The Tweedles

Thursday, August 17, 2006

The problem with dealerships

Let me tell you about the last 2 times I've brought my car into a GM Goodwrench (actually 5 times, but I'll get to that).

Around two years ago, I brought my car into Shaganappi Chevrolet for an oil change and some new break rotors. I dropped it off, and a few hours later got the call "We don't have the parts, it'll take us 3 days." Fine. Then they call back "We can only find 3 parts that we can get within a week, do you want us to use non-GM parts?" Sure, fine. I come to pick up my car 4 days later, and they've put in 3 GM rotors, and 1 non. That's not very safe! Also, the non GM part cost less than half as much. I argued that they should have at least used 2 matching non-GM parts, but I wasn't in the mood for a fight so I paid and went out to pick up my car.

When I sat down, the seat was broken! A sharp piece of plastic bit into me where the left side of the seat should have supported me. I brought this to the attention of the mechanic who asked "Was it like that when you brought it in?" NO!! "Ok then..." Long story short, 3 more days, I finally pick up my car with a new seat side. There was never an apology, and the new part doesn't fit as flushly as the original, and the back adjustment handle falls off every month or so, but it's functional, and I was sufficiently annoyed at Shagganappi Chevrolet that I was never going to bring my car back again, even to let them fix something they'd broken.

Flash forward to now, and I've moved to California. I need to get my car smog checked, and I figure it's easiest just to take it to the closest dealer, Sunnyvale Chevrolet. At least that way I know I'll get good service, right? I bring it in, it passes the test, and I pay for it. But when I go to pick up my car, the drivers side mirror is hanging off the side of the car. It's hanging in a way that looks like it's attached, until you hit a bump and it rotates out of position and shows you a good reflection of the asphalt beside you. I point this out to the mechanic, and at least this time I get a "Hmm, I don't remember it being like that when you brought it in." He promises to order the replacement part and let me know when it's in.

A week later I send an email. I've yet to receive a response to it. Another week later I give them a call. After 10 minutes of getting shuffled around, "Oh yeah, the part's here. Can you bring it in in a week?" Sure, I've just been driving around for 2 weeks with my mirror duct-taped on, what's another week.
So the day comes, and I bring the car in at 8am, because they say they'll need lots of time with it. Fine, although for someone who normally starts work at 11am this is a bit of a bother. And then the shuttle they've offered me shows up half an hour later, and it only take 45 minutes to get me 5 miles to my job. I probably could have walked faster. I get a ride back to the dealer just as they're closing (not taking the shuttle again). I still haven't received a phone call to say my car is ready, but I've learned not to wait for phone calls. I show up, and my paperwork isn't at the cashier, so she asks me to go find the mechanic. Like this is my job. Nonetheless I do wander around the repair bays until I find him just finishing up with my car. I go back inside to sign the paperwork and then get in my car and swear to never come back. No one ever apologized.
So the next day, I'm driving to work, and I notice that the passenger mirror is loose. WTF! It's not quite as broken as the driver mirror had been, but it's still not functional.


So that brings us to today. What should I do? I never want to touch the ground at a Goodwrench dealership again, but it looks like they have broken my car again. I'm tempted to just pay for it myself, and forget the dealer. I've already been without my car for half a dozen days, and I've wasted countless hours letting the dealership fix things they've broken. It goes without saying that I'm never going to voluntarily take my car to any Goodwrench again, but what about getting this mirror fixed?

Any advice?

3 Comments:

At 8/17/2006 12:54 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why dont you just fix your mirror yourself. A little baking soda and crazy glue will make sure it doesn't fall off.

 
At 8/17/2006 7:38 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My husband is not good for much (ask Dea, she reads my blog!) but one of his true gifts is his ability as a car mechanic. He hates dealerships, both for buying and fixing cars. If you can't fix your car yourself, make friends with someone who does do most of his own car repair, and then ask him who he uses to fix his cars when he can't fix them. Also exploit your friend for advice on how to fix the problems yourself without going to a mechanic.

My dad is a total know-nothing when it comes to car stuff and it drives my husband CRAZY. However, over the years my dad has started to listen to my husband more, because he really does know what he's talking about.

Good luck Adam!

 
At 8/17/2006 11:16 PM, Blogger TweedleDea said...

Dumminy! Oh I'll take care of it, and I could just go into the living room now and tell you to take Maggie to work, but I'll tell you here, wait I have climbing tomorrow, but I'll call them and BITCH THEM OUT, LIKE THE BITCH I AM! It will be great fun. Come on, you know you married an assertive cutie for a reason!

 

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