Sundance Dodge - Boise, ID

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The most recent reports are at the top of the list; the oldest are at the bottom.

Sales=Don't Know, Service=Poor, bought there=Yes, scv_there=Yes, Buy_DaimlerChrysler_again=No,
They took three visits to figure out the radiator was leaking. The first visit they performed a radiator flush after which the cooling liquid started leaking. The second visit they didn't find anything, though we had specifically indicated the radiator was leaking and told them where it was. On the third visit they finally found the problem and I was really shocked to learn that their radiators have plastic parts that can not be re-soldered. You have to wonder, what is the point of paying $50 extra bucks for the flush (compared to simply liquid replacement)?
Number of dealership visits=3, Date of last visit=09/26/03, Date report submitted: Sep 26 17:22:23 EDT 2003

Sales=Poor, Service=Fair, bought there=No, scv_there=Yes,
I show the last time which my truck was taken in for service (August 2002). Until this date, I loved the service department. I dealt with a different service rep on this occasion. This was an absolute nightmare. Until this date, Bob Waterfield was always the gentleman I had dealt with. He was on vacation. I had spoke with almost all of the rep's in passing until this date, but dealt exclusively with Bob. Until this date, they had always taken care of me with all my questions and minor problems. On this date, what started out to be a simple engine adjustment landed me with 1-week of hell. (I finally went to another mechanic) A minor engine adjust landed me with "used" engine parts. (Most of the time you would not mind that if it was broke. As long as you are aware of what is going on.) In this case, there were new & strange noises everyday after I would pickup my vehicle. I would lift the hood everyday when I arrived home, after the truck had been in the service dept for these various "adjustments", we found they had broken various parts and had replaced them. When confronted with this, they were denied. Since this was a new vehicle when I purchased it, I knew what had been worked on and what was not. When you have 4 qualified mechanics from other reputable shops in agreement of Sundances negligence, I tend to believe the other qualified mechanics. It took 2 weeks for them to fess up to what all had transpired.
I have not returned since. Bob Waterfield was always honest & upfront with me. Yes, they are extremely busy there. So am I in my line of work. It does not excuse shoddy & dishonest work & poor communication.
Currently I am looking to upgrade to a far larger pickup. After the experience last year, I will not be looking at Sundance as a dealership to buy from. Before I purchased the current vehicle, the salesman I had spoken with to purchase a pickup wasted 6 weeks of my time & never answered these two questions...
1) How much do I need to write a check for the difference on the trade-in for the new
pickup (he tried to have me fill in a credit app (I was paying cash)..
2) giving me a trade-in amount for the vehicle I was trading in (I never received it)... week no. 3 left me standing around for the trade-in value for over 4 hours with no response. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm I wonder why I never purchased my pickup there.
Number of dealership visits=10, Date of last visit=August 2002, Date report submitted: 30 Jun 2003 00:47

Posted to the TDR list:
RE: auto transmission problem - Sundance Dodge replaced a half a page of parts and a new filter and oil...at NO CHARGE under warranty! All this and it was done a day earlier than they had originally promised. Based on this I have only praise them and their staff...good folks. I was told, by their Service Management staff, that they prefer to rebuild the transmissions rather than use a new or factory rebuilt one since their transmission tech does a better job and they have fewer problems with them if he rebuilds them!

