Is There Such a Thing as a Good Dealership

[Damtall]

I know I am probably repeating an older thread, but I didn't want to go searching for it. Does anyone know a good, honest, reliable dealership between Haymarket and Springfield (forget Safford Springfield and Lustine Woodbridge)? Need to have a rear main seal taken care of, along with some sensors (O2, Crankshaft, Camshaft) and possibly misfire issues, from a Jeep mechanic. Might have them replace the plugs, coil packs and intake gaskets too, just to be safe.

Bull Run 4x4 did a hell of a job getting my Jeep back to road worthy, but found major leaking onto the skid plate! They even fixed some broken valve cover bolts on the passenger side. Mike at BR suggested Piedmont Tire, but not sure about them simply for the fact that they aren't a dealership and would use aftermarket sensors, plugs, etc. (sorry, one of my pet peeves unless you can convince me otherwise).

Thoughts and suggestions? Thanks everyone!

 

[SaintedDrew]

I had to go south to Fredericksburg.... I have had decent service there...

 

[Nacho]

I am a big fan of Safford in Fredericksburg.

 

[22BlueWilly]

My wrangler is too new to need the dealer () but I’ve had good results on 2 grand Cherokees at Koons Jeep in Tysons Corner


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[R3]

Mike,
First off glad BR go you baby back on the road. Good news stories are always nice to hear.

From the problems you describe you don't need a dealership but a good mechanic. All dealership have their pluses and minues and change from year to year. Shops are the same way. If you have a good relationship with a dealer or shop then you seem to get better service. If you are new to them is depends on the day.
Stafford in F Burg has a fair reputation for service on Jeeps as long as it is normal service. They have the tools to do cam work and head work but they are not cheap. Awaiting parts may be an issue. For my Ram .... let just say that is how I got this Jeep. And yes there is a long story that goes with that, but the blame rest mostly on FCA.

Question, why isn't BR doing the service work?

OEM parts vs aftermarket... bigest difference is cost. Cheapest parts are aftermarket parts from China... ( Bad rep) but there are still some good aftermarket companies supplying good parts too. Guess it depends on the shop. Some shops use OEM parts other seek out cheapest parts to make a profit. That usually bites them in the end.

As far as a recommendation, I would sugget s dealer that moves a lot of Jeeps and a good customer feedback.

 

[zuke]

Good advice from R3 above... Most small independent shops will use OEM sensors if you specifically request them, and will let you provide them if they can't get them for some reason.

I used to like using dealerships for jobs because of the support network on the repair, the corporate warranty of dealership repairs was some peace of mind when travelling, and you had some where to elevate issues to when you weren't happy with the work done. The value of that has been outweighed by the bureacracy that seems to have increased geometrically int the last ten years or so, I now only use the dealership for warranty work, and even then only if the cost of the job is greater than the value of my time I'll waste getting the work done in a dealership... (IE, If I can fix it for under $300 and 2 hours of my time, I probably won't waste half my day to get it done by a shop).

All that said, I've had 2 warranty repairs on my Jeeps in the last 3 years, both at Safford of Fredericksburg, and was very satisfied with the experiences.

 

[Clifford04X]

Dealership service departments are usually broken down into teams. Each team will have a service advisor and 4-6 techs assigned to it. The techs will all be different skill leveled. At the end of the day you’ll be better off at the dealer for a number of reasons. And you can switch teams if you have issues. I can’t tell you how many vehicles I’ve had to diagnose for the local independent shops. It’s always a good show down when the customers of those vehicles show up. Gotta love GPS

 

[dave2002ti]

There is a reason they are referred to as "stealers". I ahve had excellent service on my Jeep from Craftsman autocare in Fairfax, VA. I would only use a stealer for warrenty work. If there is a Jeep dealer out there that is part of the Penske group I may try them. Koons has had a bad rep for 50+ years for service.

Dave Apker

 

[Clifford04X]

There is a reason they are referred to as "stealers". I ahve had excellent service on my Jeep from Craftsman autocare in Fairfax, VA. I would only use a stealer for warrenty work. If there is a Jeep dealer out there that is part of the Penske group I may try them. Koons has had a bad rep for 50+ years for service.

Dave Apker

I think they’re referred as “stealers” by people that only show up for warranty work. A regular customer can get just about anything covered under warranty. Manufactures will even provide assistance after warranties have expired.

 

[dave2002ti]

I think they’re referred as “stealers” by people that only show up for warranty work. A regular customer can get just about anything covered under warranty. Manufactures will even provide assistance after warranties have expired.

No not just folks who show up for warranty work. And sorry I know regular customers who have been loyal and are on their 5th Jeep, or 7th BMW or 12th 911 who have gotten screwed by the dealer/stealer. Dealers are also overpriced in what they charge for service and parts and this will get worse as manufacturers crack down on stealers charging customers more than the MSRP etc. As more and more dealers become part of big time corps like Penske its all about the bottom line and less about keeping customers happy. When the Jeep dealer in Manassas was family owned it was great but when the Lindsay group bought the family out they became a stealer.

Dave Apker