Ram Man Forever

chnlisle

Adventurer
This can be filed under Credit Where Credit Is Due. 2/14/12 I took my truck into my local Dodge dealer because I wanted the cooling system drained and filled and because of a suspicious noise from up front. It sounded like a wheel bearing but not as loud. It turned out to be the pinion bearings in the front dif. Further the front hub bearings were showing excessive wear. This truck has never been abused and all the required services were done at the correct intervals. Hell it only had 72,000 miles on it. The parts came to $830 and labor was $345. You can imagine how pissed I was. The warranty ran out 60 days earlier. I believe I was treated very fairly by Jim Click Dodge in Tucson but never the less I was out of pocket almost $1200.

I wrote to Ram Brand CEO Fred Diaz and told him how much I loved this truck and that bearings don't just go bad 2 months out of warranty. I further said I thought considering the factsI felt Ram Brand should, at the very least, cover some of the costs. I got a call this AM from one of the CEO's guys telling me that they are sending me a check to cover the complete cost of the repairs. My brother in law and my daughter both had '06 Ford Diesels. Both trucks were just junk and after several years and several lawyers Ford ended up buying back the trucks. Ford needs to take a lesson from Dodge on customer service.
 

DoMiNiC1

Adventurer
TRUF! GM should listen up too! Glad to hear everything worked out... Its not often the little man wins, you have to celebrate your victories. lol
 

Plannerman

Wandering Explorer
Dodge/Ram/Chrysler have EXCELLENT service! They always take great care of us for even the smallest little things! I wish Toyota would listen up! They are incredibly difficult to work with.
 

gene

New member
I m glad to hear Dodge is doing such a great job with customer service. I have a 2006 Cummins with no problems so far. My 2003 Ford F250 was nothing but problems. When I picked up the F250, brand new, I literally was not off the lot when I could hear the rear drive shaft center support bearing squealing. Then after 10,000 miles of an outrageous vibration that they could not figure out, it was discovered the front driveshaft was 4 inches too long, thereby the slip yoke was bottomed out at all times. I replaced that Ford and its myriad of problems with the Dodge. I could not be more satisfied with my choice. The Dodge has been superb.
 

Larry

Bigassgas Explorer
That is a great deal Jay! Outside of the fact the Ram is a great truck, (and the only new domestic truck worth buying these days IMHO)I have been a huge fan of what Fred Diaz, Ralph Giles and several others have done with the Ram Brand, other Chrysler Group products. They have been real moral boosters for their corporate culture. Just sitting back watching what is happening in the industry the last few years it looks like Chrysler Group more than any other domestic manufacturer really listens and values their customer base. I started my automotive industry career off at the Chevrolet Customer Assistance center in Troy, MI where we were the people taking the 800 calls from customers looking for help with repairs, info on classic cars, fielding lemon law claims, etc. as well as doing the leg work handling Goodwill adjustments when letters are received in the executive offices. Back then Chevrolet bought a lot of stuff, some deserved and some quiet ridiculous but it was all in the name of taking care of customers and that is all that mattered.

GM totally lost their way with customer assistance around 2000 when they farmed it out to a contract company that split the customer assistance call centers into 4 low paying locations around the country and started employing any moron that could answer a phone and didn't have a felony. This also created a huge disconnect between vested employees wanting to take care of customer vs. moneys that answer the phone, emails, executive letters, etc for $10 hr. Meanwhile, through thick and thin Chrysler Group has maintained their customer assistance office in the same location for a few decades on Updike Rd in Auburn Hills and has continued to require college educated customer service reps with technical experience. The Updike location is where all customer relations cases are handled. Your case would have been handled their too even if you send a letter directly to Fred. Ironically, VW customer assistance is their next door neighbor.

I also have college alumni friends that still work for Chrysler Group as field reps, field service engineers, etc. The ones that were able to survive the bad years are very happy in their positions today and the way the corporate culture has seemed to change over the past 10 years where everybody inside the company has a voice which equals devoted employees excited to seeing the company succeed. Still have lots of friends at GM and Ford but I won’t go too deep there. GM builds a great powertrains, full-size SUV’s, adequate trucks but has a horrible corporate culture. Ford….ah, well….I just don’t get the Ford thing at all.
 

