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Vet your dealer/service provider

PyrPatriot

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I have had a couple bad experiences with one of the larger Jeep dealers in my city. Used them for convenience mostly, I thought they would be decent because 1. they sold a lot of Jeep JLU/JTs, and 2. the Jeeps they did sell were lifted/modded (the majority of their sales, I was told)

They have been pleasant enough to work with in the service department. Can't complain there. What I do have a problem with is their competence.

I took my JT in for an oil change. I also wanted to address a couple issues

My TPMS were all out after putting on some takeoff wheels and tires. Now, these were the 3rd set of OEM wheels with OEM sensors that have been on my JT, I have a set of H/T take offs, a set of A/T takeoffs, and a set of M/T tires on take off wheels. The last set, the A/T, worked briefly after mounting then stopped. Service dept didn't know what was going on and didn't even have the right information to address the issue. Waited a week for some sort of "update file" from FCA. They didn't want me to bring in another set of wheels/tires to show how those were working and these "new" takeoffs werent. I'll see how things go when I bring it in now that FCA sent them the "updated file" to read/calibrate the sensors.

My roll was off by 1 degree to the left. I'm not THAT heavy, even with a full tank of gas it was reading that roll. Even with me out of the vehicle it was reading that roll. Even while in their service bay the provider said he wasn't sure if it was the floor, as it may not be level. Seriously? In a service bay you don't have a level surface? I don't mean there shouldn't be some areas where it's sloped for fluids to be washed down, but come on, this was the main drive-in bay where you just check your car into.

They gave me back a vehicle summary report just now (a week later). They had my wheels on at 100ft-lb of torque. I called and asked why it wasn't the 130 the manual says it should be. The answer: "because we're not really Chrysler. We just WORK with Chrysler and don't have all of their systems". WTF? Prior to using these folks I asked what they used for finding out how to service the JT, given it was a new vehicle and the Factory Service Manual wasn't available yet. They use TechAuthority subscription. Fine, that's what others would use. Whatever. But now they tell me the info they have access to isn't even the OEM info? Calling Jeep immediatly after that, I was told EVERY licensed dealer is that way, and it's a tossup if they train their techs right. They don't even verify competency, it is up to the individual technician to self-enter into the system what they are competent in and how competent (i.e "knowledgeable for service on suspension components for 2001-2010 Jeep Wranglers"). This is paraphrasing the conversation. I was SHOCKED. All dealer service departments are independent contractors licensed by FCA, that's it. The best the nice gentleman on the phone could suggest is to go to various dealerships and "get a feel" for how they operated. I did just that early on, and hence asked where the techs got their info from.

My steering was pulling to the right, not too badly but enough that it was work to keep the car straight. It didn't wander side-to-side, just a bit. That issue was fixed with a minor adjustment

My brake booster vacuum pump was making more noise than I thought acceptable. They didn't know if it was normal. So they just replaced the whole thing. I suggested they pull up another JT sport max tow and listen, but nope, they listened to it, and said they replaced the whole thing. Now despite claiming to have NEVER worked on the system, they got it done in less than an hour (or so I was told over the phone) and that it wasn't that hard, just had to remove some things from behind the grill. I had asked they photo/video record what they were doing since they claimed they didn't know, but they "forgot" to after assuring me they would. Oh well.

In summary of this diatribe, just because it's a dealer that is servicing the vehicle, doesn't mean they are "Jeep certified", so to speak. Check their work. I thought the 6 quarts of oil was a forgivable mistake, but this torque on the wheels and admitting that they don't have all the info that FCA does...well that won't stand with me. Jeep customer care said that dealers DO have all the same access to info, so I'm getting conflicting info.
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ShadowsPapa

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I have not looked, so don't shoot me - but in other vehicles I've owned, because WHEELS get changed for various reasons, rotated, whatever, the owner manual in some cases had the torque spec for wheels. Does the JT manual?

So, they are an authorized dealership that can do warranty work and what-not but don't have access to SPECS?
So if they put on a PS pump, or replace a booster, or say they replace or adjust the pitman or do any other front end work, they may not torque things to spec and if something falls off ........ hmmmmm. That's scary to me.

By the way, I believe vetting is actually supposed to apply to HORSES..... the term is a bit long in tooth.
 

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MarineHawk

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Louisville, KY
I think you have three dealers there. I bought mine at Cross Jeep during a road trip, and I ditched the rental. They were good to me during my 80 minutes there picking up the Jeep. But I don't know much else, other than that they did everything I asked at the time.
 
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PyrPatriot

PyrPatriot

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I think you have three dealers there. I bought mine at Cross Jeep during a road trip, and I ditched the rental. They were good to me during my 80 minutes there picking up the Jeep. But I don't know much else, other than that they did everything I asked at the time.
Cross seems to be a good dealership from when I dealt with them sales wise but they didnt have a max tow in stock when i was shopping. They do currently have a max tow for $40k when it is $46k msrp and that beats the deal I got in shelbyville by like $2500. I didnt go to them for service because they are a bit far for me to go to
 

MarineHawk

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Cross seems to be a good dealership from when I dealt with them sales wise but they didnt have a max tow in stock when i was shopping. They do currently have a max tow for $40k when it is $46k msrp and that beats the deal I got in shelbyville by like $2500. I didnt go to them for service because they are a bit far for me to go to
Makes sense. I bought from them because I was travelling from Colorado back to Virginia, and they had a Rubi with the stuff I wanted for $45K. By comparison, the cheapest Rubis in Denver and NOVA were around $63K.
 
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PyrPatriot

PyrPatriot

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Makes sense. I bought from them because I was travelling from Colorado back to Virginia, and they had a Rubi with the stuff I wanted for $45K. By comparison, the cheapest Rubis in Denver and NOVA were around $63K.
That is a great deal. I cant find any rubis here for under $50k
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