BAD DAY AT THE DEALER

pastorscott · January 11, 2007

This is not to bad but for me it was .

Never in my life did I ever pay to have my oil changed but today in NY in Jqn I was going in for a warrenty problem so I said, what the heck change it (only $34.00) I had a lower tire , whcih I fix (oh yea Im a retired mechanic, my dad was my wifes dad was, my uncle was) so Ive been wroking on cars and trucks since I was old enough to hold a wrench. Well anyway I drop it off for a gas leak dripping on the ground ( 2nd time in for this after they replaced a bad sensor).

Pick up my car and like a nut I climb in the dirt under it to make sure they changed the filter ( oil is driping , a mess) second I check the oil, ( over 1 qt)

3rd I drive it 1 mile and the tire light comes on ( asked them to reset thatafter tire was fixed) so light comes on, I turn around they reset it, I leave light comes on, I return they say come inside. So I bring the burb in the shop and while my TECH is somewhere I ask another TECh hey how much oil should my 5.3, no problem he goes on the computer and tells me 6 qt . I say well my bill is for 7 and its over full, no problem he say its really 7 if you add the filter. So I say 1 qt over is ok, Oh sure he says, better then being under. Ok

Next thing, I ask my tech who comes back, hey when you fixed my gas leak what was wrong ? Oh the sending gasket was defective .

HERE IT IS GUYS

I m told ( I FILLED THE TANK TO HIGH) I said what ? how can you over fill a gas tank. then anothe TECH comes over and alomost yells at me for putting to much gas in ( which my tank is now 3/4 yet when I came in it was full) They were mad that they had to drop a full tank, so its my falt.

So I go the the service writer. Hey wheres my 1/4 of a tank of gas,

Oh that happens some times, sorry you dont get it back.

So I sence nobody is on my side here I say OK

I will be writing a not so nice report when the survey comes.

Wll thats my story and I need to get it off my chest

Oh one other thing, they leave in my car a check list of what they checked

its like 50 things that were checked, would have taken them all day .

I know what can be checked for $34.00.

Scott

02Sub · January 11, 2007

In the past I have had the dealer:

Not reconnect the cruise control cable

Leave tools on the engine

Not tighten oil filter enough

Leaks not fixed (it was obvious)

Forget to give back my locking lug key

Did a repair that could not possibly have been the cause of the original problem

Etc, etc.

This was at GM, Ford, Chrysler dealers.

The service techs are wrong about overfilling the oil. A quart high COULD be worse than a quart low, depending on specific engine design. Usually a quart low is no problem, the oil pump sucks from the bottom of the pan. During hard acceleration, deceleration, or cornering you could momentarily starve the pickup of oil. However, if it's overfilled, the crankshaft could hit the oil in the sump, causing it to aerate(foam up) and sending foamed oil thru the engine for a long time. Again, it depends on engine design (some engines have baffles attached to the main bearing caps to prevent this). Most owners manuals say DO NOT OVERFILL for that reason (foaming). Sounds like the service department makes up stuff on the fly as needed.

It's hard to convince my non-mechanically-inclined friens why I only take my vehicles to a mechanic when absolutely necessary. I definitely avoid the cheap oil-change places. I would have expected better at the dealer, but it looks like I'm being optimistic.

Steve

redvett · January 11, 2007

These problems tell me your dealers dont want to sell you a new vehicle again. If i had that bad service from a dealer i would never darken there doors again and would let the owner/manager know.

jhm · January 11, 2007

Who were the techs, Curly, Larry and Moe?

azchevy · January 11, 2007

I filed a three letter complaint to GM about the local dealer here over six months ago and NEVER heard back from either them.

For this reason alone when it comes time to get a new one I will be looking at the competitions.

redvett · January 11, 2007

I filed a three letter complaint to GM about the local dealer here over six months ago and NEVER heard back from either them.

For this reason alone when it comes time to get a new one I will be looking at the competitions.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The dealerships are privately owned and GM has no control over them other than paying for warrenty & marketing.

If the dealer treats its customers poor than thats there loss of business.

Here in Flint MI we have 2 dealers one a Buick,Chevrolet & Hummer and the other a Buick GMC and both are the largest in the country and if you buy a new vehicle you get free unlimited car washes for as long as you own the vehicle and fantastic service.

WindyCityPilot · January 11, 2007

I filed a three letter complaint to GM about the local dealer here over six months ago and NEVER heard back from either them.

For this reason alone when it comes time to get a new one I will be looking at the competitions.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The dealerships are privately owned and GM has no control over them other than paying for warrenty & marketing.

If the dealer treats its customers poor than thats there loss of business.

Here in Flint MI we have 2 dealers one a Buick,Chevrolet & Hummer and the other a Buick GMC and both are the largest in the country and if you buy a new vehicle you get free unlimited car washes for as long as you own the vehicle and fantastic service.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Gotta love Patsy-Lou....does she still own that big cluster of dealerships? Off of Corunna road right?

squeakysounds · January 11, 2007

When I had my blazer, I went to pick it up after having the brake system fixed (brake fluid looked like water). I drive 2 miles and my engine is approaching the red line, I pull over, turn it off, pop the hood and there is the radiator hose disconnected. I take it back and tell them and they say "We didn't do that" Luckily a family member is a manager there so I strolled on over to him and had him have a talk with the wonderful service tech. That engine could have been toast if I hadn't shut it off right when I noticed it.

azchevy · January 11, 2007

I filed a three letter complaint to GM about the local dealer here over six months ago and NEVER heard back from either them.