78Bronco

Explorer
Funny thing. Father-in-law's '05 Dodge 2500 was starting to rust out along the rear wheel well within the warranty period and Dodge said too bad. Never understood why he bought another.
 

redthies

Renaissance Redneck
I wish Toyota would listen up! They are incredibly difficult to work with.

I actually got Toyota to pay for a $1100 repair on my Tundra after warranty was up. It only took me a 1/2 hour on the phone with a customer service rep. I have been told I am very persuasive!

I have found most Dodge / Jeep dealers to be reasonable. Some, not so much...
 

chromedragon

New member
I have both a good and bad story about Dodge Ram.

I owed a 2004 QC 4x2 loved the truck driving daily to and from work etc. after my first year of owning it. I had a couple of issues with the cooling system. They were not covered by the warranty i had purchased from the dealer when i bought the truck from them used. afer about 1400 in repairs and replacement parts the truck was doing fine. i still liked the truck and just kept on going with it. Well about 10 months later i had an issue where the water pump shear shaft went( i found this out after). I was stuck on the side of the road with an over heating truck that would not charge battery etc. and the serpentine belt had even managed to fall off after the pump went and ended up in one pieceD under the truck. I would have expected the thing to be shredded by the fan but i digress. I called Dodge on the warranty card with the best hope of at least finding the closest dealer to get the truck repaired. What happend actually floored me. The person at the other end informed me i had towing service and that they would dispatch a truck to get me the next 40 plus i needed to go to get to the dealer. It was after 8pm in august on a sunday, when this happend i was in norcal some where between Redding and Sacramento. The truck got there in about 1 hour due to some confused directions by the chp officer that stopped to check on me. (he gave me the name of the over pass infront of me...but it didn't have any on or off ramps so it was a bad reference. The driver was pleasant and not only got me to the dealer he got me to a safe motel that I could crash for the night at. All this with nothing out of pocket this point. When i got out of the hotel the next am the dealer had taken the night drop off sheet and was most of the way through the repairs. They replaced the water pump and even the serpentine belt even though it was in the bed of the truck. total out of pocket was 100 for the warranty deductible and my meal and hotel. I was in a bit of shock but happy. I am still a Ram owner and looking to get into the overland group with one but my present 4x4 is a ford bronco and im wrestling with selling it and financing a 1999 club cab 2500 or just trading in my 2008 4x2 QC for a 2006 QC 4x4 with the 5.9l Cummins. Decisions Decisions...anyway thats my ram story...:)
 

fasteddy47

Adventurer
The check was waiting for me she I got back from Baja.

Good on You for Writing Chrysler.... If the Dealer was the selling Dealer of the truck he has an option of doing "Goodwill" on the spot without making you call Chrysler
Customer Assistance.....or writing letters. Most Dealers with good warranty habits are allowed a certain level of Warranty Adjustment after expiration periods.

If the vehicle has a solid Maintenance history with the Dealer the Service Manager can adjust the claim in most cases. If the Warranty is expired in both mileage and time they can
e mail the District Manager and recommend a 50/50 split at Warranty Rates..... Which to you means saving some big $$$$.

Understand that if you have no Service History at a Dealer and you just purchased it used... or are on a first visit to that particular Dealer.... You in most cases won't
have an opportunity for "Goodwill" adjustment.

If you do all your own Maintenance make sure you keep an accurate log....keep all receipts...and mileages...... follow your factory guidelines at a minimum.... and
make sure if it is a diesel truck you are running the correct oil for the application. You wouldn't believe how many EGR claims we get on diesels that are putting the wrong
oil in the engine!!!



If anyone has any questions... if their warranty issue is a current issue with Dodge Trucks or you think you need a hand approaching the Manufacturer .,,,,, PM me
I'll see if I can help.
Cheers
Eddy
 
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chnlisle

Adventurer
Thanks Eddy,
Much of the maintenance is done by me. I have records of all maintenance. The truck was bought new in CA this dealer is in AZ.
 

BCHauler

Adventurer
Great to see a manufacturer offering quality customer service. I'm a big proponent of supporting companies that stand behind their products and treat their customers with respect. Thank you for sharing your experience. Service like that helps put pressure on other manufacturers to match their service and support.
 

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