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Why do I hate dealerships so much?

9K views 51 replies 22 participants last post by  16PB6MT 
#1 ·
Took my car to the dealership for the 1st time yesterday in 35+ months of ownership. To get the 2 recalls done, air bag programming and seat belt tensioner cable (I'm not part of the steering rack campaign). I put it off for a long long time but wanted a few small things checked before the B2B warranty was up. I regret it already. I'd rather have open recalls.

Anyway, this is the aftermath. Clearly the tech just went to town with a flat head screwdriver. I've contacted my service writer with pictures. Hopefully they make it right.






 
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#3 ·
Anyway, this is the aftermath. Clearly the tech just went to town with a flat head screwdriver. I've contacted my service writer with pictures. Hopefully they make it right.
Justifiable homicide may not be a defense but surely you can claim temporary insanity for leaving the screwdriver impaled carcass behind. A jury of your peers (fellow SS owners) would let you walk.
 
#4 ·
Anyway, this is the aftermath. Clearly the tech just went to town with a flat head screwdriver. I've contacted my service writer with pictures. Hopefully they make it right.
Justifiable homicide may not be a defense but surely you can claim temporary insanity for leaving the screwdriver impaled carcass behind. A jury of your peers (fellow SS owners) would let you walk.
My hope is that you will NOT be treated by the members of the SS Forums, Justice Court,,,,, like,,,,

THIS!!!!!



:eek
 
#5 ·
Oooo...that is gross. I'm never getting that seat belt recall done. I think all the vehicles in our stable have open recalls and every one of the 'solutions' is filled with potential for serious hackery, unintended consequences, or some other secondary and yet to be resolved issue created by the supposed fix.
 
#6 ·
Oooo...that is gross. I'm never getting that seat belt recall done. I think all the vehicles in our stable have open recalls and every one of the 'solutions' is filled with potential for serious hackery, unintended consequences, or some other secondary and yet to be resolved issue created by the supposed fix.

I think that is a SAFETY RECALL, and if not closed, it will become a sale issue later ...

Maybe @CB750 can chime in on this ...



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#11 · (Edited)
O.P. I'm not in the area where you live; but if the other members had an idea of the town where the dealer is located, they could be informed consumers, and possibly adjust their choices of places to go when the need may arise for dealership services.

In my area there are possibly three dealers whose reputations could be marred if I didn't mention a landmark near the dealership, or some other relatively easy way which would identify a place you think could prudently be avoided.

The dealership in central MA which I do use for warranty work, alongside route I-290 near I-495 would get rave reviews from me.

When my seat belt tensioner recall was done pre-delivery, by T-ville in CT; their tech did a great job. I have never noticed any signs they were ever in there. And, my early postings dealt with my disdain for the front end of that dealership, so I can never be considered a fan-boy of the place.
 
#15 ·
Am I right in what I'm seeing that the seat belt cover in 3rd picture only comes with the tensioner assembly (which isn't available for purchase either) and cannot be purchased separately?

Just trying to do my research to understand what replacement parts are needed. The other two pieces aren't that expensive in the event that the dealership won't remedy.

Safety recall and resale aside - I'm with @jbawden -- it was a mistake to have this done.
 
#16 ·
And another rotten dealership encounter is in the books. If I were you I'd get a screwdriver and make the same marks in the Techs face. No excuse for what he did. Hard to believe how someone in that line of work could be so careless. Makes me mad looking at the pictures. Stuff like this is precisely why I only let 2 particular Techs touch my car, and why I watch everything they do.
 
#17 ·
Dang, that's just careless no matter how you put it.

I had a dent on my hood due to a fallen shelf in my garage. Anyway, I took it to the Chevy dealer, and they repainted the whole hood. It wasn't ready before I left for an out of town trip. So she stayed an extra (2 ) days. Went to pick her up, and examined before leaving. Noticed a 5in scratch on the newly painted hood. I directly asked for the manager for a show and tell. They re-painted the hood. A week later she was right.

I'm piss off for ya.....
 
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#18 ·
Car dealerships are franchised. The dealership is only as good as its weakest link. It takes a real zest to be excellent. As a service guy, I am myself let down when I have an employee who performs at a less than expected level. The good dealerships who give a squat, quickly cull those who are not up to par with being excellent. Those dealerships who do not, generally will not generate enough business as time goes by... This is especially amplified in the small town arena. Service management, to reach for excellence, must realize the potential clientele does NOT have to bring the vehicle they own to you... They will either choose to or not. When you find a dealership who understands this principle you will know it...AND even then mistakes can happen... When the dealership IS at fault for errors and readily opens the checkbook to "fix" any errors, you will know it times two you are probably on the right path.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Bingo.

