My Jeep Liberty's been pretty good, but here's why I'll never buy another Jeep / Chrysler / Dodge....
Please keep in mind that I don't know if these experiences are endemic to Chrysler/Jeep service, the fairly large Southern California "Power" dealership chain, or dealership service in general. But one thing is certain: it's fairly typical for 'Power Chrysler Jeep Valencia'...
Latest tale of woe: last Saturday I took it in with a rear window that wouldn't stay up (3rd time!) and back door that wouldn't open. They had to order parts (as always!), so I left with a rear window that was only up because of the doorstop I'd jammed in, and as a bonus, a rear hatch that now wouldn't lock. Come back the next Saturday, as I'd told my service adviser I would, to find that 'ooh, we can't do this kind of work on a Saturday, the person who'd ordered the part isn't even here, but we'll give you a rental'.
A note on the rental: this is the third time this dealership has offered me a rental replacement for my Liberty (Limited) at the next door Enterprise (other two times were regular service intervals, had a coupon for free rental). For the third time the level of car they're paying for is a Neon or Kia. Even if I wasn't 6'4 as well as large-diameter I'd have a problem with that. Third time I had to pay $10-$15 more per day for a car I could actually fit in and otherwise be a reasonable replacement.
So I go to pick the car up on Monday, it's a nice surprise that it's washed. Not that they go out of their way, mind you--there's a car wash machine right next to the service area, it's just that they rarely bother. Experience has told me to carefully inspect the areas they've worked on before driving off, and sure enough there's a panel missing from the back of the rear hatch and the door they fixed the window support in (once again, 3rd time that's broken!) wouldn't open from the inside handle.
I mention this to my original salesperson, she's great: still works there, still recognizes me almost 5 years later (fleet dealer, I don't deal with regular commissioned salespeople whenever I can avoid it), she tells me to make sure I talk to the new service manager. I do, he comes out to look, finds and affixes the rear panel, can't get the door to open from the inside either, drives it over to the mechanic. Turns out it's as simple as the child safety lock, but the manager didn't think of it, I wouldn't have either because for one I never had it on and second, the fact that the rear handle doesn't work when the lock was down I'd always figured *was* the child safety lock. That gets reset and I can finally leave.
So what's the point of this long rant? I've never had more than an oil change at this place where some little (or not so little) item wasn't left undone or wrong. Also, it always feels like they've got their hand in my pocket--every damn time I go. For example, the earnest counsel that I need a 'throttle body de-carb' every trip. The decision for basic service to be a profit center for the dealership is costing them. Why do I even go? Because my Jeep has a 100k mile warranty and I'm trying to squeeze every last cent out of it. But the service alone has decided that I'll never buy another Jeep.
My Liberty's been entirely mechanically reliable, so other than stupid things like power windows, locks and stereo problems it's been great. Only thing I'd change is better gas mileage. It's the combination of too damn high service prices with crap quality of service that's guaranteed I won't ever come back. I begged my salesperson to move across the street so she could maybe sell me an X3 when I'm ready... She's fully aware of how lacking service has been at her dealership for quite a while now, but it's not like there's much she could do. It's strange to compare these experiences with my last car, a 99 Mercury Cougar. It was exactly 180 degrees, the car was mechanically crap but the service was amazing. On-lot loaners and they usually filled my tank after a service. But between the price of gas and the quality of Mercury's cars, that dealership's long gone.
What do you drive and what are your experiences with service? Please discus this article in the forums...
