I know what you are saying about 5 star/no star. I tried buying a car from a 5 star, and they pulled that scotch coating the leather seats crap and paint protection for 300 bucks. I complained to the zone manager, and he basically said that this was the number one volume dodge dealer in the zone, and they could do just about whatever they wanted, and get away with it. I took my business somewhere else. I have told over 100 people how ****ty I was treated by "Royal Gate Dodge" (10 mile drive), and only told about 5 people how good "Federico Dodge" (55 miles) has treated me. But that's the way things go. Best service, take my vehicles to Di Salvo Jeep Dealer. The service guys know my name when I walk in, and they go out of their way to help me get on mine. My 2003 was the first HEMI they had ever seen. Not all Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealers are butt wipes, but I give you there are some, and even the best dealers have some questionable technicians.

 

[:@]

I know your pain. Klaben used to be much better with Chrysler/Dodge products as did Kempthorn. As others have posted, a private mechanic is about the only way to go in this area. Don's Auto repair in Alliance has been good for me in the past for Chrysler vehicles .

Fred Martin is hit or miss. They have some good people there, but you have to take who they assign to your vehicle.

Fred Martin seems to give the best prices on new vehicles if you demand it.

If you really want to make a statement. Take water base paint and paint a message on your vehicle and drive it around all day Saterday near and around the dealer when it is a nice. Then take it to the Service Manager on Monday with the message still painted on the vehicle around 11AM but do not walk into the service area at first. Walk around the dealership a couple of times. Generally someone will be eager to speak to you. It is worth to take a sick day if necessary.

Example Messages. Klaben Klutzes mucked up my truck. or Hey Mr. Zeee, where is the Qualiteeee? Beware! Klaben can cause extreme headaches. Make sure you let the GM know your pain.

 

I guess I've been lucky, my service guy where I bought my truck actually has pointed out things that needed to be fixed under warranty before they even broke. How many service managers will call and let you know they noticed some stitching on your seat is coming loose, so they ordered a new seat cover and when it came incalled, and actually WANT you to bring in the truck for repairs. I have had some bad issues with other dealers on Nissans and some on Fords but I'll have to say my service dept. is "TOP NOTCH".

 

I have considered driving my truck through the lobby of several Dodge dealer/service shops in metro Denver. But I figure I still lose. So I have tried this technique:
I tell my wife all the details of my problem, possible solutions, and what is NOT likely to be a fix. Then she brings it in and smiles nicely and leans suggestively over the counter while explaining the probs to the ******* behind the counter.
Hook. Line. Sinker.
Then I go in and either thank the "kind gentleman" for being helpful to my wife, or I go in and ask what the F their prob is because they think they can take advantage of a woman.
Its so awesome. Nearly always works to my benefit.
I dont know what it is...wait...yea I do...there are two great reasons.

 

Sorry to hear about the problems you're having. I hope your incident is an isolated one, because if you look at Ford, their having alot of problems, including LAYOFF'S. And this is primarily due to poor vehicles, and poor customer service, to include the service departments.
So i hope Dodge doesn't follow in their footsteps.
Case in point. In Todays, USA Today Business section was an article about pickup trucks in the state of Texas.
It appears that Toyota is on the verge of building a manufacturing plant in Texas, to build primarily Pickup trucks.
Now, the primary vehicle of choice in Texas is Pickup trucks. And they drive domestically made pickup trucks,i.e., Dodge, Chevy, and ford.
Now, according to the article, Toyota is hoping by building the plant, in Texas, and giving the locals the impression that they would be buying a vehicle made in the U.S.A they are hoping that they can infringe upon the domestic pickup truck market.
Good news for Toyota. BAD news for Dodge, Chevy, and Ford.... So if this is any indication of things to come, it would be in Dodge's best interest to take care of their customer base.....
Maybe you should go and pickup a copy of Fridays, Oct 13, 2006 USA Today, and take it over to the dealership.. maybe they missed the article.
And if you took it over to them, maybe it would wake them up..
Just my two cents.

 

After reading about all of the problems with Dodge trucks on this forum, I'm starting to wonder why I bought one. Tranny problems, rear end problems, vibrations, strange noises, strange codes, hell, more than one of ya'lls gearshift **** spun backwards and you can't get it back around!!! One guy even said his DVD player may be making his check engine light come on. One guy was worried about having 10w 40 oil in his engine for 3 miles!!! Hell you could put straight 30w used oil in an old Chevy and drive for months.

Flame away!

 

You go to a Chevy Luvers or a Nissan fan boys web site, and you will find people having issues with their vehicles as well. We are here to help people who have problems with their Dodge Ram's or to read stories about Dodge Ram owners endeavors. The people who visit or are members of this forum are but a small percentage of Dodge Ram owners, so basing your buying decision on what you read in a fan boy web site will greatly limit your ability to make an educated choice, whether it be a Dodge, Chevy, or some Japanese idea what a pick-up truck should look like.