... if only the "anti-dealer" guys here could figure this out. I have a great dealer and a great tech ... and $49.95** for an SRX oil change and $64.95** for the SS including topping off the WWF and giving me an unopened gallon jug of WWF to take home and tire rotation when I need it is a no brainer. I only gets me hands dirty when I want to 'help'; which I do with the SS. :wink

** plus a $15 mail in rebate expires 7-31-19 = $34.95/$49.95 !!!
 
#24 ·
1st, the sad part ...

My go-to Chev dealer closed some 7 yrs ago .. my parents and me had done buys and service there since the 60's ...
"After ??? yrs, O'DONNELL CHEVROLET BUICK closed doors, 2013 .."

My go-to Cadi dealer closed some 8 yrs ago .. I had service there since the 80's ...
"After 74 years, Bewley Allen Cadillac closed doors, 2012 .."

My go-to Lincoln dealer closed some ?? yrs ago
"San Gabriel Lincoln Mercury closed doors .. "

All three were ALWAYS at least good if not excellent ...


2nd. the dumb part .. the start of MY why-do-i-hate-dealerships ...

After, I took the V to the next closest Chev dealer, having seen several CTS cars in service dept ...
- 4 yrs ago took it in for a check-up, and they stunned me .. needs brakes, radiator, tires .. estimate in the mid-4 figures ... :eek .. drove out, never to return ...
- 2 yrs later I dropped a new set of Brembo pads, everything else remains untouched to this day ...

When I got the SS, I found me another dealer, 20 miles away .. raved about it myself, did most of the recalls including EPS .. then the bubble burst .. no it blew up ...
- they stripped a stud on the V .. "no way we did it" ..
- they curbed 2 SS rims .. "no way we did it" ..
- the AC .. well, many of you know the long long story ..
How dumb can they get? They had a captured customer with 6 GM cars - bye bye ...

For now, the SS remains in garage, 5 weeks, in Central CA until I decide to fix the AC .. its too hot (3 days of 100F) to drive it back to SoCA w/o AC ...

As to all the other cars, Kars for Kids will be picking up another car next week ...

End goal is to end up with one automatic V8, one manual V8, one 4x4 V8 or AWD all terrain, and dispose of all other cars, and the "spare car parts & tires" accumulated over the yrs ...


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#27 ·
I've dealt with many dealerships during my senior life, and some I'm actually not a fan of the casual over pricing, pile-on work requests, and not repairing it right the first time in which I'm prepared on how to deal with. When it comes down to when I'm really treated unfairly like 16PB6MT recall repair. I have called the manufacture, and explained my case about the dealership. I have done this with Honda/Acura, Chrysler Jeep, and Ford. In every single case they worked out some fair solution to my issue and the dealership made it right. Just because I'm not a fan of some of my pass dealerships. I made sure they were held responsible for my car, and quality of work while it's there. Haven't had to do this for Chevy yet, and hope I don't have to. So far they have been pretty helpful.

My 2cents...
 
#28 ·
I've dealt with many dealerships during my senior life, and some I'm actually not a fan of the casual over pricing, pile-on work requests, and not repairing it right the first time in which I'm prepared on how to deal with. When it comes down to when I'm really treated unfairly like 16PB6MT recall repair. I have called the manufacture, and explained my case about the dealership. I have done this with Honda/Acura, Chrysler Jeep, and Ford. In every single case they worked out some fair solution to my issue and the dealership made it right. Just because I'm not a fan of some of my pass dealerships. I made sure they were held responsible for my car, and quality of work while it's there. Haven't had to do this for Chevy yet, and hope I don't have to. So far they have been pretty helpful.

My 2cents...
give it time …

I went from rating dealer 5 stars to ZERO ...


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#31 · (Edited)
One of the reasons I purchased the SS was to have ready access to a local Chevy dealer. My previous five cars were imports with no local dealerships. Unfortunately, I've had bad experiences with the local Chevy dealership of YUMA, Arizona. As such, I still travel 170-miles to a different dealership, and I preferably use a third party. Heck, I won't even use the local dealer for an oil change; free or otherwise.

In my opinion, the whole concept of dealership service departments is flawed. They use the same 'smoke n' mirror' tactics in service, as they do in sales. This business model encourages cheating, overcharging, and careless work performance. They charge the book rate regardless of how long it takes, which I understand. Provided they get the job right, and I don't wait all day for a 20-minute job; I have no problem with this. Unfortunately, they sometimes take shortcuts, and if they break stuff; they deny they did anything wrong.
 
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#32 · (Edited)
One of the reasons I purchaed the SS, was to have ready access to a local dealership. My previous five cars were imports with no local dealerships. Unfortunately, I've had bad experiences with the local Chevy dealership. As such, I still travel 150-miles to a different dealership, and I preferably use a third party. Heck, I won't even use the local dealer for an oil change; free or otherwise.

