Chevy Dealer Parts Connection Wanted (ot).... (rant)

Jeff,

In all seriousness I think you should write a letter to the zone manager and whoever he reports to, and copy whoever owns the dealership.

Customers should not have to tolerate that kind of attitude and "service", and most will not, they may not complain, but they will also take their business elsewhere. The only way the problem is going to get fixed is if people raise a stink.

You might also try another dealer.

Jeff DeWitt

Jeff wrote:

Another reason to despise GM...

JT

Jeff wrote:

Having worked in dealerships for close the 30 years now I hear the complaint about diagnostic fees all the time. It's are a legitimate charge. Why should a tech provide a 1/2 hour of his time for free? When you have to do your best to get the diagnosis right the first time and avoid a comeback a haphazard look under the dash is not a very professional way to attack the problem.

You can order a Chevy part through any GM dealer. My advice, if you are sure of the problem, to ask the parts store you use the most for a recommendation and maybe a name to ask for. If you're not sure what caused your part to melt I would suggest you let the dealer fix.

BTW, diagnostic charges are pretty much a universal policy in any dealership, GM or otherwise.

Cost me $140.00 to have some nit wit tell me that I had an oil leak and a coolant leak and that it would take nearly $6,000.00 to fix the 2 problems. $12.00 seal, $58.00 tool, $9.00 seal and 2 hrs. labor and I fixed the problems. Of course, the service manager told me that since I had extremely high mileage on my 7.3 power stroke (265,000), I should take it right over to the new truck lot and trade it in on a NEW 2007 ($52k out the door). I told him sure, when the price was down around $20k, and Ford replaced the crummy Ford engines with a good 7.3, or catapiller engine!

I complained to the owner. Didn't even get a call back, much less a refund on the $140.00 anal fee. This from a dealership I have been dealing with for 20 years!

This seems to be the best of modern service most dealerships have to offer, and it ain't just Chebby! I don't think most of this modern generation see this as a problem. It's just simply the way it is, because they don't know any better.

Of course, this all goes to buying a 57 Chevy for $125k, or a 63 Studebaker for $52k, or a model of the USS Enterprise (Star Trek) for $500,000.00. More money then common sense.

Bo (Just my opin)

Jeff, I noticed on my trip to South Bend that the fan control in my '96 Suburban is getting flaky. It turns readily clockwise, to increase fan speed, but seems to "catch" going counter-clockwise. I think it's on the way out. Same problem as you are having?

Brian Curtis, who now writes the Custom/Modified corner in TW, works in the service department of the Chevy dealer in Bellingham, WA.

If my Suburban's switch bites the big one, I'll be checking auto wreckers. Sometimes being on the blunt end of technology is a GOOD thing.

Gord Richmond

Switch is fine, it's the speed controller unit bolted up under the blower air box. It was such a great design they changed it's design a year later. I don't think the controller was the cause, but more the plug and connector(s). They appear to have gotten so hot they melted the connector body. Oh well.... Jeff

But that wasn't A model of the Enterprise, that was THE model of the Enterprise! Made the $240,000 Bird of Prey seem like a bargain!

Jeff DeWitt

64dayt> Cost me $140.00 to have some nit wit tell me that I had an oil leak and a

You must be thankful that you were not out of town with a non-running vehicle and at their mercy (they have none). Granted, their automotive tech's are mostly great guys, however the dealer service program sucks and IMHO should be illegal. ie: book rate to do the job 2 hrs @ $90 per hr; they more often than not do the job in 1/2 the time but they still charge the book rate thereby scamming the customer. Some dealers even charge a "hazardous waste discharge fee" for disposing of used parts even if they are recycleable metal that they sell. I once had a vehicle failure while out of town, family along, 11pm at night on I-81 with a chrysler corp product (in tank fuel pump failure). let me see: wrecker fee, hotel room, dealer repair cost somewhere between 500-550 US dollars. Yep had to pay a diagnostic fee and book rate repair. They did the whole job in a little over 30 minutes including a test drive. Go Figure. Next time it failed I was local, hauled the van home myself, bought a repl pump at autozone for $125 and did the job myself. Made me wish I had a lift and two extra helpers to hold the tank while I slipped the new one in and be done with it. One thought, could you possible glean your needed parts from a local salvage yard??? Best of Luck on your repair pwb

There is some logic to the Flat Rate System. The pro's that can diagnose and repair correctly get paid for their talent because they can do more work in the same amount of time as those who are not so adept. Imagine if all jobs were based on time and material only. An technician could milk a job that should take an hour into one that takes three, charging the customer too much. A good technician wants to be careful with the diagnostic because he will not get paid to do the job a second time. He doesn't get paid while the car is on the lift waiting for parts and may not, depending on the physical size of the shop, be able to start another job in the interim.

GM gives a customer a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty on parts and labor on a job done at a GM dealer. If they do it wrong your protected.

Please don't misunderstand my position on this topic. I don't condone anything unethical in any aspect of the auto business. In fact, if I were not so fussy about the ethics of the people I work for I would probably have a lot more money in the bank. But I have a deep understanding of the business and can see both points of view quite clearly. That being said I would not just take the dealer's side because that's how I make my living. In fact, I had a service writer fired because he lied to me about a necessary repair that he claimed I needed on my wife's car and I wasn't his direct superior either I work in sales not service.

ErnieR

So the way I read your response, you agree that if the book says 2 hours to do a job and it takes a technician 30 minutes that the customer should be charged for 2 hours and not the 30 minutes the technician worked on the vehicle? According to this math, a technician doing this repair repeatedly could actually bill customers 32 hours during an 8 hour shift.

Curious, if the book says 2 hours, and the repair takes 4 hours... does the dealership eat the extra 2 hours or does the customer get a call saying they "found another problem"?

Lee

"Found another problem"!!!!

Bo

Yes to the first part, it could happen to the second.

I spent about 1/2 hour structuring a cogent response only to lose it in cyberspace. I don't have the energy or desire to type it again.

ErnieR

Dont worry about it E. The same folks think the part on a swap table that someone drove to a salvage yard and removed,cleaned up,hauled to a swap meet and paid for a space so the part was available without them getting their hands dirty is overpriced at $5

Bob40

Thanks, I hope you you use that logic and don't complain when you're overbilled for any service you pay for.

Lee

local FOrd dealer called, needed a lock keyed up and assembled for an 07 excursion.. the existing lock turned fine, BUT the computer was being fussy..

stuck new lock in, started the vehicle, and the diagnostic computer that was plugged in said 'please turn key on'... the stupid vehicle was RUNNING.. the diagnostic computer didnt see it..

short story.. they stretch shop had screwed with the under dash wiring harness, so it had to be replaced.. $1400, plus 4 hours labor

there can be some serious errors with the diagnostic computers...

--Shiva--

I don't complain about much of anything...I do a little research, talk to a few people as long as I'm happy with what was done I pay my bill and don't worry about whether I could have saved $100. I don't expect a free lunch so I'm not disappointed when it doesn't come.

And I'm sure with your kind thoughts I will happily continue on that way.

ErnieR

Try this link for gm parts.

Hey, Jeff, for service campaign information, an AllData (or alldatadiy) account can be a godsend.

P.D.

Jeff wrote:

That's the way it's supposed to work. If it takes the mechanic longer than the time alloted, they have already quoted the cost of the job. They would have to lie about finding something else. Most experienced mechanics can beat the flat rate but not usually be the margin talked about here.