Antwerpen Dodge - Clarksville, MD

Visit Geno's Garage for Truck accessories.

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

Sales=Poor, Service=Avoid, bought there=No, scv_there=Yes,
My experience = Bad! I will never go back to Antwerpen Dodge.
Number of dealership visits=2, Last visit date=July 1, 2003, Date report submitted: 28 Jul 2003 10:39:31

Sales=Excellent, Service=Excellent, bought there=Yes, scv_there=Yes,
I purchased a 2003 Durango from Antwerpen and the experience was great. They took care of me, brought me coffee and so on. I get my oil changes there on a regular basis and would not be afraid to do any service there. oh yeah, the salesman's name was Dave Hall, good guy, finds what you are looking for. A recommended dealership from me.
Number of dealership visits=5, Last visit date=4/15/03, Date report submitted: 21 May 2003 18:39

Sales=Don't Know, Service=Poor, bought there=No, scv_there=Yes,
I've had two warranty repairs at Antwerpen. The quality of the actual repairs was good. The technicians seemed competent and the problems with the vehicle were fixed. The customer service, though, was terrible. Bad enough that I will not go back. They are simply incapable of picking up the phone and telling me the status of my car.
Here's the quick story: Took the car in on a Tuesday for a steering wheel squeak. It was an intermittent thing so I waited until it was happening and then went in and they were good enough to grab a mechanic immediately and have him listen to the problem. A promising start! So, I take the car back the next morning (early) and dropped it off before they opened (Night drop box). I call in a 3pm and they say, "Huh, you dropped you car off? We don't see it." Doh! They don't check the drop box, apparently, after 6 something in the morning. So, they get someone right on it and when I call back (note, it is always me calling back...they NEVER call) they say that there is no sound. I say, "Did Joe look at it? The mechanic I had seen the day before)...uh, no. And he's gone for the day. So, I go in and agree to come back and give them another chance and tell them how I feel about their stupidity and the Service Manager tries to make it sound like it is my fault! Nice!
Anyway, they kept it for a couple of days and got the problem fixed. What I REALLY resent is them telling me that their mistakes are my fault. So, I don't go there anymore.
Number of dealership visits=3, Last visit date=Feb. 2003, Date report submitted: 05 May 2003 16:46

Sales=Good, Service=Fair, bought there=Yes, scv_there=No,
In my first post, (at the bottom of the list) I was happy with the salesman - not there anymore though. Had 2 wheel seals leaking that were taking care of. In September,I called to make an appointment about my truck wandering going down the road. I even ran off some TSBs and took with me just in case I needed them. Service writer to me problem might be a belt shifted in a tire. I understand that. I could not get an answer when I told him that even swapped the front tires after doing a tire rotation. Then I was told the problem was normal on a 4x4 diesel. I've been working on medium & heavy duty trucks for over 20 years. I know that most everything I was told was a crock. The mechanic aired the tires up according to the door sticker,did a few checks&did not find a problem. Picked up the truck&came home-same problem. Got under truck&pulled&shook all front end parts. Felt OK. Had wife saw wheel back&forth while I looked, trackbar had so much play in it I thought it was going to fall out. Called service manager & took back the next day. Took mechanic for test drive (should have done that the day before - my fault) and he saw what I was talking about. I had the service manager, writer & 2 mechanics out there to show them what was wrong. And I'm not even Dodge trained. Like I said, I do my own work on my truck & the dealer will only see mine for warranty work. I'm even hesitant about that now.
Number of dealership visits=4, Last visit date=September,2002, Date report submitted: 09 Mar 2003 12:26

