S'vette

Honestly when I do have a car that is no longer under warranty (about once a lunar eclipse), I then go out and find a good and reputable ma and pop garage to do my work. They tend to be more personable and easy to work with.

Gannet

The giveaway is the ridiculous prices being quoted (and I am not a cheapskate).

$315 to read the Tech2?

Seven Hundred Dollars to replace a tire sensor? Excuse me, that is just robbery. The sensor costs about $50-60 and the cost to R&R the tire and reset it shouldn't be more than $25-35.

$150 to "look at" the rear? What are they going to "look at" for that price? They sure aren't going to strip it and inspect everything. Is that just to pull the rear cover and shine a flashlight in there?

To the OP: find someone who has a tire pressure sensor "tool", an electronic box to check them. Or buy your own, they are only a little over $100. Use that to check the battery status of your sensors. My guess is they are used up. The battery life is only about 5 years, so you're about due. I wouldn't try to change the batteries, just get new sensors. If you want to save a bit, just let it ride until you need tires, then have them all replaced.

Bottom line on the dealer? A rip, imo.

Find a good independent Vette shop. Ask if they have a Tech2. If so, they can probably do your electronic TSBs anyways. Maybe there's a good dealer in Houston, but it sure ain't this one. It would be good to try and line up another, though, for those rare things like recalls that your independent may not be able to do. For everything else, use an independent.

Just imo/ime.

08vycpe

You might want to consider a subscription to Alldata.com. I do a lot of work on my cars and the servicve instructions from Alldata are helpful. If you are having issues with your car you can read through the TSB's published on Alldata (technical service bulletins from GM) and see if any align with your issue. You might be able to take care of a lot of issues yourself. Resetting the tire pressure sensors is easy if you have the $99 tool. Otherwise most tire shops will reset them for free.

I had the infamous "service active handling" on the DIC of my '08. It sounds serious but was an easy fix that is described in a TSB.

Good luck, do what you can yourself or arm yourself with some knowledge before going to the dealership and oh yeah....enjoy the car.

Here is the Alldata link.

http://www.alldatadiy.com/

DriverC6

So explain $200 to replace diff fluid (a problem Chevrolet has yet to fix after 40+ years of rear end chatter issues!). Also, the customer often has to pay for your dealership to "fix" something then pay again when your lame diagnosis turns out to be wrong. What's the differnce between that and doing what the customer requests? Finally, your smiling at the customer's loss tells all we need to know about You. How about publishing the name of the dealer you work for so we can all avoid it like the plague.

snowman0920

Wow! Good thing I posted so you guys could have somebody to vent on. :o

A couple of things: First, I don't work for a GM dealer or a corporate multi-dealer. I work for a highline store that is owned by a local guy who was born and raised here, worked his way up from lot boy, and runs one of the most respected dealerships in this city. People drive and fly in here from many states to do business with us because of our reputation for customer service and quality work. Our service to sales ratio is one of the highest in the nation because people who have bought their cars elsewhere and have had bad experiences bring them here for service.

Also, I can tell from post after post on this forum that some - a lot - most of you have had bad experiences at dealerships. I have, too. And, that's something that I have to deal with as a Vette owner because we do not service Vettes. (We actually do have a couple of guys here that know what they are doing - how to properly lift a Vette, how to install mods and perform any number of services.) But, there are still things that require special tools, diagnostic equipment, etc, that we do not have. Since I've only had my car about three months, I haven't had to take it to a dealer yet (thank goodness). But, when something happens that we can't deal with here, I'll have to make the same decisions you guys do. Who do I trust to hand over the keys to my baby? Do they have a Corvette specialist, or is my car going to get worked on by the same greaseball who just screwed up an oil change on a Cavalier?

I don't know where I'll take my car for service. I'll probably ask other local Vette owners, the guys in our shop who's opinions I trust, etc. and go from there. Hopefully I'll be able to find someone with whom I can develop a long-term realtionship.

Now, about the charges the author of this thread was asked to pay: I have no idea what it costs to diagnose and service a Vette. You guys think the quote was outrageous, so I defer to you. And, I agree that if something doesn't sound right you should walk away. In fact, in another thread a few days ago, a member said a dealer was going to charge him something like $325 to install aftermarket mufflers. I was the first one to jump on and tell him to shop around for a better price, and that I thought an independent shop or muffler shop would do it for $100 or less.

Nothing kills a business and a reputation like gouging customers and performing sub-par work. Places may have been able to get away with that in the past when there was less competition and no internet. But, not anymore. To build a business these days, you have to do a better job than your competition and earn repeat business.

Despite what some of you may think, I am one of the good guys. Most of you would like me if you knew me, and would probably enjoy having a beer and cigar out on my deck while swapping racing stories. (Unless you're a Michigan fan. Then, never mind.)

