Love my Avalanche / HATE my dealer!

BgBlkAvalanche · October 19, 2001

Oh my woes with the classic Chevy dealer. My AV needed the following:

1) Radio clock/station light flickered bad when dimmer was low

2) Shifter PRNDL adjustment detents out of adjustment

3) Blows smoke on start up 1 out or 20 starts

4) Using oil at a rate of a qt. per 2000 miles.

Took it in LAST Monday... almost 2 weeks ago

OK,... the PCV was replaced and is supposed to fix the start up smoke, and they changed the oil to monitor the consumption. The radio was sent out to a shop, and after calling every day,... it is still not fixed. They claim a lot of radios are doing this, and had to order parts to repair... but 1 1/2 weeks?! I told the service advisor I wanted a NEW radio then, cause I needed the truck Thurday night,.. no later.

Well I called and no radio,... so I went to visit them. They claim each radio is programmed to the VIN, so a radio pulled out of another truck would not work unless programmed ? ( anyone agree with this?)

Then it hit.... I looked at the front bumper, and the greasy looser mechanic STOOD on the bumper to reach into the engine compartment, and scratched /gouged the plastic on top of the bumper! Nice!!!

So, I pull the dip stick,... whalla,... same old oil,.. nope ,.. not new oil as I was told...

As I was blowing up in the service bay, 3 people left opting not bring their cars in for service.

Oh I hate Chevy dealers..... hope others have better luck than I. And I am in the Detroit area,... so you would think they would have some clue.

Shaners · October 19, 2001

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I am lucky that my small town dealer has a top notch service manager. In fact they normally rate in the top 2-3 service dept in the state of PA.

I'd make them replace everything they screwed up and I'd also call the area rep. You paid too much $$ for your Avalanche to put up with shoddy service.

As far as the radio goes, I don't know if they are coded to the VIN. I know you can program your own personal security code in them, so they won't work if removed from your truck.

Good luck...

LarryE · October 19, 2001

sounds like most dealers around here

as for the radio I would just dump it, their not the best equipment ever used by gm..

Get a pioneer deh75 that will fit in the gm size opening.

plus there's no way they can be coded into the VIN that wouldn't work at all my factory player worked in my grandfathers truck just as it worked in mine.

pacodiablo · October 19, 2001

all dealers suck...cost too much for parts too. 300 dollars for a stupid mirror!

Greg · October 19, 2001

OK BgBlkAvalanche, which dealer? I'm also in SE Mich. A few years ago, I was in a marketing class in the U of M evening MBA program and so many people had awful experiences with Champion Chevrolet that we used them as an example of what not to do. (Champion was one of the dealers I was negotiating with for my Av and they now claim greatly improved service.)

I think the radio line is just that, a line. When I ordered my '99 Sierra, I wanted the GMC dealer to swap the radio with in-dash CD for one with a cassette. The dealer said no problem, but by the time of delivery, my wife convinced me to leave the CD in the truck.

burgundyz71 · October 19, 2001

Thank God for small town dealers, any problem I ever had with one of my trucks was fixed within a day. Anyone in Pa. I would recommend Watkins Chevrolet in Boswell to anyone. My dad always bought from one of the bigger dealers and getting service was a freakin nightmare.

02Avalanche · October 19, 2001

Hope this is not a sign of things to come... Just picked up my Avalanche about 2 weeks ago. Love it so far.

Have already run in to the dealer service issue myself.

The AV was supposed to have the luggage rack but it was not installed at the time I took delivery. Was told I could come back in next week and that it would only take 30 minutes to install. I come in to get it done only to be told that this is the first one they have done and they need to drill holes and want to take there time doing it right. Okay, Cool I'm thinking, at least they are not going to rush through it. Anyway they say hour and half... Well 4 hours later I get out of the dealer. What a day... The only good thing is the rack looks great on the black AV.

This is why I always do my own service unless it major. Oil and the like at home...

chevy4x4trucks · October 19, 2001

I know how you feel, I have tons of problems with my dealer. They either don't bother to look at something, fix it wrong, or just don't clean up after themselves. I always believed that no matter how big or small the job always do a quality job, that's a way to keep business. Despite the fact it's warranty work they still get paid for it. I know that quality service is hard to come by. At the company I work for we have a large fleet about 100 vans, 25 trucks, and about 15 cars. We have switched dealers four times already because of bad service. You wold think that the bigger the account the more you would do to please the customer. I'm not even going to get into the bad job they did when they repainted the side of my truck. I tried dealing with the body shop manager and the general manager, but it was no use. I guess good service really is hard to come by.

CapnDean · October 19, 2001

God Bless Small Dealerships!

Bert Allen Pontiac/GMC in Gulfport, MS.

They even wash my truck if I bring it in dirty!

CapnDean

96 Vortec · October 19, 2001

I too have had a few bad experiences.

Morse chevrolet in OP, KS bugged me the most.

I have had really good service at Roberts-Albright in KC.

I bought my truck from a guy that worked at Carroll-Rehma in Linn, Mo. They have a really good service department. I sure do miss being able to take my truck to them.

pacodiablo · October 19, 2001

if i ever catch my dealer doing burnouts (they do this) in my truck or the burb i will be VERY pissed, i am the ONLY person who does burnouts in my vehicles!

also i hate it when they leave stuff in your truck or get stains from grease or oil on the seats

BgBlkAvalanche · October 23, 2001

UUGGGG,...

The saga continues :angry:

They installed a "new" radio, and 15 miles down the road it starts coming on and off all by itself! Not just a loose power on & off way,... it's posessed(sp?). The buttons lock up and don't work,. or the station buttons turn the radio on & off. Then it ran down the battery over the weekend!

Off to the dealer tomorrow

Shaners · October 24, 2001

Maybe they need to get their "premium" mechanic on this one and not the new "grad". All shops have at least one guy that really knows their stuff. I hope for your sake they didn't booger it up...

It is possible they stuck a remanufactured radio in there and it was never repaired correctly. I guess you'll just have to give them another try.

THE BIGPUNN · October 24, 2001

i can't complain, i have a good friend that is the service manager of my local favorite gm shop. plus chevy and gmc are right next to one another, if one is booked i go across the way to the other, or across town to pontiac dealer.

BgBlkAvalanche · October 26, 2001

Update number two:

Took the truck in Wednesday morning, and showed the service guy the radio issue. I specifically requested that a "new" radio be provided as a replacement, as I did not want this one fixed. Also, my intent was that a new radio could be obtained faster than a repair.

Oh well,... Friday morning and there was no concrete plan to get my truck a radio,.. so I payed a personal visit to ##### more. More excuses and promises,.. and possibly pulling one out of a vehicle on the lot ( which they previously said could not be done)

Oh by the way,... stay away from Tennyson Chevrolet in Livonia Mi.!