I have complained about my local dealer being shut down and the replacement dealer being 50 miles away that closes service 15 min. after I get off work, closed on sat. I took a day of vacation Friday because my truck had 5 rapid responce notices and it was time for an oil change ( local Ford dealer did last oil change) and I had a coupon from the new dealer, when I showed up it only said Chrysler jeep so having never been there I wasn't sure if I was in the right place, They told me they had been given my old dealers franchize and to pull it in, I went to the waiting room and missed the free internet computers and the fresh cookies from my old dealer, somewhat bored I decided to cheak out the new dodges and maybe see a hd, I asked the salesperson were the Dodges were and they said maybe in 2 more weeks, they were out of a couple of Chryslers also, dont remember which ones, but the Dodge thing got me, they said they were as confussed as everyone else that the trucks were somewhere between here and Detriot, they had no Dodges of any kind and my truck was only Dodge I seen in service, got the truck back after a couple hrs, I missed the free wash and vacuam from my old dealer also, So my old dealer has his franchize given away to somebody 50 miles away who hasn't been able to get any Dodges at all, no chargers, vans etc, no wonder they went bankrupt...

 

Dealer closing really did put a damper on the service side of things. I live in a decent sized city, and out of the 5 or 6 Dodge dealers in town, only one shut down. Unfortunatly, it was the one with the best service department. So, now I'm taking the truck to a dealer closer to my office. The new dealer stopped making appointments, and is now on a first come, first serve basis. They claim this was required because of the ONE dealership closing and that they can't handle in the influx of cars. Of course first come, first serve doesn't sound that bad, till you get there at 7AM on Monday to be first and you find out they've still got a ton of cars in the shop from Friday and Saturday. Maybe it's just me, but if you're that far behind because of the ton of work, perhaps the dealership should try hiring more techs or increase the work days to 12 hours.

I took it in today to mainly get the driver's side door looked at, since it's really hard to close compared to the other three. Oh, and I also wanted all the RRTs it was missing performed and the new MDS flash. I figured while it was there I'd get the oil changed to boot. If it'd been just the oil though, I would have skipped the dealer and took it to a local shop that can do the oil change in less than 20 minutes and only charges me $10 since I bring in my own oil and filter.

 

I agree on the oil service, The local ford dealer is doing mine now, I figgered in case of a warranty issue the ford dealer would have a computerized record of service, they jokenly claim I will be a Ford guy before it is time to buy a new one, I know I will not buy from someone a 100 mile round trip away

 

Just to let you know, the service manager and parts manager along with the GOOD techs from Fiesta Dodge have gone over to Ancira on I 10. They just about have that place up to par. After a few more months it may be close to what Fiesta was.

 

Did you take it to Allen Samuel out on 35? We took ours to Brownwood to have the front seat worked on - original dealership had ordered the parts before they lost their contract - the Brownwood dealership was the sister dealership. Anyway, it was 92 miles one way. Thankfully, I did get a loaner car. I have a dealership right down the road from me, but I don't like them. I am hoping that one day, the dealership that we purchased the truck from will be back as a Dodge dealer (its a Ford dealer now). They were always great to work with. That's a hard thing too since I can be a bit demanding

 

Wow there is a difference between Chrysler and Chrysler Canada....no dealerships were closed here, I think they are all privately owned. Anyway I have one 3 minutes awayand another maybe 5 in town here and yet I choose to go out of town to a small town dealer because they are more friendly, do things to keep you coming back etc.Better deals too, if you notice some of the huge dealerships with the big displays and that costs money, who do you think pays for that. My dealership is like 4 offices in the front and the bays for repairs etc. Only thing I like here is the body shops in my town. I made a mistake with my sons car, they really screwed us over and they are out of town, different town. Anyway it's a nice highway drive since my wife drives 5 days a week short runs to work and back, not good for it so I figure the 100 round trip miles with me driving probably confuses the heck out of the computer but the more I drive the more responsive and nimble it seems to get. I fill it with mid and throw in a bottle of F I cleaner and away we give the HEMI a good work out, Hell I drive the **** out of it there and back and it still gets 17 mpg in US mode. I grew up before metric was introduced so I am still on the standard mode or whatever so I leave my computer on US. If someone says they went 180km/hr I have to convert it to realize it's not that fast...only 110 MPH big deal. I would love to bury the needle on this thing but it won't get there I don't think, I have a section of road where there are no side roads so I get someone to go ahead check for cops then call me all clear and let er rip. Havent done that yet with this truck. Maybe on the way to the dealer, gonna get my recalldone for the HVAC. got it in the mail today,the mds flash and any others that are there I guess.

 

u guys are all lucky i have like 7 different dealers around here and they are a-holes it took 4 visits and 2months to get my power steering fix in the end i found a small Dodge Dealer that fix it in 1 day and i will keep on taking my truck there nice customer service

 

it wont take that long to max it out, it tops out at 170km/hr, thats ridiculous, why the hell do they put a speed limiter on vehicles, my little lancer ralliart did 220+km/hr, its clearly not mandatory to have it limited. booooooooooo

 

Yes I dont understand how dodge is saving any money on closing dealerships. I live In WA and they closed the Bremerton Dodge down so now there is no Dodge from Port Angles to Tacoma....Makes alot of sense..I have to go to a Chevy dealership to get my truck serviced!!!

 

We'll all have to keep faith that the Dodge Dealership network will get itself "right-sized" over the next year or so. Given the TRAUMA that Chrysler went through with the Bankrupcy, and the attendant BRUTAL cuts in Dealerships and disruption to their Parts Suppliers, we're very lucky that we aren't ALL forced to go to Ford or Toyota Service Depts for the bigger repairs !!
Me, I cannot really complain because Phoenix area has a goodly number of Dodge Dealerships left running - but I did lose one of my favorites and the other good one had to drop plans to relocate into a new auto mall that would be only 5 miles from my house. But in the 4-Corners area where I also own a cabin, they lost several of the local dealerships and Durango (where every 2nd truck is a Ram 2500 3500 or PowerWagon) has to go 50-75 miles to find a remaining Dealership.
So, let's hope that Chrysler can rebuild everything necessary to field a world-class Dealer and Service network. And that it will take less than 3-4 years of this bad economy to get it done...