Puttin On the Brakes

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Last week I was at my Jeep dealership in Northfield. The main purpose of the visit was to replace my brakes which I had known needed replacing for a few months.

Some of you might wonder why I travel all the way to Northfield to service my car. Well, I bought my first Jeep there based on the model and color that was available for immediate purchase. My experiences were good. When I was looking for a new car and I decided on another Jeep, it basically came down to the same thing (available color and model) plus service at the dealership. After looking at several dealerships I did not feel I wanted to have an ongoing relationship with the people there. Let me tell you the many things I like about my dealership.

When I have my car serviced I generally wait for it to be completed. Whenever I have had an appointment for service I bring work to keep me occupied while I wait. The customer waiting area is quite nice. There are tables and chairs so it is easy to work. Other amenities are bagels and cream cheese (for the early arrivees), several varieties of coffee, tea, ice cream, juices and popcorn. And of course, they do have magazines and a TV. They make it very comfortable to wait.

So this last visit I was doing some work and waiting for the evaluation and estimate for the repairs (I also had them check a couple of things other than the brakes.) . When the evaluation came I was happily informed that only my front brakes needed to be repaired but two other issues needed to be addressed. The cost for all repairs was less that what I expected. I was very happy!! It was a good day.

The work was completed within the estimated time period including a hand car wash and I was on my way. Now this was a very hot and humid day and I just got on the highway when I realized the mechanics had totaled turned off my air conditioning. No problem. I turned it on only to find it was not working. It would cool the car if I turned the fan up to the very highest and noisiest level. This was not good. I immediately called service to speak with the person who was handling my car. He asked if I could come back but I was on the expressway (a/k/a parking lot) and it would have taken great effort and time to get back there. We arranged for me to return early Saturday morning. (I know. This is bad news which is not allowed on this blog. )

Saturday morning I got up early and made the trek to Northfield arriving when they opened at 8a. My car was taken and I headed for the customer service waiting area. About 2 hours later my service rep approached me and said the fan motor needed to be replaced and there was nothing they had done the day before that would have caused the problem. However, as a one time goodwill gesture they replaced it at no cost to me. And again it was good news!

Oh! I forgot to tell you a couple of other service gestures that were made that first day. When they said it was going to take a couple of hours to repair the car they asked if I would like someone to drive me to the mall. I declined as I had planned to work. When the woman in the waiting area saw me there at about 12:30 she commented that I had been there since morning. Would I like someone to drive me to a restaurant or could she order something for me? Again I declined. Can you think of anything better for lunch than popcorn and ice cream?

This is why I travel to Northfield for my service. And I suppose you would like to know what dealership it is. Well....it's

Fields Jeep, 670 W Frontage Rd, Northfield, IL