Over the past several months of reading, and doing a couple of posts myself, I just can't believe how totally common it is for owners to have such horrible experiences with the dealerships. It is certainly my only complaint with my Crossfire. I've been involved with several other boards, including other cars, motorcycles, guitars, etc., and it's normal to hear a rant for sure, but I've never seen anything like this. It doesn't seem to matter what dealer, where they are, or how small the issue is (oil change?). The dealers...all of them...are incompetent!

Has anyone ever had a good service experience with a Chrysler dealer? Maybe I need to search the forum on that one.

I know that there are Chrysler employees here...hence the thread about the employee purchase program. I wonder if any of them are reporting to their company these problems? And the better question...I wonder if Chrysler even cares? They can't be awarding those "5-Star" designations to dealers based on this forum, that's for certain.

 

I think it's pretty funny... Just goes to show why US car manufacturers have lost 50% of their market share. Hell, I don't think anyone working at a Chrysler dealer garage in Los Angeles can even read the manual !

I hope you never need any MAJOR repairs !

 

Maybe they need to print it in Spanish.

 

Maybe they need the guys from Sesame Street to do a picture book.

 

Both of you guys are striking a nerve here! I have had MAJOR repairs (and thus nightmares), and the reason for the repairs was that I was rear-ended on the freeway by an undocumented (no license or insurance). 6 months and 20 days for the Chrysler team to figure our how to fix my car. For that matter, it's still not finished.

 

Also, remember that most people are eager to post there bad experience(s) and not there good ones since it is a way for them to vent. People like talking about the bad more than they do the good...anyone watch the news?

 

Oh, you mean for doing the job that they are actually hired for ? GEE wouldn't that be a rosy world ! Next time I get a hamburger from McDonalds and they don't screw-up the order, I'm going to thank them for correctly doing the job that they are being paid for.

 

OK...so why is everyone venting? The volume just seems a bit extreme compared to rants on other boards and topics. No...I don't watch the news because it's all a bunch of twisted BS. So is this one vote for the dealers?

 

~ on a positive note... my dealer has been outstanding to work with... lucky i guess.

 

I'll start a poll in a different thread. This ought to be interesting.

 

Jam13200, I disagree somewhat with your statement.
There are reasons why so many people in this forum vents(?) and seeks help on this great forum. We (forum itself) seem to have bigger database on problems and solutions for XF problems than your local "5 Star" dealers do. I believe most of moderators on this forum is more knowledgeable than any local 5 star service technicians. I can't remember any car dealer mistakenly put wrong type of oil on the car(see other thread). Make the matter worse, wrong amount. There are 1 or maybe 2 technicians at each dealer that are qualified to work on XF's. Which probably mean they have attended the training classes. How many hours they worked on this vehicle? I don't know.
I have been to the arbitration for my friend's lemon law case. They brought this "expert" from Daimler-Chrysler to defend their case. When asked about this credentials, he started that he started working on automobile since he was 12. His numerous accolades was from his high school mechanics class. He worked for Chrysler for over 20 years. When asked where the XF are built, he had no answer. I don't think he even knew how many quarts of oil goes into our cars. That shows me that Chrysler didn't have plans for XF's sales strategy, service strategy, and solutions to any other future problems. Tell you the truth, my salesman didn't even know the difference between the base coupe and limited coupe. Currently, my car is running fine. I am just concerned when my car has 40k+ mileage on the car. I don't think the service will get any better with the attitude Chrysler dealers have towards XF and its owners.

 

HOLY **** BATMAN !

 

Congratulations Andrew! Unfortunately, Ohio is a bit far to go for my next oil change, but perhaps you should share the details of such a rare dealership with your local Crossfire-ohians so that they may benefit as well. Hey...now there's a thread idea. "Your Recommended Dealerships"...here goes!

 

Chrysler's idea of a halo seems more like devil's horns. That's not how other manufacturers usually treat their leading-edge models. Can you imagine even GM allowing untrained personnel to service a ZO6 or VW putting the wrong oil in a Bugatti Veyron? If Chrysler wants the benefit of a halo car, it should treat it with more appreciation and respect.

 

I am just saying its easier for people to say something negative than it is for them to say something positive! There are more negative websites on car manufacturers than there are good ones because nobody cares if you had a "good" experience...they only want to hear about the bad...a.k.a. the news today.

I have good experiences at my dealership. I call them and tell them when to expect me, there is a rental car waiting for me (provided by xfire warranty...even for an oil change), and the car is detailed when I pick it up.

Ex: Once they were late getting my car back to me so they gave me 50% off the next oil change...you know how much our oil changes are! Plus, I was still in the rental car so it was not that much of an inconvenience.

 

Good afternoon All.

Just a quick hello to my fellow Crossfire enthusiasts.

I'll be sure to check in and communicate longer for future contact but, just wondering if anyone else has had the same unfortunate problems with their 'pride n joy' as I have.

In short; I have had to return my new 2004 Crossfire Coupe for service no less than 15 times in 9 months. Almost all deficiencies have been electrical based. I have been without my vehicle for more than 30 days out of this time period and received NOTHING but, deflections from both the dealership and corporate level.

Any suggestions???

 

Chrysler 5 Star Service
(A Short Story)

Once upon a time, way back in 2004, there was this average Joe who laid out $34,000 for a brand new Chrysler Crossfire. Yes, that's right... $34,000. This was the most $$$ he ever spent for a car and it will probably be the most expensive car he could ever afford to own.

