no parts parts dept.

51 ashton · April 14, 2015

When I went to the parts dept. for accessories they said not in stock but we can have them tomorrow. I thought that was strange since the lot is full of new trucks. Tomorrow is not OK when its a 70 mile round trip and your already upset with the truck and the dealer. Floor mats, mudflaps, window guards and such. Since I had to return the next day after a tranny seal replacement it was acceptable. A couple of weeks later when I got my headlights fixed I went to talk to my salesman as to where we were with my starting over process since meeting with the regional rep. I was told that my salesman is no longer in the dept. I then asked for the general manager and was told hes in vas Vegas for a GM meeting. Now im irratated because everytime I go to see him hes not around. I go to the parts dept to get touch up paint to repair the area on the box that tire discharge removed that the mud flap didnt catch. Parts guy said I don't have any white in stock. I looked at the lot and over half of the cars and trucks are white and I said WTF because now im fuming. So I go to see the vice president to ask what kind of an operation hes running here and hes not around. I left the dealship talking to myself. I had gotten wheel house liners and Sunday I went to install them. I pulled the hub cap and written on the wheel is the word bent. I couldn't get the wheel liners installed for some reason I was so mad I went 13 miles to look at some fords. I emailed the VP about what's going on with the starting over process and told him about a lack of parts in the store and to ask him for a quote for a 2500 gmc sle so I can compare apples to apples With the Ford. During the conversation which got heated rather quickly he said I was being ridiculous to expect the dealer to stock parts for new trucks. I said here's how ridiculous im am I just switched to ford and hung up. what he didnt get to hear is that I want to look at upgrading to a 2500. I gave this dealer every signal I want to stay with gmc but the people in charge are never there. I ended going to drive the Ford superduty reg cab long box 4wd. I was able to drive it home with the salesguy which really impressed me he knew the truck in and out the GM. When I hit the dirt road I live on and heard the stones hitting the rockers before I could say anything he said ford has this covered with the type of flap they use. gmc Staff still doesn't know their truck and I know more a out it than they do. Thanks to this site and hand washing once a week. The superduty drove well and unlike gms seats I was comfortable and didn't have to move the seat to do it. I left there and due to the way I am I drove to another gmc dealer 30 miles north of me just for one last chance. Story short I was told by the sales manager to call 1.800.Lemon law. I Don't know how to proceed from here but I do know GM will never get another nickel from me from all the money ive lost on them. Ill get razed when I show up at an antique truck show with my restored 1940 gmc one ton flatbed, my restored 1951 Gmc/luverne firetruck and my 1951 preserved Chevy dump truck being led by a Ford but we truckers always raze each other. Now back to the topic, am I as a customer being ridiculous to expect the dealer to have new parts stocked for new trucks? I know some are limited in space but to have one set of everything for a truck shouldnt be asking to much? how much room does something as simple as a fingernail polish bottle take up? I went to the Chevy dealer two doors over and they had one in stock. I asked how much and he said $30. I laughed at him and said $6. Rusto Will work. For the price you have to pay for a vehicle there should be one in the glove box for free! Does any of the customer service reps here have any suggestions on how to get the message to someone higher than a dealer VP? They border on dishonest practices And will gladly discuss the details with a GM rep on here.

sahls01gmc · April 14, 2015

To be honest, you can only stock so many parts in a given space. If you sell 10 of something versus 2 of something, you'll stock the "10 of something" before the "2 of something". Odds are an old truck needs more parts than a new truck.

But to your point, you shouldn't have been treated like that. People are in and out of the office all the time, I know I am. But I also have a system of qualified people that can either answer questions in my absence or direct the customer to the right person to get their answer.

My advice is to remain adamant about what you want resolved, but don't be over the top. You paid a lot of money for your truck and deserve to be satisfied, but you didn't exactly buy a Rolls-Royce either.

Isriam · April 14, 2015

you really should go to another dealer, that isn't a gm problem, its a dealer problem. gm probably would like to fix it, and they will probably send you to another dealer.

TJay74 · April 14, 2015

you cant expect dealers to stock everything just because it is a new vehicle. heck even my dealer doesn't stock many parts for the vehicles. They have to pay for those parts to sit around, the overhead and the interest on the credit line. With that almost all dealers now just order the parts since there are so many drop warehouses they use most of the time parts are to them in less than a week,

Sounds like you need to take a breather as it is almost like you are trying to nit pick every situation so you can have a reason to jump ship, if you hate the truck and the dealer that much then trade the truck and go with another brand. I can promise you the grass is no greener on the other side of the vehicle line.

CounterMeasure · April 14, 2015

If its a 70 mile round trip, why not call to see if they have something in stock before going there? In such cases, if they don't stock it, every dealer I've worked with will gladly order the part(s) over the phone, and call when they are in.

