Dealership Experiences

[Scyry]

After the post below about the dealership in AZ, I thought it may be a good idea for people to post about their local dealerships so people have an idea of where to go for service or buying. It just seems there are so many dealers, and bigger is not always better, so the idea of this is not to flame any dealer ship, just post in the following format:

 

Dealership:

Sales: 5 out of 5

Would you buy from them again? Yes or No

Service: 5 out of 5

Would you return to them for service? Yes or No

Comment: (Keep this short) ex: Will not go to them for service because they scratched my truck. or Took 3 tries to fix my alignment. or Salesman X was great, no pressure and made a good deal

[Scyry]

Dealership: Davidson Chevrolet in Loveland, CO (hour north of Denver)

Sales: 5 out of 5

Would you buy from them again? Yes

Service: 5 out of 5

Would you return to them for service? Yes

Comment: They have fixed any problem other dealers haven't been able to on first try. Always ask the next time I come in if everything was done rght the time before and are friendly. Scott Hartwiege(sp) helped me order the truck I wanted and got me a really good deal with no haggling.

 

Dealership: Ed Bozarth, Lonetree, CO

Sales: No experience with them

Service: 1 out of 5

Would you return to them for service? No

Comment: Never figured out my tranny was in serious trouble in 3 different trips. Transfer case seal to tranny was leaking and they did not check to see if there was fluid transfer from the transfer case to the tranny. Drove around with gear oil in the tranny for about a month, instead of ATF, probably was why the tranny died.

 

Dealership: Luby Chevrolet, Lakewood, CO

Sales: No experience with them

Service: 3 out of 5

Would you return to them for service? Maybe, if I couldn't get a tow to Davidson

Comment: Figured out the tranny was toast and replaced it, took almost a month to do this though. Second, neglected to check the clutch, I am assuming, since the clutch went out 1,000 miles later.

[Machine]

Huffines Chevy - Lewisville, TX

Sales: 5/5 Brian Catrina, Fleet Manager

Buy again: yep

Service: 5

Paint and Body: 2 (go somewhere else. these guys see too much volume to concentrate on doing a great job)

 

Brian Catrina is a deal making stud. He works off dealer cost and will even take off a little from the dealer holdback. I have bought all of me chevy's from Brian. His goal is to sell volume, and he's on a salary - unlike the rest of the sales people who need to make a personal comission in order to get paid.

[jeb]

Clements Chevrolet in Rochester, MN

Sales 5/5

Buy Again - Definitely

Service 5/5

Return for service - Definitely

Comment - These folks go the extra mile. Al Piene is a fantastic salesman to work with.

 

Walser GMC in Bloomington, MN

Sales 4/5

Buy again - yes

Comment - We bought our newest truck there but have no intention of getting any service there as we live 2 hours away. Seemed like a good dealership.

 

Viking GMC in Rochester, MN

Sales 0/5

Buy again - Not a chance

Service

1/5

Return for service - Not if I can avoid it

Comment - Very poor sales experience. High pressure, low satisfaction. They only seem interested in your wallet.

[ManyCamaroz]

Dealership: Arnold Palmer Cadillac (APC)

Pineville, NC

 

Sales: 5 out of 5

 

Would you buy from them again? Yes

 

Service: 5 out of 5

 

Would you return to them for service? Yes

 

Comment: I bought a '89 Eldorado from them in '94, drove it a week before buying 'No Pressure'. A week later after purchasing I noticed a slight engine knock on a mountain trip. I took it in for them to look at, they gave me a new loaner Caddy while replacing the crank bearings at no charge

 

Flash foward to '99. I bought a '97 Eldorado ETC w/ 16k miles. I drove it about a week before buying. 'No Pressure' again. I sent it in just before the OEM warranty expired for a minor trunk latch adjustment and they replaced my battery and battery cable and several other things without a customer complaint.

 

Flash foward to '02. I bought a used '99 Yukon from an individual that originally purchased it from APC with an extended warranty (Smart Choice Warranty Co.). APC helped with the warranty transfer.

