Dealership advice

ryan_hermanutz · September 7, 2018

Long story and I need advice

About three months ago I bought a new 2018 Silverado. I knew exactly what I wanted, Crew Cab Standard Box, 4x4, Cajun Red, Front Bucket Seats with Center Console, and Black Leather Interior. We had narrowed it down to 3 dealers who had that exact truck and one dealership who had everything except for the black leather interior, they had the Dune/Coco cloth. The dealership that had the Dune/Coco cloth was the closest to us so I wanted to swing by and check it out before driving another 1.5 hours to the other nearest dealer that had the exact one. We showed up and the salesman was hungry and wanted the business, I told him that we liked the truck but the interior was a deal breaker, we weren’t going to be happy with that interior color and cloth. Jokingly I said that if you can swap out the interior for the black factory leather we would talk. He didn’t know very much and was green, so he went and talked with the Sales Manager about it. He came back and said that they could swap out the Dune/Coca for the factory Black Leather. We took it for a test drive and decided that we would buy from that dealer. We were already pre-approved through our bank so the financing was already in place and all we had to talk about was negotiation on price, trade, the interior and accessories. We discussed it several times with the salesman while waiting for our turn in the finance department so I’m positive that I made my point clear with the salesman. Once in the finance depart talking over the all the terms we again told the finance manager that we wanted the factory black leather seats. He tried to get us to go with some other leather but I stated that all we wanted was the Black factory seats, he agreed that they were nice but tried to explain the benefits to the aftermarket leather. Eventually we all agreed that we would be getting the factory black leather seats. Fast forward 2 weeks and it was finally time to get the new seats installed. I drove the truck to the dealership and got a rental, and waited for the call from the service advisor that the truck was done. I got the call and drove back down to get the truck and as soon as I opened the door I was pissed. All they did was swap out the Dune/Coco seat covers with Leather. The seat bases, seatbelts, door panels were all still the Dune/Coco. It was just after closing time so I decided to drive home and deal with later. I got home and called the salesman but soon found out that he no longer worked there. I talked with the assistant sales manager and explained the situation and sent him pictures that same night. He was sympathetic to my issues and concerns and agreed that it didn’t look good and that they would address it, but he had to talk with the sales manager. We talked back and forth for a couple days and we were making headway to a resolution and the idea was floated that the plastic trim pieces could be swapped out on the seat bases. He just needed to go through the sales manager. The sales manager called me the next day and that’s when it all fell apart. He told me that they fulfilled their obligation and they would not be doing anything else. I tried to negotiate with him but he held firm. I again went down to the dealership to finally pick up our plates and the sales manager was there so I figured a face to face conversation was called for. I introduced myself to him and everything was normal and pleasant until he clued in to who I was and what I was talking about. He became instantly rude and dismissive. After a couple minutes he of us talking he stood up and told me that sometimes you just don’t make the customer happy and then turned around and started laughing with the other sales people who we congregating around his desk. Obviously, I wasn’t getting anywhere with this guy so I just left. I went and called the General Manager and emailed him but still have not heard back from the General Manger. I contacted General Motors and explained my issues and they have been working with me and talking the dealership. They are working for a solution that probably makes everyone happy and have passed along a proposal from the dealership. I buy the parts and they cover the labor to change out the plastic on the seat bases. I’ve decided that, that’s not acceptable to me and said no. The dealership keeps telling General Motors that they have necessary repairs have been made so when General Motors contacts me to confirm I get to tell them that no I have not had any additional contact with the dealership and nothing further has been.

Knowing what I know now I screwed up, I should have just gone to one of the other dealerships and not dicked around with this dealership.

btj_z71 · September 7, 2018

You can file a case with the BBB and if that doesn't work out, then file a case with the Michigan attorney general and your state's attorney general. After those are exhausted, the next escalation step is court.

There could be some communication issues so it's good to repeat all the details to each person, keeping track of all past communications and letting all the evidence pile up.

If you signed anything stating that only the seats needed to be swapped, that could be an issue. I could see the interpretation of "seat" and what that term includes or does not include being argued both ways.

If the parts are not too expensive, just offer to pay for the parts but only at cost. So, if the deal pays $100 for the parts, then you pay $100. That way they are not making any profit, but not loosing any further cash other than labor.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

nycrdknglouis · September 7, 2018

Hey Ryan,

Sad story. I am thinking what to do in your case.Wondering if returning the truck is out of the question. If I could, I'll leave the truck for them to figure it out how to match the issue of the seats and please don't tell me that they understood that you wanted only the leather seats exactly as they come from the factory. How about a call to GM customer service to voice your dissatisfaction and their sales-tactics-scheme.

