I am done buying GM products!!

[Robert Burns]

And then you finally find out what service can be from a dealership..LEXUS! Ive been a toyota/Lexus guy fo 17 years, and
they have always been great! Now when i take my 03' GS in for service
(oh, and i did NOT buy it there! purchased used, private party, and they
still treat me like a king!) Anyway...drop off your lexus, get into the 07'
they give you as a loner... free gas..and milage does not matter!
"Cost"? a bit more than an Olds...but the vehicle is twice anything
in quality that the US can produce. The Relentless pursuit of Perfection!
Mercedes, and BMW dont offer this $5 loaner vehicle for all service customers! Why buy a new GM/Ford for $18K when you can buy a 4 yr
old Lexus with say 55K miles on it, and it's still a tighter...quieter car than
a new GM car. Buy a clean used Lexus, and enjoy being treated like a king!

[nhspike]

Robert,
I must agree.
I bought a 12 year old lexus for less than 5K, two years ago.
V8
Smooth power.
Real leather, even on the door panels (not leather "seating surfaces" LOL).

I absolutely LOVE my lex-luthor... and I intend to get a million miles out of it, like others have.
Just check the web.

Buying a Chevy or Ford is like tipping a bad waitress.

Don't encourage them to keep doing it wrong.

Make them earn it.

Not a comment on the employees, but the management.

They are having these things made in Mex/Canada anyhow, and we are supposed to "buy American?"

Nope.

I've got kids to feed... and I have to get to work.

UNCLE!

[semagic]

It was listed as a demo with only 32 miles on it. Me knowing how this program works asked the salesman how long ago it was activated. He told me just 2 weeks ago. With only 32 miles on it, it seems logical.

sorry nothing seems logical about that scenario. driven 32 miles in two weeks? demos are driven until they have about 5000 to 6000 miles on them, then they are retired to sell. what did the odometer read when you took delivery of it? you should recieve the balance of the time and mileage.

[DonP]

Well, sorry to bring this up again, but I feel I just got ass-poked from the dealer. We had a power window in the 2003 Tahoe that was repaired, worked for a month, then stopped working. Brought it in assuming "warrenty", but they put a twist on it saying something else failed.

Also wanted the allignment done, but it seemed like they needed to replace the entire front end. Idler arms, yada yada.

$900 to fix a power window and get an alignment. This is that last US car we'll buy.

[Spivonious]

Ouch! I had to replace the entire window raising system a few months ago and it took me about an hour to get the old one out and put the new one in. And I had never even taken the door panel off before, so everything was new to me. The part was around $80 IIRC. Car is a Ford Focus ZX3.

[CharvelRocker]

On a side note, anyone notice lately since Pennsylvania did emissions everyones Check Engine light has been coming on? Brother just put $200 into his Dodge for it. His GF's Chevy Cav. needs similar parts. Our Suzuki needs some new parts in it's emissions system after it's light came on. Everyone we know has this issue with the check engine coming on. I swear it's just a massive scam to make more business for dealers, and I would not be shocked if they somehow rig this stuff to break or do something to it when they test it to shorten it's lifespan, as it was never an issue before...

[rjohnstone]

Don, unless you wrecked the car, there is no need to replace anything except maybe some bushings and retainer pins.
I find it hard to believe that they "needed" to replace anything on a 5 year old vehicle.
I think they fucked you.
And don't blame that on it being a US made car, blame that on the dealership's service department.
The import dealers will fuck you just as bad on a "simple" repair.

As for your window repair, GM only covers those parts for 3/36 unless you bought and extended warranty. I would still bitch though. It shouldn't have failed a month later.

[DonP]

I have to agree. The dealer is making up for lost car sales.

For the window, this dealer repaired the window a couple of months earlier, and covered their repairs for 12m/12K, but "conviently" to them, it wasn't their repair that had the issue, so they stuck me with another $270 in parts and labor fixing the window they fixed a couple of months ago.

I'm done with these pirates.

[StukaJU87]

People need to learn to do some basic wrenching on their own. You do not need to be ASE certified to be capable of doing minor repairs. Dealers and shops make a killing on stuff people could do themselves in a few hours on a Saturday. Brakes, starters, oil changes, tune ups, replacing bad switches etc.

[Spivonious]

Totally agree, Scott. I got a service manual for my car a few months ago and it's amazing how much stuff you can fix with just a wrench and a screwdriver. I cringe whenever someone tells me they just went to Jiffy Lube for a $20 oil change.

I see the same thing in computers. People are so afraid to poke around inside their case that they end up paying Geek Squad $50 an hour to clean out dust from the heatsinks.

[LouSiffer]

Well, I go to Jiffy Lube and the likes all the time. If I buy the oil at $1.89 per quart times 5 quarts, the filter which is about $5, the washer fluid which is about a $1, and the time it takes me to do it and another trip if I choose to dispose of oil properly ( and I do )...... a $20 oil change is a steal to me.

I agree with Stuka, but, there are some people that shouldn't be allowed to hold a wrench and be within 30 feet of a car. Find a reputable private repair shop and stick with it. Those guys are usually less likely to stick it in you. The owner can't afford to prod around your car if he gives you an estimate you can not and will not pay. Dealerships don't care..... if they can't stick it to you....there is always the next guy.-Lou

[DonP]

I think I'd need more than a wrench to do a front end alignment, but the other things are fine.

I get oil changes for $12.95 ($14+ out the door) so that's a no-brainer.

[StukaJU87]

Those 15 dollar oil changes are fine for a beater like my truck, but no hack quickie lube is putting their hands on my GT. Sorry, ya get what ya pay for. For 15 bucks you are probably getting crap oil and you are definitely getting a crap filter. The Mustang gets Mobil 1 oil and filter and I do it myself.
The recycling place is 1/2 a mile away to dump the waste oil.

[Bert]

Yeah I've been the victim of attempted rape at GM dealerships as well... if your car is out of warranty, they basically invent whatever they can to sell you as many PARTS as possible, whether you need them or not. I guess that's how they make their money. Even when you bring your car in for warranty repairs I've found they will pretend your brake pads are worn or something like that in order to perform "maintenance" service which is not covered by warranty. You need to be firm and tell them NO.

My guess is this is not unique to GM dealers, but perhaps with GM it's more common since GMs end up in the shop more often than many other brands.

[semagic]

Well, I go to Jiffy Lube and the likes all the time. If I buy the oil at $1.89 per quart times 5 quarts, the filter which is about $5, the washer fluid which is about a $1, and the time it takes me to do it and another trip if I choose to dispose of oil properly ( and I do )...... a $20 oil change is a steal to me.

I agree with Stuka, but, there are some people that shouldn't be allowed to hold a wrench and be within 30 feet of a car. Find a reputable private repair shop and stick with it. Those guys are usually less likely to stick it in you. The owner can't afford to prod around your car if he gives you an estimate you can not and will not pay. Dealerships don't care..... if they can't stick it to you....there is always the next guy.-Lou

is that why jiffy lubes have been caught red handed using the same oil filter's and charging for flushes that weren't done. vehicle repairs are like anything else it's customer satisfaction driven. end of story. if you don't take care of your customers they won't come back. the "there's always the next guy theory" is a pipe dream, the market is way too competitive. name your business it's the same story. i'm not saying all repair shops don't charge or can't get expensive , but sometimes they will goodwill transmissions or other costly repairs. independant shops won't necessarily do that.