[ScatPack]

Short story. I brought my 1LE from my local chevy dealer for a few reasons. One price, and two their friendly service department and their amenities. Those amenities being they hand wash all their sports cars for free for life. You just come on down and they take it back and basically prep it for delivery again. Sick right? Yeah no.

So with only like 150 miles on the clock, I took my brand new blue 1LE back to the dealer a few weekends after purchase for its first free premium hand wash. I was stoked because the car was getting grimey and was very dusty. I was excited because when I got it brand new, they had it prepped to perfection. Not a water drop on it, and it was just amazing looking.

Well about 45 minutes later it was done. Same thing. Mirror finish and not a drop of water left. Absolutely stunning. So I drove it home all happy. Got home and went to back it into the garage. Once it was in and safe, I went around to the passenger side and about passed out. There was a ****ing scratch that ran the length of the car. From rear quarter panel to front quarter panel. Looked like the car was keyed, but not with a key. It looked like however they washed it, there was a small rock or something in the mit or machine that was touching the car. And it ran the length of the car. I couldnt believe it.

Called the dealer a few seconds later. Got the instant "You should have looked at it when it was here" line. And that since it was home, that could have happened anywhere. They denied liability and I was heart broken.

Luckily I had done body work privately in the past, and knew how to wet sand and buff pretty well. Plus I still had most of my supplies. So I decided to just chalk it up to bad luck. It took me two days and about 12 hours of actual careful wet sanding and buffing, but I was able to get this scratch out from the entire car. Looked 100% again. But ironically enough, the car needed to be washed again from the wet sanding process...

FF to a few weeks later. I was reluctant to take my car back there, but I was not going to let them wash it again. I needed to have them do an alignment on the car because it was out from day one. So back it went. But they had specific directions to NOT wash the car.

Guess what. They somehow missed the notes about not washing it. And GUESS WHAT... They scratched it AGAIN, in ALMOST THE SAME EXACT FASHION. Now I was smart this time. Before they took it back, I had myself and the service manager walk the car, and he took notes that the paint was PERFECT. The minute the car came out looking spotless, I knew it had been washed and immediately starting checkin it over. Well I was able to show the manager the after and HE SAW what it looked like just an hour before it went into their care. FINALLY acknowledged they probably scratched it the last time, and did for sure this time. He put a stop on all cars getting washed in service for the time being so they could examine the process and see where this mystery scratch is coming from.

They offered to buff out my whole car and repair it professionally for me. Came out alright. I had to follow up wet sand a few of the spots that they didnt get deep enough on. Its too bad. That car was perfect. Now the passenger side was wet sanded on so much, in the right light you could see the orange peel was almost not there on like a path all the way down the side of the car. The normal person not looking for it probably would never notice, but I did.

Traded the car in a few months later over the grief....

Lesson learned. No dealers. Suck it up and do it yourself on your dime if you want that car to stay perfect.

[mdhopt36]

I ran a business for 10 years, and one thing stands out dealing with clientele-

They're always right.
Regardless what you think of the 5%, or 95%

You want repeat business, do a good job, treat everyone with respect, and don't screw up something that could mean a lot to them.
Make a botched deal right.
******

Not so much for bodywork (not necessary so far!) but I have trepidation with warranty work. Almost to every dealer around here, they "Can't replicate the problem." Shift the payment responsibility to me, the customer.
Kcuff that, if I didn't have an issue, i wouldn't have brought it in- simple as that.

[mdhopt36]

I should add something else.

I found a good mechanic who is as enthusiastic about my car as I am. I haven't used any of the free service crap the dealer offers.
I'll gladly pay for a bargain oil change for engine and rear end, supply the fluids myself, get a chance to walk under the car without being stooped over, or on a creeper, and be charged a paultry $25 for an hour or more. discuss issues, learn some stuff, etc.
I figure I get far better satisfaction things are done right, short of buying my own lift. And he has lots of specialized tooling, and diagnostics.
If I need it, the detailer is right around the corner, same building.

[Gunkk]

Originally Posted by ScatPack

Suck it up and do it yourself on your dime if you want that car to stay perfect.

