WW7

Yeah, like anyone is going to give a company their Social Security number in this day and age...

Scuba Ghost

The dealer I go to for service is really quite honest. They do not do any work I don't authorize and their prices are very competitive....and the work is done right the 1st time.

Must_Have_Z

I'd worry more about the quality of work (and expertise) vs. the price. I've read far far far too many stories on this forum about major dealership fails when it comes to the work performed. Latest example, I read about a guy who took his car to the dealership for an oil change (Grand Sport with dry sump) and requested the resident Corvette "expert" to do the work. Well, after they finished and he drove away, there was tons of white smoke pouring out the back of the car.

Long story short, the "expert" did not pull both drain plugs and overfilled his tank by god knows how many quarts. If a dealer can't even get an oil change right (no matter the price) would you really want them working on anything more difficult/involved?

Me? No. My car is out of warranty and I will NEVER take it to a dealer. More people need to do their own basic maintenance to avoid the idiotic dealers and their mistakes. Just my 2 cents.

RichieRichZ06

You can name us, it's OK. You just have to be sure to post facts if you decide to do so.

You reached out to me via PM regarding some fluid services and I responded via PM with the pricing, plus a couple additional recommendations based on mileage and age. Due to the age and you asking about synthetic versus basic fluid, I gave you pricing based on using a couple additional quarts of synthetic fluid being ran through the system to help remove all the original 10 year old fluid.

About 30 min after we PM'd back and forth, I heard my Service Adviser quoting the same job over the phone on a similar car. I heard him say how much it was, which was within $35 of what I quoted so I let it go. The difference in his quote and mine was the 2 quarts of Amsoil trans fluid. You simply asked him what a transmission service with or without upgraded Amsoil fluid cost and he gave you the price.

If you had a similar job quoted a month ago and the pricing was slightly less, our labor rate went up by $15 per hour recently. We had to slightly raise prices to keep up with the additional services we provide, but at the same time remain less than nearly every other dealer in the area.

That is likely the reason for the difference in a month ago, but you would have known that if you'd asked me when we were quoting you for the second or third time

We're not screwing anybody or being dishonest. When you ask a more generic question regarding costs on services, you might get a slightly different answer than reaching out to me with more in depth questions based on year, mileage and maintenance history.


If you want a trained Corvette tech to provide you a service that you know will be done right, come and see us. If you're trying to save money and don't mind a part time lube guy doing it all half assed than there's plenty of dealers that might provide a similar service for a few bucks cheaper.

Feel free to start a poll on how many customers I have told they don't need something instead of over selling them. I think you'd be surprised how much I recommend people NOT do stuff to save money when not needed.

Additionally I feel that most people would ask why there might be a slight discrepancy in pricing directly to the manager or person quoting the job rather than creating a post on the forum. I hate to be blunt, but we bust our asses to provide the best possible customer service to local Corvette owners and there's literally hundreds of threads backing that up. You're now basing our legitimacy on a phone call quoting a basic service without asking follow up questions or ever being here in person to see how we operate.

If you'd like to follow up, feel free to reach out via PM, email or phone.


Rich Willhoff
Service and Parts Director
Abel Chevrolet Buick

TCW

Are you new? Of course they are liars. That's how they make their money.

Tom

Shaolin Crane

Equifax gave away about 300 million of them

919cw313

Excellent post!




I have a feeling the OP is done on this thread.

