Stand outside the dealer with a sign that says "GET RIPPED OFF HERE". Tell them that their mechanics are a big JOKE. Then see what happens

 

So, what exactly is the problem that they can't or won't correct?

 

man,sorry to hear.i found it odd in the first place that a dealer would "rebuild" your vette engine.the ones here only do new crate motor exchanges.
just for an example i got a quote last winter for 5300 bucks to put a 4.3 new long block in a 97 s10 blazer at work at our usual gm dealership.a second gm dealership was about the same price.
neither would consider repair/rebuild of the original engine (rod knocking).crate motors are cheaper and better.they flat said "we dont rebuild engines".
8500 bucks is a lot of money for an engine job unless its a hypo.
look at these gm crate motor prices and know the dealer gets them cheaper yet http://www.gmpartsdepot.com/
call any other dealer and get a quote, for labor only, on an engine exchange,ask their flat rate per hr charge,divide the per hr charge into the labor quote and you then know the book labor time for an engine exchange in your car.subtract that from 8500 and question why or how any respectible buiseness would put 6 grand into a 3000 dollar engine in the first place.(or whatever it works out to exactly)
get mean.they bent you over from the get go.

 

Now THAT....... is a pretty damn good idea!

 

What's the condition of the car/motor right now? Do you have any specifics on what they had trouble with? Sounds like they're frustrated with it and hoping it'll go away. The sad part is these guys will convince themselves that you're the bad guy.

Hopefully if you threaten them enough with a lawsuit, they'll get it taken care of, or send it to someone who can.

 

I'm very curious as to who the dealer is. If you don't want to publicly make it known, send me a PM and I'll see if I have any connections there.

 

omigod, when i read this i blew up! go to the licensing board and attorney general in your state and report this immediately. that dealer must have their license yanked!!!

luckily, its only money. rule #1 is to NEVER EVER go to the dealer for anything.

 

with GOOG, take it somewhere reputable, get a quote in writing to fix what's wrong-take a copy of it to the service manager and present it-ask him what they'd like to do? Negative response-time for small claims court-cheapest and easiest.

 

.........First off,take the car somewhere else and have it repaired,thats a start.Then go to a place that makes banners and have something made up stating what happend with the car,rent a truck,van big enough to plaster the banner on the side,call the local T.V. news station in your area.and see what happens.Park in a spot thats legal,print up some flyers stating the reason for your display for anyone that may happen buy and maybe this dealer will think twice before blowing off a customer in this manner.I wouldnt let up until I got something back.Now......Every side has two stories.Whats their story?How come they wont work on the car anymore?What is their reason for not working on the car?Whats wrong with the car.Youve asked forum members for suggestions but fill us in.$8500 for an engine rebuild is STEEP to say the least.

 

I can read your feelings of betrayal, and frustration from your post, and I can readily identify with you. Having said that, get your self a good LAWYER. It is clear that there exist a major problem with your engine, it is also clear that the dealership is gambling that you will eventually go away. Further, it is foolish for you to consider to spend good money somewhere else, when you've already spent the money at a GM dealership, specifically designed to repair, maintain, and upgrade GM products. The lawyer should be able to enjoin GM in a law suit regardless if the dealership is an independent franchise. This dealership is under the Corporate umbrella of General Motors, and their policies. You calling or writing GM has little impact, but a letter sent by an attornery with "letter head" of said attorney will be automatically routed to GM's legal department, and then said legal department will weigh in all the evidence from the dealership, your complaint, and determine what is the best route to take to avoid liability for your car, but more important, "adverse criticism" to General Motors.
The $2000 that you were thinking of paying another shop to try to fix the problem crated by the dealership, spend that money on a lawyer and get the problem resolved, or have them (dealership) give you a new engine. Good luck.

 

You guys say "get a lawyer" and "call the 7oclock news' and "stand out in front holding signs".... But how many of you have actually been in this situation and done either of those things?

It's not very helpful when 20 guys offer up ideas when only 2 of them have actually followed through to success. Let's be constructive here.

 

I can't speak for anyone else, but the advice I gave was based on personal experience. Clearly, he is seeking advice, and the preponderance of the forum is screaming "Get A Lawyer." Just my two cents, based on "my experience."

