Interesting Dealer experience
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 3,139
Likes: 2
From: Whidbey Island WA
Interesting Dealer experience
OK... I take my 04 coupe to the dealer today. The gas cap has never fit right, very loose. I tell the service mgr I need a new one. He asked me if my "check engine" light ever came on. I tell him yes. He wants to run the codes to see if the gas cap caused the check engine light.
The service mgr then drives my car over to the garage area and parks it. The car is in plan view of where I'm sitting reading the paper. 40 minutes later I'm getting irritated because no one is working on my car. At this point, the service mgr gets back in my car, drives it over to where I'm sitting and tells me that the gas cap was the problem, he's ordered a new one for me, and he's cleared the codes it was causing......
NO ONE EVER TOUCHED MY CAR..... Interesting, eh???
The service mgr then drives my car over to the garage area and parks it. The car is in plan view of where I'm sitting reading the paper. 40 minutes later I'm getting irritated because no one is working on my car. At this point, the service mgr gets back in my car, drives it over to where I'm sitting and tells me that the gas cap was the problem, he's ordered a new one for me, and he's cleared the codes it was causing......
NO ONE EVER TOUCHED MY CAR..... Interesting, eh???
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 3,122
Likes: 2
From: MCO
That's normally referred to as a WALL JOB. When you take your car in for service, and they park it up against the wall until you come to pick it up.
(normally, the dealer is smart enuf NOT to pull that when your sitting there)
(normally, the dealer is smart enuf NOT to pull that when your sitting there)
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 6,723
Likes: 1,088
From: NE OH
St. Jude Donor '09-'10
Service by osmosis. I'm sure somewhere out of sight a tech was chanting and thinking good thoughts about your car, thus excorsicing any mechanical problems from it. I'm sure you just missed the pagan symbols on the floor where they parked your car that help direct the aura of reliability into your engine bay. You should be thankful as you're literally getting 'out of this world' service.
Or not.
Or not.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,141
Likes: 0
From: Huntington IN
The gas cap will cause a code, a new gas cap will fix it. But, what BS. He should've just order a cap and sent you on your way. He's just charging it back to GM so we can all pay more for our cars.
Now that you know the kind of operation this dealer runs - Do you want to help him profit?
Take your business elsewhere and tell the owner why.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 21,325
Likes: 3,841
From: small town in S.E Pa. PA
St. Jude Donor '03-'04
Wait a minute.. AS much as I hate dealerships.. You guys smell blood and you start circling and all I can here is the theme song from Jaws...
The service manager took the car.. punched up the code reader while moving the car.. it gave him the history codes he was looking for.. I can check my codes while driving 60 MPH.. He then went inside to verify your car's VIN and its insevice date..that took a few minues.. he then verified that he could order you a new cap and your car was under warranty etc.. He has to get someone to write up an RO to get the part ordered for you. THat took a little while too.. and he had to take a crap because that silver truck that comes around with breakfast doesnt
have wash facilities and he had some diahrea.. seems logical to me
ED.. this is your morning WAKE UP//
The service manager took the car.. punched up the code reader while moving the car.. it gave him the history codes he was looking for.. I can check my codes while driving 60 MPH.. He then went inside to verify your car's VIN and its insevice date..that took a few minues.. he then verified that he could order you a new cap and your car was under warranty etc.. He has to get someone to write up an RO to get the part ordered for you. THat took a little while too.. and he had to take a crap because that silver truck that comes around with breakfast doesnt
have wash facilities and he had some diahrea.. seems logical to me ED.. this is your morning WAKE UP//
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 5,374
Likes: 0
From: Jacksonville Florida
Reminds me of the old Johnny Carson "Swammi" bit where he held an envelope to his head and gave out answers before the questions were known.
I wonder what GM training film covered that diagnostic method?
That really is stupid on their part. GM requires dealers to save the parts from warranty repair jobs and they do check them. This guy runs a serious risk doing that kind of stuff. They can make his service department's life miserable if he gets caught.
I wonder what GM training film covered that diagnostic method?
That really is stupid on their part. GM requires dealers to save the parts from warranty repair jobs and they do check them. This guy runs a serious risk doing that kind of stuff. They can make his service department's life miserable if he gets caught.
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,717
Likes: 0
From: Palmdale CA
St. Jude Donor '06
Originally Posted by BudgetPlan1
Service by osmosis. I'm sure somewhere out of sight a tech was chanting and thinking good thoughts about your car, thus excorsicing any mechanical problems from it. I'm sure you just missed the pagan symbols on the floor where they parked your car that help direct the aura of reliability into your engine bay. You should be thankful as you're literally getting 'out of this world' service.
Or not.
Or not.
Man all these dealership horror stories are depressing. Maybe someone should start a thread detailing good dealership experiences, assuming they actually happen.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 21,325
Likes: 3,841
From: small town in S.E Pa. PA
St. Jude Donor '03-'04
Originally Posted by jcgrcya
Man all these dealership horror stories are depressing. Maybe someone should start a thread detailing good dealership experiences, assuming they actually happen.
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 154
Likes: 0
From: Beavercreek OH
Originally Posted by Evil-Twin
Wait a minute.. AS much as I hate dealerships.. You guys smell blood and you start circling and all I can here is the theme song from Jaws...
The service manager took the car.. punched up the code reader while moving the car.. it gave him the history codes he was looking for.. I can check my codes while driving 60 MPH.. He then went inside to verify your car's VIN and its insevice date..that took a few minues.. he then verified that he could order you a new cap and your car was under warranty etc.. He has to get someone to write up an RO to get the part ordered for you. THat took a little while too.. and he had to take a crap because that silver truck that comes around with breakfast doesnt have wash facilities and he had some diahrea.. seems logical to me
ED.. this is your morning WAKE UP//
The service manager took the car.. punched up the code reader while moving the car.. it gave him the history codes he was looking for.. I can check my codes while driving 60 MPH.. He then went inside to verify your car's VIN and its insevice date..that took a few minues.. he then verified that he could order you a new cap and your car was under warranty etc.. He has to get someone to write up an RO to get the part ordered for you. THat took a little while too.. and he had to take a crap because that silver truck that comes around with breakfast doesnt
have wash facilities and he had some diahrea.. seems logical to me ED.. this is your morning WAKE UP//
Usually, a certified technician performs the appropriate diagnostic tests (not the service manager). Also, the service manager "punched up the service code while moving the vehicle"???....IMO, that could be, but I would still want a technician to perform the test. From my own personal experience, service advisors have not shown me the competence to effectively troubleshoot/diagnose car problems (that's why they have the techs!
)I'm all for giving someone the benefit of doubt, but in this case, the service manager makes it really difficult to do so.
Last edited by mlupone; Sep 23, 2004 at 01:23 PM.
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,717
Likes: 0
From: Palmdale CA
St. Jude Donor '06
Originally Posted by Evil-Twin
I ran a thread like that about 8 months ago... I had about 10+ posts.. 8 of them were rants about poor service and two were positive, one was a good experience with an oil change.. and one said when he got his car back , nothing was damaged.,.. LOL.. BTW 1200 people looked at that thread..
Even more depressed. Suicidal even...
Administrator
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 367,946
Likes: 24,703
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '25
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
Tell them they can pay you the normal flat rate fee for the diagnostic work. Obviously no ethical work practices going on at that dealership.