Ummm, I thought he said "yet GM ( as well as other manufacturers ) fails to recognize the importance of quality service."
That seems fair to me

 

It is not GM, it is the Dealers.

There are good and bad dealers

There are good and bad mechanics

Be Patient, give the Dealer a chance to make things right.

The next time you take your car to the dealer for service, when they give you the work authorization form to sign before they start work, just above your signature write the words:

No Cure - No Pay

Many years ago I had a dealer object to that statement so I left and never returned again.

 

I didn't say that. I'm saying GM is no worse than other manufacturers. His problem is 1.) The car broke. Well, bad news, cars break. Reality stinks. 2.) The service tech said it wasn't covered under warrentee. Do you think the service tech cares who pays the bill? If they fix the car and get paid, why would they care who pays the bill? My problem is you guys say "GM SUCKS". Was that not the heading? My point is they don't suck and you are unfairly venting frustrations on them. They are better than most manufacturers in INITIAL QUALITY. They have learned to built world class quality cars. I own one. It's called a CORVETTE. Do they break? He** yes. Do M-Bs break? Do Rolls break? Do Ferarris break? Ten years ago a friend of mine had the starter on his Infinity fail. They wanted $850 just for the part and total of $1000 for the repair. Same with the others I mentioned. Ever paid for and oil change on a 911. $650! They have to remove the lower part of the engine to get to the oil filter. Tune up on a Ferarri? You don't want to know. Compared to this do you still think GM Sucks? Well IMHO, I don't. Have you read the reviews on the C6? They all comment on the starter button saying it's excessive. Have you heard them say that about the European and Japanese models that have the same feature. He** no. I'm tired of the bias against GM and things American made. It's time we support America, American workers and American products. We are stupid. We are killing ourselves. Twenty years ago I spent 3 weeks in Israel on business. My host told me a Mercedes cost $20000 and a Chevrolet cost $65000. I ask you, if any country should get favored country status in Israel, shouldn't it be the U.S. Without us and the Billions of $ we give them every year they wouldn't even exist. And if any country should not have favored country status, shouldn't it be Germany. Explanation assumed not needed. How can our State Department allow that to happen? Who are they working for? We are fuc*ing killing ourselves. Think about that the next time you say GM SUCKS. Man, I feel better now.

 

Actually, I never said GM sucks, and the title read "Dealers Suck ". I did say GM service is awful, which it is. True, dealers may be somewhat independant of the manufacturers, however, they are the ones representing the manufacturer. They are the ones I see when I purchase or require service for my GM product. GM ( or any other manufacturer for that matter ) are not in trouble because people are badmouthing them for no reason. They are in trouble because they are a bloated beaurocracy that responds slowly to market trends and their customers needs. Their wounds are self-inflicted. Plain and simple. I love my 'Vette but I do not own any other GM products. If GM wants my truck/car business they better start treating me as a customer rather than taking me for granted. That's just my opinion and it's up to GM to change it.

 

I understand exactly what you are saying,but this " Blind Loyalty" is part of what puts GM in the position they are in today, losing market share to most every other auto maker. in the 80s and 90s when GM was putting out the worse cars(designs and quality) the Japanese went the exact opposite way. And AMERICANS voted with their wallets, they will probably never gain that back now,and i still wouldnt buy anything from them (VETTE is the exception) or any other Domestic brand. everytime we buy foreign, i really dont think that anti-American, that is American, freedom of choice ! Thank God we have it! and as for these " Initial Quality Surveys", yeah right, i gotta live with my car for 3-4 years,and my hard earned dollars are being put on a car note and your talking about initial quality ? GM , Ford and Daimler-chrysler have seen the hand writing for years,and still they treat us like this ? get it right the first time so i dont have to keep coming back

 

