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Some Dealerships Kill Me!!!

mshipon

Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2002
Messages
18
Location
Andover, MA, USA
Corvette
1998 Lt. Carmine Red Metallic Coupe
Two weeks ago I took my car to a local dealership in Lawrence, MA for simple recall work. It ended up costing me $319 for minor maintenance/service along with a major hassle. They recommended that I have an emmissions maintenance, fuel injector cleaning, and my parking brake had to be fixed. Since my '98 is new to me (26,000 miles) and I didn't have a maintenance record, I figured it wouldn't hurt. Now this is where I get upset. They also told me that the intake manifold and valve cover gaskets where leaking, which was totally bogus. My local mechanic checked and everything is tight as a drum! This is basically a C4 problem and not very common on the C5s. They simply tried to get another $521 out of me.

After all that, they didn't have the code checker to perform the Steering Column Recall. Fine... I brought the car in again the next morning and was almost the 1st person in line. Their shuttle service picked me up from work at 4:00 that day and took me directly to the dealer. Of course, the car wasn't ready and I was told it would take 10 minutes to finish... no big deal. Well, after a few visits to the service counter and an hour and a half later, I was told the fix was throwing a code and they couldn't figure it out. They gave me a crappy Kia and told me it would be ready tomorrow. I was really mad! I told them that I am very picky about work performed on my car and there better not be any scratches on the column and everything better be working properly when they call me tomorrow.

The next morning I was called at work and told that the car was ready. I left work and drove to the dealership to find that the dash mat was pulled away from the center console and greasy fingerprints all over the place. When I brought this to the attention of the service guy, he suggested that I must have brought the car in that way! I told this guy very directly that it was NOT the case and it needed to be repaired right away. After some back and forth, he agreed to have it fixed in the body shop. I was told to pick up the car at the end of the day. Well, when I arrived that afternoon, the car was finally complete. I couldn't wait to get out of that place, but I intended to bring it to the attention of the dealership owner and service manager (who was on vacation that week). So bottom line... it took me 4 visits and a lot of hassles to have 2 simple recalls performed.

After I had some time to cool off, I send a certified letter to the owner of the dealership, chronologically listing and explaining each step to the terrible process I went through to get the 2 recalls done. I called the dealership after my wife had received a call at home and it went something like this...

Hello, may I speak with ......

Yes, hold on.

Hello...

Hello, this is Martin Shipon. I understand you called.

Yes. We received your letter. We do not want you to have any further service done here... we do not want your business.... click!

Well, I guess they showed their true colors! Instead of trying to discuss the issues and working them out, they'd rather turn their heads and run.

So be it! I hope never to see another dealership service department again!

Addendum: I later found out that this dealership was rated one of the 10 worst dealerships in MA in the Boston Globe. They also lost a lawsuit where customers accused them of over-charging them and taking too long to send out refunds.

What do you think of this? I considering contacting the Attorney General's office or at least the Regional Chevy service rep.
 
Out of curiosity, how come you didn't go to Woodworth Chevrolet?

You actually took your Corvette into Lawrence??? You're more brave than me. When I lived up there....my Vette never stepped a tread in that city. LOL :L

And while I"m at it....let me venture a guess and say that you took your Vette to Charlie Dahar's Commonwealth Chevrolet off 495? I have had past dealings with them on an '85 GMC Jimmy and the owner of that dealership can probably still here my voice ringing in his ears.

-Rob
 
Sorry to hear about your lousy service experience, but at least you will know better for the next time around and have the dealership checked out first.
 
Funny but not
I've ran into almost the same thing EVERY time I run to a dealership. And I've been to most of them, Chevy Dodge etc.

My Grandfather always told me that if you want it done right, go to the dealership.

Well...doesn't seem to be that way anymore :-(
 
Here's some info you may find useful:

Chevrolet Motor Division
Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center
P.O. Box 33170
Detroit, MI 48232-5170
1-800-222-1020


BBB Auto Line
Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.
4200 Wilson Boulevard
Suite 800
Arlington, VA 22203-1804
Tel.: 1-800-955-5100
 
Rob: You're absolutely right! I must have been out of my mind. What was I thinking??? I didn't realize that Woodworth actually had a decent service department until some club members told me afterwards.

