Pending Dodge Maintenance is Depressing.

[Robert871]

::::fair warning, this is a RANT post, look away now if you do not want to read crazy one sided rantings about a first world "issue"::::

My baby just ticked over 30,000 miles. in addition to the routine 6,000 mile oil change, it is time for a new set of spark plugs..... 16 of them...

It is a 2010 Ram 1500 quad cab big horn 4x4 with the 5.7 hemi v8.

I know they are about to charge me around or over $500 bucks just for the plug change; but the money does not really upset me, I have known about that for a long time and prepared for it... No.. what is upsetting me far more is my fear.
I Absolutely HATE and have Absolutely NO Trust for the service techs and mechanics at ANY local brand dealership I have come across. I know these are strong words, and that at the end of the day I am certain these are all mostly good people, and they have a stressful dirty, hot, and difficult job. But I do not care; I am paying good money and even more above and beyond for the name, for the service record. These are the people that are openly accepted as the trusted and knowledgeable mechanics for our cars. When you have a vehicle that has been fully maintained as per the owner manuals recommend maintenance schedule and all the work has been done by the dealerships mechanics; THAT is supposed to mean something, that it was done on time, and most importantly, done CORRECTLY by the people with the proper tools and training and skills to do it right and not cause any further problems for the vehicle in doing so.

.... but I have no faith in the quality we receive from them. I am not talking just form the dodge dealers, my parents have had just as poor and in fact many horror stories from each of the Ford dealers in the Tulsa area; and my sister her share if disappointing stories from the GM/chevy dealer.

my biggest fear has become a reality for my parents from the ford dealer, and seems to a lesser extent be happening at the dodge dealer.
I could extend my already extreme wall-o-text to tell you the stories of how ford has screwed up my folks vehicles, and how bill knight ford made this fear a reality for my moms expedition an would not do a thing to fix it, said it was not their fault... or how my dads nearly identical truck as mine with 62,0000 miles started knocking after its second plug change on the drive home form the dealer.... but i do not think i need to be more specific than that.

So here i am.... ready for a new set of plugs, and incredibly depressed in fear that they are going to ruin my engine and i will not be able to do anything about it to make them do right by me. I am paying a small fortune to drive what i think is an outstanding vehicle and as petty or stupid as it sounds or my be to any of you, its my pride and joy, and my single most valuable asset I have; and I have fought every day to keep it as flawless as possible.

basically what I am saying is when they give me my truck back and it makes a noise it did not when i dropped it off.... I am going to lose it.... Popeye steam whistling out of my ears, dense boiling red skin, teeth grinding loose it!
and I can just feel it... I know they are going to screw up my truck...
and i know the obvious response i am about to get; "do the work yourself or shutup", i cant... i don't have the right tools, the right facility, the right training to know that i wont screw it up... but they do, and that is why i pay them extra to take care of it, and have the service record showing the "right people" did it.
i have put it off, and even looked into buying the plugs and doing it myself, but the right side looks like a real pain in the arse, i dont have the proper magnetic deep well plug socket wrench or a torque wrench i feel confident trying to squeeze into that tight right side space.. I fell they should be more qualified to do the job right than i am, and that is the point... but i just know its going to turn out bad.


I am sorry, but I had to get this out; call it my yearly insane rant post.
but does anyone else feel this way?

 

[DeerAssassin]

Go to Vatozone and buy some plugs, change them yourself. Sheesh. You must really like to take it in the rear to spend $500 on $50 worth of spark plugs.

Edit: Just read the last part of your rant. Buck up and buy some tools. What grown man doesn't have the tools necessary to change some spark plugs. You don't need no stinkin' torque wrench. Just a basic Craftsman socket set. And as far as knowhow, a monkey could change spark plugs. In fact i'm pretty sure thats what the dealerships hire to do it!

 

[Shadowrider]

Changing plugs every 30K is so 1970.

Go get some double platinums or iridiums and be done with it for another 100K.

 

[Danny Tanner]

I get the concern with trusting an entity to service your vehicle with trust and reliability, when that entity's very existence and security relies on the failure of the vehicle they're servicing.

You have several options. The first option is obvious and has been stated. Buy the tools and change them yourself.

The second is to find a shadetree garage in your town. Pay the fee to rent their mechanic's bay and tools and change them yourself.

The third is to find a mechanic you actually would trust. If you don't have one, I'm sure there are a few here who are certified, competent, and trustworthy enough to do the job. If not, I'm sure they could refer you to someone who is.

The fourth is to combine some of the above. Maybe have a trustworthy and knowledgeable mechanic meet you at a shadetree garage to show you how to get into those tight spots. That way from there on out, that specific and necessary job is 100% controlled by you. Even with the garage fees and parts, plus afterwards, buying the mechanic lunch and a beer, you'd still come in well under what you're about to pay. Not only that, you have peace of mind. It's a win-win!

