We ruled Freightliner out as a new-truck purchase option after repeated frustrations with Freightliner service departments. We've had some really BAD experiences at Freightliner service departments that range from parts out of stock, misdiagnosed symptoms, and seeing our fleet owner charged for repairs that were unecessary, and after that seeing the fleet owner's complaints about it being totally ignored by the service manager that had his "Please contact me if you are not satisfied" picture and letter posted on the shop wall.
The one that takes the cake was when I was standing at the counter when the phone rang. The service counter man answered the call. My wife was calling on her cell phone to see how the truck was doing. He said the parts just arrived and we're working on it now. I could see the truck sitting in the lot where it had been sitting all day. I also saw the parts arrive early that morning and verified with the parts department that they were mine. The previous-shift service manager promised us they'd get right to the truck when the morning shift came on. Nothing happened and I was now talking to the evening shift people. The delay didn't bother me as much as the calculated lying that occured. When I confronted the man about it, he stood right there and denied he said what I just heard him say a moment ago.
At another dealer, the mechanic replaced three parts before he finally guessed the one that actually fixed the problem. Based on previous experience, it amazed me that Freightliner had the three parts in stock.
At another dealer, I helped my fleet owner negotiate a reduction in labor when I explained that the mechanic literally spent two hours looking for a shop-provided wrench (tool room) he needed to use in the repair.
At another dealer, I watched them replace a perfectly good city horn and charge FREIGHTLINER for labor under warranty (I presume, or they ate the charges for an unecessary repair). The problem was that when the steering column had been replaced on this BRAND NEW truck, the previous dealer forgot to reconnect the city horn. We were in the shop for another reason (a failed valve on this same brand new truck) at a different dealer and I asked them to hook it up. Result: condemn a brand new horn and bill Freightliner for the trouble or eat the charges themselves. That's the same brand new truck that also had a recall to replace an injector harness.
In the Century Class trucks we've driven, front brake air hoses have frequently failed and we've learned to keep a special eye on them. Two out of three times we've had them replaced, we had to wait for the parts to arrive....that's for a brake hose for which service bulletins have been issued, and which only one of the three dealers knew about when we brought the service bulletins to their attention.
I could fill a book chapter about our negative Freightliner service experiences. In the interest of brevity I'll stop here. I can't say from personal experience if other truck brand dealers are better than Freightliner, but it is hard to imagine them being any worse.
On the positive side, we've had FANTASTIC experiences with Freightliner dealers in Roanoke, VA, Cheyene, WY, and West Palm Beach, FL. Most other dealers would do well to follow the positive examples followed by those three.
West Palm Beach stands out especially. While under a great-paying load out of Florida, our alternator failed. We called ahead. They were waiting for us when we arrived. We were in and out quickly and did not lose the load. This service manager explained that not everyone needs first-come, first-serve service. He tries to keep a bay open for immediate-need cases like ours. In our case, the bay was not open but he nosed the truck in, assigned a mechanic and got the job done.
High praise to Freightliner in West Palm Beach!
Sadly, a few good dealers are not enough to offset the many bad ones we've encountered. The suggestion about maintaining a good relationship with your home dealer may be helpful, but why should it be necessary to do so at all? Good service from all dealers, or at least an honest attempt to provide it, is the solution.
With truck sales at very high levels, I worry that quality control at the manufacturers may be declining as they add shifts and race to fill demand. This will burden dealers in the future with warranty claims. In Freightliner's case, where the shop bays always seem to have a line waiting for them, things do not look good.
