Reminded why I don't like Dealer Service

So I have only had my car into service maybe 2 times. Once for a recall and the other for a bad ECU which went out the day after I got the car.

I took it in Tuesday and was fully checked in before 8am. The shuttle van finally made it back around 9:30 and had me to work around 11. 11?!!?!?! 3 hours??? not much of a courtesy if it doesn't get me to work for 3 friggin hours.

Even though I was the 2nd in line for the day they consider a timing belt to be a major service so it didn't actually get into the shop until 3:30ish pm. A little after 5 they call and say the car is not going to be ready Tuesday. Well I had already taken the next day off as kind of a relax day so I said whatever I'll pick it up on Wed.

I get the car yesterday, check over things, make sure my wheel locks are where they should be, fix the wiring on my sub box which they had to move and go home.

This morning, I start the car and notice a bad idle. I drive to work and with the car fully warmed up I park and let it sit... it idles like crap!

Now I have to take the car back in and have them fix it... again. I hope they do it right this time. I'm mad at myself for not just getting a service manual and doing it myself. I'm fully confident I can do it, I just wanted someone who has done a few already and would do it right the first time. I was paying for a convenience that I didn't get. Now I have to arrange a ride so I can drop off my car.

This sucks!!!

send a copy of this, wityh a little more agitation to the regional GM service rep. and see how nice they treat you. Seriously..it works.

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Originally Posted by subachad

So I have only had my car into service maybe 2 times. Once for a recall and the other for a bad ECU which went out the day after I got the car.

I took it in Tuesday and was fully checked in before 8am. The shuttle van finally made it back around 9:30 and had me to work around 11. 11?!!?!?! 3 hours??? not much of a courtesy if it doesn't get me to work for 3 friggin hours.

Even though I was the 2nd in line for the day they consider a timing belt to be a major service so it didn't actually get into the shop until 3:30ish pm. A little after 5 they call and say the car is not going to be ready Tuesday. Well I had already taken the next day off as kind of a relax day so I said whatever I'll pick it up on Wed.

I get the car yesterday, check over things, make sure my wheel locks are where they should be, fix the wiring on my sub box which they had to move and go home.

This morning, I start the car and notice a bad idle. I drive to work and with the car fully warmed up I park and let it sit... it idles like crap!

Now I have to take the car back in and have them fix it... again. I hope they do it right this time. I'm mad at myself for not just getting a service manual and doing it myself. I'm fully confident I can do it, I just wanted someone who has done a few already and would do it right the first time. I was paying for a convenience that I didn't get. Now I have to arrange a ride so I can drop off my car.

This sucks!!!

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Yeah I'm going to write a letter and pass it on to a few people. I will also write it much more politically and intelligently than I have posted here as it will be better though out and edited. It's unfortunate I had to go through this crap in the first place.

hmmm they might not have had the timing right or tightened properly....i know when my uncle changed my timing belt and it slipped a few weeks later and we had to replace it again and they did but it was still making a funny noise and it was loose again so they kept trying to tighten it to spec and after a few trys the finally got it to work.

This sucks! but in all laziness, at least oyu didn't have to work for 3 hours! Once I stopped and helped a guy with a Ninja ZX-14 out...(I kept telling him he needed gas but nobody ever listens to me!)...and he finally got it started and it needed gas *OMFG SHOCKER!* :)

On the other hand, I have to keep taking my latptop to circuit city becuase it keeps needing "Fixed", and they give it back and I wind up having to take it back to them becuase its still broken... *sigh*

Sorry for your experience!

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Originally Posted by Ron-E-Babe

send a copy of this, wityh a little more agitation to the regional GM service rep. and see how nice they treat you. Seriously..it works.

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I have received two "loyalty certificates" for $1000 apiece when calling the GM Customer Assistance Center. If your rude you will get nothing but if you remain calm, say a few magic words and be polite they are willing to help. Sometimes they will even cover repairs when you are already out of warranty.

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Originally Posted by GeorgeJ

I have received two "loyalty certificates" for $1000 apiece when calling the GM Customer Assistance Center.

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what are these "loyalty certificates" good for?

If the dealer screwed up while servicing your car, then expected you to bring it back so they can fix their screw up, I would at least tell them I have to work so I will need a loaner car.
In fact, when I baught my car, the loaner car was part of the package. Anytime I take my car in for maintenance or repair, as long as I take it back to the dealership I bought it from, they will give me a loaner for the entire time.

It's at the dealership now.

As an added bonus I started leaking water. Noticed it on Sunday while it was parked in the driveway. I looked over and cant see where it's coming from. It's from the area of the belt though, so I suspect the water pump.

They are checking this out as well, I'll post back the results.

u sure its not ur AC?

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Originally Posted by mikedudley17

u sure its not ur AC?

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I was low on antifreeze and the car did not run at all on saturday or sunday until Sunday night around 9pm. I noticed the water sunday at 3pm and it was still wet. It's 90 degrees out so there is no way the water was leftover from Friday. I also saw some green drips on the passenger side of the oil pan. That and I was low on water.

Good question though.

I c, there is def. sumtin not right. if ur dealership keeps "dickin" you around, id go to another dealersip.

I agree with mike. Something isn't right. If there was a problem with your cooling system, the dealership would have caught it right away. I mean heck, how many dealerships would pass up an extra service job?
I would say take it to another dealership. If it is warranty work, it doesn't matter which dealer you go to.

i have 3 dealerships i deal with. one for major repair(they are kinda far away tho), one for minor repairs(alot closer to house but not great customer service), and another i use to get parts. kinda messed up but its all in how they handle the customer.

thats interesting because right now i had to bring my chevy suburban into my local chevy dealer for some service work related to the a/c system. while my car was there they told me that intake manifold was leaking. in the suburbans the knock sensors of which there are two are located under the intake manifold which i think is a really stupid place for them, but i'm not an engineer nor did i design the 6.0 vortec motor. anyway i had them done 14 months ago, and it wasnt cheap!! i explained that they had done them and i felt that the service tech was at fault for not properly resealing the manifold. they told me i had a 12 month or 12000 mile warranty on parts and labor. since i bought the aveo in 04 i have only driven my suburban 3000 miles in that time. they told me they were sorry, but i was out of warranty. i called the chevrolet assistance center, and explained the whole thing to the customer rep, she asked me if i was a loyal gm customer and i gave her a list of all the gm cars i owned since i started driving. all gm. the outcome is that she called the dealership, and authorized the work to be done even though it was out of warranty. so i'm happy!! but in general i still feel dealers suck, unless you just bought a new $50000.00 truck or car.

The car is still at the dealership. I waited last night for it from 3:30 to 5pm and when I checked on it at 5, the service writer who has been nice to me this whole time gave me a rental.

The water pump is out and that's what's leaking so they are replacing that as well. On the plus side, I only have 5000 left on my warranty so this works out to my advantage.

I'm driving an 08 Aveo today and the interior is SO much better than my 05. I'm going to look into updating my front seats, now it's a matter of finding these seats without an airbag. I'll post a new thread for this. Also, it made me realize how bad my shocks and struts really are.

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Originally Posted by nathan06a

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Originally Posted by GeorgeJ

I have received two "loyalty certificates" for $1000 apiece when calling the GM Customer Assistance Center.

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what are these "loyalty certificates" good for?

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They give loyalty certificates of up to $3000 and they are good for up to two years towards the purchase of a new GM product. Basically, they are a way to appease their customers while guaranteeing some future sales for the company.

Got the car back. Clicking is gone, water leak is fixed. The mechanic who worked on it this time knew what he was doing... he even put the fender liner back on correctly and hooked up my sub box correctly, unlike the last guy.