Since I am a new member to this forum, I've been amazed at how many "Indifferent Chrysler dealer" stories I've read. So here's mine.

Now since I purchased my new 04' XF on EBAY from an out of state dealer, I'm going to have to find one locally to handle my service needs. There's several to choose from, but in June I had the opportunity to visit the closest one to my home, because I needed an oil filter. This dealer is a very small, "Mom & Pop" type store and I will say in their defense, that I've never seen a XF on their lot, even though it is the dealer that I picked up my first XF dealer brochure from.
Being a small dealer, the Service Manager and Parts Manager share the same counter space. When I walked up to the counter, the SM asked me what I needed because the PM was on the phone. When I told him an oil filter for a 04' XF he stared back at me with a completely blank look and said ,"What's a Crossfire?" I told him, and he sheepishly admitted to just being hired there, and that he previously worked at a Caddie dealer. Just then the PM got off the phone and the SM told him what I needed. Instantly he was on his computer looking for the filter. It didn't take him long to get a perplexed look on his face when he discovered he had none in stock, and seemingly never did. After looking for another minute or two, hopelessly trying to find another filter that cross-matched, he became frustrated and gave up. Then he turned to me, and with a rather condescending tone in his voice, informed me, that after all, "WE are a Chrysler dealer and we do not stock (Dodge) parts." I stood there for a moment, speechless, then fired back.
"The last time I looked it still said Chrysler on the front and back of my car!"
And they were welcome to step outside to verify it. With that we all proceeded to the parking lot for what I assume was there first encounter with a real live Crossfire. They both admired the car, and the PM promised me he would order some filters to keep in stock. I thanked him, and drove directly to the closest MB dealer and picked up a filter for a 04' SLK.

Don't ya just love it?

 

umm... wow, you would think working at a chrysler dealership you would know what car they made. Not to mention if your a service manager or parts manager, I would imagine they have some sort of interest in cars. So you would think they would keep up to date on what's out there. But I guess not. Its a good thing they aren't in sales. I was in sales at a chrysler dealership and couldn't imagine not even knowing what kind of cars chrysler made.

 

I had just the opposite experience from my local "mom and pop" Chrysler dealer. They do not carry the Crossfire, so I figured I'd need to order an oil filter and wait for it to arrive. I talked to the parts manager and said I needed to order the filter. To my surprise, she came back with the statement that since there were now two in town (she knows the names of both owners), she is stocking the filters for them and had one available. I've always felt this non 5 star dealer had the best service department, and now their parts department is also at the top. I read the horror stories about service and consider myself lucky to live only a few blocks from a dealer that has outstanding service.

I wish I could have bought the car from them, but in our market the pickups have the lot space.

 

Well I'm not going to tell you how my dealer, as well as Corp. have treated me. BoooWhooo, that's right I have emailed Chrysler 15 times in the past week. I have not once gotten a response with those 15 attempts. Well heck out of about 50 tries over the last 3.5 months, I got maybe ten bullsh*t replies. In the same amount of time, I attempted to contact the two dealerships that are closest to me probably 15 - 20 times for Parts and Service requests. I still have never gotten any kind of response, from either dealership. So I think the "Mom and Pop" shop story is great, but to any other higher volume dealer out there could care less about the people who already bought the car. All they care about is selling the next one. I myself and as well as all my extended family will never ever buy another Daimler Vehicle again. So that's not a loss of a potential 4 cars in just my life time of new car purchases. Now you have a potential loss of about 20 new car purchases, from just one family. I guess that original price point didn't discourage a 24 year old from making the mistake of purchasing a car that the manufacturer had no intention of fixing, if one of the many of the major flaws in there butchered Frankensteined vehicle were to happen. I mean heck they don't even have my cars actual build date...How I am I supposed to get quality service, if they themselves don't have any info on the car. That's why I still haven't got a notice to reflash my cars ECU. It wouldn't matter...I couldn't drive to the dealer to get it taken care of any way. Yup for over 90 days the car has been out of service...90 days, but they still want that payment every month...

 

This is my third car from the same dealer. 2001 PT Cruiser, 2001 Jeep and the Crossfire. I have never had a problem that wasn't repaired.
They now have parts on order for the Crossfire. The storage bin to replace the cup holder and the outside temp sensor. It has been two weeks now. This is the first time I had to wait more than a couple of days.

 

I wonder why the "DChrysler Marketing Reps" who are lurking about have yet to chime in on your problem, makes you start to wonder. My "5 Star Dealer in Central VA (car originally purchased in NY) has been great, they have 2 well trained Xfire techs. I have had few warranty items (Both Headlamps, Interior light) replaced by them, never a problem and for some reason they have gotten parts in 24 - 48 hours. the longest my car has been down was for one day and they gave me a Graphite Roadster Limited as a loaner. They work on a lot of Xfires, there are only 2 dealerships in the Central VA area that have trained techs from what I have been told.

 

Oh I think they chime in other ways & other places. They'll start a thread telling everyone how great there local dealership has been for them. Then they proceed to tell everyone that they will keep there crossfire till the day they die. Something along those lines. I don't really care what they are pitching. There salesmen, its there job to sell. I can respect what they have to do. I just wish they wouldn't play possum. Stop suggesting your endorsements, just come right out and say buy Mobil one, or we really don't want lease returns, because then we'll be screwed twice. We had trouble selling them the first time. My suggestion is start advertising more...actually try to sell them.

P.S. You need to take care of your own...No not your peep's...your clients, customers, very tiny investors known as car owners ... Ok that last part was a very bad attempt at a joke. I do apologize...You see what happens when you try to force funny to happen. It just doesn't come out right...