[Glen e]

It can also happen with no incompetence and no malice involved. That’s why I will never go back to a dealership unless I have warranty work that’s major. From 1989 through 1993 I was a general manager of a Porsche Audi dealership in Pennsylvania. At least every other month, I had one of my techs mess up a car in someway. These were Porsche master techs that had been at it for 25 or 30 years and were great employees. But one day of just being inattentive for whatever reason, maybe hung over, they would scratch a door sill or something.

The best you could hope for the situation is to do exactly what you’re doing and go back to the general manager and see if you can find some middle ground. Any good general manager would go ahead and comp this on his adjustment policy even if he knew he didn’t do it. I routinely did this for customers that were a pain in the ass but no one could prove one way or another. I actually had a couple customers try this every time they came in and finally asked them to take their business elsewhere. They were more trouble to my employees and they were worth.

But the ideas of standing across the dealership with a sign or getting a lawyer don’t really play out in the real world ....getting a lawyer will cost you more than the entire fix would cost, and you don’t really chg any public opinion by holding up a sign and standing across from the dealership. The BBB Is owned by business, therefore that won’t do a damn bit of good.Social media? It’s debatable whether you hurt them or not but I guess it would be a good thing to do.

See if you can persuade them to pick up any part of this fix, then find another dealership… Quickly… This time interview the service manager before you just blindly give your car to them. And learn your lesson and completely walk the car inside and out BEFORE and AFTER the fix...........

[staples87]

I'm not about the free oil changes and free car washes. I'd rather pay a reputable performance shop to do my major maintenance, or do it myself.

Most of the washers are being paid minimum wage. Some people actually take pride in washing customer vehicles, while most don't and couldn't careless. If you want it washed right, get it professionally done or do it yourself.

[2SSRS@Gen5diy]

And this is why Most all dealers will never work on any of my cars, if thats not bad for you go to the dealer and get a PF64 to do an oil change (2 weeks ago) and they dont rotate there stock for years, they gave me 2-PF64 one was the right one for all ZL1's the other was old stock and not the wright filter, why they dont care to do there work?.

[Chutzpah]

I needed an inspection sticker on my new Z, so I stopped by the local Chevy dealer this past Saturday (the car needs to be lifted for inspection, so I crossed my fingers and prayed they knew what they were doing). What's interesting is a lot of the guys came out to take pics of the car, talk to me about it etc. (it's pretty rare to see a Vert Z up here) Anyway, I see my car come back to the receiving area maybe 25 minutes later, with it's first sticker. The tech brings the paperwork in and within a matter of 7 minutes, while watching the car and waiting for the cashier, it was sat in started and stopped 3 times by 3 different people (all revving the engine, not to excess, but really?). When I go out to do my final inspection, the head Salesperson comes over to talk to me about the car tell me how awesome it is etc. We chat a bit and I'm on my way feeling good about my experience ( minus the engine revving), until it hits me, my car has 2 more miles on it. Mind you, this car isn't even broken in yet @ 102 miles and comes back at 104 miles. I've had a lot of inspections in my life, but never, ever where a test drive was needed to "warm up" the car. I was pretty heated and wanted to turn back and give them shit, but what would that have accomplished? Clearly, there's a level of un-professionalism among someone on their team and it's disappointing. This is my car that I waited months for on special order, what if they got into an accident? Did they open her up or not? WTF. My next visit will be to the same dealer (as they are one of the larger more established ones). I'll make sure they know, that I know they drove my car and shouldn't have.

Like Glen E said, things do happen. My brother currently works for a Porsche Audi dealer. While the techs are paid well and there's an extra layer of care, occasional damage is unavoidable, we're all human. All that matters to me in a situation like this is it's dealt with properly. That's all someone can ask.

[Michael2000]

Originally Posted by Chutzpah

I needed an inspection sticker on my new Z, so I stopped by the local Chevy dealer this past Saturday (the car needs to be lifted for inspection, so I crossed my fingers and prayed they knew what they were doing). What's interesting is a lot of the guys came out to take pics of the car, talk to me about it etc. (it's pretty rare to see a Vert Z up here) Anyway, I see my car come back to the receiving area maybe 25 minutes later, with it's first sticker. The tech brings the paperwork in and within a matter of 7 minutes, while watching the car and waiting for the cashier, it was sat in started and stopped 3 times by 3 different people (all revving the engine, not to excess, but really?). When I go out to do my final inspection, the head Salesperson comes over to talk to me about the car tell me how awesome it is etc. We chat a bit and I'm on my way feeling good about my experience ( minus the engine revving), until it hits me, my car has 2 more miles on it. Mind you, this car isn't even broken in yet @ 102 miles and comes back at 104 miles. I've had a lot of inspections in my life, but never, ever where a test drive was needed to "warm up" the car. I was pretty heated and wanted to turn back and give them shit, but what would that have accomplished? Clearly, there's a level of un-professionalism among someone on their team and it's disappointing. This is my car that I waited months for on special order, what if they got into an accident? Did they open her up or not? WTF. My next visit will be to the same dealer (as they are one of the larger more established ones). I'll make sure they know, that I know they drove my car and shouldn't have.