Anyway, our short story begins on the way home from the dealer, after Joe just took possession of his brand new Crossfire.

It being a nice evening, Joe tries to open a window, but had trouble at first. He quickly discovered the power window switches did not work properly, they were reversed. Up was down and down was up. Hmmm… he thought, no problem, he’ll just swing by the dealership the next morning and have them reinstall the switches, no big deal.

The First Encounter:

Joe: Hello Mr Service Advisor.

Service Advisor: Well hello Average Joe who just signed away $34,000 for a new Crossfire. How may I help you?

Joe: My power window switches are installed wrong. Would you take a look and then have them installed properly?

Service Advisor: Gee, the windows open and close just fine, I see no problem.

Joe: Yes, the windows work fine, it’s just that the switches are reversed. When you push down, the window goes up and when you push up, the window goes down.

Service Advisor Nope, there’s nothing I can do. It’s a German car and they are all that way, sorry.

Joe: Oh, one more thing… the radio display is way too dark and it’s hard to read, would you look at that?

Service Advisor: Nope, that’s normal too. We had a lady come in last week with the same thing. Our “highly” trained Crossfire technician looked in the repair manual and there is no brightness control for the radio. Sorry, it’s a German thing.

Joe shakes his head and walks off in disgust thinking, “so this is a $34,000 car and the service that goes with it?” When he gets home, Joe takes 10 minutes and reinstalls the switches himself… it’s an American thing, the switches now work like every other car Joe has ever driven.

As for the radio, a few days later Joe stumbles upon a cool Crossfire forum where he learns there is a TSB out for the dark radio display. Joe goes back to the dealer armed with the TSB number and tells Mr Service Advisor to order and replace the radio.

Second, Third and Fourth Encounters:

* The transmission begins to pop out of 1st gear - 3 visits to the dealer before they even acknowledge there may be a problem and 1 trip to have the transmission replaced.

* Wind noise from drivers window - 4 trips to the dealership and one broken part they tried to hide before the issue is fixed.

* Spoiler squeals when deploying - 2 trips before they acknowledge the problem and fix it.

Fifth and Sixth Encounters:

(By now Mr Service Advisor AND Mr Service Manager try to run the other way whenever Joe pulls into the dealership... Joe knows more about the Crossfire than they do and god forbid, he "expects" quality work for his car).

Joe: I’d like an oil change. BTW the car takes 8.5 quarts of oil and not 6 as the owner’s manual states (Joe also learned that from the cool Crossfire forum).

Service Advisor: Okay, it will be 30-40 minutes. Have a seat and we’ll call you when it’d done.

(Like all car guys, Joe wanders around the lot for a while checking out all the new cars and goes back in wondering why an oil change is taking so long).

Joe: Why did it take almost two hours for an oil change and why wasn’t the FSS reset?

Service Advisor: Uh, sorry about the wait, it’s the first oil change we’ve done… and what is a FSS?

Joe: The FSS and how to reset it is described in the owner’s manual and should be in the shop manual too.

Service Advisor: Oh, would you show me?

Joe: NO!!! Have your tech look it up and reset it.

(Joe learns that oil changes are done by a young kid hired only to change oil and clean up the shop, he had no clue what a FSS was. The car is finally returned with the FSS reset 45 minutes later).

Joe had to take the Crossfire back to the shop a week later after he discovered (using the in-car oil quantity check system, that the engine had been over serviced...

Okay, okay. I get the hint, this was supposed to be a “short” story, so we’ll end it here, (but by no means is this the real end to Joe‘s experiences with his 5 Star Chrysler Dealership).

The End

Epilogue: There has been much written within this forum about Chrysler 5 Star Service, a few lucky people have a good dealership that takes care of them while most others have found service seriously lacking. If you have a good dealership, good for you and consider yourself lucky!!!

(HDDP… would you be interested in getting a crew together and making a documentary on 5 Stars? There may even be the possibility of an Oscar in it for you. No, it's not cost effective? Okay then, I understand...)

 

OK, if not a documentary on 5 Star dealers. How about a "HOW TO" video, so that the Chrysler tech's can actually "see" the correct way to work on our cars. (Of course you would probably have to fly to Germany first, or, simply go to the nearest Mercedes dealer to actually find someone who can).

 

I agree there is a lot of negativity shown but not without justification.
I understand that I am going to pay more for most items at an authorized dealer than at some of the franchises like Ultratune, Quicky Lube, Lube Mobile etc. I am prepared to pay the extra, believing that I am having my vehicle serviced and maintained by a service person who has been "factory" trained on all aspects of my chosen vehicle. When I find that even the simplest task is beyond the competence of the so called "factory" trained service personnel I tend to like to let others know about the pitfalls. Over many years I thought I had been tested by all kinds of individuals in the motor industry but I am still learning how easy it is to become complacent and trust that some of these individuals are actually doing what they are being very well paid to do.

PS It is not just Chrysler. I also own a 2005 Citroen. Bought new in February 2006. Dealing with Citroen Service makes Chrysler Service seem 5 star (pardon the pun).

 

So here's a suggestion for the crew. Why don't we make a sticky of "quality service" Dealers? This site is a resource for many things and, clearly, one of those should be a list of dealers where service has been good. Would this type of thing be helpful? Admins, can you give this some consideration?

Oops, just saw there was a thread started on this, however, a "list" would be more helpful, as people need to search for dealers in their location. Suggest that while some dealers may be good for normal maintenance, attention should be made to dealers that handled tricky repairs or issues.