 

[AKguy1985]

I'd just change them myself.

 

[flatwins]

I Absolutely HATE and have Absolutely NO Trust for the service techs and mechanics at ANY local brand dealership I have come across.

I think you just described 99.99% of every (motorcycle) dealership I've ever been in.

 

[vvvvvvv]

Just a basic Craftsman socket set.

You don't even need that much for plugs in most cases. You don't even need a "right facility".

$60 in tools, though, will pretty much cover everything that a non-mechanically-inclined person can handle under the hood. Shoot, I'm a computer nerd and I had no problem doing a near-complete tear down and build-up on my F-150 after a local dealer falsely informed me that a piston was cracked and offered to replace the motor with a salvage for 2x MSRP plus labor. I only went to the dealer because of getting screwed by mechanics too often (and in hopes that I could get the warranty extended a couple hundred miles). They don't call 'em stealerships for nothin'. Did it without even pulling the motor. Even did that stupid one-piece exhaust system on the Mini Cooper when the tubing cracked cleanly just in front of the cat. Dealer said "we can only put in a new system", couldn't find a local mechanic that wanted to touch it. 3-hours and a lot of four letter words later and it was pulled, welded back together, and put back in. I think my wife freaked a little when she saw the smoke from the exhaust bolts after starting it back up, but that's because I'm very liberal with PB Blaster when removing exhaust bolts. Broke one off early in life and learned my lesson.

I probably don't have more than $300 in wrenches, sockets, ratchets, a 3-ton floor jack, jack stands, and various screwdrivers, plus a few specialty tools, and none of it is Harbor Freight crap (I'm not counting my air tools - just simple hand tools). It's all Craftsman or Stanley (except the jack was bought when the local Walmart was clearing out the Torin jacks that they decided to start carrying again a couple months later). Believe me, buying Craftsman or something else with a lifetime no-questions-asked warranty is worth it. Pretty nice when someone runs off with your breaker bar so you put a 3ft cheater pipe on a ratchet and bend the handle before the internals give up 20 lugnuts later. Take it in, set it on the counter, get a big "WTF" look and a replacement. On a truck, you really don't even need the jack and jack stands unless you're doing your own tire rotations or brake jobs. I went ahead and bought the specialty tools that I thought I'd use more than once since the rental fee seems to typically be about half of the buy-it-now price. Everyone of them I've used more than once, although not necessarily where intended. Shoot, my impact socket set jumps from 21mm to 33mm because I needed a 33mm for the nut that holds on the hub on a Dodge Intrepid - turns out it also fit the crankshaft on a Briggs motor.

Shoot, if you were closer I'd just give you the tools I bought this last time my Ford shot a spark plug out. Full 1/4" and 3/8" drive ratchet/socket set plus spark plug sockets. Was stuck 90 miles from home, so just pulled it into a Walmart parking lot and attempted to fix it myself (before finding that it had stripped the head on its way out, and in an out-of-round manner, something I was not comfortable attempting to fix.) Now I need a bigger toolbox.

And yes, changing plugs every 30K is definitely 1970. Most manufacturers even recommend 75K-100K (or more) on newer vehicles. I personally pull one each oil change just to inspect it (just part of my routine of basic checks while the oil drains) and confirm that it is burning properly, but I admit that's a little overboard. Just habit and peace of mind.

But really, it will take you maybe an hour to change your plugs, and that's even taking your time with it, perhaps even shooting the bull with a buddy you invited over to look over your shoulder to make you feel better, or maybe making your kid's or the neighbor kid's day by letting them hand you tools or plugs. Just don't get the Walmart or Harbor Freight spark plug sockets... the rubber in them seems to be hit or miss on whether or not it will grab the plug with it in the socket and without having the plug push out your extension. Go ahead and spend the extra $5 for your sanity. Of course, if it is an issue and your plugs are deep in a hole, you can always loosen them and then use one of the plug wire or coil boots to pull out the plug.

Seriously, even having a shop do it the price shouldn't be more than $150 including plugs. I'm at a point in my life where I do buy services that I could otherwise do myself if I'm going to pay someone less to do it compared to what I make in the time it would take me to do it, but I sure as hell wouldn't pay $500 for a change of plugs, even if it included a multi-point inspection, unless it was a Bugatti.

 

[Belthos]

I just changed the plugs and wires on my brothers chevy lumina and it cost less than $60, that includes the $10 tool kit from harbor freight with the ratchets and spark plug socket.

Unless you need to remove the motor from your vehicle to change the plugs I cannot imagine why anyone would pay $500 to change plugs.

 

[Droberts]

be sure to remove the spark plug cables while the engine is running. good times.

 

[Okie4570]

Do it yourself, you can do it!!!! There's a youtube video for everything, it's about to make a Chiltons manual obsolete. Unless it's warranty work, go to someone else, anyone but the dealer. If spark plugs are your only concern, buy a diesel!