 

Saskins, sorry to hear that you're having those problems and you're right about the "trolling" I hate that. Is the problem simply because you have an XF and DC is not servicing them properly? I've had 6 Chrysler's/Dodges, all bought locally here in Maryland (DC 'burbs), and service has never been an issue over the past 20 years. I've certainly had issues with a number of the vehicles but the dealers (3 different ones) have been pretty good about addressing them.

I'm just inquiring since I've seen/read many of your posts and I'm would like to buy a sportier car like the XF (Honda S2000 being my other choice although its far less practical) and your posts are of interest in my consideration.

Thanks.

 

In the 4 1/2 years I've owned 2 PT's I've not had one dealer problem. The second, my GT was flawless the entire time I owned it. The first had a few small issues and Fairfax Chrysler took care of everything, even let me sit there and watch them work on a Saturday morning. (KOW) I've yet to have a problem with my Xfire (Ltd. 6 speed) which was purchased from Courtesy in Rockville. The service manager is a customer of mine so I feel pretty positive I'll get good service from them. Sennaspirit - You gotta go for the Crossfire. Its a pretty rare car around here. Those Honda's are all over the place now.

Pat

 

Sennaspirit, I've owned a dozen Hondas in the last 21 years, 5 of which I purchased brand new, so you're not going to hear me say anything bad about them. I never had the pleasure of owning a S2000, but from everything I've read, it is a fantastic car, but as PATPUR already mentioned, fairly common. Slalom and skid pad #s are nearly identical with the XF, but the Honda is about 1 sec. quicker in the 1/4 mile, if that sort of thing matters to you.
Bottom line, it should come down to which car looks the best to you, and which one you feel the most comfortable in. (one suggestion, take a good long drive in both of them, especially the Crossfire, because sometimes it can take a little while to find the perfect driving position) But unless you are 6' 5" tall, you should be able to find your "sweet spot". Since I've never driven an S2000 I can only comment on Accords and Civics, but to me, the XF "feels" like a more expensive car. (After all it's mostly Mercedes Benz, so why shouldn't it?)
Personally I think the XF is a far greater value for the money, because even though the S2000 and the XF have similar "window stickers", the XF can be had for 1000's less. For that reason, and its exclusivity, it makes the Crossfire a "slam dunk winner" in my book.
Good Luck!...Mike

 

Mike,
Thanks for the input...I really appreciate the your assistance in adding to my dilemma (LOL). Really good points. As you can tell I really like both cars a lot. The S2K is just a sexier vehicle, but the XF is more "interesting" visually and, in many ways (for me) more practical. I went back this weekend to have seat in both cars. I'm 6' @ 210 lbs (cough) but actually have no problem getting in and out of both easily (flexible I guess). The interior of the XF is classy and the dash is great, I hope there are mods for the console plastic (a little cheap looking). The S2K is all business...but thats what you want in that car.

Value, I think you're right...for the dough, its gotta be the XF.

Thanks again...oh, one more thing...gear box...any feedback from the XF crew on the 6 speed in the limited xf? Any problems or comments?

Thanks,
Sennaspirit

 

Sennaspirit, I'm 6' 2", 215 lbs. and that's why I mentioned trying it on for size. It took me a little while to find the perfect driving position in our XF, but after driving it 9 hrs. home from the dealer where I bought it, I got out with no back pain or cramps. As for the 6spd., that will take some getting used to. No way is it ever going to match the slick shifter in the Honda, but it's really not that bad once you get used to it. Some call it vague, some think it's notchy, others say it rubbery. Our car now has 9,500k on it, and the only real complaint I have with it is sometimes it feels as though I'm "beating" the syncro between 1st. and 2nd. It doesn't grind or anything like that, it's just not what you might call "smooth". It's almost like you can "feel" the gears meshing through the shifter. Something I'm not familiar with when driving my Honda's. The transmission really seems to shift better after it warms up.
Still, I'm glad I chose the 6spd. over the auto. I think the 6spd. felt more responsive, and even though it's only about 1/2 sec. quicker in the 1/4 mile, to me it feels more like a "sports" car. Owners of the Auto/Stick always give it high marks, and I really don't remember hearing anything bad about it on this forum, so I think it's strictly a personal preference. Even though I like shifting for myself, I think I could quickly get used to the Auto/Stick in the SRT 6 thanks to the extra power. But your question was about a Limited so I'm getting off the subject.
If you scan the forum, I know there's photos of different dashboard and console trim that can be applied directly over the silver finish.
I had to laugh at your comment about "adding to your dilemma", that wasn't my intention, and I feel just the opposite about which car is sexier too. I think the XF is the biggest "head turner" of the two cars. I don't know what you've been driving, but it's hard to be inconspicuous in the Crossfire. So that might take some getting used too.
All in all, the car's a blast, and I think most of the other forum members would agree with me. Scan the S2000 forum, and I'm sure they'll try to sell you a Honda. As I said before, the cars looks "hooked" me, and being so rare was a real plus. Getting a brand new XF for a used XF price from EBAY made it a no-brainer. Let us know what car you eventually wind up with, these "automotive conundrums" always keep us on the edge of our seats...Mike

 

Mike,

I'm glad you got that joke...all the best intentions of course . I'll definitely let you know when I get down to making my choice, it could be later in the spring/late winter. We just replaced my wife's Caravan, so i'm gonna have to wait a bit.

Thanks again for the update on the manual shift. I know its not fair comparing the S2K and FX on this point, but then again, I've had Chryslers before with manual and it was not great experience (certainly not what one wants in a sportier vehicle).

Cheers,

Sennaspirit