Maybe I was a ****, but.....

[chiefchad]

Luc

I think the point of this story is that the lube tech knew nothing about vipers. Even if he changed the oil correctly - that still leaves alot of questions in my mind about how the Viper would be treated during the course of this procedure.
Starting with opening the car door in the parking lot, its a wider door than the 99% of doors in the parking lot he's used to opening. Would he have opened it too far and dinged it on the car next to him? Letting out the clutch, having not experienced a Vipers massive torque, would he have ****** it, or rode it too long? Not knowing how low and lengthy the front can be, would he have scraped it driving too fast into the bay if the drive was not level? Having to pull up to the lift and never having driven a Viper before -would he have pulled the nose too close to the wall or bench and "touched"? Would he place the lifting arms on the hoist properly on the frame - so that the Viper was lifted correctly, hopefully not damaging anything like the frame or the side sills etc? And would he have spent 20 minutes trying to figure out lifting the hood and thus tried a few non-conventional ways before figuring it out? Would he spill oil on the engine on re-fill making a mess? - after all it is just like any other car right? Would he, because he had never had the joy of driving a Viper before, be tempted to do a couple of spins in the rear parking lot before returning it to you?
Personally, there are too many questions left up in the air.
I don't want any Tech who knows nothing about Vipers, and who has never driven one, working on my car.
Plain and simple. Even if he was considerate and everything went ockay - it's just a nervewracking experience nonetheless.

 

[luc]

ChiefChad:

I can't disagree with any of your points ( that why I never take any of my vehicles to be serviced) and frankly it's a pretty sad fact that there are only a very, very few techs ( regardless of brand, viper certified or not) that will treat your vehicle as well than you do.
But therefore the issue in not a technical one ( do they have the knowledge,tools, etc to do the job) but rather an issue of service and respect for someone else property.
In almost 40 years of vehicles ownership, i have only known 2 mechanics ( both of them working mostly on race cars) that i could trust to do the job correctly WITHOUT damaging something else. ( or at least if they did, they would fix it and not try to hide/deny it)

 

[vancouver-gts]

Don't know what's the big deal about changing and lubing a Viper. That tech at the dealership could read the info off the refill cap and look up the part number for the Mopar filter ..
I wonder if certified Viper techs go to the extent of jacking the left side of the car up a bit so all the oil flows out of the pan ? I do !
I work on my toys , be a car ,boat or motorcycle , but some people don't have the experience or just don't want dirt in their fingernails so taking their beloved Viper to a dealership.
Needless to say , if one sees a bunch of Vipers in their showrooms ,shouldn't fret to get an oilchange

I work on my friend's mid engined Noble M400 ,and am not a Noble tech

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You must be registered for see images

 

[compcoupe21]

Well unless I missed it let me be the first to say it's stories like this that makes us guys here in the Northeast so fortunate that we have Chuck Tator and Rob to work on our Vipers! I am looking quite forward to Chuck's tech session this coming Saturday!

 

[J&R3xV10]

to those that think poorly of someone who doesn't work on their own vehicles, keep in mind not everyone has the option to have a proper work space, or due to HOAs is not permited to do so. I for example can't do much if anything on my cars because I don't have enough room in my garages to work on my cars and all my driveways are too steep to work on them there. I do change my own oil by using a custom made ramp system, but that is about all I can do and sometimes its not worth my time to do it myself as I have to move several vehicles around to do so. Once a year I try to set a day aside to change the oil in all my cars, but sometimes I just can't find the time.

 

[plumcrazy]

there is a VERY short list of "viper techs" in this world id ever let change my oil. that certification is a dang joke.

luckily tator, rob, mark jorgensen etc..... are around. but if you cant get to one of them, its a problem IMO. there are too many "viper techs" that screw up too many vipers with simple problems.

get a good local mechanic, trusted viper tuner or one of the REAL viper techs like a chuck tator to do the work.