I run an honest business and don't try to sell people things they don't need or want. In fact, today I did something that I guarantee none of you have ever had happen. I called a customer who took delivery of a vehicle on Monday and offered to have him come back in and re-contract his car because one of the credit unions we use lowered their rates.

Oh, and BTW, the reason I said I smiled when I heard the customer had to spend more on a repair, was because I offered to solve his problem and guarantee a proper solution for 1/2 hour diagnostic charge (about $50) and he went off on me about trying to rip him off when he already knew what the problem was. He was a total jerk, but I did the repair he wanted. He then ended up spending more money because he thought he knew best.

mcandrew67

You are the customer, you have the right to go in and tell them what you want replaced and fixed. They cannot force you to get a diganostic done. You can give them the service bulletins and say I want these performed, how much is it to do each of these per the TSB.
I want my rear fluid changed, I want the column clip done or whatever it is....
Jimmie Jam, what dealer do you work for so I can stay away from it ?

Gofan

knapp chevrolet is who I use and they do exactly what you ask, and no bs.

snowman0920

100%



One thing, though... If you waive diagnostics, please don't trash the dealer or shop if your self-diagnosed repair doesn't fix the problem.

Fordracer9

While that's true to a point, wouldn't you rather have a professional validate your diagnostic? If the shop performs the repairs to his specs, and that does not fix the car, then what happens?

It's threads like this that make me hate the interweb

jimmie jam

David, i don't understand... i quoted "snowman"'s post that was defending dealer "practices/charges"...those were his words. by the way, great name for a "F&I" dealer employee. (i don't work )

mcandrew67

My bad thats what happens when you read it on an Iphone lmao
sorry....

mcandrew67

My point being was, if you "Know" what is wrong with your car, then you have the option to tell them, "No, I want you to change xyz, thats all I want you to do"

Of course, if changing XYZ doesn't fix the problem then thats on you

James Bond 007

Fixed

S'vette

even when a diag is done it might not pin point it and they still have to replace several parts in sequence to see if that works. With all the knowledge on here, I think every problem that the vette can have has been had and a fix to it posted. If 10 people on here had the same prob as I am having, I trust their fix more than a diag test. What did they do before diags? Good old knowledgeable troubleshooting.

S'vette

Tis true and as long as you know that then all is good. Like I said I find a good ma and pa garage when warranties run out, not that I let that happen often.

kh400

I''ve made my living working on cars at the dealership level all my life and I'm now 61. Hard to believe. I've often said that if I couldn't fix my cars myself, I couldn't afford to own one. And this goes doubly true for a Corvette. If you are the least bit handy. Go online to ebay and pick up a scanner/code reader. You can get a nice one for @$200. Also call or email Gene Culley and buy yourself a complete set of manuals for your '05 Corvette.Then, read and learn and repair. You really don't have much to lose for most repairs. Otherwise, look for a knowledgeable independent ,honest mechanic, maybe even one who specializes in Corvettes. Dealerships usually have one or two extremely sharp techs in their service dept. The rest are just bodies. So, unless you are very lucky, you wonlt get a good job done and at @$100/flatrate hr for labor, the bill goes up in a hurry.Also to make a decent living, techs are forced to sell all sorts of unneccessary services on you vehicle which makes them money and only drains your wallet faster. Example: Injector flush. Vehicles have had deposit resistant injectors since the early Nineties and very rarely need any type of maintenance service. The list goes on and on.Corvettes are highly technical, complicated cars, but worth their troublesome nature to me and many others. You just have to learn to do it yourself!!!! Good luck and happy ownership!!!!

wjnjr

Which dealer was it? I'd like to know to avoid. PM if you don't want to post.

Gering

PM sent, give me a call if you have any questions!

Tommy D

The best investment you can make is purchasing the manuals from Gene. While codes can be read with a hand held you still need to run down a trouble tree in order to determine the component or circuit to be replaced or repaired. The Corvette Manuals give you everything you need to check out any problem. (see example Oxygen sensor in snowman0920 original post)

TSB issues are known by the dealers and should not be a problem. We all know the 07 Corvettes have the wrong rear fluid. Unfortunately, some require more than changing the fluid. We all know about many of the other issues Corvettes have as they are listed in the FAQ as a sticky. A dealer who is familiar with Corvettes and has a one tech who specializes in Corvettes should know exactly how to deal with these issues.

Unfortunately, as snowman0920 posted dealers need to diagnose the problem regardless of what we ask. If the car leaves the shop and is involved in accident or some other nasty event the dealer can be held responsible.

I have found it best to ask other CF members for recommendations with regard to vendors, dealers and alike (excluding modifying as this is an entirely different issue) When one individual is highly recommended by more than one forum member there is a better chance of not getting taken to the cleaners (AH a Corvette this guy can pay). Just use common sense after all it is your money to spend