Sales=Poor, Service=Avoid,
Avoid these guys like the plague!!!!!!!!! If anyone has questions email me. I suggest you keep detailed records when you buy a new vehicle. It will help in the long run if you end up having issues with the vehicle. dbracht@micron.net
Details included:
On December 11th, 2000 I purchased a new 2001 Dodge Ram QC 1500 4X4 truck from Sundance Dodge in Boise Idaho. My salesperson was Lynn Bryant. At the time of delivery the truck had 32 miles on the odometer. At approximately 600 miles I could hear a loud rattling type noise coming from the left side of the motor. On December 27th 2000 with 925 miles on the odometer I called the service department at Sundance Dodge and spoke with Steve Reddig. He requested that I bring the truck in to let his mechanics listen to the engine to try to diagnose the problem. When I arrived Steve sent out a mechanic either Mark or Mike he listened to the truck and said, “sounds like a possible bad lifter” “its not pumping up”. He also stated “it wont hurt to continue to drive the truck”. I then scheduled an appointment with Steve at the earliest possible date, which was, 0730am on January 3rd 2001.
On the 3rd at 0730 am I dropped the truck off at Sundance Dodge with 1107 miles on the odometer. Nine hours later at the end of my workday. I arrived back at Sundance Dodge to check on the progress of the repairs on my truck. I found my truck in the service bay with the hood up with nobody around it. I thought, “great it must be done” I spoke with Steve Reddig again he said, “Yea, there’s a problem with your valves. We are going to have to tear it down. I was just going to call you.” He seemed nervous and insincere, as if I had caught him off guard. It appeared to me that he and the other service department staff were overwhelmed with customer calls and paperwork. I told Steve that this is what I was told when I came in on December 27th. I told Steve that I was disappointed that an entire day had elapsed without any progress being made on my truck to correct the problem. I felt that since we knew that there was a problem in my engine internally it should have been torn into first thing on my scheduled appointment day. I feel Steve should have called me at work early in the day to authorize the down time. Steve told me without actually knowing what parts he needed that he would “ have to order the parts for my truck and that it could be out of service until Monday January 8th or longer.” I left and came back the next day.
On January 4th around 430pm to again check the progress of my repairs. Just as I arrived two service department employees pulled up to the service area in my truck. I went inside and spoke again with Steve Reddig. He said, “ the mechanic replaced 8 tappets per the recommendation of Daimler- Chrysler.” But he also acknowledged that the noise was still there. Steve stated that “the noise is now maybe 25% of what it was” and that “I needed to drive the truck more and put around 5000 miles on it to see if the noise goes away”. Then Ken the apparent service department smart aleck suggested to me that I “turn the radio up a little and then I would not even hear the noise”. I could not believe that a service writer representing a “five star” dealership! and Daimler-Chrysler would say this to any customer especially one that is having internal engine problems with his brand new truck. I didn’t feel this was funny, appropriate or an acceptable solution to the problems I was having with my truck. I summary of this service visit I brought the truck in to be fixed and it was released back to me not repaired. I have some new parts in my new motor, but it was not fixed. See work invoice #DOCS196740. Feeling unsatisfied, I then spoke with Dave Skelton on the telephone on January 5th regarding the engine noise. He acknowledged the problem and said he would contact Daimler – Chrysler to try to come up with a solution and get back to me. Then hearing nothing from Dave I recontacted him on January 10th. He said, they need to run some more checks on my engine and to drop it off as soon as possible. On the 10th I took it in and test drove the truck with Dave Skelton. He acknowledged the engine noise at said they ! were just waiting to hear from Daimler- Chrysler for some direction ho w to proceed. Then in the service area he walked over to a mechanic and spoke with him then returned and said Daimler-Chrysler had called and suggested to isolate each cylinder of the engine to try to locate the noise. I then left without my truck. On January 11th I returned to Sundance and spoke with Lane Corless the manager of Sundance Dodge regarding my truck he basically said that its up to his service department and recommendations from Daimler-Chrysler to fix my truck. I made him aware of the problems to date with my truck verbally and in writing (see attached letter). During the meeting I requested that Sundance take the truck back and give me a new one and Lane refused. As we spoke in his office Dave Skelton stuck his head in the door and stated they are still waiting to hear from Daimler-Chrysler. That comment seemed to be a contradiction to what he had last told me on January 10th when he told me about isolating the cylinders. I then left the dealership without my truck with assurance from Lane that the problem would be fixed eventually. On January 12th Steve Reddig called me at work to say that basically they were going to do exploratory surgery on my engine to try to find the problem and that per Daimler-Chrysler the engine heads needed to be removed. Steve said the truck will be out of service until Monday January 15th or longer.
On January 15th Steve Reddig called me to tell me they had replaced both engine heads and that the noise was still there. So next, they were next going to check the lower end of the engine for proper specs and if that was OK, they would try new camshaft(s?). I requested to him that they should put a new motor in the truck. He stated that would have to be authorized by Daimler-Chrysler. Later that same day I called Dave Skelton he told me the camshaft(s) are now on order from LA. Dave said that they would be here in two days. I expressed concern to Dave about the possibility of coolant or oil leaks in my new engine due to all the rebuilding they had performed on it and he stated it would not leak. Dave said to me “if the camshaft did not fix the problem he would recommend to Daimler-Chrysler that they replace my engine”. I requested Dave have the factory Rep Kendall Kondrea(?) contact me.