 

[JohnnyViper]

I would have dont the same thing....that kid would have had to get behind your wheel to drive it on the lift....I dont think so!!!

 

[kcobean]

In the "What needs to be fixed in the GenV" thread that Herb started, this was one of my top concerns.

Yeah, it's just a Dodge and all that, but I can't tell you how many negative experiences I've had with my other cars where dealers have damaged the car with their "it's just a car" mindset. I do as much of the work as I can on my Viper, but when I have no choice, I want a tech who'll look at it and say "this here is $100K worth of someone's hard work, blood, sweat and tears and I should treat it that way". *I* don't expect to be treated differently than any other customer, but I darn sure expect that my car should be treated differently from the other Dodges that roll into a dealership on a daily basis.

 

[plumcrazy]

i agree but it "shouldnt" be that way. the dealer "should" treat all cars with the same respect. but it just doesn't happen. sad.

luckily there are a select few, good, trusted viper techs around.

 

[jpa99acr]

Don't know what's the big deal about changing and lubing a Viper. That tech at the dealership could read the info off the refill cap and look up the part number for the Mopar filter ..
I wonder if certified Viper techs go to the extent of jacking the left side of the car up a bit so all the oil flows out of the pan ? I do !
I work on my toys , be a car ,boat or motorcycle , but some people don't have the experience or just don't want dirt in their fingernails so taking their beloved Viper to a dealership.
Needless to say , if one sees a bunch of Vipers in their showrooms ,shouldn't fret to get an oilchange

I work on my friend's mid engined Noble M400 ,and am not a Noble tech

You must be registered for see images

What's with the BMW antenna on the GTS?

 

[J&R3xV10]

What's with the BMW antenna on the GTS?

He installed it himself

 

[Makara]

Luc

I think the point of this story is that the lube tech knew nothing about vipers. Even if he changed the oil correctly - that still leaves alot of questions in my mind about how the Viper would be treated during the course of this procedure.
Starting with opening the car door in the parking lot, its a wider door than the 99% of doors in the parking lot he's used to opening. Would he have opened it too far and dinged it on the car next to him? Letting out the clutch, having not experienced a Vipers massive torque, would he have ****** it, or rode it too long? Not knowing how low and lengthy the front can be, would he have scraped it driving too fast into the bay if the drive was not level? Having to pull up to the lift and never having driven a Viper before -would he have pulled the nose too close to the wall or bench and "touched"? Would he place the lifting arms on the hoist properly on the frame - so that the Viper was lifted correctly, hopefully not damaging anything like the frame or the side sills etc? And would he have spent 20 minutes trying to figure out lifting the hood and thus tried a few non-conventional ways before figuring it out? Would he spill oil on the engine on re-fill making a mess? - after all it is just like any other car right? Would he, because he had never had the joy of driving a Viper before, be tempted to do a couple of spins in the rear parking lot before returning it to you?
Personally, there are too many questions left up in the air.
I don't want any Tech who knows nothing about Vipers, and who has never driven one, working on my car.
Plain and simple. Even if he was considerate and everything went ockay - it's just a nervewracking experience nonetheless.

That is all just a bit silly. Are you really justifying the need for a viper tech to do an oil change because the doors are wider? I would want someone that knows how to properly shut the hood on a Gen I or II, but can that be totally unheard of at the dealership that sells the car?

I have had a viper tech totally make a mess of one of my vipers and I have had mechanics that are not viper techs do a really good job. A mechanic that I had known for a while that became a "viper specialist" told me that the viper was one of the easiest cars he has ever worked on. It isn't rocket science. Sure, if you are to have some major work done or modifications that require a bit of working knowledge of how the cars respond best, go to one of the established guys, and no, just having a viper tech label doesn't make someone really know what they are doing, at least in my experience. If it makes you feel better, show the mechanic the jack points and how to operate the hood and explain that closing it wrong may cost 20k. I have found that people love working on the cars and really do try to do a good job if you just show the the basics that any viper owner knows.

