Poor dealer service

[Gary L]

I had my first oil change done in July at the dealer where I purchased my new Colarado pickup. I checked the oil the next time I filled up and found it to be nearly I quart low. I called and complained to the service manager and he comped me for the next oil change. That was last week. When I picked it up I checked the oil level in the service drive, while the writers snickered at me. It was low, by about 3/4 of a quart. My service writer told me as long as it was in the range it was fine. Well maybe in between oil changes, but not a new change. The owners manual states 6 quarts with filter and the coupon the dealer advertises with says up to 6 quarts. I am thru with that dealer and the Toyota dealer he owns for my wife's car service and any future sales.

I am considering writing the owner and explaining why I will not use his dealerships again and also copy GM, Bureau of Automotive Repair and the BBB. What do you all think? Should I follow thru or let it go?

[HarleyD67]

I could see writing the dealership owner, but I would stop there and like you said take your business elsewhere.

[Philip]

One of two things will happen when the owner of the dealership see's the letter (if he even see's it) He will make policy changes so as to not lose another customer over somethig so trivial as a 1/2 qt of oil or not give a hoot.
The service bay uses a bulk dispensing system and it sounds like the gun needs calibrated and the tech isn't checking to make sure it is full before signing off on the work order. I do my own it is the only way to get it done exactly the way I expect.

[Gary L]

I failed to mention that the invoice, even though it was for $0, said 5 quarts. That is my real beef. A GM dealer putting less oil than the manual calls for. I talked to another dealer in the area and they do it the way we all would expect. Fill it, run it, then top it off. Not just get it to within the marks.

[Philip]

sounds like the other dealer may be getting a new customer :D

I had a run in with the dealer I bought my 96 Z-71 from. After price negotations that spanned 3 months on this used truck we settled on a price.
While doing the paperwork I pointed out that they had the payoff wrong on the trade in. Thye told me that they knew what they were doing and it would be ok. A month after the sale they sent me a bill for $565 because of the pay off issue. I told the sales manager I wasn't paying because I tried to point out the error prior to the sale. They ate the difference. A week later I get my plates from DMV and discover they overcharged me $350. I went back to the sales manager who smiled and stated I was still ahead. Now that kinda got me irratated a bit. I sent a certifed letter to the General Manager and recieved no response. Well I figured if they overcharged me others may have been ripped off as well. I printed flyers explaning how to check for the overcharge and started placing them on every car I could find with the dealers name on the back. It wasn't very long before the Gen Mgr contacted me and asked to have me come to the dealership for a talk. After our conversation I recieved a refund for the overcharge, an apology and was asked to stop passing out the flyers. It seems quite a few customers were overcharged and were lining up for refunds. The sales mgr, finance mgr and finance secretary were all fired. It seems the overcharges were not going into the dealers pockets. I enjoyed many years of service with them after that and even sent them customers. I am sure he kept a better watch on operations from that point.

[Gary L]

Just a follow-up post. I wrote the owner a letter, just to him. He called me and apologized. He also refunded what I paid for oil changes. Additionally he gave me his personal phone number in case I still am considering to do business with his dealership. Can't ask more than that to show some interest in what is going on in a business you own!

[Philip]

You might find some substantial changes have been made if you go back :D