GM Dealerships

[willyt]

Ok... so i've had absolutely horrid experiences with the dealership I go to for my tahoe. First, buying the truck was a complete disaster (should have walked away then), then come to find out my truck doesn’t have the HD towing package (even though they said it did). Now, I get my paperwork back from the oil change I just had (only reason I take it there is they said they offered a lifetime powertrain warranty as long as I took it there for oil changes) and I find that they ‘inspected the spark plugs and found them in poor condition.’ Well, I had them replaced at THEIR FREAKING DEALERSHIP 2 months ago. So I called the service manager and said ‘oh you know that’s just the system looking at your miles and recommending what you need’. Well… don’t freaking say you inspected something, having not really inspected it.

I’m being a complete moron about this lifetime warranty thing? If it turns out to be true, could save me a few grand if my transmission ever decides to blow, but I should probably have a lawyer look at the paperwork and see if I have anything legally enforceable, right?

[JohnE]

That's just them trying to sell you something you don't need. I don't believe for a second that it was an honest mistake. And I imagine if and when you ever need warranty work it will cost you a fair bit out of pocket.

[mikeg205]

I bought an extended warrranty on my '01 benz when I bought it on '05. Every I took it in they found stuff wrong...new suspenstion, Mass Air Flow Sensor, etc.etc... thought I bought a lemon... I spent $400... warranty spent thousands...oddly extended warranty expired 100K miles ago...and nothing has failed like when under warranty...

I would find out what and how to make claims...and how things get magically excluded. IMO

[ncsone]

It seems like everytime I take a vehicle in for warranty work, they always 'find' something else wrong to fix under warranty - spark plugs one time, etc.

Since the manufacturer pays the dealer for warranty repairs (less $, but still paid), I am guessing the dealers are doing it to increase service department revenue.

[jkski]

Willy,
Doubt it is much help but I will toss it out there anyway. I had an issue with a GM dealer a year or so ago and made contact with the GM Customer Service people who I found to be extremely helpful. Subsequently I have a GM dealership that I utilize now for service and the people there are great to work with, honest and will not fix something that does not need fixing. If you ever want to talk to a GM dealer service manager, let me know and I will gladly put you in contact with the person I deal with locally...not sure he can help you in Cbus but he may be able to guide you a bit.

[Ski-me]

For the most part, I deal with this type of "suggestions" and go to the dealer anyways. Unless it needs their attention, I generally try and do the work on my own. Oil changes are $18 per truck so a good deal.

I bring in the 04' Yukon XL and the 89' K5 Blazer.

Last time I went in there for an oil change, the guy came up to me and said they checked my air cleaner and it needs to be replaced. I LITERALLY just changed it 2 days prior, so less than 100 miles on it. I stared at him and said, "really?! It was just changed two days ago and....are you sure you looked at it?" He was a little star-struck for a moment and then said there was dust on it......LAME!

This just goes to show you......you need to know your vehicle so you don't spend extra money unnecessarily.

For the 04' and most likely to the OP, spark plugs are set to change at 100,000 miles. I just hit that milestone so I will be replacing (already bought them from Advance Auto with 20% off).

For the Blazer, I re-did the entire front end, ball joints, brakes, calipers, steering linkage, etc and then brought it to the dealer for an alignment. Figured they should know the truck. After alignment, it was squirly. I came back a few days later and complained....mechanic's answer, it's a lifted truck, it's just going to be that way. I said it's worse than before and he shrugged his shoulders.

After getting home, I found out the adjustment arm connecting the steering box to the steering linkage was not tightened (from the alignment) and had a lot of flex/play on every bump. Went back and complained and also pointed out the dangerous driving condition the mechanic left my truck in. Service manager was VERY apologetic and refunded my money...

Since then, I've been OK.

[trickskier]

The Chevrolet dealer that I deal with here is extremely honest. I took my old Tahoe to them several years ago to have the brakes checked. It had 85K miles on it (Brakes had never been touched) and I pulled my boat with it every weekend. If they had told me that I needed a 4 wheel brake job I woudln't have argued. Instead my service advisor called me back and said that I had 40% left on my pads. I trust them so much that my 87' 300 ZX is being serviced there instead of the Nissan dealer across the street.

