nzk

another post on an old well known issue. Chevy dealerships suck!

my battery died and called the service guy at Classic Chevy who did not even say hello or introduce himself, told him my battery is dead car has been sitting for 3 weeks (yes your GM/AC Delco battery is junk). guy says we need to tow it in and check the car, load test etc. etc. before we can warranty it for you (the car has been sitting 3 weeks, its not the car sherlock). call another dealer, Davis Chevy, nicer guy but same stance. sorry but i dont trust some wrecker driver who has a contract with you guys at lowest bid to tow my $70K car for such a minor problem.

pull the battery, take it to autozone, within an hour they have recharged it and checked it to make sure it is good to go. back in the car all set and ALL FOR FREE! why cant our Chevy dealers do this for us after we put down so much hard earned cash for these things? they are not customer oriented, only bureaucracy oriented. Wish we could go to Caddy dealers...dont know if the service there is any better though but im sure it beats the plastic lawn chairs and months old beat up magazines.

b4i4getit

It used to be said that once you buy a new car stay away from the dealer for all but the most serious of problems. This is still true however there are some dealers that do a good job of service and some that can't change oil properly.

z51vett

The service writer is on commission base pay plus you can't live on base this is so they will lie and try to upsale every chance they get. 90% of employees or better at dealers are on commission this is a result of lower volume of car sales and profits for owners.
z51vett

RFZ

what did you think a dealer should do?

nzk

first off say good morning this is ____ how may i help you?

then ask me to bring in the faulty battery if i dont want to have the car towed in , charge and check it , give me a new one if needed. offer me a water/coffee on the way out. not much to it.

Lexus wouldve had a roadside service truck out same day with a new battery in hand if the other one couldnt be jumped. and they would install it for you on the spot. hell they even drop off the loaner when the come to pick up your car for service. and i didnt spend $70k with Lexus.

2k Cobra

My Chevrolet dealer, (Abel Chevrolet, Rio Vista, CA) Load tests the battery during their "Free" maintenance inspections so I know before the battery takes a crap.

I would not apply any negative Chevy Dealer comments to this dealership.

Sorry about yours, 2k

whatcop?

No dealer will be allowed to just accept you bringing in a part and ask them to warranty it.

capevettes

I agree that the stealership network for these cars is pathetic.

However, you need to keep the car on a good battery tender, like a C-Tek 3300, if it's going to sit for prolonged periods. With the number of systems/computers that are in maintenance mode when the car is off, it will eat batteries.

90sundevil

My battery went dead on my 08 last year and I did not want to deal with the dealer so I bought a new battery. It was not that I don't like my dealer, they have been great it was just easier to pick up a new one and not deal with a warranty BS.

My 165k Porsche TT turbo Cab battery went dead about 6 months after buying the car, flat-bedded to the dealer where they replaced the battery after checking it. They said they would have no problem just having me exchange the battery but they did not want to pay for the battery. Porsche has a procedure if they want to get paid back and my guess is GM does also.

90sundevil

Lets not forget the heat here in AZ and Texas just destroys batteries.

RFZ

first dealer sa was rude and there is no excuse....however what he wanted to do was perfectly correct....tow to shop, charge and test..

i probally would have given you the option to bring battery in yourself for a charge but would then have needed you to bring car in to determine cause of dead battery....

also car has been sitting for 3 weeks tells me its not used much , not a major problem [ as compared to someone who needs their car for work] and probally is nothing wrong other than needing a battery tender...

every dealership i have worked at has had coffee, tea, water for their service customers.... seems main issue was the disposition of the s.a. that got things off on the wrong foot

i have a hard time finding good service most everywhere...it's still there just harder to come by...

maybe get yourself a battery charger to help the next time

RFZ

in april my original battery will be 6 years old....still doing it as of now...z batteries love being mounted in the rear...

Shark Racer

There's no guarantee the battery you bring in will be the one that came out of the car, in addition to the above-mentioned diagnostic reasons.

I went through the same story. It's certainly frustrating - the cost of towing a car to the dealership would likely be as much as the battery.

RedZ4me

Don't paint them all with the same brush.......most follow policies and procedures

383vett

Years ago dealers probably accepted walk in battery claims and customers were given batteries to go. The dealers were probably scammed by John Q Public bringing in batteries from other cars, not the car covered by the warranty. This is now their rule and that's the way it is. If the service person accepted your battery and gave you a new one, he would probably lose his job. If you want Lexus service, buy a Lexus.

GOLD72

The OEM battery is my 07 vert will be 6 years old in April and still doing great. Only time I have ever had an OEM battery last this long. Knock on wood!!

Bill Dearborn

Lets see, you have a car that has a battery under warranty and you don't like the fact the dealer has to follow correct service procedures and actually see the car and test it before authorizing the replacement because you are afraid to have your car towed.

I think you should apologize to the dealer for bad mouthing them when they did nothing wrong. First, so what if they guy didn't say good morning? Do you your feelings get hurt anybody doesn't say good morning, etc? I suspect he said something and just didn't pick up the phone and wait for you to speak. Maybe, when he answered the phone he was preoccupied with another Customer's problem. Second, A good towing company will not damage your car and most of the ones recommended by GM Service are pretty good. If your car is under warranty and a warranty repair is required you will never even see the bill. Third, just because the car has been sitting for three weeks doesn't mean the battery is causing a no start condition. The battery in my Vette could sit in a 30 degree garage for 4 to 5 weeks and still readily start the car as most will do.

The service the dealer would have given you would have been more thorough than what you got at AutoZone. Even if you had gotten the car to the store they could only check the alternator and battery not the other things that can affect the battery charge. When my 5 year old battery started dying AZ tested it with two different testers and got different results from each one.

I do not see the Chevy Dealer did anything but tell you what should be done but you didn't want to hear that and you then complain they and all other GM dealers give poor service.

If you paid less money for the Lexus and got door to door service I suspect you paid too much for the car since that service isn't free. It is just hidden in the cost of the car which doesn't have the high dollar race car level components that come in a Corvette and make the Corvette perform like a world class sports car.

Bill

90sundevil

I feel sorry for your battery.

04_Z06_CE

Chevy service is by far the worst in industry. Not even close. Not all but most are terrible.

nzk

Going to disagree with you there Bill. Dealer cost for a new battery is what ? $50 ? Retail is $129. You're saying it makes more sense to tow a vehicle to the dealer to check the battery rather than let the customer bring it in and rule it out there ? Ok even if they can't replace a $50 battery without bureaucratic procedure at least offer to test it.

I've seen towing disasters and how well dealers take care of the damages. No thanks. Better to take the trip to autozone.

And I do own a Lexus and yes the service is spectacular and no I didn't overpay for quality, you get your money's worth. They make their money through making a superior product, not pinching on customer service. I own an Acura too , same experience as Lexus. GM is out of its league building , selling , and servicing expensive cars .