Originally Posted by n8dogg

Chill out!

First off DON'T point fingers. People are so quick to judge and blame the dealership.

You brought your car to them because of a problem. Unfortunately it can be difficult to determine what the cause of a belt squeal is. Start with what you know is wrong, and the harmonic should not wobble. So they quoted you a the cost to replace the harmonic, YOU OK'd IT. Whether that replaced the problem or not, doesn't matter. Again, YOU OK'd IT.

Now, if you still had a squeaking belt when you picked up the car, you should not have taken it. You should have immediately brought it up to the service writer or managers attention. At the point they would have apologized and offered to take another look at no cost. If they determined the problem then they would most likely offer a discount on parts and labor.

Another point I'd like to bring up with your other mechanic. When you bring a mechanic a problem that has been worked on by another mechanic, the new mechanic is going to play a "hero" role. Meaning, he is going to be quick to blame the other shop for something. In this case it sounds like he is quick to say the harmonic was not replaced. You did say the harmonic doesn't wobble as much, then obviously they did something with it. There should be marks on the bolt that indicates a socket was on it, as well as the bolts on the steering rack. Plus the balancer itself will look fresh.

Keep in mind there are two sides to every story. Take it back to the dealership and talk with their manager and explain your concerns. Don't be judgmental unless you have facts. They will probably help you out.

Originally Posted by Vettmann17

All work done by a GM dealer usually comes with a one year warranty on parts and labor. If your HB is still wobbling then take it back and inform them that you indeed took it to an independent shop and they informed you that it was never replaced. If they give you static then take them to small claims court immediatly with a written statement from the independent shop (even if you have to pay them a few bucks for it) and that should be enough proof that the judge would need. In all reality, as soon as they recieve the registered summons from the court no doubt they will magically repair the issue promptly. Going through GM to get anywhere is like asking a five year old what you should do, they are mostly clueless and and will make you jump through hoops and do tricks before you even start to get anywhere. SCC is the way to go if you want results quickly. Good luck to you bro and let us know how it turns out.

Originally Posted by killain

Originally Posted by OkieBikerDude

25 hours and the dealership name and problem would be in this forum to protect fellow Corvette owners. Then I would be on my way to the Court House.

OBD

Originally Posted by memmer

It seems to me that if they claimed that they changed the harmonic balancer and charged you for that service and another mechanic said that it had not been changed, then wouldn't this be called fraud?With all the time and money you have spent trying to solve the problem to no avail then I would think a lawyer might be in order.Steelerships be damned.
Fred

Originally Posted by Camjamsdad

Hey the dealership didn't do this to you. The technician they assigned it to didn't do the job. He got paid. That's why GM said to go back. Talk to the Service Manager. The service writer can't fix it. You sure don't want the original tech touching it. The manager will get it right. If not then you have a legit gripe. They have a CSI rating they have to maintain to keep the general happy.

Originally Posted by Elvisf16

First of all, you should not be required to pay anything for a Chevy dealership to evaluate your car under these circumstances. I would ask your mechanic if he would be willing to sign an affidavit swearing that the harmonic balancer was never replaced, and/or appear in court and testify, if necessary.

You should be able to get the dealership to correct its "mistake" by negotiating directly with them, with assistance from GM customer service. But that's all they are likely to agreeably do.

If you want them to "pay" more than just the actual damages, you'll need to sue it out, probably in S/C court as others have suggested if you don't want to hire a lawyer. Allege fraud and conversion, and ask for actual damages, plus punitive damages for the tort claims (fraud and conversion...conversion because when you take someone's money for performing a service, and then you don't perform the service, you essentially stole their money).

Sue for actual damages + punitive damages + costs, and make the total equal just below the jurisdictional limit amount of the small claims court in your state. Make sure the total does not go over, because the S/C court would then be deprived of jurisdiction and you'd need an attorney. If you end up in court, you'll need the mechanic live in court, as the affidavit would most likely be ruled inadmissible because it's hearsay.

