Does anyone know of a shop that repairs 2008 Freightliner-badged Sprinter vans anywhere near Ventura County?
Warning! Long boring whine ahead: I happily took the Sprinter to Crown Dodge who had a great Sprinter technician. He got promoted to foreman. God for him, bad for me. They referred me to Shaver Dodge in Thousand Oaks. When I called, they said their Sprinter tech had left.
Previously, I had used Dependable Dodge in Canoga Park, about 45 minutes away from home. I called and made an appointment to drop off the Sprinter today. I told them that they had serviced it previously. They seemed happy to have me bring in the Sprinter for service.
Upon arrival, I stood by the van in the service driveway for a goodly period of time as other cars were taken in. I could see a Sprinter van in a service bay, so I was reassured.
Finally we cornered the one and only service advisor. He could find no record of our appointment, and said that they weren't taking appointments because their technician had left. He had no explanation for why I had been encouraged to bring the van in, and it was clear that he doubted my story.
He told us to take the van to Rydell Chrysler in San Fernando. I called them and was told that they weren't making appointments until the middle of next week, but I could leave the van and they would try to take a look at it when they could. So, we made the 20 minute drive to Rydell.
There, the manager told us that because the van is badged as a Freightliner, a Dodge dealer couldn't work on it. When I told him that two other Dodge service departments had worked on it, he smiled and said he wasn't responsible for what other people did, but he wouldn't touch it.
(Sorry for the long whine, but I wanted to give the names of places that won't fix the van so people would not refer me there.)
So -- at this point, I have no clue where to take the van, other than the gold-plated Mercedes dealer whose labor rate is around $170 per hour. And I haven't even checked to see if they would deign to touch my vehicle.
Surely all you good folks who love and drive Sprinter vans can give me a heads-up on a good mechanic, dealer or independent, who will baby my van and keep it purring for the foreseeable future. I will settle for anyone in Western Los Angeles County, Ventura County, or Santa Barbara County, or even further if necessary.
As you have so generously in the past, please help me once again. Where should I take my Sprinter van for service? Thanks in advance.
Warning! Long boring whine ahead: I happily took the Sprinter to Crown Dodge who had a great Sprinter technician. He got promoted to foreman. God for him, bad for me. They referred me to Shaver Dodge in Thousand Oaks. When I called, they said their Sprinter tech had left.
Previously, I had used Dependable Dodge in Canoga Park, about 45 minutes away from home. I called and made an appointment to drop off the Sprinter today. I told them that they had serviced it previously. They seemed happy to have me bring in the Sprinter for service.
Upon arrival, I stood by the van in the service driveway for a goodly period of time as other cars were taken in. I could see a Sprinter van in a service bay, so I was reassured.
Finally we cornered the one and only service advisor. He could find no record of our appointment, and said that they weren't taking appointments because their technician had left. He had no explanation for why I had been encouraged to bring the van in, and it was clear that he doubted my story.
He told us to take the van to Rydell Chrysler in San Fernando. I called them and was told that they weren't making appointments until the middle of next week, but I could leave the van and they would try to take a look at it when they could. So, we made the 20 minute drive to Rydell.
There, the manager told us that because the van is badged as a Freightliner, a Dodge dealer couldn't work on it. When I told him that two other Dodge service departments had worked on it, he smiled and said he wasn't responsible for what other people did, but he wouldn't touch it.
(Sorry for the long whine, but I wanted to give the names of places that won't fix the van so people would not refer me there.)
So -- at this point, I have no clue where to take the van, other than the gold-plated Mercedes dealer whose labor rate is around $170 per hour. And I haven't even checked to see if they would deign to touch my vehicle.
Surely all you good folks who love and drive Sprinter vans can give me a heads-up on a good mechanic, dealer or independent, who will baby my van and keep it purring for the foreseeable future. I will settle for anyone in Western Los Angeles County, Ventura County, or Santa Barbara County, or even further if necessary.
As you have so generously in the past, please help me once again. Where should I take my Sprinter van for service? Thanks in advance.
jmtandem wrote:These are dealers for larger Freightliner trucks, not Sprinter vans...
Are you sure? Did you contact each one of these Freightliner dealers and ask them if they can service a Sprinter? Google 'Freightliner Sprinter Van repair service in Los Angeles' and at least ten places come up including some that also service Freightliner's other products. Just because they are not in the website does not mean they are not in Los Angeles. This is disappointing to me that the OP does not take it upon him/herself to do a search or to even ask the Dodge dealers who they refer Sprinter vans to for repairs. It seems that the OP just takes a simple 'no' from the Dodge dealers and walks away without asking for a little help. The OP cannot possibly be the only Freightliner Sprinter van owner in Los Angeles greater metro area that has needed some service and asked a Dodge dealer for a referral.
jmtandem, I've got to reply. I believe you're making some false assumptions here. Previously, I did visit the Ventura County Freightliner repair facility. They do not repair Sprinters (laughed, in fact), and knew of no one who did.
You are also incorrect in assuming that I "just took a simple 'no' from the Dodge dealers". In every case, the previous service department referred me to the next one, assuring me that they had referred their Sprinter customers to that agency. Each one of them also told me that that was the only place they knew that fixed Sprinters. I suppose I really should get back to all of them and tell them that their referrals are inaccurate.
Also, to avoid running on forever, I chose not to list all the nonproductive phone calls I've made to local independent service places.
Finally, gregmchugh, you are spot on when you say, "Not worth the flack". Has anyone besides me noticed that, in three pages of responses, not a single one has given me the name of any place within an hour's drive that will repair my van? No, I don't care if it is an independent or a dealer. I'm not fussy. Like all of us, I'm just trying to take good care of my RV.
K6DCP, out.
