Some Dealerships Suck - GM Edition
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Date: 2020-08-05
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Comments and reviews: 10
Gary
I only went through a dealership twice but the second was the most fun. This goes back in years before your time, I moved from South Dakota to Iowa which had vehicle inspection at the dealerships. I had a 73 ford Pinto wagon and I asked the service manager to put new wipers on and give me a new set of plugs, points and wires. I go out later in the day and get the vehicle. As I pull into the driveway at home the beast begins to knock and miss fire. I stop, open the hood and there is a spark plug hanging in the wire with the plug completely out of the head. I put the plug back in and the car runs fine, The following morning I leave to drive down to work and of course it is raining, I am then about to explode and head to the dealership. With luck there is a highway patrolman sitting at the curb, so I stop and ask him to inspect my vehicle. He wasn't pleased with my request with it raining till I explained all he had to do was get in and start the wipers. He gets out of my car looks at the service sheet from the dealer and tells me to follow him to the dealership. I told the service manager about the spark plug and the officer asked why I was charged for 2 new wipers and sent the vehicle out without proper inspection. The dealership was fined 250 and loss of inspection for a month. Needless to say I never went near the place again. Oh yes I did get new wipers put on before I left.
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I only went through a dealership twice but the second was the most fun. This goes back in years before your time, I moved from South Dakota to Iowa which had vehicle inspection at the dealerships. I had a 73 ford Pinto wagon and I asked the service manager to put new wipers on and give me a new set of plugs, points and wires. I go out later in the day and get the vehicle. As I pull into the driveway at home the beast begins to knock and miss fire. I stop, open the hood and there is a spark plug hanging in the wire with the plug completely out of the head. I put the plug back in and the car runs fine, The following morning I leave to drive down to work and of course it is raining, I am then about to explode and head to the dealership. With luck there is a highway patrolman sitting at the curb, so I stop and ask him to inspect my vehicle. He wasn't pleased with my request with it raining till I explained all he had to do was get in and start the wipers. He gets out of my car looks at the service sheet from the dealer and tells me to follow him to the dealership. I told the service manager about the spark plug and the officer asked why I was charged for 2 new wipers and sent the vehicle out without proper inspection. The dealership was fined 250 and loss of inspection for a month. Needless to say I never went near the place again. Oh yes I did get new wipers put on before I left.
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Vincent
I bought a new 3. 8L Buick and it had a lifter that knocked on startup cold or even warm restart. Took it to the 3rd largest dealer in the US where i bought it and they put some general cure oil additive in the motor at 10K miles and said they could hear nothing. I had time at Christmas and put in a new cam and 2 new lifter that had signs of scuffing and excess wear. I took the parts back to them and presented the situation. They had the records of my previous action. Why didn't you bring it to us for the repair. We will not cover the labor. But, bring in the parts and we will see what we can
do. I just kept the parts and drove that car another 130K with no problems. I bought a 3. 0L V-6 with transmission vibration at 30MPH and again the regional man came to the dealer and I see no problems with this transmission. The dealer had tried everything including putting a vibration damper hanging on the tail pipe at different locations. Even told me to put on a HD thicker wall tail pipe.
That same GM car had several crank sensors go out because the magnets were insecurely anchored in the mounting bracket. I put in the 3rd one which was a redesign. Drove that 3. 0L 190K and had problems of all kinds. I always thought it would finally run out of problems but it continued til the last day I owned it. GM never again.
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I bought a new 3. 8L Buick and it had a lifter that knocked on startup cold or even warm restart. Took it to the 3rd largest dealer in the US where i bought it and they put some general cure oil additive in the motor at 10K miles and said they could hear nothing. I had time at Christmas and put in a new cam and 2 new lifter that had signs of scuffing and excess wear. I took the parts back to them and presented the situation. They had the records of my previous action. Why didn't you bring it to us for the repair. We will not cover the labor. But, bring in the parts and we will see what we can
do. I just kept the parts and drove that car another 130K with no problems. I bought a 3. 0L V-6 with transmission vibration at 30MPH and again the regional man came to the dealer and I see no problems with this transmission. The dealer had tried everything including putting a vibration damper hanging on the tail pipe at different locations. Even told me to put on a HD thicker wall tail pipe.
That same GM car had several crank sensors go out because the magnets were insecurely anchored in the mounting bracket. I put in the 3rd one which was a redesign. Drove that 3. 0L 190K and had problems of all kinds. I always thought it would finally run out of problems but it continued til the last day I owned it. GM never again.
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maffimuk
Those wires come into the Chevy plant as a giant roll. Those rolls are tossed around and dropped quite often, resulting in damaged wires sometimes. The assembler cuts the wire using a length template and installs them on the vehicle. The wires arent quality control checked prior to installation like Ford or Toyotas. After installation if the part works, out it goes. What they regularly miss are micro breaks and other damages, which would be caught with quality control checks. The result is what you see here - unexplained broken wires. Theres your explanation. How do I know? I worked at the Lake Orion GM Plant. GM cuts corners by reducing mid-stage assembly checks. Those checks dont risk the safety of the vehicle, just other parts like interior wiring. GM spares no cost on safety, which is why they are one of the safest vehicles out there. Its these annoying little things that turn off customers.
