82katana

Hi folks. I know you all are in love with Rich and Abel Chevrolet and by posting this message I am going to get flamed like crazy, but I do need some advice and I feel the title is accurate.

I took my C3 into Abel to have new speedometer cables installed. After the installation, the speedometer was still not behaving properly, so I paid to have them pull the speedometer and send it out to be repaired. After re-installation, it worked for about a week and then quit. I called and was told that in order to get the speedometer repaired (again), I would have to pay to have it removed and re-installed.

I tried to reason with them to no avail. I felt that the repair should be handled by the shop as I had already paid for the repair that didn't take. I liken this to any repair where the part is sent out - say a transmission - if it came back and did not work, would you expect to pay to have the tranny pulled out again?

I finally drove the car at night and found that the dash light behind the speedometer is not working and the high beam indicator light is reversed - shows on high beam when on low and vice versa.

Since it appears that Abel is not going to make things right, and I don't intend to ever spend another penny there (and they have told me that they are no longer going to work on C3s) I need a recommendation for a shop that will take the speedometer out, repair it, and re-install it. I would also like this shop to be willing to stand behind the work that they do and the work that they send out.

Flame retardant suit on.

ROADRACER_

They should cover this and make it correct for you by warrantying their work. They done have a warranty on the parts & workmanship correct? You shouldn't have to pay for it again if it wasn't fixed the first time. You paid to have it fixed right the first time and if it's not fixed then they should make an attempt to fix it correctly. You can always call the BAR (Bureau of Automotive Repairs) and get advice from them as they will advise you how to go about this situation you're in.

deltadude

If they don't back you up with the proper repair, you might be better off taking it to a speedometer/tachometer repair shop. There is a great shop in West Sacramento, I don't remember the name right now but years ago they repaired a tachometer out of an 1960's boat I had that was actually rusting away and they still got it to work.
They used to do all the old Sangamo tach repairs in the tractors when they were being used.

chetly

There is also speed-o-meter electric in Hayward, they rebuilt my dad's guage cluster in his 70 firebird trans am. Did a good job, works great.

DUMAN

in for the whole story

MotoJB

Well, I just had a somewhat similar experience...where Abel recommended an aftermarket Griffin radiator offered by Steve at RSD. They found it defective after they installed it.

They had to pull it back out and reinstall my stock radiator, while we waited weeks for a replacement to be made.

Rich and Abel worked on my behalf with RSD to ensure I wouldn't have to pay for labor twice. They took care of me. Had Steve from RSD refused, who knows what Abel would have told me.

To Abel's credit, they can't be fully liable for the quality of the aftermarket product (or in your case the repair job on the spedo they installed), the original manufacturer/repair shop really should be. IMO, the shop that repaired your spedo should be held liable. I'm sure they're pushing back due to the cost (vs what they made to do the repair). Unfortunately things like this become a serious grey area, where finger pointing and liability to cover cost of labor becomes tricky.


IMO the true test is not if there are mistakes...but how the inevitable mistakes are handled. Fortunately Abel was able to take care of me. Good luck getting it settled/fixed.

ROADRACER_

What makes it that Abel isn't liable? Abel is fully liable on this repair. In the automotive industry this is a sublet repair. When Abel sublets the job out to a third party Abel is full responsible for where the repairs go on that job as Abel directs who the job goes to. Abel should R&R the unit and send it back to have it warranty where it was repaired as third party repairing would be getting a charge back to absorbing the labor the labor cost.

MotoJB

Yeah, I guess that makes sense...and certainly seems like that would be the right thing to do.

82katana

Thanks for the feedback and support folks. I thought that Abel should have stood behind their repair too, but I just didn't have the energy to fight with them over it. I have made complaints to the California B.A.R. and the BBB. Not sure what that will do. Also, my wife works for a law firm and she is being told that I should pay to have the work corrected at another shop (hence the need for recommendations) then take Abel to court to recover the cost. I have heard, and read, many stories of Abel doing great work for people and sometimes going above and beyond to make things right. Unfortunately, my experience, and some others I have been in contact with since, has not been very positive.

MotoJB

I'm all for using the forum to call out vendors when need be...and let it be clear that I'm in support of you being properly taken care of, but;

You didn't "have the energy to fight with them over it"...but you took the time to complain to the BAR, the BBB and contemplate the cost/effort for a lawsuit (and trash their reputation on the forum)?

Did you exhaust all possibilities with Rich before going to such extremes?

If not, it would just seem a bit backwards here...

LS WON

RichieRichZ06

Thanks for knowing there must be more to the story than what was posted.

Everyone reading should know a little more about what happened. The repairs the OP is referring to were just under one year ago. The repair order for the speedo issue was generated June 2014 and closed in July 2014. The first phone call I received regarding anything not working was 3 weeks ago.

