As a Corvette owner I feel obligated to report a recent experience at a local Chevy dealership and let everyong judge for themselves whether this dealership should be avoided.
I took my 2000 Coupe to Marathon Chevy in N. Charleston, SC for follow-up AC service on 7/25. Five days later I went underneath my car to give a cursory inspection for any leaks and discovered that they caused extensive damage to the body panels that wrap beneath the frame rails. It appeared to me that the tech came off the ramp lift too fast and when the rear wheels contacted the ground too hard it caused the suspension to depress enough so the frame rails hit the ramp. Normal clearance on a C5 is only 5-inches and you really need to back off a ramp lift gingerly. I estimate the damage upwards of $2000 to repair. When I brought the car back to the dealership the only one who would meet with me was the Service Dept manager. The GM didn't think enough of me as a customer to discuss the mishap. Of course the service manager denied any wrongdoing and suggested that I must have had the car put on another lift since they had it. He even cited my "after market oil filter" as evidence. Fact is, my car has been on a lift twice in the past two years; both times at Marathon Chevy.
I tried contacting the owner of Marathon Chevy earlier this week to discuss the problem, but he refuses to contact me back.
The lesson learned here is that this kind of carelessness can happen to you and unless you have an eyewitness, a dishonest dealership like Marathon Chevy will not accept responsibility. Be very cautious who you give your Corvette to for service.

 

Am very sorry to hear about this, personally I don't like or trust any auto dealers period.
It is difficult when you have little choices available or warranty issues.
Whenever I have been forced to go to a dealer, they always come up with a list of additional repairs or "suggestions" that is totally fabricated.

They don't call them stealerships for nothing......

 

The worst part of the story is that they tried to hide their screwup and then compounded it by blaming you. They screwed up. They should stand by their customers and do whatever it takes to make it right. Also, they may want to fire the incompetent mechanic who is responsible. Good luck and hopefully you can get this worked out.

 

It is always a good idea to do a pre and post service inspection with anyone who is going to work on your vette.

Chuck

 

Thats shady brother. I'm sorry to hear that. Never let your baby out of your sight. But your posting incidents like this at least gives your Corvette brother a heads up of who to be leary of. So thanks.

 

Agree! But not always feasible.

 

C'mon now....Would you expect an honest answer from a Government Motors employee. They just follow the lead from the new head of GM...> BHO !

 

lawyer..bro. Thats why i never leave my car out if site when being serviced....sadly

 

File paperwork in small claims/magistrates court against the dealer. Document, of course, with pictures, etc. and complete explanation. Upon service of the papers on the dealership, THAT will get their attention and you should be hearing from them. You should come out fine and it is doubtful the dealership will even let it go to a trial. Good luck, Ralph Boineau in central South Carolina

 

I'm giving a small claims suit serious consideration. No witnesses will make this difficult to win. I filed a formal complaint with the Better Business Bureau today. I did promise the Service Mgr he hadn't heard or seen the last of me.

 

Sorry to hear that.

I'd definitely get them to pay for the damage. You said they claimed that you must have had it on another lift, but you can easily threaten them with a law suit, can't you? It'll be up to them to find evidence to prove that you had it on another lift, since you never took it to another shop, there was no way they can find that evidence. They also KNOW that their mechanic screwed up, so as soon as a law suit is brought up, they will probably just suck it up and pay for your damage.

Good luck!

 

Sorry for your problem but we all know by now that we should stay out of dealerships!

 

Wouldn't paint marks have been left on the lift? Can you get in and get pictures?

Contact your car insurance and talk to them about what happen. They might cover it.

 

Hi There:
Sorry about your misfortune.They are liable for the damage to your car.I have a friend with a 06 that they(gm dealer) broke the rockers while lifting.He is like me, if I can,t be near my car you don,t get to work on it.I think the bill was about $2150, but he saw it happen. They could not lie there way out of it. Now I do most of his work & he never hangs around to watch.
robsc501

 

Not a bad idea. You may also want to see if one of your local TV stations has a consumer affairs reporter that would do a story on this incident. Bad publicity is not a good thing for a dealership these days.

 

wonder who lied first?

 

This exact situation happened to me not one month after having my 02 Z06 delivered... the porter at the dealership rolled it up onto the ramps without using 2x6s to raise it up and completely skinned the body panels underneath.

My dealership (and mechanic) fortunately are some of the good guys... they called to tell me what happened and had their body shop patch and repaint it for no cost within a week.

Good luck!

 

Turn it into your insurance carrier and them go get the dealer for the damage.

 

The Better Business Bureau works well also in these types of issues.

 

Lesson learned.