Good luck.

G.O. "Jed" Morton

Originally Posted by n8dogg

Chill out!

First off DON'T point fingers. People are so quick to judge and blame the dealership.

You brought your car to them because of a problem. Unfortunately it can be difficult to determine what the cause of a belt squeal is. Start with what you know is wrong, and the harmonic should not wobble. So they quoted you a the cost to replace the harmonic, YOU OK'd IT. Whether that replaced the problem or not, doesn't matter. Again, YOU OK'd IT.

Now, if you still had a squeaking belt when you picked up the car, you should not have taken it. You should have immediately brought it up to the service writer or managers attention. At the point they would have apologized and offered to take another look at no cost. If they determined the problem then they would most likely offer a discount on parts and labor.

Another point I'd like to bring up with your other mechanic. When you bring a mechanic a problem that has been worked on by another mechanic, the new mechanic is going to play a "hero" role. Meaning, he is going to be quick to blame the other shop for something. In this case it sounds like he is quick to say the harmonic was not replaced. You did say the harmonic doesn't wobble as much, then obviously they did something with it. There should be marks on the bolt that indicates a socket was on it, as well as the bolts on the steering rack. Plus the balancer itself will look fresh.

Keep in mind there are two sides to every story. Take it back to the dealership and talk with their manager and explain your concerns. Don't be judgmental unless you have facts. They will probably help you out.

Originally Posted by rickzski

I brought my 2000 C5 Chevrolet to my local dealer on 10/10/2011 for a squeaking belt problem. They informed me that I needed a new harmonic balancer since mine had a significant wobble. I let them do it and paid the hefty price. Ever since then, by harmonic balancer has continued to wobble, albeit slightly less than before. The belt squeaking however, has continued from that day. Since then, I have replaced both tensioners (AC and Main Drive), as well as both pulley's and put two new Gatorback belts on it. Even after all of that, the squeaking continued. Yesterday I got tired of hearing the belt squeak and took it to a local (non-GM dealer) mechanic who only works on C5's. He informed me that the harmonic balancer needed replacement. After I told him that I just paid Chevrolet to replace it on 10/10/2011, he told me with complete confidence that my harmonic balancer had NEVER been replaced and that the one on the vehicle was the original one that came with the car. So I called GM customer service (not the dealer) and explained the situation. They would like me to 1.) take it back to the original dealer that ripped me off and 2.) pay them $54 to evaluate it. When I refused to pay anything, they "elevated it" and said I would receive a call back in 24 hours.

So I need some advise on the following:

1.) Do I really need to pay anything? Sheeze, I never paid for an evaluation when I originally brought it to them.
2.) Do I really need to bring it back to the GM dealer that ripped me off in the first place? Seems like a conflict of interest as there is no way they would confirm that they ripped me off.
3.) At this point, I will not be satisfied with simply replacing my harmonic balancer. I want the dealership to pay for ripping me off. What are my options?

I am sooo

Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by bumr

I have had similar experiences with GM dealer service departments. My wife took her '02 Caddy in because of a problem with the coolant reservoir. When they did a back flush of the system, they flushed some blockage into an area that caused her system analysis display to constantly read "Check coolant level". They told her how they had caused it and said she could bring it back in and they could fix it for $150.00. ...really? Twice, she took it in because it was running rough and they put it on the computer and read a sensor gone bad and replaced it. $450.00 a pop. Still ran rough. Finally she took it to the local Suzuki dealer, who we really like. They read and replaced the same sensor but then test drove it and decided that wasn't the problem. They checked it out, finally found a vacuum leak and fixed that. They then replaced the sensor with her old one and charged us only for fixing the vacuum leak, ($125.00), and returned us a fine running car. Wichita's Joe Self Chevrolet will never get another dime of our business. By the way, can anyone recommend a good Corvette service provider in Wichita KS?