Carl Burger Dodge Chrysler Jeep RAM World — Attraction in La Mesa

The experience buying and owning a car from this dealership is everything but smooth and pleasant. If I call this a nightmare - that’s me being very kind!

I got sold a certified pre-owned 2019 RAM 1500 Limited. It supposedly went through a 125 point inspection, clean CarFax and all that.

I own the truck for barely 2 months and it has been back to the dealer already twice with issues.

As soon as you meet the technician or talk to the service manager you get a feeling that your issues are being dismissed, because of the “what do you know” type of attitude they all have. They make you feel like you know nothing about what you’re talking about.

I had to complain about my folding mirrors twice, because when you complain once it just doesn’t register. Again, the dismissive attitude is to blame.

I complained about the squeaking in my rear suspension twice: first time they said there was no squeaking, so I must be just loosing my mind and hearing things. Upon getting my truck from service and returning home I had to record a video of my truck going through speed bumps to prove them wrong. Second time they only remembered about it because I emailed the sales manager to confirm if all the work promised was done, which included replacing the faulty mirrors and fixing the suspension noise.

Because they forgot and scrambled to fix the issue last minute, guess what they did? They sprayed some silicone spray just to get rid of the noise, and told me that I might need to replace the bushings OR they need to take the lift kit off my truck. Why can’t the service department replace the bushings and not leave it as a guess? Aren’t you supposed to service my CPO truck?! My truck was dropped off Tuesday and I picked it up on Saturday.

By the way, I didn’t install the wheels and lift kit - the previous owner did and the CPO was on the truck with all of those things already installed.

So a week later after the second visit to service the car at Carl Burger my truck goes to limp mode. By some miracle I just got off the freeway. I got 3 alarming errors: throttle control, electric stability control and front collision warning not working. Truck barely moved with full gas, so I pulled over, turned it off and after 10-15 minutes the errors went away from the screen but the check engine light remained.

Went to a nearby shop to inspect. Found that the MAP sensor was barely plugged in, the air filter housing and hose disconnected and the battery terminals were loose.

And if you think that’s where it ends - unfortunately not.

Last week a lady was not being careful and made a little scratch underneath my passenger side headlight. Since the truck looks good I went to a body shop to get an estimate to get rid of it. When the body shop took just a glance at that side of my truck they pointed out that it was repainted before, and the worst things, they did such a poor job too.

Dust particles underneath the paint, clear coat peeling, when you look under the truck you see replacement parts with marker writing on them. The damage might have been bad because it goes from the bumper and ends by the rear passenger door.

Since there are so many issues I had to call Carl Burger quite the few times. One of their receptionist is just insufferable. You can barely understand what she’s saying. Feels like working there for her is just pure torture and you’re bothering her by calling.

Other faults to look for when buying these trucks with leather inside is the dashboard. It was never disclosed to me they the dashboard is barely hanging in there. I looked at the truck in the afternoon and the sun straightened it out due to heat. Next morning I see waves of leather on my dash. Complained about it to the dealer. Trim piece - sorry can’t help.

They also never disclosed Glass Coat Protection Plan for $900, which is terrible quality ceramic product so I don’t recommend having that on your vehicle. Go to a professional car detailer to get that done.

Plus all the other useless add ons you see in the photos attached.

STAY AWAY...

UPDATE: Original review posted below this update

Wow... what a turn around. Literally within about three hours of posting my negative review, I received a call from Phil, the Service Manager. He immediately apologized for issues I had earlier that morning. He understood that they had not lived up to any of my expectations and assured me he was going to make it right.

He told me that he was able to get me a loaner vehicle, and would be sending the shuttle driver back to pick me up immediately. He also told me he'd be checking on the status of the part for my truck, and would give me a call right back with and update. As promised, Phil called me back within about 10 minutes with a promise that the part was going to be arriving for installation the next morning. Sure enough, I was picked up by the very kind and friendly shuttle driver, Rosie, and taken back to pickup my loaner. And as promised, the next morning I received a call at about 10am from Raul who let me know that my truck was ready for pickup. A far cry from when I was told it would take all day to install!

All I can say is that I am floored. I have posted some negative reviews before, but never have I been personally reached out to, and had someone go above and beyond to make it right. A huge THANK YOU to Phil, the service manager, Rosie, the friendly shuttle driver, and Raul, my service advisor. You all collectively turned a bad experience into a stellar one!