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Those wires come into the Chevy plant as a giant roll. Those rolls are tossed around and dropped quite often, resulting in damaged wires sometimes. The assembler cuts the wire using a length template and installs them on the vehicle. The wires arent quality control checked prior to installation like Ford or Toyotas. After installation if the part works, out it goes. What they regularly miss are micro breaks and other damages, which would be caught with quality control checks. The result is what you see here - unexplained broken wires. Theres your explanation. How do I know? I worked at the Lake Orion GM Plant. GM cuts corners by reducing mid-stage assembly checks. Those checks dont risk the safety of the vehicle, just other parts like interior wiring. GM spares no cost on safety, which is why they are one of the safest vehicles out there. Its these annoying little things that turn off customers.
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Scooter
WIring problems have been increasing since 2000 on many vehicles. The suspected and plausible reason for this is many of the manufacturers have started to use No3 copper in place of No1 copper. No3 has more impurities in it and as result it work hardens much faster than No1. When you find a break in the wire inside the insulation it is normally close to a retainer where one end is fixed in place and the other moves due to vibration or cyclic action like a suspension arm. The constant flexing causes the subsequent work hardening in that area. One of the first companies to make the conversion to No3 was Volkswagen in 200. Their wiring harnesses now last a little over 5 years on the average with normal driving mileage in that period of time. Many times it is cheaper to replace the harness than it is to try and fix it because one repair will be followed by many more elsewhere in the system.
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WIring problems have been increasing since 2000 on many vehicles. The suspected and plausible reason for this is many of the manufacturers have started to use No3 copper in place of No1 copper. No3 has more impurities in it and as result it work hardens much faster than No1. When you find a break in the wire inside the insulation it is normally close to a retainer where one end is fixed in place and the other moves due to vibration or cyclic action like a suspension arm. The constant flexing causes the subsequent work hardening in that area. One of the first companies to make the conversion to No3 was Volkswagen in 200. Their wiring harnesses now last a little over 5 years on the average with normal driving mileage in that period of time. Many times it is cheaper to replace the harness than it is to try and fix it because one repair will be followed by many more elsewhere in the system.
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Tom
I bought a set of tires in 1974, and had a problem with one of them after 1000 miles. The tire shop told me it was not their problem, and that I should contact the manufacturer. My next set of tires was from different store, Discount Tire. At that time they had 12 stores. A year later, when I had a low tire, I drove across the street into Discount Tire. They were sweeping up, We're closed. I bought these here and now one is low and I need it fixed. Oh. OK. And ten minutes later I was on my way with a fixed tire. THEY WERE CLOSED, but fixed it anyway. The founder of Discount Tire understood that for a company to excel in a commodity market, product differentiation was a non-starter, and that improving the customer experience was the way to go. Discount Tire now has 1056 stores and is the largest tire seller in the United States. The other company went out of business in 1976.
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I bought a set of tires in 1974, and had a problem with one of them after 1000 miles. The tire shop told me it was not their problem, and that I should contact the manufacturer. My next set of tires was from different store, Discount Tire. At that time they had 12 stores. A year later, when I had a low tire, I drove across the street into Discount Tire. They were sweeping up, We're closed. I bought these here and now one is low and I need it fixed. Oh. OK. And ten minutes later I was on my way with a fixed tire. THEY WERE CLOSED, but fixed it anyway. The founder of Discount Tire understood that for a company to excel in a commodity market, product differentiation was a non-starter, and that improving the customer experience was the way to go. Discount Tire now has 1056 stores and is the largest tire seller in the United States. The other company went out of business in 1976.
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Paul
Dealerships in San Diego area generally suck. My 2010 Nissan Frontier's driver widow motor died. I went to the dealer on a Tuesday and said, Get the part, I'll bring the truck to you in the after noon and you can have it all the next day. Thursday comes, I take the truck in so they can have it all day Friday. Friday 4: 20 PM I CALL THEM! (me) Where's my truck? (service writer) We haven't finished it. (me) When will it be done? (service writer) Maybe I can get someone to stay late and finish it. (me) Really? We planned this three days ago. You've had an entire day to get it done. (sw) Well, we got busy. (me) I will be there at 8: 00 AM tomorrow. Finished or not I want my truck back. He actually came to my house, picked me up and took me back to the dealership at 8: 00 AM. I'm still not sure my truck will go back to them. I've got more horror stories.
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Dealerships in San Diego area generally suck. My 2010 Nissan Frontier's driver widow motor died. I went to the dealer on a Tuesday and said, Get the part, I'll bring the truck to you in the after noon and you can have it all the next day. Thursday comes, I take the truck in so they can have it all day Friday. Friday 4: 20 PM I CALL THEM! (me) Where's my truck? (service writer) We haven't finished it. (me) When will it be done? (service writer) Maybe I can get someone to stay late and finish it. (me) Really? We planned this three days ago. You've had an entire day to get it done. (sw) Well, we got busy. (me) I will be there at 8: 00 AM tomorrow. Finished or not I want my truck back. He actually came to my house, picked me up and took me back to the dealership at 8: 00 AM. I'm still not sure my truck will go back to them. I've got more horror stories.
