I am very interested in the CRD, but worried I might be biting off more than I can chew, as I noted in another post. If people would not mind a few follow up questions:

1. Do people mostly work on the CRD themselves or have it serviced? (To date myself, the last time I worked on a car, the ignition had points).

2. If you get it serviced, where is the best place to do that? One person told me a Dodge dealership is a good idea as they are used to diesels.

3. Assuming you get is serviced, what is the cost over, say, 15,000 miles of driving?

Many thanks.

Standard maintenance is not the problem.
anyone can do oil changes.

The problem comes in on Error codes - and they really haven't been consistent
most people don't have problems - but if you do - you have to become the expert - because no one else is.
Chrysler did a 45 minute video 5 years ago. No dealership had enough to have a volume to learn.
The best bets are Dealerships that sold/service Cummins and Sprinter - however odds are you are still the only CRD represented and there's always some learning curve.

That's where LOST is invaluable - the forum as a whole had heard about a lot of different problems and has a lot of information. MrMopar and the GDE folks are great references.

but I'm still back to you have to be willing to work on it yourself - or have a Maintenance tech who'll work with you - because your odds of finding a knowledgeable person at a shop is very very low.

_________________
2005 CRD
stuff
Skeptic quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur

As an example of this...a few weeks ago my CRD broke down. After discussing my problem with LOST members here, the diagnosis seemed to be a busted CAC hose. Suddenly my symptoms made perfect sense. I took the Jeep to my local authorized dealership, and a technician had the hood up for an hour without finding the problem. I finally walked out into the service area and told him I thought it was a busted hose...and 2 minutes later he saw what I meant and my parts were on order. I wasted all that time over a 30-second fix.

_________________

2005 Stone White KJ Limited CRD 4x4
Off-Road Pkg
Trac-Lok
Emu 790s/948s
Skyjacker H7088s rear/Bilsteins front
15x7 Black Rock Lobos/31x10.50 Firestones
GDE HOT Tune + TCM Tune
Euro TC
CB radio
Thrush Turbo muffler
AEM DryFlow filter

seriously this site is excelent. I spend too much time here. I feel that if I have a problem I can solve it with help here and fix it myself or at least point a tech in the right direction with info from this forum.

_________________
2006 Liberty CRD Limited Deep Beryl Green Metallic Clear coat, Fumoto valve, MH ProVent (removed), GDE Eco tune,
OME 790/948 springs, OME struts, OME N132L shocks, Jeepin by Al A-arms, Hercules Terra Trac AT2 245/75R16
Weeks Stage 1 EGR delete, 5 volt steel glow plugs

x2 to that! I used to do a little work on my old Dodge Cummins, with the help of my father, but was otherwise up a creek when it came to "car stuff." With the help of this forum, I feel like there is very little I can't do... the right tools being the only inhibiting factor.

_________________
2006 Jeep Liberty CRD, Limited
GDE Eco Tune, GDE TCM Tune, Bauer 203* Tstat, Amsoil EaA 201 Filter, Clean MAP, Samco CAC Hoses, Magnaflow Muffler #12226.
New Mopar Fuel Filter, K&N Filterminder, Fumoto Oil Drain Valve
225/75R16 Hankook Dynapros

Thanks for the feedback. Those last couple of posts were especially helpful. I don't think the problem will be so much finding someone to work on it (though over time I may learn to do it myself), but getting the mechanic to figure things out given the lack of experience. If this board can get me pointed in the right direction, that will go along way to solving that problem.