 

Flash foward to '04. I had some problems with the Yukon such as Engine miss on cold start up, A/C/Heat control head A/C light inoperative, slight rattle in rear door and cargo area speakers, Clicking noise from front end. I took it to a local GM dealer (not APC due to logistics) and discovered the warranty company had gone belly up and my warranty was no longer valid. They (Parks Chevrolet still charged me $210.00 for road testing, & etc. I called APC to inquire about the demise of the warranty company and they stated that since they sold the warranty they would stand behind it and make any warranty covered repairs out of their pocket. I took it in and they gave me a '05 Caddilac SRX loaner. They had my Yukon a week and replaced a bad injector, the A/C control head, rear door and cargo area speakers, front wheel drive U-joints at no cost other than the $50.00 deductible.

 

This is what I call a first class dealership. They have raised the bar for all of the others to follow, but I'm sure they won't.

 

Sorry for so long just had to get the big picure out there..

[Daubs]

Dealership: Sid Dillon, Wahoo, Nebraska

Sales: 5 out of 5

Would you buy from them again? Yes or No

Service: 5 out of 5

Would you return to them for service? Yes or No

Comment: (Keep this short) ex: Ordered my truck from them when I was coming off a lease on 2001, Z-71. Outstanding! This is the fourth new vehicle I have leased or purchased from them since 1999. I will surely be going back in about 5-6 years when I finish payments on my 0% financing!

[tfpary]

I'll second the post about Clements - I bought from their Mankato, Mn location and had a very good experience.

 

Nereson's Chevrolet/Cadillac in Detroit Lakes Mn.

Sales - Haven't bought there yet.

Service - 5 out of 5

Absolutely awesome service there - always done on time and with a minimum of fuss and hassle. Great techs.

 

[sam3]

jdhudson, I want a new caddilac everytime I go into have my truck serviced!

 

Three Way Chevrolet

Bakersfield, CA

 

Sales:5 out of 5

I knew the salesman personally and he gave me a terrific deal without crap.

 

Service:2 out of 5

The only reason why they don't get a 1 or a 0 is because the service guy wasn't a complete jackass. I have a slight vibration in my accelerator between 55-60 and they take my car without giving me a loaner for the entire day just to perform a 5 minute job of balancing my tires at 40 bucks. This doesn't fix the problem and will have to go through another day without a new truck because they take their time. Its not that they didn't fix the problem it's that they take 7 hrs to do something that could have taken 5 minutes.

[Snow Shovel]

Bell Chevrolet in Leonardtown MD.

 

Sales and Service: 1 out of 5.

 

Went shopping for the truck I now own, and they wanted to sell me something else. Told them a couple of times "Manual transmission, stock wheels." Got an arguement on each item. As part of their sales pitch, they go on their computer and print out a hypothetical window sticker of the truck I wanted. It had an automatic transmission and aluminum wheels as listed options. I threw it away as I left the showroom.

Later, when I called to schedule some work on this truck, they vapor locked when they learned the work would be under warranty and that they didn't sell the truck. First available time was six weeks away. Wound up taking it to another dealership 45 minutes away (the next day).

 

Anderson Chevrolet in Baltimore.

 

Sales: 5/5.

 

Called them as part of my credit union buying service. Read them off the model and options that I wanted. They said it would take six weeks; 5 and 1/2 weeks later the truck was in and it was exaclty what I ordered. Charged me $200 more than their costs (which I confirmed on Edmunds.com), then, because the guy who refered me to them had bought a truck there, they gave him $200.

 

Dealership is about 2 1/2 hours away, so I don't think I'll be bringing it in for service, but any friends I have who are looking at a Chevy, I tell them about Anderson so maybe I can get that $200

[catiaeng]

Dealership: DeNoyer Chevrolet, Holland MI

Sales: 5 out of 5

Would you buy from them again? Yes

Service: 5 out of 5

Recall work was done fast! and thats good on my tight schedule

Three minor warranty isseues, two fixed quickly last year, one waiting for parts

Would you return to them for service? Yes

Comment: Sales was great, I went in looking at a truck on a Monday and within an hour we had a deal signed. The owners daughter/sales manager and the salesman had to work hard to get me what I wanted, and they did a great job. The service people are nice, and they love cars/trucks, and love talking about them. When they get one that is not stock they like to inquire about the mods..really cool.