I respect your opinion. Don't totally agree. My worst experiences are not with GM dealers. Mine are with Honda, Volvo and BMW. I've always been treated fairly by GM dealers. My Chevy dealer has 2 highly experienced Corvette techs. They both have been working on them for over 20 years. they really know their stuff. The dealer gives me a free rental if my car has to be there for more than 3 hours. The salesman has picked up my DD and taken it in for maintainence for me twice. As I said in a previous post they replaced my Blazer tranny for $100 when it was 46000 miles out of warrentee. My wife drives an Audi. It's been in the service dept. 6 times in two years for non-maintainence issues, mostly squeeks and rattles. They don't give me a free rental. The Honda dealer was 20 miles away. Once I made an appt. for a regular service interval, got caught in traffic from an accident on the way, and was told because I was late they wouldn't fix it right away, I'd lost my place in line, I'd have to wait 3-4 hours. This was a lube, oil and filter. If I wanted a rental, they'd call the rental company and give me the bill. I told them to shove it. I'm sorry your dealer sucks. Mine doesn't. My new Volvo broke every 2-3 months while I owned it. The drive shaft had a carrier bearing in the middle with a rubber donut around it. Every two or three months either the bearing or the donut would go bad. I put 110000 miles on it and it was in the service department for 1/4 of it's life. No free rental. No free roadside service. It was the worse car I ever owned. I've had great luck with both GM cars and their dealers. Except for the one I sued in 1983, but that's a different story.

 

well nearly everyone has a dealer horror story, i dont and wont buy a Lexus, but i have friends who own them,get them serviced and never ever have had any issues,in fact,they were treated royally and Lexus probably doesnt have to, they have enough market share nad its going up! i think that GM is like a maniac cheating spouse, you get caught cheating on me and then you make me believe that its my fault ?

 

My original purpose for this post was to vent and share my personal experience. Had I been stuck in Southwest Virgina 200 miles from home then I would have been really furious. Part of my "excitement" comes from the fact that I told the dealer that I didn't think the ignition switch was the entire problem and received their assurances that the car was fixed. Prior to having the car taken to the dealer I asked if they had a knowledgable Corvette tech and was told "we a several of the best in the area". Base on that information I went with that dealer. I still hope it's true because my car is back there.

The very first line in my post qualified the title...."So far" I also said in fairness that I would post the outcome and name the dealer after they had a opportunity to make it right - or not.

I had no intention of causing all of this vitriol but I have enjoyed the exchange of opinions expressed.

 

Sorry to hear about this bit of bad luck. Let's just hope the dealer does the right thing. LMK if I can be of any assistance although you seem to have it covered.

I'm not sure which is more amusing. You tossing this grenade out there or everyone trying to jump on it.

 

If every dealership was as good as yours, I'd be thrilled!! That kind of service would go a long way with GM customer relations if it were consistant from dealer to dealer. If the Corvette tech here opened a shop, I would be a customer. He's good, and I think honest, but he's only one man with a lot of cars to service. I've been raked over the coals one too many times by the dealer itself. And, their parts department is really terrible. I don't know what GM can do about poor service, but I think they've ignored it for far too long. I really hope this changes sometime down the road. BTW, I don't think, nor have I said, that GM products are less reliable than others. I don't buy GM because; 1) I really don't like the product line ( except the 'Vette, of course ) 2) The negative experiences that I've had with dealers. If GM put out a product I liked and provided consistant, quality service and customer relations, I would buy one!

 

Sorry if we hijacked your thread a bit, but it is an issue that's seems to be " hot button ". I certainly hope that your car, and you, are taken care of by the dealership!

 

Thanks,

It a great read. Let's get together and cruise again soon. I made need someone to give me a ride home if they don't get it right this time.

K&J

 

ttt Read the UPDATE on the 1st posting

 

FWIW, I've had very good luck with Pohanka's (Chantilly) service department. Not that I've had anything serious go wrong yet. I'll get you the name of the service manager for the Vette's when I get home. I'd be hard pressed to give DM any more of my cash.