Joe B.

 

..................I have stated what I would do if this were me.This member has asked for suggestions and I gave him mine.

 

CENTRALCOASTER posted, "It's not very helpful when 20 guys offer up ideas when only 2 of them have actually followed through to success. Let's be constructive here."
There's 3 of us now...My advice was based on my personal experience with Skinner Cadillac in Medford, OR who tried to RIP me off by stating "...replaced water pump; after extensive road test car still over heated, tow back to shop, further testing shows heads are pulling away from block allowing coolant to escape into cylinder jacket, super heat and dimish cooling capacity...needs new engine cost estimate $8000"
I towed car to a CAD service expert in WA that I trusted. Repairs were for "tighten hose clamp that caused cooant leaks under pressure." Car has now been driven >1000 miles with no problem and my Cad with only 61000 miles on it DIDN'T NEED A NEW MOTOR and the water pump replacement is suspect! The motor is perfect; runs just like it did before my unfortunate encounter with the Cadillac experts of Southern Oregon who are also involved in Auto Racing for some unknown reason unless they use the profits from their repair business to fund their racing ventures.
Must be something the mechanics and Car dealers breath in Oregon that causes them to be so stupid and unethical. I still say a contact with the Oregon AG at the link I provided and hiring an atty is his best bet to resolve his problem. He's lucky lives in Portland where and his RIP-OFF dealer is located. Better than dealing with Skinner Auto Plex in Medford OR, and living in WA!

 

HAving been through this, You have to go to another shop, have them finish the work, then sue for the difference between the $8500 and what it cost you TOTAL. That amount should be under the threshhold of small claims, and it is likely you will win.

Send letters to them, asking when the car will be FINISHED, COMPLETELY, TO SPEC, (and detail what that means)document the letters by coping yourself.. Send them certified.

 

Just what problems are they having that they can't resolve?
Is it an incompetence issue with the mechanic?
Have you contacted to owner of the business? (I'll bet he doesn't want bad publicity; you could start by showing him your post on this forum).

Any court system is going to expect you to:
1) Document every encounter & response with the service department & dealership. I'll bet the owner doesn't even know this is going on. It's up to you to wake him up!
2) You've tried Everything Possible to resolve the issue(s) yourself, according to the law. (lawyer's advise, consumer advocacy groups, BBB, BAR, contacting the owner himself - documented resonses, etc.).

Don't go off on them! Sometimes that'll work, but a strong "I'm gonna get the owner involved unless you ..." may suffice.

If you really want somone to look at it and probably straighten it out, I'd go with TWONG on this forum, he is a good one. He's got a shop near you. I know he knows his stuff.
I don't understand the issues you're having with the car, so I can't help there (car won't start, runs like crap, whatever ...).

 

This is what transpired: the dealer sub contracted out the actual engine rebuild to, what was reported to me as being, "The best engine builder in the area". The dealer was only to do the actual R & R and long block work. This is where problems arose. I was actually supposed to get a 3/yr/36,000 mile wrnty from the dealer.

ALL the vacuum hoses are routed incorrectly, the vacuum system is missing various parts such as a damper valve, etc; Timing is off; TPS voltage is incorrect; Fuel pressure adjusted incorrectly; They are so ignorant as to a TPI set up, they adjusted idle simply by turning the dead idle screw only; The fusible links and sensor wires were melted onto the exhaust, hence now I have no oil pressure sensor or coolant temperature sensor wiring; Defrost can't be shut off and is unswitchable regardless of the HVAC control head switching (Head unit functions correctly);

The main problems; My original block is gone... they didn't use the original block and I don't know what is actually in there now; They won't give me any engine specifications after repeated requests; They lost my flex plate cover (which is discontinued and I can't find another); They used a cheap oil dipstick and tube that now hits the hood and is wearing a crevice in the hood underneath; They painted the TPI runner tubes black; They used different heads of which I have no idea what they actually are; The Corvette valve covers are gone to which they put "Chevrolet" valve covers on the heads; Oil leaks keep materializing; The chip the engine builder burned 3 times is incorrect; And... it runs like crap. They put the original water pump back on and when I picked it up, it started leaking. I can see paying for a new pump but they made me pay for that to be re-installed when they should have put a new pump on initially.... putting a used water pump on a new engine is just simply... stupid.