RobJoy

Went to my local Chevy dealer to get a new battery since mine was approaching 5 years and it was starting to sound like the starter was dragging. This is the same dealer who installed my ACDelco battery 4 years and 10 months before. Service advisor quoted me a price for the battery, took my key fob and headed for my car. I asked him if there was a labor cost to change to battery to which he quoted $50. I told him the labor was excessive and the battery really hadn't lasted as long as I thought it should have, and left.
I went down the street to the Interstate battery dealer, got a premium 6-year battery (3-year free replacement) for the same price and they charged $10 labor, which I felt was fair for me not having to do it myself. The Interstate battery guy said the dealer had installed a lesser (smaller) battery Group #, so the dealer had slipped one in on me 4+ years earlier, and was wanting to gouge me again.
No, I've rarely dealt with honest car dealers over my lifetime, and I'm 70 years old so I have a lot of dealership experience under my belt.
A dealer doesn't need $50 labor to have the wash boy spend 5 minutes installing a battery. I'm quite sure I wasn't getting a mechanic to do a battery install when a $9.00/hr wash bay employee can do it cheaply, and who can be trained in 10 minutes on how to do it properly using the backup battery so I don't lose any computer info if there's any besides the window indexing.

Vette_Fan

Done how? There's an old saying - "it's better to remain quiet and look stupid, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

rkj427

now if a few more would realize this, the forum may be a better place where knowledge is shared amongst the members.

another old saying...…………

Opinions are like azzholes………. everybody has one…………………

Vette_Fan

Thanks for that message. I did not name anyone, or had intention of making a complaint against your dealership - it was a general observation & personal experience shared on the Forum. I'm not new here.

Anytime someone buys a new Corvette they're super excited about their car - they bond with it, detail it, customize it, and get all the maintenance work done, etc. In the same spirit of excitement, I thought of contacting/calling ahead to get a price quote for a few services that I want - that's a normal process by anyone's standards.

As a consumer, it's obvious I'll call a few places to discuss the details of what I want for my car, and pricing is part of the discussion. There's nothing abnormal about it. So if you're "assuming" that I am looking for a half-assed lube guy to do the job, that is insulting and an assumption without base. A trained Corvette tech is still a tech, and is expected to provide an honest quote and service.

Car is not in need of any serious repair work as of now. I'll call back if I'm ready for some maintenance work.

Thanks!
- VF

919cw313

Does that mean you're owning your mistake, or are you saying I should keep quiet? Because after reading both sides of the story, yours looks weak.

Vette_Fan

Vette_Fan

Read post #31.

Again - if you didn't get it, remaining quiet is a safe bet!

919cw313

That didn't help your cause. Good job. You just sound thin skinned and confused. Keep rambling.

Vette_Fan

If you knew how to look up a dictionary you'd know how to look up confused. Asking a dealer for a quote is normal, and when you get multiple quotes for the same job, most consumers will have an issue with that. You obviously don't contribute anything to my post, so I'd recommend you go wrench on your car...

ruxvette

Folks like you never cease to amaze me...
Here's a bet:
Go out to the street, fire up your car and drive it inside your garage. Open the hood, grab your tools, return to your car, and pull the old battery. Walk over to your work bench (not the parts department), drop the old battery and grab the new battery. Walk back to the car and install the new battery. Put your tools away, close the hood, make a note that the battery was R&R'd, fire up the car and put it back at the curb.
$100 says you can't do that in 10 minutes.
Let me know how that turns out.

LowRyter

I've seldom gone to a dealership for service other than recalls, warranty or specials.

Many motorcycles sold new threaten the buyer with warranty voids if the first 600 mile (1k) service isn't performed by the dealer. ....figure $400-$1000. (usually an oil change and a once over on the fasteners, some require a valve check that dealers sometime lie about checking).

mkitt27

Standard practice for dealers to have their own service schedule, they've always been open about what they'd do and how much it cost. I show them the service manual with 1/5 of the work and that is what gets done. I don't do much work at dealers but will have them do scheduled work when I have a car with a warranty. I can imagine dealers not specifying exactly what they'd do or what it cost but seems that is at risk to their reputation.

Corvette#2

Sounds like par for the course. The few times my car has needed a big service like replacing the AC compressor or harmonic balancer, the dealer quote was about 50% higher than independent GM specialist garages.

Last time I was in for a "free" oil change, the service manager was trying to sell me a $150 fuel injection treatment. No matter that the engine funs fine, and I always use top tier fuel. They prey on the ignorant.