My Nitro R/T made its first visit to the dealer this morning. I purchased it February 5, 2007. It has only 1365 miles on it, but I got a notice in the mail that a brake reprogramming was necessary, so off to the dealer it went. Since the dealership (Chuck Patterson Auto World) is in Chico, and my wife works in Chico, I had my wife take Mr. Nitro to the dealer this morning. She arrived at 8 AM, and the dealership's shuttle service took her to work. At 11:30 AM, she called and said the shuttle had picked her up and returned her to the dealership, and she was on her way back to work in Mr. Nitro.

Not only did the dealership quickly and efficiently perform the requisite brake reprogramming and shuttle my wife to and from work, they changed the oil and filter, gave the vehicle a full check-up, vacuumed the interior, and hand-washed and dried the exterior. There was no charge for this.

This is, as I said, the first time the Nitro has returned to the dealership. I have had absolutely no issues with it whatever. I miss Mr. Nitro and will eagerly await his return this afternoon.

When I purchased the Nitro for myself, I purchased a new Toyota Yaris for my wife from the same dealership. Since she commutes 60 miles each weekday, she accumulates a good deal more mileage than I do. She has had her Yaris serviced twice already. Each time, they shuttle her, fully service the vehicle, vacuum and hand-wash and dry, etc., and there is no charge. The dealership provides free oil changes for the life of the vehicle, in fact.

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David
NITRORT - http://www.catechnologies.com/blog/mrnitroplate.jpg

And here I thought all the fairy tale writers were on strike in the Golden State.
Roadie

Is that meant to be insulting?

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David
NITRORT - http://www.catechnologies.com/blog/mrnitroplate.jpg

A little sensitive are we David Louis Harter ? I think you'll find that most folks don't get that service from their auto dealer In fact when most people get taken for a ride with their dealer it's usually not a shuttle to work. A suggestion Mr. Harter ,pay more attention to the emoticons in a message and less attention to looking for trouble.
Florida Roadie

I do not believe I am significantly more sensitive when made the subject of an insipid remark than is the average person.

In part, it was my intent to give praise to the dealership. If I considered their service to be routine, there would have been little purpose in mentioning it.

If that is intended as a threat, I find that more insipid than your initial remark.

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David
NITRORT - http://www.catechnologies.com/blog/mrnitroplate.jpg

THREAT ? Don't flatter yourself. Your must be a giant size Jerk..

Dave:

I'm surprised they didn't ask why you didn't return it for service within 3 months. I too just received my first service on my new R/T purchased on July 27th, 2007 and built on June 22 07(one day after the announcement of Chrysler's new lifetime power train warranty). I too have not driven much but did have my first free oil change and re-programing recall on October 24 with 1,755 miles. When I contacted the Dealer about when I should get the first oil change with such low miles (every 3 months or 3,000 miles ?) the Service Manager said never go over 4 months. I didn't receive a free wash as you but the coupon did say I should have. Did not question why not. Looks like I too will be happy with my Nitro service performed by Palmer Dodge in Indianapolis.

To me Dealer Service is a big part of buying a new car since I have had 100%dealer service on all my cars since 1995 or before. I am little concerned since this Dealership is a stand alone Dodge Dealership but there is a stand alone Jeep Dealership right across the street that is also Palmer. Chrysler wants all their dealers to sell and service all brands from the same store, but since these are new buildings I doubt they will be affected, but small older ones will be if they have their way.

Thanks for sharing your dealer service experience. I too was very pleased and it was my first contact with this Service Department.

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Rick

Nitro Year: 2007 (July 07 Build Date)
Nitro Model: R/T
Nitro Drivetrain: 4x4
Nitro Color: Stone White
Fully-Equipped w/all factory options

They sent me a notice at three months. My wife routinely reminded me. Somehow, I simply never made the appointment. When the notice arrived saying that the brake reprogramming was a critical issue, I prioritized getting the Nitro to the dealer for service.

That was the position of the dealership from which I bought my R/T, also. I simply neglected to follow through with this recommendation.

That might have been a simple oversight on their part. Generally, a car wash would not be of much concern to me, since I keep my Nitro very clean. The service came at a time, however, that I had been a bit neglectful, and it definitely needed a good washing.

That is great. I was the general manager of a Toyota dealership for a bit over 8 years in the 70s. At that time, good service was the norm, and people expected--and got--good service generally. Today, it seems that a good many dealerships unfortunately do not place much importance on good service. Many new car dealerships have huge showrooms and large sales staffs yet have small service departments. That is a bad sign, certainly. The dealership where I purchased my R/T and my wife's Toyota Yaris is a multi-line dealership and sells and services Dodge, Jeep, Toyota, and Mazda. They have a large, well-equipped and well-staffed service department.

Thank you for your input, Rick.

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David
NITRORT - http://www.catechnologies.com/blog/mrnitroplate.jpg

Hey David,

Thanks for sharing another GOOD dealer experience. Just a suggestion, send them a quick thank you letter.

These are worth gold to them with the manufacturer and will guaranty you good service in at least the near future.

Roadie,
sorry man, but I would have taken offense to that as well. It may be YOUR experience that YOUR local dealers don't treat you well but I can tell you for certain, IT IS NOT THE NORM.

I work for a devision of Snap-on Tools that does forecasting for manufacturers of automobiles and we break down where they can make more money and how. Over the last 8 years or so the trend is toward repair and service. Competition being what it is they can't make any money on selling the vehicles so, paint and body and service is where they make it up and there is no way to hit your margins if you have pissed off customers.

If you have a bad experience at a dealer, contact the manager, tell him you wish to file a complaint with Dodge and see how quickly the experience changes.

Allan

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2007 Nitro R/T, Chrome Bug Deflector , In Channel Vent Guards, Stainless Bull Bar and Nerf Bars.

Thanks for your input Allan .But as the old saying goes .There's more horses asses than horses. When a person goes looking for negative ,it usually "Ain'T" hard to find. In my response to The post to which you allude ,humor was obviously the intention (notice emoticons).There was no insult or threats intended ,as stated .
The friend to all mankind ,Florida Roadie .