 

BJ

[kansashuntmaps]

Dealership: Scholfield-Wichita Ks.

Sales: 5 out of 5

Would you buy from them again? NO

Would you return to them for service? NO-never-forget it!

Comment: Truck has benn in shop 2 months of the 7 I owned it. Latest time 43 days and counting! Truck had vibration and was agreed in purchase contract to be fixxed. Dealer has balanced tires, balanced both drive shafts, turned rotors, ujoints, replaced torque convertor & control valve, replaced front cv joints. Now they are looking into rear differential and I am searching for lawyer. Needless to say, have lost all hope dealer knows what they are doing.

[asilverblazer]

Dealership: Smicklas Chevrolet, Okalhoma City, OK

Sales: 3 out of 5

Would you buy from them again? Maybe

Service: 3 out of 5

Would you return to them for service? Maybe

Comment: Sales man was good (not great), financial department was lousy.

Only been in for one service item, they addressed the problem and are waiting on a part, but it's been a while since I've heard from them so I think they forgot about it. Haven't had any big problems come up to see how they handle them.

 

I bought from them because they gave me what I wanted for my trade in.

[Wingnut]

Dealership: Smicklas Chevrolet, Okalhoma City, OK

Sales: 3 out of 5

Would you buy from them again? Maybe

Service: 3 out of 5

Would you return to them for service? Maybe

Comment: Sales man was good (not great), financial department was lousy.

Only been in for one service item, they addressed the problem and are waiting on a part, but it's been a while since I've heard from them so I think they forgot about it. Haven't had any big problems come up to see how they handle them.

 

I bought from them because they gave me what I wanted for my trade in.

 

I went in there, and out of the 3 people I talked to, I wanted to kick 3 of them in the pills.

 

I bought from David Stanley in OKlahoma City

Sales: 5 out of 5, guy was really cool...Kissed my ass just the right amount and I didn't even have to deal with the sales managers hardly at all over the course of two weeks of haggling.

Buy from them again?: Sure, if they beat the other dealers in the area again. The only loyalty I have in that dept. is to MY wallet.

Service: 10 out of 5...They've been GREAT in that area.

Return for service: AAAYUP!

[asilverblazer]

Dealership: Smicklas Chevrolet, Okalhoma City, OK

Sales: 3 out of 5

Would you buy from them again? Maybe

Service: 3 out of 5

Would you return to them for service? Maybe

Comment: Sales man was good (not great), financial department was lousy.

Only been in for one service item, they addressed the problem and are waiting on a part, but it's been a while since I've heard from them so I think they forgot about it. Haven't had any big problems come up to see how they handle them.

 

I bought from them because they gave me what I wanted for my trade in.

 

I went in there, and out of the 3 people I talked to, I wanted to kick 3 of them in the pills.

 

I bought from David Stanley in OKlahoma City

Sales: 5 out of 5, guy was really cool...Kissed my ass just the right amount and I didn't even have to deal with the sales managers hardly at all over the course of two weeks of haggling.

Buy from them again?: Sure, if they beat the other dealers in the area again. The only loyalty I have in that dept. is to MY wallet.

Service: 10 out of 5...They've been GREAT in that area.

Return for service: AAAYUP!

 

 

I didn't even try them, I had a terrible experience in their used car department. Had good luck with Knipplemeir, and Hudiburg (except for the sale manager he was bad.)

[Wingnut]

Knipplemeir has always been a good choice, but they didn't have what I was looking for.

 

As an aside, the ONE guy that I think EVERYBODY has bought a truck from wouldn't budge an inch for me on an SS. Terry Ellis at Mark Heitz...I swear, everybody I know has bought from that guy. My neighbor has bought 5 trucks from him. My buddy has bought 3. Super nice, and about as straight-shooting as a car salesman can be...He just couldn't make it happen for me.