ORIGINAL REVIEW

I just got back from dropping off my Ram truck to have a recall done for the airbags. I'm already considering going back and taking my truck elsewhere instead, except their shuttle won't come pick me up because I'm outside of their 10 mile zone!!

TL;DR, They ran out of the loaner I was promised, they didn't order the part for my truck when they were supposed to, they won't give me a ride back to the dealership, and now they're keeping my truck for another day.

I called two days ago on Tuesday and made an appointment on the phone with a woman who informed me that the part would take a day to arrive, so we scheduled my appointment for the morning of Thursday. I was also told that I would receive a loaner vehicle since this was a recall repair. I inquired about the loaner and she said they'd do all that when I come in to drop off.

I arrived this morning and was immediately disappointed to find out that there were NO loaners available. Gee, wouldn't it be a good idea to make a note of the fact that I was supposed to receive one when I made the appointment instead of just telling me that I'd need to handle it when I came in? Thanks to this, now I'm without a car for the day.

The shuttle arrives and I tell her my address and she says that normally they only have a 10 mile radius, but she says she'll take me anyway, but it'll be a one way trip. Ok, I'll figure something out, otherwise I'm stranded all day at the dealership. Not to mention the fact that they won't give her a toll road pass, so we have to go miles out of the way. I tell her to just take the toll and I pay for it.

Now that I just arrived home, I receive a call. Guess what? They don't have my part in stock! The one that was SUPPOSED to be ordered on Tuesday when I made my appointment for installation on Thursday. Now I'm told they will order it today and I won't get my truck back until tomorrow. And I still don't get a loaner, and your shuttle won't pick me back up to bring me back.

Perry Dodge for...

On Monday, 10-25-21 I took my Jeep Grand Cherokee to Carl Burger dealership to fix the Electronic Stability Control failure. This is at 8:00 am. The service writer calls me a 1:00 pm. He tells me whoever installed the lift in my vehicle damaged the ABS Sensor and the CV Boot. This is not covered under warranty. I said, then I need to take it back the shop that did the lift. He said they would have my SUV back together at 3:00. When I picked up my vehicle at the dealership I told the service writer what he said did not make sense. I had the lift done about a week after I bought it. That was 4 months and 7000 miles ago. Why would the damage show now? He went on and on bad mouthing the lift work I had done. He said they manhandled the work and were extremely rough doing the install. He said the other shop broke the ABS Sensor and split the CV Boot. The service writer said the was something wrong with their computers, not able to print my paperwork noting what they did, oil change, and their finding. He said he will email it within the hour. It did not come that day. Nor the next. It took me speak with the Service Manager several times to get it emailed to me on Wednesday evening. I took my truck back to where the lift was done. They put my vehicle up on a lift. And then showed me what really happened. It had nothing to do with the 2.5" lift they did. There is a blue plastic of some sort wrapped around the CV Shaft. It is obviously clear this blue plastic caught on the ABS Cable damaging it. In turn the cable put a small slit in the CV Boot. I called the Service Writer and left a message I wanted him to call me and explain why he was completely wrong regarding the damages and to email me my paperwork. To this date he has yet to return my call. I called and spoke with the Supervisor over the Service Manager. I explained all that happened. I wanted to know why I was so infatically lied too. All he would say is the damaged caused by the plastic is not warranted either. When I pressed why they lied to me all he would say, "Do you have any other questions". All in all it felt like he did not care and he was being rude. I end up calling the Service Manager. I explained the main reason for my call was to get the paperwork emailed to me. And, I was upset about being lied to. He said he would look into it all. That afternoon he called back a said I will be emailed within the hour. And he has no excuse for why such and obvious cause was overlooked. Nothing was emailed to me. I called the Service Manager back the next day at 10:00 am. He was upset that I was not emailed and assured me it would be done ASAP. Again, nothing emailed. I called him back the next day. He was really upset that I had not been emailed to. Finally, around 4:00 or 5:00.i received the email. Oh! I knew the Service writer at Carl Burger was lying from the start. Lifestyle Garage installed the lift. They have never done me wrong. Lifestyle Garage is an honest Garage. You can count on them to always do the right thing. I have filed a comprehensive claim with my auto insurance. FYI: Dealership told me to do the repair the cost to me would be over $2200. Lifestyle Garage quoted me a little over $1000. DO NOT EVER GO TO Carl Burger CDJR for service or purchase. I guarantee they will lie to you to either get out of warranty work. If the do that, what are they lying about when...