Average wait time for dealership service?

[scorpionsix]

Wondering what the normal procedure for dealership service is?

Have a weird whining noise that lasts a few seconds after I take my foot of the accelerator (at highway speeds only) and I just bought the Jeep a month ago, a 2021 Certified Pre-Owned by Jeep.

So I thought why not take it to the dealership to diagnose it since it's fully covered. Made an appointment for the morning and dropped it off and the service advisor says it will be about 2-3 days before any tech will look at it. Is this standard for Jeep dealerships? I've only been to Toyota, Lexus and Mazda service departments and always was seen on the appointment date.

Service advisor also says if there is an issue that needs to be repaired and it's covered in the warranty they need to get approval by Jeep which will take up to 72 hours as well.

So in total from appointment date, my Jeep will be sitting at the dealership 7 days BEFORE any possible repair work even starts.

I may be able to borrow a beater from a family member to drive in the meantime but how are people managing with repairs, recalls and warranty work if this is normal procedure anytime you bring it to a dealership?

After last Friday, I don't plan to ever find out. I was able to get in next day but when they quoted me (after my arrival) $450 just for the transmission fluid portion of a transmission fluid service, $100 for the filter and another $100 for the gasket, I told them I would do it myself. I didn't even get to the labor charge before I ended the conversation. I'll just deal with hand pumping the six quarts of fluid back in there.

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[alphawolff]

REALLY depends on the dealership. Some dealerships have one maybe two highly qualified technicians, and sometimes they're specialized. I'm the only one at my shop that can handle the real in-depth electrical faults for example. We've got one guy who does the transmission work, and another who runs a team to handle most heavy line work. Another guys does the diesels. The majority of the guys here are just line techs, where they can handle most basic diagnostic work. You can hand them a part and they can install it fine, but heavy diagnostic work is beyond them. It's definitely a team effort these days.

Some dealerships don't have the expertise, some are understaffed, and some are just booked out to who knows when. Sometimes my shop is packed with work, and sometimes like today it's beyond dead and I'm sitting on my ass hoping something rolls up.

In general though, the automotive industry has been suffering from a MASSIVE technician shortage over the last decade or so. Not many new guys are entering the field, and the old guys are retiring. As you hear on the news new vehicles are becoming more and more complicated to diagnosis and repair. You can't teach an old dog new tricks and there's few new dogs getting recruited.


Anyway, always drop your vehicle off. Stopping what we're doing to work on a waiter is very annoying if we're busy. I usually at least get eyes on every vehicle the same day its dropped off, so at least it's either diagnosed/I know where to start the following day. In the cases where I know I will need some time with the vehicle/can't get to it I inform my advisor who lets the owner know so there aren't any questions. Not every tech/shop is going to work that way, though.

 

[NINTH]

I just had mine in on Saturday - dropped it off at 7AM and picked it up at 1230PM. Now I did make my appointment almost two weeks ago.

Yeah I would have no issue with a 7am drop off and 1230pm pick up, that's what I was expecting but apparently it's a 3 day wait even with appointments in California

 

[NINTH]

REALLY depends on the dealership. Some dealerships have one maybe two highly qualified technicians, and sometimes they're specialized. I'm the only one at my shop that can handle the real in-depth electrical faults for example. We've got one guy who does the transmission work, and another who runs a team to handle most heavy line work. Another guys does the diesels. The majority of the guys here are just line techs, where they can handle most basic diagnostic work. You can hand them a part and they can install it fine, but heavy diagnostic work is beyond them. It's definitely a team effort these days.

Some dealerships don't have the expertise, some are understaffed, and some are just booked out to who knows when. Sometimes my shop is packed with work, and sometimes like today it's beyond dead and I'm sitting on my ass hoping something rolls up.

In general though, the automotive industry has been suffering from a MASSIVE technician shortage over the last decade or so. Not many new guys are entering the field, and the old guys are retiring. As you hear on the news new vehicles are becoming more and more complicated to diagnosis and repair. You can't teach an old dog new tricks and there's few new dogs getting recruited.


Anyway, always drop your vehicle off. Stopping what we're doing to work on a waiter is very annoying if we're busy. I usually at least get eyes on every vehicle the same day its dropped off, so at least it's either diagnosed/I know where to start the following day. In the cases where I know I will need some time with the vehicle/can't get to it I inform my advisor who lets the owner know so there aren't any questions. Not every tech/shop is going to work that way, though.

I completely understand, I'm sure it's understaffed and underpaid. I just wish there was a better scheduling system if that is the case

I made the appointment a week before and dropped it off at 8AM and was told it will be up to 3 days before a tech gets eyes on it. I was caught off guard to say the least. I was expecting for someone to take a look at it by end of the day.

If I randomly popped in and expected them to drop everything and look at my vehicle that's one thing but a scheduled appointment taking that long seems a bit much.

 

[Mr. Tahiti]

Sounds like the service advisor does not want to listen to your complaint and, if you want the noise addressed, you will probably need to do more "insisting". First, and most important, you will need to ride with the tech so you can demonstrate the when, where, and how about the noise.

As a service advisor, I can't tell you how many times the tech came back with NPF in situations like this. They didn't spend the time to figure it out because it was warranty and they are only getting paid .2 to diagnose. But if you get that answer, have a chat with the service manager, then general manager. Sometimes that is the only way to get things moving.

Good luck!

 

[NINTH]

Sounds like the service advisor does not want to listen to your complaint and, if you want the noise addressed, you will probably need to do more "insisting". First, and most important, you will need to ride with the tech so you can demonstrate the when, where, and how about the noise.

As a service advisor, I can't tell you how many times the tech came back with NPF in situations like this. They didn't spend the time to figure it out because it was warranty and they are only getting paid .2 to diagnose. But if you get that answer, have a chat with the service manager, then general manager. Sometimes that is the only way to get things moving.

Good luck!

I'm assuming the techs take the car for a drive for diagnostics?

I had to drop off the Jeep and it's still at the dealership waiting to be seen by a tech so no way of doing a ride along with tech to show them the issue/sound.

 

[whitechocolate]

Yeah only reason I even took chose the dealership was because of the CPO warranty. Which really loses it's value if it involves weeks and months of the Jeep just sitting on their lot...

the CPO is nice and does cover everything mine is CPO, approval is pretty instant for the majority of things

 

[Mr. Tahiti]

Yes, the techs will visually inspect and drive the car. But, if the tech is unable to see the problem or hear the noise within the drive, and usually it is a short drive - NPF.

Suggestion if no problem found - call advisor and schedule to drive with tech before or during pickup.

-not much you can do about the wait time unless you can get them to jump your vehicle ahead of other customers. Keep in mind, customer pay is most profitable for dealership so some may prioritize those jobs over warranty work.

 

[NINTH]

the CPO is nice and does cover everything mine is CPO, approval is pretty instant for the majority of things

Awesome, this is good news for me. I'm still waiting to see if repairs are needed so fingers crossed

 

[NINTH]

Yes, the techs will visually inspect and drive the car. But, if the tech is unable to see the problem or hear the noise within the drive, and usually it is a short drive - NPF.

Suggestion if no problem found - call advisor and schedule to drive with tech before or during pickup.

-not much you can do about the wait time unless you can get them to jump your vehicle ahead of other customers. Keep in mind, customer pay is most profitable for dealership so some may prioritize those jobs over warranty work.

Yeah I specified it only happens at highway speeds so hope they reproduce it on the highway.

Ah I thought warranty would pay more for the dealerships

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