Mistakes I did when I took my car in for warranty work

1. Did not do a walk around with service advisor and note that there was absolutely no damage on car or wheels - had damage done that I could not prove they did it, and they did not admit to doing any

2. Did not tape any and all surfaces that the staff could scratch, i.e. Door closing spot, inside door sills, arm rests, etc - my driver door sill got scratch from boots dragging across, again I could not prove that they did it

3. Large towel required to be taped in place on seat - the thin curtesy plastic cover was no match for the mechanics dirty coveralls, luckily the outer leather got dirty, and not the swede inserts

4. Take mileage before and after repairs, was their joy ride valid - if possible, do not let the service department do a "confirmation" ride without you, preferably the owner should drive - this service "manager" went over 10 miles to make sure the car would start (yes I was pissed)

5. Decline any additional service, i.e. Wash, cleaning, - your only lookin for more damage to be done

6. Find a dealer that does oil changes over an open oil pits, drive in style, no hoists required
Less likely to damage low hanging parts, splitter, side rockers

7. If possible, get a male service advisor, young ladies today have very thin skin

I'm sure I've missed a few,
please add to my list if possible

 

Bring a mirror to view the underside / rockers.

 

Sorry for your damage, but good advice, thanks.

 

Do your own oil changes.

 

Go one further, take cell phone pictures of your car in front of service manager. Also a good idea to photo rental cars when you do walk around, saved me over five hundred dollars.

 

Yep, door sill scuffs are inevitable... Will tape next time

 

Somehow my dealer managed to dent mine. It was replaced no questions asked. The dealer works on a number of Corvettes, I'm sure it was an accident. I have returned for additional maintenance, no problems.

 

Find a dealer that knows what they are doing and all you have to do is pay the bill and say thank you.
Had mine in yesterday (Van Bortel Chevrolet), for an oil change. Checked in read the paper and watched a bit of news on TV in the waiting room. 20 minutes or so later tech comes out tells me the car is is all set, where it is parked, the oil used, DIC reset to 100%, tire pressure all set and good to go. This was my 3rd of the free oil changes so no bill to pay.
I did give the tech $20.00 tip for lunch or whatever as he always does excellent work and is the dealers dedicated tech who only works on Corvettes.
Car is exactly like I brought it in, seat placement, no dirt, no damage, no worries.

 

Definitely worth led find a new dealer if at all possible. Sucks people have to go through that when they get their cars worked on. Lucky for me I work at a dealer ,so I get to work on my vette myself. Good luck in future service work.

 

Good advice. Unfortunately Chevy dealers aren't used to dealing with "high-end" buyers and customers who demand perfection and can pay for it.

 

Something about your description sounds fishy to me...

If you're that concerned or picky as you sound then take photos of your car before you get there.

Boots dragging across the driver door? Really? I'm trying to envision exactly what position the car and the mechanic would need to be in for that to occur. I can't think of any.

Hmm... They had used a plastic cover and somehow the dirt from the guys overalls got through the plastic? How exactly do you think that happened?

Obviously you have not heard about valet mode. Or perhaps you car lacks it...

You have evidence that washing the car caused yet more damage? Somehow I don't think so...

And they screwed up your undersides too. I'm sorry but it's very hard for me to believe they damaged your door by purposely taking off (they must have) their shoes and dragging them across your driver's door for no reason, made sure they got their dirt through the plastic protection they put on your car, joy rided it then damaged the underbody by hoisting it up.

Look, a sexist too!

 

You'd be amazed at what you can catch on it.

 

Good call on Van Bortel. They are growing fast and are serious corvette people. I won't take it to where I bought it as they sell 3-4 a year. I did the 500 mile oil at another local dealer and I question whether they used the right oil as nobody ever told me. I also know the wash bay kid there and I was worried he'd find a reason to get near the car. I was nervous. Thanks for the good post.

 

#1 don't go to dealer

#2 find Corvette shop that can do GM warranty work

 

slobs are everywhere ..fyi ..when I took my 2016 c7 to non selling dealer ..because my selling dealer was a waste of time ..I took the tech for ride to show him what the tranny was doing ...gave him $20 ...the following week I dropped the car off and spoke directly to the tech ...he called me when car was done ..we went for another short ride ..all was fixed ..he explained that he did computer re-learn ..of tranny ..fixed the remote car seat heater ..and the display tsb I then handed him $40 ... ps ...I got my car back ..no dirt ..no kicks ..no damage ..

 

Find yourself another dealer that has pride in their work and doesn't treat your car with such carelessness. They are out there if you spend time doing some research.

 

I thought I had found "the" dealer
the car was with them for 3 days, and would intermittently not start, so each time no start, got pushed back into a bay
staff were going in and out, staff pushing the car, etc
so every issue was tripled by the time the car got repaired

I watched, the worst was in tight parking spots, as we all know, when you cannot open the door fully, they can be troublesome to get in and out of

 

thanks, great point
I tried to get it to work, but the car would loose total power and need a reboot, so would loose the settings and go back to "factory"

 

thanks bud
hope it never happens to you

 

"Boots dragging across the driver door? Really? I'm trying to envision exactly what position the car and the mechanic would need to be in for that to occur. I can't think of any."

i believe he means the inside door panel



"Hmm... They had used a plastic cover and somehow the dirt from the guys overalls got through the plastic? How exactly do you think that happened?"

probably got ripped.

instead of a full blown attack on the op's positions about what happened, maybe some reasonable questions to clarify them might be more constructive.