In my opinion, the whole concept of dealership service departments is flawed. They use the same 'smoke n' mirror' tactics in service, as they do in sales. This business model encourages cheating, overcharging, and careless work performance. They charge the book rate regardless of how long it takes, which I understand. Provided they get the job right; I have no problem with this. Unfortunately, they sometimes take shortcuts, and if they break stuff, they deny they did anything wrong.
Everything you say is solely dependent on the owner, management and employees of each store; not all dealers.

I do not go to the Chevy dealer I bought my SS from which is 6 miles from my front door. I have a dozen GM dealers with different owners within 25 miles from my front door. I go to one 20 miles away (a Buick/GMC store to service my Chevrolet/Cadillac) because they are good; the others are crap for service ... including the Cadillac dealer my SRX came from that is owned by the same dealer group as the one I use for service.

Remember also that New sales/Used sales/Parts/Service are stand alone departments within a store. Service may be bad but New sales may be great. Just because sales treated you and your car like Howard Hughes doesn't mean service will !!!

I'm tired repeating this:

It is the service manager and techs who make a good shop. Period. Full stop.

I ought to know; I trained techs all my life and saw thousands of shops. I wouldn't let any but a half dozen work on any of my vehicles without close supervision ...
 
#33 · (Edited)
Hello CB,
I'm sure you know from previous posts' that I respect you, and your shared knowledge has helped me and perhaps others to solve problems. I occasionally recommend others' to contact you directly. But like anyone else, I too have life experiences. The so-called animus towards dealership service departments didn't occur overnight; instead, is based on a lifetime of purchasing vehicles and having those vehicle serviced.

At nearly 66-years of age, I can recall only one service tech at one dealership that was a true standout. After 20-years, I still remember his name. Unfortunately, this was the exception and not the rule. While I did not say 'all dealers', I do believe that dealerships tend to focus on turning the numbers to a point where it doesn't matter how well trained the technician. If they are pressured to move cars out of the shop, the quality may suffer. It is by this metric I referenced 'flawed concept.'

As to another posting in this thread; I do my homework. Unfortunately, the high turnover at dealerships makes it hard to stay on top of the reputation standings. I find it easier to use independent shops where the labor pool is more predictable.

Fortunately, I haven't experienced any significant warranty claims with my SS. If I make it to term; approximately 6,000 miles from now, I'll be one happy customer. The best warranty is the one you never have to use.
 
#35 ·
Believe it or not, I had a very bad experience, a few times...actually!

The worst one was right here where I'm working now, but 15 years ago, when it was a Pontac dealer. I had had my Firehawk for about 1 year and wanted some more performance. I decided to have my rear gears changed from 3.42's to 3.73's. I ordered and recieved the gears from SLP. My heavy line guy, a seasoned GM tech older than me, said that it was a piece of cake.

So, the gears arrive, he takes it apart...I should have taken this to be a bad sign when he came to me and said to me, hey Billy, how come your car don't have positraction?(it had a torsen diff, he had never seen one, nor knew how it worked). So, anyway, fast forward, he completed the job and didn't use a dial indicator to check for clearances, backlash or nothin'. He did it all by "feel", "been doin' em for a hunert years!", he said., and it took him about an hour and a half.

Anyway, that thing howled like a big, black , wolf! He said, don't worry about it Billy, just let it break in and change out the oil in about 300 miles.

I felt like the biggest fool that there ever was. I've done diffs myself and knew this was going to be bad. The next day I took it to an independent garage that my brother'n uses for all of his cars. They had it 2 days, replaced the gears with a set if slightly used gears, same ratio.

So, a few weeks went by and he finally ask's me, "hey Billy, how's that rear end working out, is the noise almost gone?" I told him, "naw, man...I had to have them replaced again. It's working good now, though." Then he went on to tell me how he doesn't like to do those type of rear ends, he prefers the "pumpkin type".

That was a hard, foolish lesson to learn.

A few years later, I blew those up and had 4.10's put in at the next dealer I was working for, a Cadillac dealer. I had seen this guy do diffs before and he did good work. He did everything that he was suppose to do and the job turned out great!
 
#36 ·
believe it or not, i had a very bad experience, a few times...actually!

The worst one was right here where i'm working now, but 15 years ago, when it was a pontac dealer. I had had my firehawk for about 1 year and wanted some more performance. I decided to have my rear gears changed from 3.42's to 3.73's. I ordered and recieved the gears from slp. My heavy line guy, a seasoned gm tech older than me, said that it was a piece of cake.

so, the gears arrive, he takes it apart...i should have taken this to be a bad sign when he came to me and said to me, hey billy, how come your car don't have positraction?(it had a torsen diff, he had never seen one, nor knew how it worked). So, anyway, fast forward, he completed the job and didn't use a dial indicator to check for clearances, backlash or nothin'. He did it all by "feel", "been doin' em for a hunert years!", he said., and it took him about an hour and a half.

anyway, that thing howled like a big, black , wolf! he said, don't worry about it billy, just let it break in and change out the oil in about 300 miles.