The gear shift indicator was broken (I recently fixed). They scratched the hood severely to which just prior to I had paid 1800 to have the hood refinished. They scartched the side window tinting that was professionally done. During the first month it was in the shop and inital run, one of the tech's conveyed that "It has a lot of power now" and they said they "broke 'em loose and fished tailed it easily... after that, the rear hub assembly needed to be repaced to which I had to pay for. When I originally brought it to them, there was NOTHING wrong with this vehicle... and they knew that). I have temporaily fixed many things that they didn't. But there are main problems here to which I don't know where to go.

Keep in mind... I have over $30,000 additional invested in this vette and is in immaculate condition. 90% of all the factory original parts have been replaced and the vette looks as if new from the inside, outside and underneath. The money spent on this car wasn't for investment purposes... it was simply a hobby that took place over a 10 year period and my car that I simply wanted to be NICE!!!

Hinesight... it is indeed easy to re-examine my errors in having them rebuild my engine to which I don't even have the original now. Small claims here in OR max is 5k and I may simply have to eat the rest. But I don't even want them touching it after this ordeal... they simply are... ignorant! Trust is a dangerous thing.

I would like to take this to another shop from someone that knows what the hell is going on but frankly... I think those kind of shops are VERY few and far in between and I have no idea around here in Portland.

It's funny... I'm sure they think I am the bad guy now which is a complete underserving label. What is their position... it's strange... I don't know. At my last attempt to get this fixed... I left the vette with them to fix these items... I went on vacation for 3 weeks... came back... and it was still sitting in the same stall in which I left it... it hadn't been moved... I did blow up a little and asked "Why haven't you touched the vette".. they said.. "We've been just swamped". I said... "That's bull**** Ken"... I know the game here and the way it all work's.... again, I asked why haven't you touched it... he said... "to be honest, we've been lazy". I left the shop frustrated. I came back in 2 weeks for a total of 5 now and still... it was in the same stall untouched. I asked the service department secretary for the keys and drove it away. They had no intention of fixing anything. I spent a lot of money there... not just with this project but with many vehicles...! Bizarre

 

Try to find a number for the local Chevrolet Zone Office and call someone there. A lot of times talking to a real person does better than a letter/e-mail.

Good Luck.

 

Wow, I've heard stories of incompetence before, but this is crazy!! I really don't know how you've held your temper. You have the patience of a Saint!

This dealership must pay the consequences for what they've done. If they are so cavalier about this then it's not the first time they've jobbed someone and it won't be the last. I'm just astounded at the total lack of pride and respect they've shown you. I hope you've put together a battle plan and follow through with it. I know it's going to take lots of time and energy, but it must be done. You've gotten some great ideas on who to contact, and now I'll give you mine; All of them. Attorney, GM zone office, BBB, media, etc. I'd contact them all. Nobody deserves to be treated like this. I wouldn't leave the machine shop off the list either ( if indeed there even WAS a machine shop ). Dam, good luck with this! I hope it all works out!

 

This is really bad. But, I think you can prove one thing, it might get you out of the hole.
You said:
1 "My original block is gone... they didn't use the original block and I don't know what is actually in there now; They won't give me any engine specifications after repeated requests;"
1) It went to their turn key engine builder. you got another motor with Chevrolet covers. It should still be in the core pile, but they go very fast. I had to wait 3 weeks when I had one done.
or a remote possibility is: 2) one of their bro's took your core home & put it in his Jeep (or whatever, why else would the runners be painted black?)
Can you provide the casting numbers of the "new motor" to this Forum, together we can figure what the crap they did/put in the 'vette. It could be they used a generic SBC. Are those new valve covers center bolt? I gotta know that one for sure.

2 "They used different heads of which I have no idea what they actually are;"
Can you remove the valve cover on the drivers side & get the casting number off the head? It should be nearest the front of the car (drivers side), might be stamped on the outside. It should also be cast iron, not aluminum, for your year.

I'm assuming they've installed the wrong engine. If that's the case, it's more than a customer disatisfation issue, they've morphed your classic car & you want it right (but definitely not by them)!

With this info, I'd see an attorney as well. You'll get your best advise. Usually consultations are free.