Ongoing List of Problematic Dealers

[ragingfish]

In light of numerous members having serious problems with dealers...I feel it would be beneficial for us to compile a list of dealers which have caused SERIOUS damage, inconvenience, or have performed poor, unreliable, or unapproved work to your car.FOR EXAMPLE, AtWork's interior power-washing, another member's seriously overfilled engine after an oil change, etc.Please list the dealer name, address, and nature of the problem (or problems) here.I feel this information would be valuable and we can pass it on to Jeff Strausser or another person at Pontiac who can look into these concerns, and if possible, take the necessary action.I MUST EMPHASIZE: please only indicate SERIOUS issues you have had with your dealer. Not something like "he didn't check that thing I asked him to," "the guy was rude," or "he's too expensive." While these are unfortunate, inconvenient, and possibly mild problems, I don't feel they're worth elevating to the corporate level. Again, this is a serious thread dedicated NOT to bashing your dealer, but to fixing problems that will in the end make us all proud to be Pontiac owners, and not having so many wishing they could get repairs at a Toyota dealer...Fellow moderators and administrators: I started this thread in good spirit, with the hope it will benefit the GenVibe community (and help members avoid dealers with poor track records), as well as Pontiac (who can address the more serious concerns and use that to better improve the quality of customer service and after-sale care of our cars). If you feel this thread is inappropriate, unnecessary, or flat out unwelcome, please don't hesitate to delete it, but just let me know via IM so I'm aware...Thanks guys...

[Hot Vibe]

Sorry I do not have any negative issues with my dealer. Noonan Pontiac. Some people may have *****ed about their dealer but I get treated like I own a caddie(I own one of those too.).

[ragingfish]

I welcome feedback on great experiences too! Maybe we'll create a second thread for that...

[Gim67]

Great idea Ragingfish! I'll start. Wallace Pontiac, Milton ON., CAN. I took my vibe in for a small number of problems, why bother them with one little issue at a time, hoping to save trips to the dealer. One problem was repaired, the others were not, the biggest problem was with eneven/unusual tire wear, a weird thumping coming from the tires/wheel area and a vibration felt in the car and at the steering wheel. The first response was "I can't warranty those tires, the tread looks fine" WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT WARRANTY????? The second response?! " I've measured the tread depth and everything is wearing evenly" So I asked" what about the thumping and vibration?" " We didn't notice anything like that!" After a useless discusion I was told " why don't you just pay the bill and leave"( I asked them to do an alignment check $50) So I did.Fuming! After having the tires balanced, all under vehicle components checked and a 4-wheel alignment completed elsewhere, I still had the problem. Finally I gave in and took Ginni( yeah, I named my car?!? )to a different dealer and this time I was told two of the tires where bad(?) and would be replaced undeer warranty.( bad belts or wearbars? ) Still waiting for new tires. ( two days and counting )P.S. Because I wasn't happy with the OEM tires anyway I went looking for aftermarket wheels and tires and the and the sales person was extremely interested in my warranty issue because he has recently been offered a great deal on a bulk purchase of the same tires!!??( Continental Touring Contact ) Thanx J.S.Danyluk

[Vibe Rater]

Is it pure coincidence most of the horror stories come from Ontario? I have nothing good to say about my dealer. Going to a dealer with a concern is right up there with going to the dentist. Not just Gm dealers. I have a NISSAN, and it's the same damn thing. They don't wanna fix anything, they don't hear what you hear, they challenge everything you say, they avoid doing warranty work like it was coming out of their own pocket. They suck. The sales experience was a nightmare too. In Ontario, 99% of the car salemen give the rest of them a bad reputation. Royal Pontiac.

[pmh013]

Capital Pontiac in Regina SK Canada.I took my car in to get the cladding replaced under the TSB. 1. They had no idea what a TSB was. 2. They looked up the TSB, but said they didn't understand what it meant by "discoloration" so they have to get clarification from the District Service Manager.3. I'm now on day 9 and I haven't even heard back from the dealership. I called about 5 days ago, only to be told that the DSM has not phoned the dealership back, so nothing has been done.UPDATE: I just found the note I wrote when I called the dealership back & they were able to supply me with an answer. On 14 October 2003 (24 days after calling!), I was told that GM is denying goodwill replacement, because the extended warranty doesn't cover trim (interior or exterior).

[Pix Doc]

My Dealer (Haggerty Pontiac Oak Lawn IL.) told me they dont see the discoloration so they cant justify the replacement to GM!

[Vibe Rater]

quote:My Dealer (Haggerty Pontiac Oak Lawn IL.) told me they dont see the discoloration so they cant justify the replacement to GM!You must be seeing things then, or your glasses are really dirty.

[BubbaBlueyz]

attn gim67 that could mean the tires are cupped (uneven wear) that could be do to lack of rotation, or align problem. Usally a dealership wont do anything about it or want involved! Youll have to take it to a contintal dealer! balancing and align will not cure the viberation or the slapping noise. You can cross rotate the tires and it will slowly correct itself! Its very possible that you did have a broken belt! i doubt it! The tires are also junk! I have 15000 miles on my tires and they are bald! I rotated mine every 3000 miles! I work at a tire shop! Ive been there 6 yrs! But good luck on getting the tires warrentied!