For this reason alone when it comes time to get a new one I will be looking at the competitions.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The dealerships are privately owned and GM has no control over them other than paying for warrenty & marketing.

If the dealer treats its customers poor than thats there loss of business.

Here in Flint MI we have 2 dealers one a Buick,Chevrolet & Hummer and the other a Buick GMC and both are the largest in the country and if you buy a new vehicle you get free unlimited car washes for as long as you own the vehicle and fantastic service.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes but after writing a three letter complaint to GM the courteous thing to do is to respond with a simple: we acknowledge your complaint letter instead of ignoring it. That apathy results in an immediate loss of future business as far as I am concerned.

ridgekid · January 11, 2007

When I had a company truck (C1500) I had a dealer change the oil and perform a state inspection. When I got the truck back I drove all the way across the state of Pennsylvania. I get a phone call. You left oil all over my new driveway. (That was my sister in law who lives near Harrisburg). I went out and checked the oil. Low. VERY LOW. I call a local dealer and explain the service I recently had and they need to look at it.

I filled up the oil level to full-(Four qts!) They look at it while I rent a car to get to the jobsite. It was a loose oil plug. Get my truck back and my DVM (Digital volt meter) is missing. I'm told it was never there in the first place. Yeah right.

Two dealers. Two problems. Won't ever go here again!

Delaney Chevrolet in Indiana, Pa and Burgey Chevrolet in Lansdale, Pa.

redvett · January 11, 2007

I filed a three letter complaint to GM about the local dealer here over six months ago and NEVER heard back from either them.

For this reason alone when it comes time to get a new one I will be looking at the competitions.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The dealerships are privately owned and GM has no control over them other than paying for warrenty & marketing.

If the dealer treats its customers poor than thats there loss of business.

Here in Flint MI we have 2 dealers one a Buick,Chevrolet & Hummer and the other a Buick GMC and both are the largest in the country and if you buy a new vehicle you get free unlimited car washes for as long as you own the vehicle and fantastic service.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes but after writing a three letter complaint to GM the courteous thing to do is to respond with a simple: we acknowledge your complaint letter instead of ignoring it. That apathy results in an immediate loss of future business as far as I am concerned.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I would call the GM customer service not send a letter. There are people that answer 24-7 and will document the problems.

ratchet · January 11, 2007

I don't go to the dealer except for actually buying the vehicle. Believe it or not never had to have any warranty repairs on anything.

One thing though when I bought my truck it took 4 hours to take delievery of it cause the salesman had to go over every single tidbid of info about the truck.

I understand that he was just doing his job but these trucks are very basic and I did not need to know all the details and came pretty close to leaving without giving him a sale.

firefighteremt3100 · January 11, 2007

This is not to bad but for me it was .

Never in my life did I ever pay to have my oil changed but today in NY in Jqn I was going in for a warrenty problem so I said, what the heck change it (only $34.00) I had a lower tire , whcih I fix (oh yea Im a retired mechanic, my dad was my wifes dad was, my uncle was) so Ive been wroking on cars and trucks since I was old enough to hold a wrench. Well anyway I drop it off for a gas leak dripping on the ground ( 2nd time in for this after they replaced a bad sensor).

Pick up my car and like a nut I climb in the dirt under it to make sure they changed the filter ( oil is driping , a mess) second I check the oil, ( over 1 qt)

3rd I drive it 1 mile and the tire light comes on ( asked them to reset thatafter tire was fixed) so light comes on, I turn around they reset it, I leave light comes on, I return they say come inside. So I bring the burb in the shop and while my TECH is somewhere I ask another TECh hey how much oil should my 5.3, no problem he goes on the computer and tells me 6 qt . I say well my bill is for 7 and its over full, no problem he say its really 7 if you add the filter. So I say 1 qt over is ok, Oh sure he says, better then being under. Ok

Next thing, I ask my tech who comes back, hey when you fixed my gas leak what was wrong ? Oh the sending gasket was defective .

HERE IT IS GUYS

I m told ( I FILLED THE TANK TO HIGH) I said what ? how can you over fill a gas tank. then anothe TECH comes over and alomost yells at me for putting to much gas in ( which my tank is now 3/4 yet when I came in it was full) They were mad that they had to drop a full tank, so its my falt.

So I go the the service writer. Hey wheres my 1/4 of a tank of gas,

Oh that happens some times, sorry you dont get it back.

So I sence nobody is on my side here I say OK

I will be writing a not so nice report when the survey comes.

Wll thats my story and I need to get it off my chest

Oh one other thing, they leave in my car a check list of what they checked

its like 50 things that were checked, would have taken them all day .

I know what can be checked for $34.00.

Scott

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Those checklists are a bunch of bullshi*. They only do it so it looks like they are providing a free service. All dealers, Ford, Dodge, GM do it. But rarely do they actually go and do the full inspection. Pretty pathetic if ya ask me, but then again it's not really a surprise. Sorry to hear you've had such a crap time dealing with them. I see it quite a bit unfortunately. Maybe try another dealer?