I have learned that I should never take a vehicle out of the dealers location until I was 100% satisfied with everything I wanted and all their promises.

AllterrainX440 · September 7, 2018

16 minutes ago, ryan_hermanutz said:

Long story and I need advice

About three months ago I bought a new 2018 Silverado. I knew exactly what I wanted, Crew Cab Standard Box, 4x4, Cajun Red, Front Bucket Seats with Center Console, and Black Leather Interior. We had narrowed it down to 3 dealers who had that exact truck and one dealership who had everything except for the black leather interior, they had the Dune/Coco cloth. The dealership that had the Dune/Coco cloth was the closest to us so I wanted to swing by and check it out before driving another 1.5 hours to the other nearest dealer that had the exact one. We showed up and the salesman was hungry and wanted the business, I told him that we liked the truck but the interior was a deal breaker, we weren’t going to be happy with that interior color and cloth. Jokingly I said that if you can swap out the interior for the black factory leather we would talk. He didn’t know very much and was green, so he went and talked with the Sales Manager about it. He came back and said that they could swap out the Dune/Coca for the factory Black Leather. We took it for a test drive and decided that we would buy from that dealer. We were already pre-approved through our bank so the financing was already in place and all we had to talk about was negotiation on price, trade, the interior and accessories. We discussed it several times with the salesman while waiting for our turn in the finance department so I’m positive that I made my point clear with the salesman. Once in the finance depart talking over the all the terms we again told the finance manager that we wanted the factory black leather seats. He tried to get us to go with some other leather but I stated that all we wanted was the Black factory seats, he agreed that they were nice but tried to explain the benefits to the aftermarket leather. Eventually we all agreed that we would be getting the factory black leather seats. Fast forward 2 weeks and it was finally time to get the new seats installed. I drove the truck to the dealership and got a rental, and waited for the call from the service advisor that the truck was done. I got the call and drove back down to get the truck and as soon as I opened the door I was pissed. All they did was swap out the Dune/Coco seat covers with Leather. The seat bases, seatbelts, door panels were all still the Dune/Coco. It was just after closing time so I decided to drive home and deal with later. I got home and called the salesman but soon found out that he no longer worked there. I talked with the assistant sales manager and explained the situation and sent him pictures that same night. He was sympathetic to my issues and concerns and agreed that it didn’t look good and that they would address it, but he had to talk with the sales manager. We talked back and forth for a couple days and we were making headway to a resolution and the idea was floated that the plastic trim pieces could be swapped out on the seat bases. He just needed to go through the sales manager. The sales manager called me the next day and that’s when it all fell apart. He told me that they fulfilled their obligation and they would not be doing anything else. I tried to negotiate with him but he held firm. I again went down to the dealership to finally pick up our plates and the sales manager was there so I figured a face to face conversation was called for. I introduced myself to him and everything was normal and pleasant until he clued in to who I was and what I was talking about. He became instantly rude and dismissive. After a couple minutes he of us talking he stood up and told me that sometimes you just don’t make the customer happy and then turned around and started laughing with the other sales people who we congregating around his desk. Obviously, I wasn’t getting anywhere with this guy so I just left. I went and called the General Manager and emailed him but still have not heard back from the General Manger. I contacted General Motors and explained my issues and they have been working with me and talking the dealership. They are working for a solution that probably makes everyone happy and have passed along a proposal from the dealership. I buy the parts and they cover the labor to change out the plastic on the seat bases. I’ve decided that, that’s not acceptable to me and said no. The dealership keeps telling General Motors that they have necessary repairs have been made so when General Motors contacts me to confirm I get to tell them that no I have not had any additional contact with the dealership and nothing further has been.

Knowing what I know now I screwed up, I should have just gone to one of the other dealerships and not dicked around with this dealership.

I'd put them on blast and start calling on my network to see what ability I have to reach the owner of the dealership. Social media is a very powerful tool and a business's reputation is everything. Whether its the owner or the gm I would state my case one last time and give them one last opportunity to find a solution. If they aren't cooperative I would remind them that they have profiles on yelp, google, facebook, BBB and the list goes on. As well as having a network of friends family and colleagues that I would personally refer away from them. Be firm and give the appearance of enough confidence to be willing to go to war with them. As a final touch once they fix your seats tell them "Thanks scum" really fast! Final note, record as much as you can whether it be phone calls, videos of in person discussions, or written communications.