The rest of your post, yeah, I'd be livid as well. That said, as Isriam already said, this is a dealer service problem, not a GM problem. And I say that as someone that will not go back to the dealer that sold my truck to me because of their parts and "service" department.

51 ashton · April 14, 2015

it is GM's fault, the molded splash guards I got from parts were designed or made for GM and approved by an GM engineer and seems to me they didn't road test to check if they actually work, if they did I wouldn't be missing paint and we wouldn't be talking about this right now. this is the second new truck in two years that I bought where the flaps didn't work. My 12 canyon and this one. As for nit picking im not. The logistics of it any more has taken its toll. when I went from GMC to dodge in 94 I had no issues for 15 years until I went back to GMC in 09 because the tranny dropped at 235000 Sad part is that the canyon I traded for this one was nicer but undersized. Its time for a change.

rocnrol · April 15, 2015

51 Ashton, how much money are you out?

Clocked92 · April 15, 2015

I have the molded splash guards and they seem to do a decent job of protecting my truck even in our Canadian Winters where they litter the roads with sand and salt. They aren't going to stop everything especially if you have a tire that sticks out or your are turning. If you don't like the molded guards, why don't you go with a heavy duty rubber flap that hangs down further.

In terms of my dealer stocking parts, They haven't had any accessories I've been looking for in stock. They did however bring them in within 2 days. That includes my Splash Guards, Husky Floor Liners, and touch up paint. I've even phoned dealers in the states to see if they had parts when I was going on a trip and they didn't have any in stock but offered to have it in a day.

I also have a 2006 Mustang GT. When I've asked for something at the Ford dealer, they need to order it too. That situation isn't going to change unless they are the biggest dealer in the country, and even then they can't stock every part and accessory for every new vehicle let alone the older models.

JeremyW426 · April 16, 2015

I have to say, asking that a dealer stock 1 of "everything" for every new vehicle is absolutely asking too much. Older vehicles are where the parts departments make their money and they're going to definitely stock more for the older vehicles than for the newer ones. My dealership has a distribution warehouse in the same city so availability isn't an issue when they can get it the same day. All you have to do is phone in before you come in and they're more than happy to order whatever is needed.

Spurshot · April 17, 2015

Sounds like a decision has already been made. Not sure anyone can help or that this fulmination helps others. Best of luck with a super duty. They're good trucks

dkweeks · April 18, 2015

GM parts departments stock parts based on the Retail Inventory Management (RIM) system that GM has put in place. A dealer must stay at least 80% compliant and really needs to be over 90%. RIM is a very complicated system designed to stock the most common parts based on different stratification. This can be from fastest moving parts in the nation, area, and/or dealer. A dealer cannot simply stock every part on any car because many of the parts on newer cars are not readily available at all GM parts distribution centers (PDC). Also doing this would reduce the amount of space the dealer has to stock faster moving parts. The majority of parts stocked in a dealership are for 3 year old and older vehicles. The only parts really stocked for newer vehicles are minor maintenance items such as filters, brakes, etc. Accessories are a completely different animal.These are not a part that is suggested or managed by the RIM system. It is not something the dealer gets from the same PDC's as regular parts. The majority of dealers only have 30 days to return unused accessories to their ADI (the place they get the accessories) or they are stuck with them. When you look at the amount of accessories available to GM dealers for every vehicle, you can realize just how many parts you are wanting someone to stock. I have seen that different accessories sell better in different regions of the country. For example: wheel house liners sell much better in the north than in the south. Most dealers are pretty good at seeing what moves through their department and stock accordingly, but every part they stock should be looked at as if it is a stack of dollar bills. Every part cost money to sit on the shelf and it depreciates the longer it sits there. Parts are stocked to make the company money. After 6 months of no movement, the chance of the part being sold reduces greatly. If it is not a RIM suggested part, then the dealer is risking losing money once it reaches the obsolete status. This is when a dealer sells it at a partial or complete loss. Customers don't usually see the whole picture. They only see their own situation. I can't speak for the dealership in question, but I don't see where the parts department was really a problem. Touch up paint will go bad after a short time. Not everyone wants to touch up their own vehicle. Most customers will want the body shop to do that for them for a more professional look. GM has recently changed their touch up paint to a better product and it does cost more than the old half ounce bottle of paint with a nail polish brush. I understand the high expectations of customers, but some reality must be brought into the picture. If you have a 5 mile or 70 mile trip, always call first. We ship out 300 - 500 parts and accessories each day and still don't have everything in stock that a customer might want. I would like to see the dealership that could meet the expectations above. I would take a picture because they won't be around for long with this business plan.