And your guess is correct... beware of Charlie Daher's Commonwealth Motors of Lawrence, MA....
 
Don't stop there. Report them to both the BBB and Chevrolet, unfortunately this happens all the time and unless we report them, the next guy gets the same treatment.

Glad you found a reasonable dealershiop to deal with.

Steve :w
 
I would also suggest that you not only copy the dealer on the letter to the BBB, but also print this thread so he is aware that his reputation is going to catch up with himself.
 
Ctfoodguy2000 said:
I would also suggest that you not only copy the dealer on the letter to the BBB, but also print this thread so he is aware that his reputation is going to catch up with himself.

Ahhhh....no. I would appreciate it if that's not done. I would prefer that the Corvette Action Center is not dragged into anything like that.

There's no need to threaten the dealership with poor publicity. Filing a claim with the BBB is probably the most effective thing to do.
 
Rob: I agree, a letter to the BBB should be sufficient.
 
Thanks Martin. Definitely keep us posted on the outcome. I'm curious to see what comes out of it if you do go to the BBB.

I would definitely try Woodworth. If you don't mind driving, Dobles Chevrolet on S. Willow St. in Manchester, NH is awesome.

Mark Palmer is the Corvette mechanic there and worked on my Vette before I moved.
 
Rob: you are right. It just really gets me pi**ed off when dealers pull this crap. Although it could have an impact, it isn't worth putting CAC into that position! Sorry...:bash
 
At one time, the CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) was the cat's meow. Pulling a franchise out from under mischievous dealer principals, was the way to go! What happened?
It all comes down to the quality of the mechanic (tech). Get one inexperienced knuckle dragger working on the new glass ride, and it's, "thread time" on the 'ol website, writing horror stories!
Let me tell you, it was scary coming from 27 years in the motorcycle industry, trying a hand at working on cars. I was so shocked to see the quality of the mechanical aptitude of some of these so called techs. I took time to teach some of these guys how to work on cars, just so I had a job to go to the next day. It was all about CSI at that dealership.
Believe me, it is sad to relate this, but I feel sorry for those not mechanically inclined who chance driving into SOME dealerships.
Let me relate a horror story I had to diagnose and repair. This tech (ha!) replaces a Suburban rear axle shaft on a rear end. Did he make the right diagnosis or was he making more money for himself, I will never know? Anyway, he doesn't remove the parts sticker on the new shaft. The heat and oil loosen the sticker off the shaft, and now you have a floating piece of paper in the rear end. The paper finely floats it's way to the rear wheel bearing, and locks the roller cage! The outer bearing spins inside the axle housing, rendering it.... unusable. There is a massive oil leak (why the customer brought it back), and the brake shoes are soaked as well.
The dealer had to pay for a whole new rear axle housing. All because the tech, "flat rated" the job to save a little time not removing the paper parts sticker. I was not happy fixing his "come back." Oh, the CSI is in the dumps now!
We had a CHP police car contract. They came from another dealership because of the bad (?) service. They were happy with our service department, because they go through lots of rear ends and transmissions. I left the dealership and the tech that took over, received a speeding ticket, road testing a CHP car. The CHP left the dealership with their contract in hand a few days later. The story I hear is.....GM pulled their franchise a short time after. This was back in 1998. I never did hear (the true story) what really happened?
Out of 15 mechanics, (not including myself) I would trust only 2 guys. The odds aren't too good, are they?
 
Dealer Headache

Seeing that you don't live in another state, next time visit Walter Earl Cheverolet in Bridgewater Ma., when you buy another vette. Totally supurb service with red carpet treatment. When you left the dealer with that KIA, I would have felt like blowing the engine in it on a very high rpm run, speed shifting every gear. I really don't blame you for being mad, I would have felt the same way.
 
I just saw this thread... I have had some bad experiences with chevy as well... if you call up and explain what happened, they will do something for you... they gave me a free oil change... that is 50 bucks I won't have to spend... oh yeah, you can take it to any chevy dealer to have the free oil change done, so you don't have to deal with the idiot dealers again.
 

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