 

[slysnake]

A mechanic that I had known for a while that became a "viper specialist" told me that the viper was one of the easiest cars he has ever worked on.

Yes, it is a simple car to work on. I'm not a mechanic and have changed the valve covers and intake manifold myself. Which I know is not much for many of you, but I was quite proud of myself.

The thing that really bothered me is I made an appointment with the dealership because they said they had a Viper tech. My point was to have the tech give the car an overall "check up", which included but was not limited to, the oil change and lube. I made that clear when I made the appointment. But when when I get there they basicly told me the Viper tech was not going to work on my car because "he doesn't do oil changes". Good thing I didn't take off work for this or I would have been REALLY pissed.

Since then, I have changed the oil myself. Plus, the car was running fine before. So, at 15000 miles probably not anything to worry about anyway. But I like to have a trained person keep an eye on it everytime it gets serviced.

it's just the way they handled it was total BS. When I called my regular place to get an appointment the clerk said right up front that the tech was down with a back problem and he (the clerk/manager) wasn't comfortable letting any other mechanic work on it. I tell you what, they just solidified my buisiness right there. Now I'm in the market for a new family car. One guess which dealership I'm going to go to.

 

[chiefchad]

That is all just a bit silly. Are you really justifying the need for a viper tech to do an oil change because the doors are wider? I would want someone that knows how to properly shut the hood on a Gen I or II, but can that be totally unheard of at the dealership that sells the car?

I have had a viper tech totally make a mess of one of my vipers and I have had mechanics that are not viper techs do a really good job. A mechanic that I had known for a while that became a "viper specialist" told me that the viper was one of the easiest cars he has ever worked on. It isn't rocket science. Sure, if you are to have some major work done or modifications that require a bit of working knowledge of how the cars respond best, go to one of the established guys, and no, just having a viper tech label doesn't make someone really know what they are doing, at least in my experience. If it makes you feel better, show the mechanic the jack points and how to operate the hood and explain that closing it wrong may cost 20k. I have found that people love working on the cars and really do try to do a good job if you just show the the basics that any viper owner knows.

Makara

listen - I know it all sounds a bit silly, but this is the reality out there in dealership land. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, as you stated, there are non-Viper techs who would be amazing at servicing the Viper, and there are Viper techs who could screw it up. Each dealer is different. Trust me, I have over 20 Dodge Dealers within 45 minutes of my residence, but I drive over 2 hours to go to the dealer I am most comfortable with. (You know who you are) I have had experiences with numerous mechanics in my life, as I service a fleet of contracting vehicles regularly. The story the OP describes reflects the warning signs of dealing with a service provider that does not have the "higher level" of understanding that a customer should expect with their cherished vehicle. I pointed out the possible scenario that could be played out if you allow an inexperienced mechanic to drive your Viper. I have many friends and aquaintances who are mechanics - and I have heard some of the horror stories - so now, as I should be, I am overly cautious. This has nothing to do with the changing of the oil. I'd expect that part to go just fine. If you want someone who has never driven a Viper to get behind the wheel of your car, and do so out of your sight range, so be it - you are more of a man than me - or you are just naive.

 

[vancouver-gts]

He installed it himself

Cheap humor . It was on the vehicle already when I bought and haven't got the time to remove it . BTW it is a generic antenna , not those fin types you find on bimmers

 

[gb66gth]

You did the right thing and I agree with whoever made the recommendation to contact the service manager. They should know they are losing business and why.I can determine if they worked on a viper or not when I ask them to open the hood so I can point something out to them. I have a 2001. If they cannot open the hood, I know they do not work on vipers and off I go.

Well said! And a good idea about opening the hood...

 

[SquadX]

U did the right thing. If you had let him, this post would of tried with...well the viper wrecked by the lube boy....

 

[AllBlack]

Reminds me of everytime I go to a Dodge dealership in Vancouver....