Sales=Poor, Service=Avoid,
Last Wednesday, December 18, 2002 the transmission on my Dodge Caravan stopped working. I had it towed to the dealer, Antwerpen Dodge. The minivan is a 1999 model with relatively low miles at 44,600. The base warranty is 3-year or 36,000 miles. But I bought an extended warranty that took the mileage up to 100,000. Whew! Anyway, between Chrysler, the service department at Antwerpen, and the warranty administrator, I think they are trying to take advantage of me. Check this out.
Thursday morning the service department calls and confirms the transmission is completely broken, and needs to be replaced. The repairs are estimated at $2,700.00. The only problem is, they don't have any record of me purchasing an extended warranty. I told Kevin, the assistant service manager who is only four days on the job, that I have the documentation, and gave him the contact information over the phone.
He acknowledged the fact that this was an extended warranty they once sold, and that the original company that was backing the extended warranty was bought by "another" company, who also conveniently has no record of the transaction. So they tell me that I have to produce the paperwork to prove that I have the warranty or else I am responsible for the repair costs. No problem, I am able to produce the paperwork.
Later that morning, Sherry and I visited the dealer and provided the paperwork. Kevin show us my account on his computer that clearly listed "NO RECORD" in the field next to the extended warranty section. He made a copy of my paperwork, and faxed it the extended warranty company. Given Chrysler's history of producing problematic transmissions, what if I didn't have the extended warranty documentation?
Ever since I bought the minivan, I have always kept up with the maintenance. Simple oil changes at the dealership requires an appointment. You have to get out of the vehicle, and it takes about about two or three hours. When you have kids, that is not an option. So I've always had the maintenance performed at Laser Lube. Kevin recognized that Antwerpen has no service records on the minivan and said that the condition of the transmission seemed to indicate that the maintenance was performed by less skilled individuals, and that the extended warranty administrator may deny the claim because the work was not performed by the dealer.
Antwerpen would not provide me with a rental vehicle, or a loaner. Their explanation was the warranty administrator has to approve the repair work first. Now, having read the extended warranty policy later that day, any expenses that are incurred prior to the extended warranty administrator approving any work related expenses can and will be denied. So until one of their adjusters can find their way to the dealer to inspect the transmission, the dealer will not give me a loaner vehicle. In addition, the dealer says that they won't begin any work until said authorization is provided from the administrator.
With a wink, Kevin says he expects to hear from the administrator by 1:00 pm, and that he would call by 2:00pm if he hears from them or not. As you might imagine, 2:00 pm comes and goes with no call back from Kevin. So I call the dealer and get his voicemail. I left a message asking for a call back first thing in the morning. I also called and got the service manager's voicemail and left a message for him detailing my experience and again asking for a call back in the morning. This dealer is purported to be a four star Chrysler dealer. Can you believe that I didn't get a call back from the manager, or assistant manager?
That night, I went to Laser Lube and explained my dilemma. They kindly printed out the full maintenance history on the minivan. The next morning, I go to the dealer again and spoke with the general manager. We sat down in the showroom and I explained the situation. He calls the service manager and then we both pay him a visit. I explain the situation again to the to the service manager. He gets on the phone with the warranty administrators. When he hangs up the phone, he says that they should be able to get an adjuster out either Tuesday before Christmas or Thursday after Christmas. Still no loaner car is offered, despite waiting a week or more without a vehicle. I offered them the maintenance records, but they would not accept them. Made it seem like it was not a big deal.
But wait, it gets better. Kevin calls me Friday afternoon, and confirms that the administrator will send an adjuster "sometime" the following week, BUT they will need to take the transmission apart in order for the adjuster to inspect it and make a determination. The labor costs associated with this is estimated to be $800.00. Kevin goes on to advise that the $800.00 may not be covered because the expense would be incurred prior to receiving the official authorization to do the work. Does that make any sense? By-the-way, I am still wondering how Antwerpen was able to write up the job without taking the transmission apart in the first place.
It's now Monday, December 23, 2002 and I have not heard anything from Antwerpen regarding the date or time the adjuster is going to show up. What should I do? Christmas is upon us, and according to the other horror stories I've heard, it's going to take a long time to get this thing squared away.
I'll never buy another American vehicle. It's an incredible awakening to see how Americans cheat Americans.
Steve     seugene@neamb.com
Number of dealership visits=4, Last visit date=December 20, 2002, Date report submitted: 23 Dec 2002

Sales=Good, Service=Excellent,
These people are great at fixing cars that other people give up on or don't want anything to do with.
Number of dealership visits=12, Last visit date=10/18/02, Date report submitted: 01 Nov 2002

Sales=Don't Know, Service=Avoid,
I've got a '99 Ram 2500 4x4 that has been in for brake repairs numerous times. The first time because it was pulling to the right (in Feb 2001 still under warranty), this shop 'greased the caliper pins'. One week later, it was still pulling when braking. I took it back and they told me that since it was still under warranty, they replaced the entire front end. That repair lasted for a little over a year. It was in next because the driver side front caliper locked up and overheated the rotor. It was now out of warranty (by 2 weeks and 1,000 miles). When I asked if this repair (the destroyed caliper) would be covered under the front end replacement warranty (less than 1 year and 12,000 miles) I was told that they didn't replace any components, the just greased the front end again. Therefor, I paid over $600 to fix this. During this repair, the mechanic put power steering fluid in my brakes. When both front calipers failed in less than 24 hours (20 miles), I was told that I would have to pay the $4,200 to fix their mistake. It took four weeks and a lawyer to get them to fix it.
I've currently got it in another shop (moved out of state) and they're getting my brake imbalance fixed under warranty (even though it is now out by 8 months and 11,000 miles). Since it was identified as a problem while under warranty, they're still going to fix it.
Mr. Danny Tyler at Antwerpen can not be trusted to tell you the truth about your repair. Avoid this dealership at all costs. There are other reputable dealerships in the Columbia, MD area. My advice, use anyone else.
Date report submitted: 16 Oct 2002

Sales=Excellent, Service=Poor,
Brought truck in for 3 warranty repairs. They had to order a part for one problem but noted could not find the other two. When I left the dealership, I immediately noticed the problems were still present. The only reason that I am returning is to get the part they had to order the first time and will again try to get these problems fixed.
Number of dealership visits=3, Last visit=8/30/02, Date report submitted: 19 Sep 2002

Sales= Don't Know, Service= Avoid,
Number of dealership visits=1, Last visit=8/12/02, Took my new '02 3500 in for warranty work. Had three problems for them to fix. Two were diagnosed as "no problem found" The third they claimed vandalism had occurred and they would not fix. This was a simple door misalignment. I know for a fact no vandalism occurred. There was a chip in the paint AFTER they looked at it. As a follow up I took the truck to another dealer. They had no problem aligning the door and fixing the other two problems.
Date report submitted: 30 Aug 2002

Sales=Excellent, Service=Good,
Got good deal on Quad cab 4x4 diesel. Was able to buy truck from employee purchase program through dealer that I work for. Salesman's name was Dave. Easy-going, not pushy, listens to you. The guy to see if you're going to buy a truck. As far as service department,no problems so far. Truck was back twice for leaking rear wheel seals. Dealer will only see my truck for warranty problems,anything else I can do myself. Love the truck. Would see same salesman if I bought another Dodge product.
Date report submitted: 02 May 2002

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 16, 2007