My Dealership No Longer Servicing Gen 5

[Capt Van]

Stopped by the dealer that I got my GTS through and was told by the service manager that they were out of the Viper business and no longer had to service Gen 5s. Said he would work on older Vipers on a "case by case" basis. It is at least and hours drive to the next closest dealer but he said I'd better check with them before I waste my time driving there as "a lot of dealers are refusing to work on them"!

I've bought 5 cars from them, I let him know I won't be back.

Anyone else run into this? Total BS

 

[Bryan Savage]

I haven't yet. The closest High Performance dealership is 80 miles away, and the Viper tech doesn't work weekends, so I'll probably never meet this person. I seriously hope I never have to have any warranty repairs done...

Anyone know about whether Tim Kuniskis' opening all dealers to sell the Viper allowing them all to work on them too? At least maintenance?

 

[Bobpantax]

The Service Manager must be a bit confused. You should call the SRT hotline about this. The dealer's franchise agreement must require them to service a Dodge product. What is the name of the Service manager and what is the name of the dealer? Post same and I am sure one of us will forward the thread to someone inside Dodge.

Stopped by the dealer that I got my GTS through and was told by the service manager that they were out of the Viper business and no longer had to service Gen 5s. Said he would work on older Vipers on a "case by case" basis. It is at least and hours drive to the next closest dealer but he said I'd better check with them before I waste my time driving there as "a lot of dealers are refusing to work on them"!

I've bought 5 cars from them, I let him know I won't be back.

Anyone else run into this? Total BS

 

[Capt Van]

The Service Manager must be a bit confused. You should call the SRT hotline about this. The dealer's franchise agreement must require them to service a Dodge product. What is the name of the Service manager and what is the name of the dealer? Post same and I am sure one of us will forward the thread to someone inside Dodge.

Good idea. I'll try to talk to someone at SRt and let you know results.

If you have any contact info please PM me.

Thanks

 

[Vipermann1]

Sorry, I thought only Dealerships with Viper Certified Tech's could (1) Sell the Vipers only if their tech was Viper Trained an Certified and (2) Only Viper Techs are allowed to perform repairs and service on Vipers.
Is this a true statement?


Side Comment: And Dodge wonders why Viper are not selling. For 100K, I have never been given a loaner free of charge for my Viper during service appointments.

 

[Capt Van]

Sorry, I thought only Dealerships with Viper Certified Tech's could (1) Sell the Vipers only if their tech was Viper Trained an Certified and (2) Only Viper Techs are allowed to perform repairs and service on Vipers.
Is this a true statement?


Side Comment: And Dodge wonders why Viper are not selling. For 100K, I have never been given a loaner free of charge for my Viper during service appointments.

To the best of my knowledge it is true and this dealer did stroke the $25,000 check and had the techs trained.

I doubt any owner has been offered a loaner, maybe a Dart...but they say you have to "keep your hands off my Dart"

 

[GRANGER73]

Tbut they say you have to "keep your hands off my Dart"

Speaking of crap commercials. Did Beth move to Dart?

 

[Capt Van]

Speaking of crap commercials. Did Beth move to Dart?

Thought provoking, but it does make sense. I just can't believe she still has a job at all let alone with SRT!

 

[FLL-B/W-GTS]

I hope you are not talking about University Dodge. The previous Service Manager was excellent(Gone Now/Own Shop/Friend) and the tect that was their was outstanding.They did all the work on my 3 Vipers and they Tect.(Think name is Robert) was fanatic. I use to watch him, never saw someone so attention to detail. I hope this is Not the dealer you are talking about,as if I buy a new and improved Viper they are my place for service .If,they are closed working on Vipers,I know not one I would trust working on a Snake in SF.....That is NOT good...

 

[Bruce H.]

Thought provoking, but it does make sense. I just can't believe she still has a job at all let alone with SRT!

There are sometimes those who are responsible for developing a plan and those who are responsible for executing it. We really shouldn't assume she was the architect of the plan.

 

[Bobpantax]

The tech's name is Ray. He services Gen I through Gen IV. They have a younger tech who went to Viper tech school but he does not hold a candle to Ray who, in my opinion, is a Viper savant. The fellow that replaced Mark, who is a good friend, when he left to open his own shop/store, is a nice fellow named Bob Newland. As long as Ray is there, I will be bringing both my Viper and my Jeep to University for anything needed except perhaps an oil change. (Ray supercharged my Jeep and it has been bullet proof. He also put together my former supercharged Challenger and maintained my former supercharged Gen III.) If one of you go there, just tell him that Mark's Rabbi sent you. LOL.

I hope you are not talking about University Dodge. The previous Service Manager was excellent(Gone Now/Own Shop/Friend) and the tect that was their was outstanding.They did all the work on my 3 Vipers and they Tect.(Think name is Robert) was fanatic. I use to watch him, never saw someone so attention to detail. I hope this is Not the dealer you are talking about,as if I buy a new and improved Viper they are my place for service .If,they are closed working on Vipers,I know not one I would trust working on a Snake in SF.....That is NOT good...

 

[FLL-B/W-GTS]

Yes,Ray is his name....He is one outstanding Viper Scientist.....

 

[Capt Van]

It's not University. This one in is SW Florida.

 

[Capt Van]

The dealer is Palm Dodge in Punta Gorda, Florida.

I'm pretty capable of maintaining my cars, I have a 2 post and 4 post lifts in my shop and about most every tool imaginable, lol, or so it seems. But I think it is crappy that the dealer that I bought my car from refuses to do any service on it, warranty or scheduled.

Maybe all of you should check with your selling dealer and find out if they have any interest in seeing your snake come in for service as well as taking it on trade. The dealers are jumping ship and we are going to be left holding the bag. Might be we'll be on the hook to ship it off to a qualified dealer to have repairs done.

From the calls I have made and received today it's not pretty. We just might be left out swinging in the wind.

It just keep getting better.

 

[Capt Van]

Just heard back from a rep at SRT. He says that the dealer no longer has a qualified Gen 5 tech and is apparently not in any hurry to have one trained of find another one. He went on to say that they are still able to work on older Vipers.

 

[johniew398]

I've been using the same Dodge dealer to service my Vipers for six years. They changed oil, tires and did warranty work on the ACR and have changed the oil on my Gen 5.

They don't have a Viper certified tech. The reason I take my Viper to them is because my bosses boyfriend is a part of the family who owns the dealership and the GM there previously owned a Viper. They treat my Viper with kid gloves and quite frankly have made very little money off my work but they care and it tells.

 

[dgfarrelly]

It's not University. This one in is SW Florida.

what SW Florida shop do you recommend?