My comments are about the service dept. On 7/14/20 we had... - danderson0909
My comments are about the service dept. On 7/14/20 we had our 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Diesel towed to Valley Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Staunton Va on a Saturday. Service dept was closed.The coolant temp gauge had went near hot. Sunday, I drove back and check the coolant level, saw no leaks but was low on coolant. I added almost 1 gallon of water. Monday morning at 9am I explained exactly what had happened to the service advisor Roger Cook and mentioned that I had read online that the EGR cooler had been a problem on these diesels causing this very same symptom. Got a call from Roger 2 days later that we had a blown head gasket, they had test drove the jeep and white smoke from the exhaust. Repair estimate $5200.00. 1,647 miles out of warranty at 101,647 miles.I asked for a good will adjustment from the area rep through the service manager, Kevin Hanson. He said it was flat denied by the area Jeep rep. I also mentioned again about the EGR cooler. The service manager stood by his mechanic's decision and stated that they had already tested for that and that the EGR cooler was just fine. I mentioned to Roger again about the EGR cooler problem...he said no need to check that because exhaust was in the coolant system. We then decided to move our Jeep for a 2nd opinion and took it to a nearby trustworthy dealership that was 30 miles away. So when I had came to pick up the Jeep, there was no mention of anything they had done "test wise" to the Jeep. No antifreeze added, no mention of test drive, pressure test...nothing. Again, no info on the repair order. I asked for a description. The service writer just scribbled down with a pen on an estimate sheet these words....Test drove vehicle approx 10 miles, found smoking from tailpipe, block tested cooIant system and found combustion in cooling system. I refused the repair and asked to talk to the service manager. He was the least bit customer friendly and basically had the "take it or leave it attitude". We then had it loaded onto the flatbed wrecker...of which there was NO white smoke from the exhaust and only 4 miles on the speedometer...all when they said they test drove it for 10 miles! It was obvious they had done nothing to test it but just wanted to totally rip us off by charging us $5200 for a repair that was totally not needed at all! We had requested that the area Rep, Allison, call us to discuss her decision to decline us any help...but she never had the decency to ever call us back...which really makes "Jeep" itself look bad from employing someone like this.
I then had the Jeep towed to Dick Meyers Chrysler Jeep in Harrisonburg Va. and talked to service writer Katie Lambert. She knew her stuff and said they had replaced several with the EGR cooler problems with the same symptoms. Had to wait a week to get it looked at BUT WHAT A DIFFERENCE! EGR cooler was bad...Surprise! And get this....it was totally covered under warranty at no charge. Great people with experience and they take notes. Over 1,000 miles since the repair. Runs great!
Valley Jeep in Staunton either has a terrible diesel tech, a unwilling or uneducated service writer that doesn't take notes, a service manager (Keven Hanson) that knows little about cars and is easily fooled by his techs and service writer, OR they just like to charge folks for things that just don't need!!! Don't be fooled by the appearance of a new dealership. We will never go back to the crooks at Valley Jeep in Staunton, VA nor will we ever recommend it to anyone else! Dick Meyers in Harrisonburg, VA is extremely trustworthy and truly takes care of its customers. Bottom line....always get a 2nd opinion when presented with such a high cost estimate!
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