[Rossterman]

Originally Posted by willyt

Ok... so i've had absolutely horrid experiences with the dealership I go to for my tahoe. First, buying the truck was a complete disaster (should have walked away then), then come to find out my truck doesn’t have the HD towing package (even though they said it did). Now, I get my paperwork back from the oil change I just had (only reason I take it there is they said they offered a lifetime powertrain warranty as long as I took it there for oil changes) and I find that they ‘inspected the spark plugs and found them in poor condition.’ Well, I had them replaced at THEIR FREAKING DEALERSHIP 2 months ago. So I called the service manager and said ‘oh you know that’s just the system looking at your miles and recommending what you need’. Well… don’t freaking say you inspected something, having not really inspected it.

I’m being a complete moron about this lifetime warranty thing? If it turns out to be true, could save me a few grand if my transmission ever decides to blow, but I should probably have a lawyer look at the paperwork and see if I have anything legally enforceable, right?

My recommendation would be to steer clear of that dealership going forward. Some service departments are run unethically and are doing things like this more commonly. I've never heard that you have to take your truck to their shop to maintain the warranty (if fact, most states have laws specifically indicating that you cannont deny warranty if the basic maintenance was performed by a qualified individual). My guess is that they weren't even smart enough to check to see if the plugs looked original and were just trying to sell more work and got caught in a lie. In the end, your likely to find that they will often find things wrong whenever you go in for service there in an attempt to generate revenue. I cringe at the dealerships working on my cars since the quality and experience of the service technicans has gotten so poor at the flat rate compensation models are used everywhere. Techs sit around hoping to get work and only get paid when doing so- Also only get the flat rate amount so typically rush and sometimes cut corners to make up some time and do the next job.

I remember the time I took my truck to an oil change outfit and saw (off to the side of the shop) they were telling someone that their drain plug was loose and they needed a $15 replacement. Funny thing was when I came back they said the same thing to me- even showed a template where they screwed my plug into to show how loose it was. Since I have changed the oil from day 1, I knew it was a scam. Told them to go ahead but wanted to see the new one which he went over and got. I grabbed the template and screwed the new one into the hole and it was as loose as mine was. Then I told him that I had changed oil in my truck and the plug is fine and they were crooks. Needless to say, I watched them finish the work on my car closely to ensure they didnt screw anything up and never went back again.

[onewheat]

Originally Posted by Rossterman

Some service departments are run unethically and are doing things like this more commonly. I've never heard that you have to take your truck to their shop to maintain the warranty (if fact, most states have laws specifically indicating that you cannont deny warranty if the basic maintenance was performed by a qualified individual).

He stated they would give a "Lifetime" Powertrain Warranty if he had his oil changes performed there. I would want to check the details on that. Many dealers will offer that if ALL Scheduled Maintenance is performed there. Their thinking is that they will make enough money on your services to cover what they may have to spend in warranty work. What will then exclude you from that warranty is the deciding factor. If you need an oil change every 5k, for example, and you come in at 5700 miles when you have been doing this for 10 years, did you just cancel your warranty? If they screw you on unneeded maintenance, as well as charging you for all services, they are then offsetting their warranty costs as well. If they deem things to be warranty under their plan, they will pay the technician "Warranty Rate" on time, not "Customer Pay Rate", which costs them less and parts are then at their cost, not retail as well. Chances are their actual costs for extending your Powertrain Warranty will be minimal - offset by what they make on all your services. It isn't a bad deal, if you typically go to a dealer for ALL your service work AND you have all work done on time AND you have a decent dealer AND you keep your vehicle past your vehicle's standard Powertrain Warranty period. On many vehicles any more, this is 100,000miles. Know your stuff and READ the fine print.

[aquaman]

WillyT.....It sounds like you are trying to convince yourself the dealer is a crook......trust your instincts this time.

Find another dealer. my .02