Like Glen E said, things do happen. My brother currently works for a Porsche Audi dealer. While the techs are paid well and there's an extra layer of care, occasional damage is unavoidable, we're all human. All that matters to me in a situation like this is it's dealt with properly. That's all someone can ask.

Someone making a mistake is one thing, but taking customer cars for joy rides and revving the engine is totally unprofessional, and the hallmark of a dealership operated by children.

One person getting some body work done on his car bought this. it will send video to your phone when the car is moved, or when you request it. He was able to keep an eye on what work was being done.

https://owlcam.com/

I would put a sign in the car saying that the car is not to leave the dealership property, and if the car leaves the property, the car will be considered stolen, the police notified, and charges filed.

[Chutzpah]

Originally Posted by Michael2000

Someone making a mistake is one thing, but taking customer cars for joy rides and revving the engine is totally unprofessional, and the hallmark of a dealership operated by children.

One person getting some body work done on his car bought this. it will send video to your phone when the car is moved, or when you request it. He was able to keep an eye on what work was being done.

https://owlcam.com/

I would put a sign in the car saying that the car is not to leave the dealership property, and if the car leaves the property, the car will be considered stolen, the police notified, and charges filed.

I hear ya, there’s zero excuse for their actions. It’s typically a pretty well oiled machine at this dealer.

The only thing I can think of as a catalyst for this behavior: it’s been raining and cold for a good part of the last few months (as in record setting), really, really depressing. I happened to stop in on one of those very few sunny warm days, on a slow weekend, with the top down, in something people don’t see every day. I just think the stars aligned and stupidity prevailed.

Thanks for the link, I was looking into options like this last night...

[JCunningham]

my new black camaro required 30hr of paint correction. You dont want them to wash it. most likely it will be a 16 year old kid with 1 bucket he used all day and a rag.

[396ssrat]

You have to consider GM's attitude toward their customer. I'll use the cracking dash in my Silverado as an example. At 47k miles the dash started cracking all to hell. That was in 2018 and GM told me too bad, it's out of warranty. I take damn good care of my truck but will not buy another one from GM. Point being, the dash in my 66 Chevelle is in better condition than my truck and it is 45 years older than my truck so wtf GM? If that's your attitude you won't get return customers. You put the same pos plastic dash in these trucks from 2007 to 2013 all the while knowing it was cracking.
If this is GM's attitude toward their customers why would someone think their Dealers will do any better? That's not to say all Dealers are like GM but if you want repeat customers take care of your customers.
Anyone who spends $40k plus on a car deserves to get 100% customer satisfaction period. I don't care if it's a Sonic or a Mercedes.

[Val Walkinshaw]

Originally Posted by Michael2000

No, he doesn't want cr@p work done on his car. There is nothing wrong with that. There use to be a time when people took pride in their work. A few still do, but most don't. The term "skilled trades" is pretty much an anachronism these days.

Here's a fresh example of your skilled Chevy dealership labor.

Went In For Dash Rattle and Dealer Damaged Interior

That's professional work there.

Here's another one, this time with a $70K ZL1.

2019 ZL1 vert already damaged by dealer

People want their cars fixed, not destroyed by low class morons who have no clue what they are doing.

Thank You!

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[Val Walkinshaw]

Originally Posted by sengli

I will admit, when I have had to use any dealership to help me deal with a warranty covered issue, I feel as if I am opening myself up to untold issues. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet. Even though my local dealer does wash by hand...I just tell them no thanks. Short of something major, my cars dont go back. I think a lot of the people at these dealerships arent car guys anymore. Working at the dealership is just a job.

Well said and agreed

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