Sierra Dan · September 7, 2018

I hate to hear of your misfortunate experience, but in all my years around vehicles and GM trucks in general.... I never would have settled for having the interior

modified by a dealer on a brand new vehicle. That is what options and vehicle swapping are for.

Bottom line is the dealer should have traded a vehicle they had for the truck you wanted with another dealer.

I have done this several times no issues at all. Most dealers are willing to work together on vehicle trades.

Good luck with your headache.

There is nothing like having the feeling of Regret while making any vehicle payment

ryan_hermanutz · September 7, 2018

Thanks,

I'm still trying to let them fix it before I go and blast them..... I probably shouldn't give a crap about them. The business that I was in until recently, specializes in branding and specifically dealerships. I have some contacts with from other dealers in the area so I'm thinking about running that direction you know peer pressure. But unfortunately I don't know that this particular dealership cares much about that stuff. They are fairly high volume auto-group (Chevrolet, Ford,...) and even a check cashing business. Over the years they have been in some shady shit and caught the attention of the local police, and even the State Attorney General. So appealing their side of decency is probably so far past gone.

And yes, I know, I know, never sign until it's exactly what you want and in hand. This isn't my first, and won't be my last purchase (well with these clowns it will be my first and last) and each time the deals get a bit better. The truck is great zero issues or complaints with what GM did with it.

duquephart · September 7, 2018

Nothing on paper and you trusted them to take care of things after the deal was done. Now you know. Welcome to the wonderful world of car dealerships.

ryan_hermanutz · September 7, 2018

4 minutes ago, duquephart said:

Nothing on paper and you trusted them to take care of things after the deal was done. Now you know. Welcome to the wonderful world of car dealerships.

Nope it was on paper. But it was "install interior leather". Now knowing the game they play it should have said install ebony black interior and ebony black leather.

duquephart · September 7, 2018

I suppose that was going to be hard to pin down without writing War and Peace. The biggest mistake was trusting them to do things after the fact but they were probably unwilling to make the swap beforehand in the event you backed out for some reason. As noted elsewhere, having the vehicle gerrymandered at the dealer is not the "A" plan.

ryan_hermanutz · September 7, 2018

Very true. Honest people honestly try, dishonest people honestly don't care.

duquephart · September 7, 2018

33 minutes ago, ryan_hermanutz said:

Nope it was on paper. But it was "install interior leather". Now knowing the game they play it should have said install ebony black interior and ebony black leather.

Only a very small portion of the interior is what they call "leather" ----- so they had you by the nuts there.

ryan_hermanutz · September 7, 2018

Oh I'm realizing that now which is why my other post on the dash material. If nothing else I wanna stick to them and have them pony up and do the door inserts and anything else that can be factory leather that currently isn't. So if GM says it's leather then damn it I want it to be leather. They are holding me to their technicality, then I'm holding them to it too.

spizike9 · September 7, 2018

Yeah, I’m sure you know this already but it sounds like you were dead set on getting the black leather and that’s what they gave you. In your original post you said nothing about switching the seat belts and other trim pieces. I know you probably thought that was implied but but unless it was specifically talked about they installed the black leather you asked for. It sucks I know but that’s what it sounds like to me.

Edited September 7, 2018 by spizike9

DCazares · September 7, 2018

I really don't think the dealer is at fault. They added black leather seats to an existing truck which is what you asked. You should of not settled for it and have a mismatched interior from the beginning. What are you going to do with the rest of the cocoa/dune interior parts such as Dash, Console, steering wheel etc.? Did you want a full interior swap to black?

spizike9 · September 7, 2018

4 minutes ago, DCazares said:

I really don't think the dealer is at fault. They added black leather seats to an existing truck which is what you asked. You should of not settled for it and have a mismatched interior from the beginning. What are you going to do with the rest of the cocoa/dune interior parts such as Dash, Console, steering wheel etc.? Did you want a full interior swap to black?

I agree with you 100%. Not trying to be rude but OP wasn’t very smart is this whole situation. The dealership fulfilled their obligations. I feel bad for OP because the whole situation sucks but it is what it is.