Based on conversations I've had with other customers, we are all inundated with coupons for service items like oil changes and tire rotation. I get them from Ram, from Chrysler and from the dealer. They are apparently sent at random, though some claim to know that I'm neglecting to service my Ram (I'm not).
I've gotten spoiled to the $17.95 oil change and now have a hard time paying more than $20 for one. But the pricing is all over the map - as low as $15.95 or high as $24.95 - and sometimes includes tire rotation or wiper blades. It's hard to understand where the margin lies; if they can do it for $16 one day, why not always?
But I have never paid more than the coupon says, even though the fine print says I might, since I have a Hemi. There's a list of exceptions, but in the nearly two years I've had the Ram (and the previous years I've had the same experience with my PT Turbo and Liberty) it's always been the coupon price.
Today, I asked about the fine print, as it appears to say that a tire rotation is included but the dealer argued that it isn't. I wasn't making a big deal about it, just pointing out that the language isn't clear whether it's included or specifically excluded and they really should clarify that in the future.
And suddenly, they are charging me $6 extra for the Hemi oil change. When I asked the service manager why, the response was "Because we can". And when I asked him it was worth losing my business, he claimed they had always done this but a review of my records proved him wrong. So he then said a new coupon system meant they could "track these charges better".
Can anyone with a dealer comment on whether there is some system wide change in coupons?