On January 16th I called the Daimler-Chrysler 1-800 customer service line and opened file #8190208 regarding the problems with my new truck. I requested to Chad that a new motor be put in my truck. While I was on hold Chad contacted Dave Skelton on the phone at Sundance then came back on and said Dave told him that he would be meeting the factory rep on January 17th to discuss my request for a new motor. Later that day the factory rep Kendall called me at work and basically told me that I would not be getting a new motor and that she drove in my truck and did not see any problem with my truck. Later on that day I went back Sundance Dodge and Lynn Bryant pointed out to me the factory rep sitting in an office in the showroom area ! of the dealership. I again spoke with Kendall regarding my truck. She again told me about my truck not receiving a new motor and that even if she did authorize it I would get a rebuilt motor to replace the now not new one in my truck. She told me that Dodge has no extra engines lying around to be put in my truck. I questioned her on her documented ability to diagnose the problem with my truck. She said she had no training as a mechanic and that she covered lots of areas in the dealership. She refused to answer specifically how she was qualified to listen to an automotive engine and diagnose mechanical problems or lack of problems. As I spoke with her she seems impatient and rolled her eyes at me and kept looking over at the service writer Ken who was standing about 30 feet away waiting for me to leave so they could talk. I realized at that point that not only was she not listening to my concerns but also she wasn’t listening to the service manager of the dealership. She was not acknowledging the noise Dave Skelton told her was there. She would not be able to recognize abnormal engine noise anyway with her lack of training. I was then frustrated and left with my truck. It now had 1337 miles on the odometer. Steve Reddig was unable to give me any paperwork on what they had done to my truck on this visit. I was going to take the truck until the camshaft(s) came in. The work invoice #DOCS197323 was not actually closed until January 30th. After driving my truck it sounded as if the noise was gone so I called Steve and told him to hold on the camshaft(s) to see if the problem reappeared. With around 5800 miles on the odometer of my truck the noise again returned. I called Steve Reddig and scheduled the truck to again for the third time to go back to the service department on April 9th 2001. On April 9th 2001 I brought the truck in with 6309 miles on it. Per Steve’s request he had one of his mechanics Dee test drive the truck with me. The mechanic verified the engine ticking noise during our test drive between 2400 and 3400 rpm with it most pronounced around 2900 rpm. He told me it sounded like “its in the valve train or valves”. At that time I requested to Steve that he also have a piece of rubber molding in the engine compartment that had come loose reglued and that he have the oil changed and rotate the tires. On April 10th Steve called me and said that the cams and bearings are bad and that they have off lined the truck and that there has been a bulletin from Daimler-Chrysler about this problem. He said that he had ordered the parts and that they will be in on Thursday or Friday the 12th or 13th of April.
On Friday the 13th 2001 I returned to the dealer and found my truck parked in the back lot of the dealership with the engine hood ajar. It did not appear upon looking at the engine that anything or any exploration had been done to my engine since I had dropped it off on Monday. I went into the service department and spoke with Steve. He said the parts are still ! on order. He then told me that it was the “crankshaft” that was bad. I told him he had already told me it was the camshaft. He could not explain his quotes. When I asked him about the appearance of my truck regarding the lack of anything being done to it he stated “no, the mechanic showed me the worn bearings” and again told me about the bulletin regarding faulty not fully machined crankshafts. On Monday I spoke with Dave Skelton via the telephone and he assured me it’s a crankshaft kit on order related to the bottom end on my motor not a camshaft as Steve had said. Dave told me the noise sounds like it’s coming from the top but is actually coming from my crankshaft bearings. I expressed concern to him that they are again apparently just again “throwing parts” on my engine to try to fix the problem. On April 18th Steve called my home and left a message that the parts had not yet shown up. He was hoping they would be in the 19th or 20th of April.
On April 19th 2001 I again called the Daimler-Chrysler 1-800 line and expressed concern about my truck. The person I spoke to Bruce basically said as long as the dealer is involved with the Daimler-Chrysler tech line trying to diagnose my engine trouble there was nothing he could or would do. On April 20th 2001 Steve Reddig called my home and left a message saying that the parts had come in and my truck is “ready to go”. He said the noise is gone. Later that day I arrived at the dealership. My truck has now been at the dealership 12 days since April 9th. I again Spoke with Steve and completed my paperwork for this visit. Work invoice #DOCS203039. I then walked to the back lot and visually inspected my truck and found that the molding that I had requested fixed was still hanging loose although the work order said it was fixed. There was four sparkplug wires hanging off of their holders on the passenger side off the engine. There is a small pool of engine oil on the black plastic cowling above the engine below the windshield where I assume a oily part had! been set my the mechanic. There are scratches and gouges on my engine fan shroud where I assume the mechanic had been setting tools or parts. The engine coolant reservoir coolant is about a half inch below the ADD mark. I drove the truck up the service department and had Steve come out to inspect the problems I had found with my truck. Steve had a mechanic I think his name was Pat come out and fix the incomplete work. He said the other mechanic had used the wrong type of adhesive on the molding. He fixed the wires and wiped up the oil stain. Steve said that the gouges and scratches on my fan shroud were “unacceptable” and that he would order a new one and replace it for no charge. I expressed concern to Steve about the shoddy workmanship of the mechanic. According to the work invoice tech #556 (Dee) had done all the repairs to my truck this visit including the replacement of the crankshaft, which is a major repair. Forgetting these little things do not to me to appear to be something a “5 star service” department or dealership would tolerate.
