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[Dusty Dude]

Yes, it is hard to get techs - and we only have ourselves to blame, with the college obsession.

But, it is *not* the same at every brand. At BMW I get a detailed video walkaround of my car by the tech doing the work showing everything they did and everything they checked. I have watched them work, and no air gun went to my lug nuts - they were properly torqued with a torque wrench. I don't have a drop of oil any where after an oil change. I pull up for my appointment and get promptly taken care off - there are so many people in that service department just taking the cars in, it is insane. I can book appointments easily for the next day.

My Chevy dealer was in between Jeep and BMW.

My Jeep dealer is completely overwhelmed - their wait lists for everything is insane. You can't get an appointment for weeks. My Jeep drips oil for days after any oil change.

I love my Jeep. I like my service dealer. I have 2 very good Jeep dealers within 15 min driving distance from me - but they are totally overwhelmed. And on top of that Jeep/Stellantis makes their lives miserable on warranty work.

Service is the #1 reason that gives me pause recommending Jeeps for friends and family - not quality. I think Wrangler quality is actually very good. I drive/wheel the heck out of my JL and it does not have a single rattle and is mechanically very sound. But everything breaks at some point, and Jeep service is a nightmare.

You got lucky and have a good dealer, but it is not the brand. The BMW dealer I dealt with in Barrington, Illinois was the scummiest dealer I had ever been in, and that is saying a lot. I felt like I needed to take a shower after I was out of there. They were also a Mercedes/Porsche dealership. Ultimately ended up at a dealer in Northbrook that was on par with your dealer. The service guys I got to know had a number of techs that transferred, and had lots of horror stories.

My BIL in Minnesota hasn’t had good BMW service experiences either. He has to go a good distance to get decent warranty work done.

When I moved to Colorado, the local Mercedes dealer couldn’t do the simplest repairs and the wait times just to get in were at least two weeks. The Mercedes was ultimately sold because I wasn’t going to drive 50+ miles to get decent warranty service.

I don’t have any Jeep dealers to compare, but I would agree with you about service giving you pause. The limited experience that I have had with our local dealer is better than what I had at Mercedes, but that isn’t saying much.

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[NWJeepr]

Jeep dealers are the worst. I'd rather deal with a scummy BMW or Audi dealer any day of the week because at least they provide service loaners and snacks.

But...that has not been my experience with BMW or Audi dealers. The ones I have been to are levels above anything Jeep does. Even the ones that try to oversell maintenance, there seems to be a hierarchy of service advisors and techs, and the luxury dealers seem to pay a little more or get the better staff somehow. I'd rather deal with professional crooks.

 

[gato]

I don’t have any Jeep dealers to compare, but I would agree with you about service giving you pause. The limited experience that I have had with our local dealer is better than what I had at Mercedes, but that isn’t saying much.

I agree that service quality is variable dealer to dealer. But from talking to techs, I have the distinct vibe that BMW book rates for a job are reasonable and even new techs beat it often, without skimping, and that the BMW regional warranty approval process is not unreasonable. Conversely I hear that Stellantis squeezes the dealers on warranty work. Their position is that dealers need to "endure" warranty work and make money on out of warranty work. Net result is that they don't want to do warranty work unless they have idle hours.

All this is to say that it is easier to have a good service department on a BMW dealership (I hard the same at Chevy and even Jaguar Land Rover), than at a Stellantis brand.

I really get the feeling that Stellantis does not care about customers after a sale. I hope the new leadership changes things.

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