My 96 ram 1500 with 5.9l is acting funning, stuttering and loss of power mostly. Took it to the dealership and they said it needs a new fuel rail (leaking fuel they say),injector flush, new plugs and wires. They said $900, does that sound right? Torque converter may also be going but they didn't give me a quote on that yet, any ideas there?

EDIT: Meant to post this in the 2nd Gen, can an admin move please?

 

Its hard for me to express how serious i am about this answer but.......NEVER TRUST A DEALER lol... they rip u off by basically double priceing everything. ive had friends who got dealer quotes and all the parts were double the cost from the parts shop around town or online. and the labor is just rediculas.

i took my dakota in cause there was a knocking sound from the front.. u could hear it from somewhere at the front figured it was the bearing in the waterpump but they basically looked at me like i didn't know what i was even talk'n about.. .they proceeded to check what the issue was and came back with a list of about 5 things they think was contributing to the sound LOL.. it was a riot... a laugh riot at that.
they wanted 1200$ to replace alternator, belt and some pullys. ... so long story short i told them give me the inspection fee and im leaving. went home got the alternator and changed myself (since it did sound bad )but was not the knocking noise.... i ended up take'n to another shop from word of mouth from a friend and they right away agreed and said yah sounds like it is comming from the water pump.. How is it the dealer hooks up all these computers and **** and doesn't even find the right part that needs to be replaced... its retarted there terrible at ripping people off. they will basically replace anything they can to get your money. I had a buddy who worked for a dodge dealer and he said its almost like a sales department rather then a mechanic shop. they will look for things to fix and tell u are broken rather then just fix the actual issue. Sorry so long winded. i just hate shops that rip people off.

 

I feel your pain. Had an 01 Durango that the #1 cylinder was having issues. Took it to the dealership to look at and said they might want to check the valves. Called back the next day and dealer said the mechanic didn't even pull the covers, started it and heard a knock in the bottom of the engine so I needed a new engine! Mind you, I was 600 miles out of warranty and the 4.7L weren't being aftermarket produced yet so it was going to cost me around 7 grand installed.
Pulled the engine myself, prepaid a company to rebuild it and while stripping it to a short block found a rocker on top of the valves laying on its side. Sent it out anyway since I had prepaid the rebuild and once I got it back called the guy and asked what he found wrong. He said the only thing he found was a missing rocker on the #1cylider (I had kept it).
This may have just been a run in with a bad service department, but I never went back to them again. This was in Hawaii by the way.
Moral of the story, get a second (non-dealership) opinion. I don't believe all dealerships, or even most, are this way, but when you have a corner on the market and believe the person you are working is an idiot, I guess you can do what you want. Yes, I lodged a complaint with DC, not that it made any difference.

 

I am a mechanic at a used car dealership and I understand what you guys are saying. I don't make any commision off the parts I sell so it's not a big deal to me if I upsell something. The only things I ever upsell are legit repairs and I am always more than happy to show the customer the parts that are worn broken or other so that they can see for themselves. I don't believe in being a dishonest tech as it is my reputation on the line. I want to diagnose the problem the first time and make sure it is repaired right the firsttime so you come back. Afterall the key to staying in business is word of mouth and reputation. We also don't have a huge parts room with any and all parts at our disposale so we have to sell the right parts the first time. I do agree with you guys on new dealerships though.

 

Not all dealers are like that guys. Just the ones that dont think of helping the customer. Yes they make commission off parts, Yes sometimes the jobs pay more time than it takes. Also some dealers dont spend the money for there techs to be trained proper. But there are some (if you can find one) that cares and are all about diagnosing your vechicle in order to make the correct fix the first time. These dealers you pay for what you get. The right parts, and the correct fix. In a good dodge service dept a tech dont want comebacks on the same problem. Thats why you pay more. For expertice and the equipment thats meant you work on your car, truck, or SUV. I dont throw parts at cars, although some of our flow charts tell us to use a known good part. Basicly you just have to shop around till you find one. If anyone lives in western North Carolina, I work everday at a good one.

 

Here is somthing else to keep in mind. Dodge doesnt want to have to shell out money for warranty claims. I know this as my dad works in the service dept of a dodge dealer. The owners of the dealership believe in servicing what they sell. Because this clashes with dodge's now wanting to pay for claims they have to document everything when they submit the claims to Dodge. They have stood their ground to Dodge and have a good reputation for service.