I felt like the biggest fool that there ever was. I've done diffs myself and knew this was going to be bad. The next day i took it to an independent garage that my brother'n uses for all of his cars. They had it 2 days, replaced the gears with a set if slightly used gears, same ratio.

So, a few weeks went by and he finally ask's me, "hey billy, how's that rear end working out, is the noise almost gone?" i told him, "naw, man...i had to have them replaced again. It's working good now, though." then he went on to tell me how he doesn't like to do those type of rear ends, he prefers the "pumpkin type".

That was a hard, foolish lesson to learn.

A few years later, i blew those up and had 4.10's put in at the next dealer i was working for, a cadillac dealer. I had seen this guy do diffs before and he did good work. He did everything that he was suppose to do and the job turned out great!
ouch !!!
 
#40 · (Edited)
the good workers I have met, dealership techs, journeymen, mom & pop shops, accountants, receptionists, flight attendants, etc.., are just plain happy to both see you again and strive to get a thank you ….
they welcome me with a smile time n time again ...

I am not wrong here ...

lastly, I believe that behind every trenched lousy tech, there is a lousy boss .. that never fails me .. $hit always flows downhill ...


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#41 · (Edited)
I don't bribe anyone. I take care of the people that take care of me. So you'd fire a guy that ate one of my donuts? Nice.
Sorry I screwed it up for you Zal I wonder how they heard about the donuts in Iowa out there in Commiefornia.
 
#42 ·
I'm with you @15SuperSport. As I've said before, my car doesn't leave my sight, and I only let 2 Techs touch my car. I tip them lunch money every time I'm there for an oil change. The first time they tried to refuse it, but I don't ever take no for an answer when I want to do something for someone. They work hard and do a good job, so what's the harm in saying thank you? During the Holidays, many of my Customers bring treats for my Staff-ranging from home made cookies to $100+ dollar gift baskets. I don't see the harm in it.
 
#43 · (Edited)
Maybe i should explain more as was a reward not bribe.

Red 17 had to go for warrenty windshield change, made the appointment for when i was going to be on vacation for almost 2 weeks. Was at dealer I purchased from over a year prior and never used for anything in the past except the orginal purchase. Service mAnager seem to understand the car was important to me and when i dropped off he personally took the keys and said it would be well cared for. Couple days later when i was in Florida he called and said windshield replacement went fine and car has been and continues to be stored inside with the key in his office. When i went to pick the car up he walked me to the back bay they were storing it and explained he moved it out for one day as that bay was needed but did put it back inside at the end of the day and that was the only time was moved. How many car dealerships would keep a customers car inside for about 2 weeks? And yes i took photo of odometer when i leave my cars somewhere.

Blue ss ( that i bought in Tennessee) needed windshield replacement not from warranty but from insurance claim as cracked after being hit with debris on highway. Spoke with him again and explained wanted factory glass he made the arrangements with my ins co and glass installer and had done in the dealership. I could have been told to call the glass company and make my own plans with them but i wasnt, no extra charge to me and doubt they made 100$ on it as i did see the bill.
Above and beyond get rewarded in my book, have run my own small lawncare business for 23 years and am a supervisor of 25 employees at a highway maintenance department for 16 years, make sure that the ones that do the extra are noticed.

2 dozen bagles with butter and chream cheese sides and 3 dozen donuts delivered to service manager so with the size of the dealership probably all and customers got some. Not bribing but rewarding for going above and beyond MY expectations.
 
#48 ·
You mean Jonathan? I'll do just that Zal, right back at you. :thumbsUp:
 
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#51 ·
Same experience here. And the fix they perform will need fixing. Now
I have already given them the benefit of a doubt and that is exhausted.
I will now use smaller shops with good reputation for jobs I can't do
myself. I hope they make this right it is upsetting to see all your care
just tore up!
 
#52 ·
I'm taking the car back in tomorrow to have all 3 trim pieces replaced. One of them was special order and took a while to come in -- not sure which one but assume the seat belt cover. I was calm and courteous. The service writer was apologetic and accommodating. Let's hope it all goes well tomorrow.

When I took the car in for the recalls, I had them test the battery, check the rear shocks, and enable afterblow. Coincidentally tomorrow is also the final day of my factory B2B warranty. Don't intend to ever go back to Chevy for service unless I have some specific issue that an indie shop can't fix and/or I eventually get added to the steering rack recall.
 
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