Originally (June 2014) the OP brought his own speedo cables to us and asked us to install them. After the install, the issue was still not resolved so it was suggested to try sending the speedo head out for repairs. The speedo was sent out to a third party rebuilder and was sent back to us a couple weeks later. It was installed and the speedo worked on July 18, 2014 when it was picked up.

I have to admit that while the car was here, it received a paint ding on the front bumper, which was brought to my attention right after he picked the car up. I immediately told the OP that we would take care of that if he believes it happened here. The car was sent to our body shop in August and they repaired the paint chip. The repairs were complete and the car was picked up Sept 2014. As as far as I knew, all was well.

The OP called me about 3 weeks ago and asked me "what we were going to do about his speedo not working?" He said that immediately after taking the car home, it quit working.. I questioned the fact that it's been almost a year and he stated that he called after picking the car up from us after the paint repairs (Sept 26, 2014) and Tony told him there was nothing we could do.

The odd part about that is Tony did not work here in Sept. His last day with us was Aug 29, 2014 so there was no way that conversation happened. The phone call I received recently was the first time I had heard about the issue, but the speedo had stopped working 10 months ago??? Doesn't make sense.

I told the OP the repairs had been almost a year ago and I reminded him that when he picked the car up last Sept, we told him that we would be not working on his car again. The OP was not happy and began to cuss at me over the phone, stating "this was f*cking bulls**t and he would give me one chance before "taking the next step."

I told him that if I had been notified of the "issues" with the speedo months ago then there might be something we could do, but due to the time frame and the repairs being third party, we could not cover the labor to remove the speedo again. We do not know if the issue is the same or something not related to the repair. I explained that aftermarket parts and rebuilt items are not something that we cover the labor on after that kind of time frame.

Most reasonable people understand that when parts are not available for a vehicle and you have to either install aftermarket, rebuilt or send parts out to be refurbished, we are not required to warranty that product. If the time frame is reasonable then I will work with the third party vendor and help the customer seek resolution, but I have no leg to stand on with them when we're approaching a year.

Additionally, I see a person posting in this thread that in their 10 years on this forum, only has responded to TWO threads in the Nor Cal section, but already has a few posts to back up his buddy in this thread. If I'm wrong and "ROADRACER" just happened to stumble in here, find this thread and take interest in it then I apologize, but I think the OP enlisted the help of a friend to bring the thread to the top and reinforce his misrepresented side of the story.

Everyone out there knows that I am a very fair and reasonable person so if there was something I could do then I would. If it was brought to my attention months ago and I was not yelled at and threatened over the phone then the outcome might be different.

MotoJB

^ THIS.

In light of these details, I can't see how Abel is liable. The OP made it seem as if it was very recently when the spedo was repaired by Abel and it stopped working.

If it stopped working 10-12 months ago and you're just contacting Rich on it now, I don't see how you can hold him responsible.

Case closed IMO.

Jcbarr25

Rich,

Thanks for elaborating on the story. Had to admit that I open the thread because it was surprised to see the title blaming Abel. I has heard nothing but great customer service and maintenance services from corvettes and camaro over in the local area. From my experience, it was great too.

OP, while the forum is a open place, I really don't think bashing vendors and supporting members is the way to solve any problems.

RichieRichZ06

I appreciate the support.

Look, I will never say that we are perfect, but we certainly try to be as close. We have issues now and then, but they are typically solved without anything ever hitting the forum. That is typically because most people are reasonable in what they expect and how they expect it to be handled.

I did not make the decision to not cover the labor on my own. The Abel's were notified and agreed that due to the time frame and the OP's way of threatening us over the phone, this was not something we were going to do.

DUMAN

and the whole story

383vett

I am very particular with my Corvettes. No one has worked on my C6Z except for Rich at Abel and no one else ever will. His reputation and his work is impeccable. I have kinown Rich for years and he has always been fair and honest in dealing with myself and hundreds of other Corvette owners in the Bay Area. As a business owner, we try to make all our customers happy. In dealing with the public, unfortunately there are individuals that are unreasonable and refuse to listen to logic and unwilling to compromise. Someone who cries to the BBB or BAR because their 45 year old speedometer isn't working a year after a repair definitely needs to reevaluate the situation. One thing I would suggest is purchasing a service manual and learning how to fix simple issues by yourself. In my mind, a requirement for owning a Corvette, especially an older one is also owning a toolbox and knowing how to use the tools within. There is a certain satisfaction in being able to repair a Corvette by oneself. Back on topic, leave Rich and Abel alone. You are preaching to the wrong choir here.

Raiderh20boy

GAME OVER!
Score
ABEL - !0

82katana - 0

djbrun

So how does this work in regards to the BBB and BAR? If it was reported that late after the repair, that would not be a fair complaint.

Will they actually contact Abel?

Kouasupra

Even if they did. Abel has all the paperwork to back up their story.

Rich is a fair business man and always puts his customer first.