JetBlackC4

As you may recall, I recently bought my mint black '95 off the front row of a local Chevy dealer. I didn't buy any sort of warranty, since I don't tend to trust non-factory warranties (and this car is well out of that) and it is in such good shape I figured I was safe for awhile, especially since she won't be racking up the miles. I should know better . Anyway, to get my price I had to sign off on an as-is deal. A few days later, I notice she's left some green bodily fluid on the garage floor . My hope is that it's just a hose or something else simple/minor, but naturally your mind jumps to the worst case . So, I drop by the Chevy dealer and speak with my salesman, who of course is sorry to hear it, and he has me speak with the Manager. Now, I was in the business before and I know how it works - if there's a "comeback" with a used car, any $$$ the dealer puts into it comes out of the deal, and in most cases the salesperson ends up with a nothing deal. They (understandably) do NOT like to see you back with a problem. Adding to the "ugly" for my dealer, I know darn well they weren't making much off me in the first place. Anyway, the manager is very nice, very understanding, and he tells me to have the Service Dept. check it out and he would "work something out with me". Of course I'm thinking this means picking up half the cost, or maybe eating the labor. This was a few weeks ago, and first I got busy...then I got sick...it ended up being just this week that I could drop it off (as an aside - they even gave me a ride back home to pick up another vehicle). Couple days go by and my wife casually mentions "oh by the way the dealer called and your car is ready" (how nice she thought this was so important that she could keep that to herself for like 8 hours, until they were closed! ). I just picked it up this afternoon, and about that "worst case" deal - yep, it was the water pump and it had leaked all over the distributor. They replaced both, and didn't try to charge me a cent . I mentioned to the service advisor that I knew that was a pricey repair, having spent over a grand to tune up my LT-1 Z/28, and he told me "yep - in fact even in house it's a $1k job". Not only that, they're making me a 2nd set of keys! I just wanted to share with you guys - thought it might be a nice change of pace from the all too common "my dealer really bent me over" horror stories . BTW, this is ELCO Chevrolet (owned by Enterprise) on Manchester in St. Louis (west county).

ZumZum

Well saw off my legs and call me shorty.


You don't hear many stories like that these days.

Strick

Now do the right thing and do business with him. Let your friends know. This is how a good business grows. Thanks for taking the time to tell us about your good experience with a dealership. They all aren't that bad.

bogus

I agree with strick - these guys sound stand up!

You found a true gem!

JetBlackC4

Oh believe me, having been "in the business" myself I am well aware of the value of referral business. Besides, they pay $200 for a referral compared to the dealer I sold at (Lincoln-Mercury) only paying $100 so I was going to try to send him some business anyway!

And I've already told my wife we need to buy our Suburban from them

96CEC4

Elco is the only place that I take my Vette...

85 500 horse

Next time you speak to your salesman or manager, make sure you mention that you wrote about your positive experience with them in this forum. Impress upon them that many people read what is written in this forum and many people are guided by the advice given. They will appreciate it and this can only help you in the future if another problem should unfortunately arise.

tm1995c4-LT1

Nice to hear of some good experiences with used car salesman.
Got another one for ya. Last summer I had grown very tired of owning and maintaining a baby fleet of vehicles (2 trucks, the vette, and a bike). I found a Silverado SS at the same dealership where I bought the Vette from. So I went in and talked with the same salesman that sold me the vette. Knowing that I was gonna take an azzwhoopin on trading the Vette and my Dakota because of what I owe, I hoped trading my S-10, thats paid for, would help minimize the damage. The salesman had all 3 three looked over, and when we sat down to talk numbers it wasn't pretty. The salesman looked me in the eye and said "You don't want to do this." He went on to say that I would have no problem selling the Vette, and the Dakota for what I owed. Then he said just give him a call and he would find the truck I wanted and have it there within a few days. Hows that for a straight up guy?

I still plan on buying an SS, hopefully by the end of the year. And after the first of the year, when my g/f graduates college, she wants a Monte Carlo SS. I will be buying both of these from Chuck Pesterfield at Gordon Chevrolet in Orange Park, FL.

corvette1989bham

Most dealerships have a 30 day warranty policy on their used vehicles for powertrain only, it is covered by a seperate policy. they sometimes dont tell the customers about it (dont want customers to use it running up the policy cost), it just covers their butt for items just like this, I am not saying they did it, BUT they might have filed a warranty claim?

j3studio

We must reward the good ones!

Midnight 85

I had no idea there was dealerships like this. Actually I wish I was closer to St. Louis, I'd be stopping by the next time I'm shopping. They deserve a pat on the back.

wake

I've only found one dealership of that caliber in my 34 years of life...

Pete Johnston's GM in Paso Robles, CA...

I moved away 8 years ago and never found another GM dealership that could even come close to the level of service and fairness of that service department...

Unriced

Sucks that the good are far and few in between and get this kind of
attention for doing more or less what they should have.. I am glad
it worked out for ya.. Kudos to them.. Tell 'em to open one in the
Boston area as all dealers around here are teh suck....