This has completely destroyed my confidence in the ability of the mechanic that did major work on my truck. When I asked Pat about the coolant issue he said the coolant is fine below the low mark and that I need to check it when the engine is hot. I went in and attempted to contact the service manager Dave Skelton to show him the shoddy workmanship but was told he was gone until Monday. I then drove the truck home with now 6315 miles on the odometer. I have found that since I picked the truck up that the ticking noise in the engine is still present and possibly even louder then before the most recent repair. The transmission is also making a whining noise when in first gear that disappears after shifting into second. Also after driving the truck about 20 miles then letting it sit for about 20 minutes a small puddle of oil appeared under my truck. About, maybe 10 drops. I went under the truck and found the leak to be coming from what appears to be the main seal of the engine between the engine and the transmission. I also found what appears to be a transmission cooler line not properly snapped into its holder. Also the transmission oil pan and several other parts under my engine are covered in oil. I have also found that after driving the truck for a day my coolant reservoir is now completely empty and that if I open the radiator cap the coolant is about a half inch low. In summary, repairs to my truck to this point are my engine has had the left bank lifters, the main engine heads, lifters, pushrods, intake manifold, and now the engines crankshaft replaced. None of this has been able to permanently stop the abnormal ticking noise coming from somewhere in my engine. There have been 3 attempts by Sundance Dodge to stop this noise and none have been successful. Twice they have given the truck back to me and acknowledged that they were unable to locate and stop the abnormal noise. On April 23rd 2001 I again called the Daimler-Chrysler 1-800 customer service line and spoke with Kimberly. I registered a formal complaint regarding the shoddy workmanship of the service department at Sundance Dodge. Related to the most recent attempted repair of my truck. (#8551823) Later that same day around 430pm I went to Sundance Dodge to have the service department fill my now empty coolant reservoir. I spoke with Lane Corliss regarding the situation with my truck and the new issues that had come up with the latest repair attempt. He assured me that he would research my vehicle history and try to come up with a solution. He told me he would discuss the service issues with Dave Skelton in the morning. The mechanic #556 Dee came out to my truck to add the coolant. I asked him if he would like me to show him all the things he had forgotten to do on my truck. He said, “NO I did what Chrysler told me”. I asked him did they tell you to scratch my fan shroud, forget to properly route my plug wires, not fill my coolant tank, leave the transmission line out of its holder, not properly glue my molding down and cause their to be a oil leak under my truck? I also reminded him that the ticking noise is still there. He said, “Chrysler should have ordered this motor replaced long ago” and started to tell me all the things that had been replaced on my motor. Dee did not seem to be at all concerned that he had made several mistakes with my truck nor did he show any remorse for my inconvenience. On April 24th 2001 Dave Skelton contacted me regarding my truck. He suggested we start on a “clean slate” Dave apologized for the unacceptable work that his mechanic Dee had performed on my truck. He told me that “Dee is preoccupied with trying to be accepted into the pro bowling circuit and that his mind is not in his work” Dave said that he had spoken with the new factory rep a Nick Papidenas and they had discussed ordering a new engine for my truck. I told Dave that would be fine as long as my warranty was started over on my engine. Dave said he would talk to the rep again to discuss this and contact me as soon as possible.
On April 25th Dave Skelton again contacted me and said that the factory rep had authorized a new engine but had said he would only offer a warranty on the engine if I agreed to sign a document that I would not file for arbitration on any issues related to my powertrain. Dave then told me that he had his parts department attempt to locate a new engine and they could not find one and that the best they could do in a remanufactured one. I told him that I could not believe that Daimler-Chrysler could not find one and he said the only way he could get a new engine is order it piece by piece. I told Dave that the offer of a remanufactured engine is not acceptable and that I would not accept having a rebuilt engine put in my new truck. I also expressed to Dave that the conditions of the warranty offer were unacceptable. I have also contacted the local office of the Better Business Bureau and filed a complaint regarding the shoddy work completed at Sundance Dodge. I have been exposed to incompetent service work by a Daimler-Chrysler dealership that they have not yet repaired and have had to go through considerable inconvenience since purchasing this truck. I have a truck that is not safe to drive any distance due to the possibility of engine failure. Now the Daimler-Chrysler Company has insulted me with this recent offer to allow me to have my new truck with a rebuilt motor and no warranty unless I sign some document. At this point I am requesting arbitration via the Customer Arbitration Process.

Dealership Rating:
	Good sales department, good service
	Fair sales, fair service
	Conflicting or not enough information
	Poor Service or Poor Sales Department
	Avoid like the plague!!
	Don't Know / No Experience

This page was edited on: February 19, 2007