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Greg
GMC 1500 4wd. I had issues clutches needing to be replaced every 7k miles from new. They would replace the clutches but not what was burning them up. That truck was babied too so not from overuse. I finally had it rebuilt out of warranty by a local shop and it has been fine ever since. Sucks I had to shell out 2K for something the dealer could have fixed a few months after I bought it new. The Regional Customer Service guy wouldn't even give me his email address. Said they didn't have one. Also has issues with a Nissan Quest I bought new too. Took it in for years about a noise in the front they said was normal. Finally got it check at local shop during a routine maintenance and they showed me where a control arm had failed. Once replaced, never heard the noise again.
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GMC 1500 4wd. I had issues clutches needing to be replaced every 7k miles from new. They would replace the clutches but not what was burning them up. That truck was babied too so not from overuse. I finally had it rebuilt out of warranty by a local shop and it has been fine ever since. Sucks I had to shell out 2K for something the dealer could have fixed a few months after I bought it new. The Regional Customer Service guy wouldn't even give me his email address. Said they didn't have one. Also has issues with a Nissan Quest I bought new too. Took it in for years about a noise in the front they said was normal. Finally got it check at local shop during a routine maintenance and they showed me where a control arm had failed. Once replaced, never heard the noise again.
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Robert
Eric you are correct. We have a Hyundai I remember it was under warranty and a piece of trim molding fell off of the sunroof I kept forgetting about it. My wife stopped and asked the dealer to snap it in. She told me they wanted to charge her she had the remind them it was still under warranty the service manager finally just snapped it in it took less than a minute. Years later the car has been reliable and I was in the market for a car, I had forgotten the incident and gone back to the same dealer. The sales person told me how good the service department was. I remembered my wife's experience and told the sales person as I was telling the story I talked myself out of buying a car at the dealership. They just cannot help you for free.
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Eric you are correct. We have a Hyundai I remember it was under warranty and a piece of trim molding fell off of the sunroof I kept forgetting about it. My wife stopped and asked the dealer to snap it in. She told me they wanted to charge her she had the remind them it was still under warranty the service manager finally just snapped it in it took less than a minute. Years later the car has been reliable and I was in the market for a car, I had forgotten the incident and gone back to the same dealer. The sales person told me how good the service department was. I remembered my wife's experience and told the sales person as I was telling the story I talked myself out of buying a car at the dealership. They just cannot help you for free.
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Ritch
I have purchased 500' spools of wire in the last couple of years where the wire goes bad in the jacket. Kinda irritates me when I have had to work my way thru a harness I personally made a year or two back fail due wire failures. To me, it looks like GM is having similar issues. Personally, I think a lot of automotive manufactures ( both OEM and aftermarket ) are using too light of wire. Issues like that are why so many vehicles built in the last 30 years have died electrical deaths instead of mechanical or corrosion. You bring up a great point too about good customer service ( or lack there of. Its all about maximum profitability at ANY cost these days ( regardless of the type of business. Pretty sad really.
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I have purchased 500' spools of wire in the last couple of years where the wire goes bad in the jacket. Kinda irritates me when I have had to work my way thru a harness I personally made a year or two back fail due wire failures. To me, it looks like GM is having similar issues. Personally, I think a lot of automotive manufactures ( both OEM and aftermarket ) are using too light of wire. Issues like that are why so many vehicles built in the last 30 years have died electrical deaths instead of mechanical or corrosion. You bring up a great point too about good customer service ( or lack there of. Its all about maximum profitability at ANY cost these days ( regardless of the type of business. Pretty sad really.
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Gary
When I came home from the service in 64 I purchased a 58 Pontiac. One night when I left work the thing would not shift out of low gear (automatic. I called everyone I could think of to get it fixed and I got estimates of 50 to 300 That was if I took the car to them, An old man at work said to take it to the Rambler dealer and he could fix it for me. I called and the estimate I got was 12 if I got the car to them. I drove 6 miles across town at 2 in the morning in low gear and at 9 the next morning I got a call the car was done. He over estimated the repair as the shifter on the outside of the transmission was dirty and plugged, not broken. It cost 8. hve you ever fixed a car for 8?
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When I came home from the service in 64 I purchased a 58 Pontiac. One night when I left work the thing would not shift out of low gear (automatic. I called everyone I could think of to get it fixed and I got estimates of 50 to 300 That was if I took the car to them, An old man at work said to take it to the Rambler dealer and he could fix it for me. I called and the estimate I got was 12 if I got the car to them. I drove 6 miles across town at 2 in the morning in low gear and at 9 the next morning I got a call the car was done. He over estimated the repair as the shifter on the outside of the transmission was dirty and plugged, not broken. It cost 8. hve you ever fixed a car for 8?
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