Where are members having their 5th Gen Rams serviced?

[Darksteel165]

Yup the service centers goal is to scratch every car that they work on. EVERY car gets a free scratch or dent, its like a signature.

Bring a car for me to work on with a dash cam, its disconnected and off. Some dealers take pictures of cars during write up. We just called a customer out on them blaming us for damaging their Wrangler top, advisor had it documented. Because door dings never happen anywhere but a dealer or service center.

My Camaro had it's paint on the wheels removed by the service department when I asked if they could remove the glue from the old weights (I was getting snow tires put on). They claimed they sprayed something on it and did not know it was clearcoated and painted (it was OEM).
They also hit the front and rear bumper and went completely through the paint while it was sitting for a week in their lot while they waited for someone to come "refinish" the wheels.
Front bumper was re-painted 3 times because the paint kept peeling off (the OEM paint on the plastic bumper was 8 years old with no chips or any defects in it)
On the last front bumper paint job the body shop the dealership sent it to damaged the newly re-finished wheels (front driver side) and argued with me despite me having pictures of when I dropped it off to him, and the fact it was just painted. He rubbed the wheel into the side of his garage or lift or something.

Another dealership put the wrong oil in my truck on it's first oil change and I caught it on the paperwork but they were closed so I had to go back the next day for them to drain it and put the correct oil, the one in the manual and on the oil fill cap in.

Just because you say you do good work doesn't mean every other dealer doesn't sucks a$$. The majority ruin it for the minority.

 

[SD Rebel]

My, myself and I for the basic services since I don't trust CDJR dealerships, which is my primary reason.

A distant second is that I save a little bit of money and find the process enjoyable and relaxing.

 

[Cbty2050]

The majority ruin it for the minority.

It only takes one. I understand that.

There are people in my shop that I wouldn't let touch my car.

 

[Darksteel165]

It only takes one. I understand that.

There are people in my shop that I wouldn't let touch my car.

And you know those people.
The rest of us who don't work at dealerships don't know who is going to touch it when it goes to the dealership and roll the dice.

 

[HEMIJAKE]

I do my own maintenance, and my vehicles never see a dealership unless an important recall needs done. I trust nobody at those places. To the point that when I had my 35 inch tires put on, I removed the wheels at home and drove them in with my dad's truck. I had zero faith that they wouldn't scratch them taking them off.

 

[Cbty2050]

And you know those people.
The rest of us who don't work at dealerships don't know who is going to touch it when it goes

Every medium to large shop/dealership is this way. 28 years and 6 dealerships(20 years combined at 2), 3 independent shops-they all have them. I don't care if its Toyota, Ford, VW, BMW, GMC, and so on. Many dealers/indys have a quality control process to verify cars are repaired correctly. It helps, it doesn't stop some crap work getting out the door.

 

[RAL]

My intent here wasn’t to bash dealers or service shops generally - like everything there is good and bad. I am more interested if there are any recommendations for service in the Maryland DC suburbs. Thank you to the gentleman who recommended the shop in Waldorf. It’s a bit far but I appreciate it.

 

[Mountain Whiskey]

My intent here wasn’t to bash dealers or service shops generally - like everything there is good and bad. I am more interested if there are any recommendations for service in the Maryland DC suburbs. Thank you to the gentleman who recommended the shop in Waldorf. It’s a bit far but I appreciate it.

I could recommend Advance Automotive in Chantilly VA, but I got nothing on that side of the river.

 

[RAL]

The manual says it's life time, and never needs changing. However, Stellantis doesn't make the transmission, they buy it, and the manufacturer says otherwise. I forget the name of the law, but a manufacturer can not deny warranty from having work done elsewhere, or using aftermarket filters, as long as maintenance was performed on schedule. Really wouldn't matter anyway, because at 60,000 miles, even powertrain warranty is over.

Thanks. I am aware that they cannot deny a claim legally. And if you read my original post again, I am likely to get the Mopar extended warranTy. The issue I raise is more practical, for example the dealers are likely more set up to deal with Mopar warranty claims and they have the staffing to do it. A small private shop may not and you’re asking them to do it may not be warmly received - I don’t want to pull teeth. Mopar, and other factory warranty companies, may also balk if there is a mechanical failure and a question of the cause. A dealer serviced car will likely get the benefit of the doubt whereas one that isn’t will not. Not to say I have nothing to learn in this area, but my wife and I are both lawyers and I have been a car enthusiast for 35 years (autocross, racing, DIY clinics, etc.) but I am at an age and a point in my life where rolling around on the garage floor no longer interests me that much and time is at a premium. That’s why I asked for recommendations for a good shop, because with the right shop these issues - honesty, competence, using the right parts, service interval when the manual says “ inspect and change if needed” or similar words - solve themselves.

So again if people have recommendations for a good Ram, truck, or domestic shop in the MD suburbs of DC, I would appreciate it.