<<427_V8>>

2008 Z06 Wil Cooksey #197
19095 Miles in / 19155 Miles out

Bought the car with 14.5k miles in March 2013. No modifications have been done at all nor has it seen any track usage. Powertrain warranty expired on the 10th of this month. I didn’t want to spend more than I had to, so I figured the cheapest peace of mind would be to bring the car in for the dealer to perform the wiggle test and make sure everything was well within spec before the warranty expired.

Brought the vette to the local Dealership on May 9th. Requested them to perform the repair for TSB 08-06-01-019A to replace the engine oil tank seal due to the tapping noise. Also requested the wiggle test to be performed and an oil change while they had it.

They started with the oil change (Not sure why) around 1245 and then at about 3:30PM they told me that after the oil change, the car wouldn’t start. They thought it was the starter. I had never had a problem with starting the car before – it has been flawless. It’s driven daily. So they get me into a rental car for the weekend as it was Friday and they are closed during the weekend. While I was getting my things out of my car that I needed, the passenger side of the car looked like it was covered in some sort of oil. I ran my finger across it and it there was a layer of oil all over the side and top of the car. I was pretty pissed at this point. This also meant that I would not be able to drive my Vette down to my Dad’s funeral as I had wanted to since that was one of the last things I had a chance to talk to him about before he died suddenly at 54 years old that Sunday before.

On Monday I got a call stating that my car was fixed by replacing the starter and that they replaced the oil tank seal – but also realized that an oil change was covered under the warranty repair, so they didn’t have to do the first one anyway. They of course still billed me for the unnecessary oil change. Reluctantly, I permitted them to go ahead with the wiggle test as I needed it taken care of and I was out of town attending my dad’s funeral and didn’t have time to figure something else out. They assured me that they would only bill me the actual time rather than the 9 hours per the service book for a full valve seal replacement. I assumed any competent mechanic would be able to do the wiggle test within a few hours, as I could do it myself – just didn’t have the time before the warranty expired.

So Thursday I spoke with the dealership and they found that all the valves were within spec of the wiggle test of .008 on each valve. Most of the valves were .003-.004, but 3 valves were .006-.007 per the mechanic’s notes. He only notated one measurement per valve, so I do not know which position in the valve guide he took the measurement from. Thus, GM would not have approved the warranty replacement per that test result and was billed $864 for the wiggle test alone for a total of 9.1 hours labor. I also found that when I picked the car up that there were 60+ (Not 210+ like I previously stated) more miles on my odometer than when I left it with them. I had to get to work and did not have time to deal with it then. I don’t even know where to start with this one as it didn't provide any kind of peace of mind since 3 valves were so close to being out of spec. I don’t know if I have ever been more pissed off… I should have just gone to a trusted performance shop and had it fixed right. Screw GM- at this point, I’m done with them.

CB1953

210 plus miles on the odometer??? Something is seriously wrong here, you need to do some investigating.....

meanjoe

erikszr1

Call GM customer service. seriously. I would atleast try. it worth a shot.

Nino S

I am a service manager at a very large Toyota store and I would expect a customer screaming at me in my office if we took their Camry out on a 200 miles test drive with no written authorization from the customer; never mind the fact that it is a Corvette. Call the service manager and make a scene, if he doesn't help ask for a service director, if he isn;t in then a fixed operations director or all the way up to the general manager. Sounds like you picked a shi tty dealer to service with. sorry for your experience

jtjohn1

Easy enough

Ask to speak to the shop manager (Not the service wrighters)

Then explain to him your concerns (Especially if you have paperwork with before and after mileage)

Explain to him that, since you paid for an oil change and then they drained completely new oil back out of the car to do the repair you would like either

1. The oil change taken off the bill
2. The old oil back so that next oil change you can re use it

Also express your concerns that the job wasn't documented properly and you would like the paperwork to reflect that.

He doesn't give you the answers your looking for

Ask to speak to the owner

The owner doesn't give you the answers your looking for then go ahead and call the Chevy customer service line to see what's what.

Thing is you want to make sure you document all of this in case of problems later down the road.

Zee0hSix

210 miles! Damn! I would be pissed. Did they at least replace the gas?

More than a few years ago I dropped off my 1992 SVX (hell of a car back then) to a Sears service center and while on the road in a friends car was passed by my car doing at least 100 mph. We caught up to my car at the next light and to my horror saw five young inner city looking youths crammed into my car having a party (loud music, drinking, smoking) The next time I caught up to my car they were unloading at Sears.

I talked to the service manager, his response "they need to take the car for a test drive"

spicytuna

Hindsight is 20/20 but that's what you should've done.

I took my car to a forum vendor and told them to go ahead with new guides, valves, etc. regardless of the wear. It cost me around $2000 but it'll give me peace of mind... and it's a lot cheaper than the set of Michelin Super Sports I bought last year.

duramaxsky

Dealers just suck. I cringe every time I need to go near one.

z51vett

Either the mech or a manger took your car out for the weekend. Oh and where are you located and did you ask on this forum for a dealer in your area to trust to do the wiggle test. I don't trust most shops they do creative work to make more money there are enough legit repair work without ripping people off. Who was you dealer so that folks in your area can avoid this bunch of clowns.
z51vett

SUPERCRUZ

If it were me and I had just spent that kind of money at the dealer only find out someone sprayed oil all over the side of the vehicle and ran up 200+ miles on the car while in for service; my next step would be to call the GM of the dealership and demand an explanation. Good luck and sorry to hear of your troubles.

Maligator

what a horror story.............thats why when i bring mine in, im going to sniff around a few days before and find out which mechanic is versed with the LS7, slip him some dead presidents and tell him that my car means alot to me and ask him to take care of it professionally. After reading many posts, ive seen on more than one occasion, there are specific corvette mechanics at larger dealerships that we can request. Thats the angle im going for next year................

<<427_V8>>

Correction:

Sorry guys - I had forgotten that I had taken the car in on the 9th initially and they sent me back home to wait for the part to get in the next day for the oil tank. So I had driven about 140 miles that day for work and such. They wrote the mileage down from the first day and didn't update it when I brought it in the next day. So really they put about 60-70 miles on it, which is still more than there should be since they weren't diagnosing anything.

Everything else is still true - Wiggle test was useless in this scenario and the hours it took to do the test are very excessive. I knew that they would charge me if the test came back negative - but I didn't think they'd really take all 9 hours and then also find that 3 of the valves could be out of spec soon. Defeats the whole purpose -

jedblanks

For 864 a competent shop could have pulled the heads and checked them.

For $970, I pulled my heads and had them rebuilt with bronze guides and solid stemmed stainless valves. Includes gaskets and everything.

What a Shame.

meanjoe

Hey
Didn't you have some help on that deal???

RFE-57

Better recheck those wiggle values, the limit is 0.0035 and it seems like all yours are out. And if you are within the warranty they have to fix it.

Vette @ 71

Exactly!

erikszr1

document it, video it, ect.....make it happen

jedblanks

Yes. I'll rephrase to "we" pulled them had them fixed.

GMuffley

Absolutely!