not Mercedes.

 

Traded in my 2011 Citadel V8, with only 8400 miles due to too many problems with the vehicle, she was in the service dept since day 3, i lost some money but i did get me another Dodge Magnum V8, I traded one in on the Durango crap

 

Yikes, sorry to hear that. Can you share what problems it was having? FWIW I had a 1st Gen Durango that just ran and ran and wheels never fell off. As bulletproof in reliability as anything out there. I realize the 3rd Gen Durango shares almost no technology or mechanics from 1st Gen but hopefully it will be as good. Crossing fingers. I guess either way I have the lifetime warranty and numerous cars that I won't be stranded when it's in the shop.

 

Benz can be pretty... needy when it comes to service. There's a lot of service that they call for, and it can get tiring. It all depends on the individual dealership when it comes to how you and your vehicle are going to be treated. If a shop has a negative or overly relaxed environment for the workers, expect to be treated like junk.

 

I must have looked at the wrong vehicles and/or dealerships, I could not find any LR's/GL's or X5's that were anything like the V8 Citadel for anywhere near the same price point, the ones we were shown started around the 70k price point, and were still missing to many options for us to consider them.