[ALi3N]

I put my Vibe GT in for a warrantee alignment and after 4 trips to Beck and Masten in Houston they have only made the car worse. Then they told me i had to just deal with the car the way it is.

[Mavrik]

Well I haven't had any probs with the dealership I take my car to... namely cause I work there. Who better to fight for the warranty stuff then yourself eh? lol.So don't avoid Gord Anderson Pontiac Buick in Woodstock ON, I work there heh.But if you are having probs with a dealership, take it to another. Some might be a little hesitent to do another dealership's warranty work but if you give them all your service like oil changes and such, most will be very happy to take away someone else's business. Otherwise some dealerships might not wanna do warranty work for you if they never see you again... Sounds bad but would you do something for free for someone because someone else wouldn't, basicly do them a favour and then never see them again? No thanks, just a goodbye?

[denverguy81]

Red Holman Pontiac/GMC35300 Ford Rd Westland, MI 48185 Phone: (734) 721-1144I don't know too much about the sales side of the dealership, however, I am extremely unsatisfied with the service department side. I've taken my car in twice already and problems that I was told had been fixed had not been fixed at all. Infact, some of the problems actually became worse. Now I am facing taking the car in for a third time for issues that were claimed to be resolved.And now for a positive note, I bought my Pontiac Vibe from this dealership and had an extremely good experience:Burt Buick Pontiac GMC5850 S BroadwayLittleton, CO 80121 Phone: (720) 284-5180Salesman was very courtious. I had a nice time testing out the car. When I actually bought the Vibe, I didn't have transportation because of a car accident. So the salesman picked me up from my apartment and took me to the dealership. They didn't have a Vibe with all the options I wanted, so they tracked one down at another dealership and got it into their stock. The finance department was also pretty nice and were flexible. I was paying cash for the car, but the account I was writing the check from for the car for had not received the money I transferred from another account. So they agreed not to cash the check until the money had transferred. On top of all that, they also provided me with a variety of different perks, like free oil changes and a new car owners class.

[Mavrik]

Just a question and I don't intend to offend anyone with this remark but should a thread be made for service people to complain about how they are treated? Warranty frustrations or other CP work?There are two sides to every coin and I am not taking any complaints here personally towards service. Infact I find it rather helpful myself but still.

[rubberman]

The worst part about taking you car into the dealer for work they treat you like your stupid and don't no anything.If they dont fix your problem just put some LARGE decals on the car saying were you bought and it a piece of junk!

[Mavrik]

Actually you can get legal action taken against you for doing that... unless you just put "This is a piece of junk I bought at..." and have an arrow pointing to their little emblem with their name on your car. That way there is nothing they can do cause they put their name on your car heh.

[Caretaker]

Well, I'm going to take the Vibe into the dealer for a little show and tell this weekend. I will ask for my cladding to be replaced (I have the sand blasting effect in front of both rear wheel wells), the rubber seal around the driver's door to be replaced (the window pinches the rubber at the top and it creates a draft in the cabin), and replace the rear seat cup holder which has snapped off. Wish me luck. I have the TSB notice you all posted on the cladding. I won't be taking any prisoners.

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »Just a question and I don't intend to offend anyone with this remark but should a thread be made for service people to complain about how they are treated? Warranty frustrations or other CP work?There are two sides to every coin and I am not taking any complaints here personally towards service. Infact I find it rather helpful myself but still.I thknk this thread was supposed to be a place to list the actual dealers where members have had serious issues. There should probably also be a thread where members can list dealers that were very good. There's already a thread for general how do you feel about your dealer at http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=5148. A thread about the craziness that service folks have to put up with from customers would probably have some pretty funny stories in it. (How about building a little support for the service techs - tomorrow, find out the real deal on the GM direction on the battery problem)

[Mavrik]

I have some very funny tales of the service department if anyone wants to read any.

[fuel4soul]

Not a HUGE problem, but my local GM dealer (Pembertons) has never satisfied me. Awhile back they went round and round with me telling the GM in the Driveway Cert. wasn't "real." and there was no such program. Then when I told them I would just go somewhere else the salesman got so pissed he was just raising his voice and saying, "That's an insult!"Tonight, I tried it again and I went to go look at a used Vibe. They wouldn't let me test drive it because they said it's too dirty outside on the roads. Then told me it would be different if I was looking to buy....I told them that's kind of why I was looking at cars...I don't know if they are rude because I'm young, but I want so badly to go buy another car from somewhere else, Go back there and tell them, "Can I drive that car over there? I just wanna see how it drives since I'm not in the market what with buying my new car from ___________ and all since I couldn't get a deal here and wasn't allowed to test drive." .... *******s....

[Raven]

If I were you, I wouldn't go near the place if they had a sh***y attitude like that. There are plenty of pleasant dealers to buy from.

[Flip-Side]

Golling PontiacLake Orion, MichiganThe dealer fixed stuff that was not broke, and did not fix what needed fixing. When the right repairs were finally made, I found they had driven my car to a contracter to do the work without my permission.refer to http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=10307

[Merzbow]

Jim Causley Pontiac off of Gratiot in Michigan does not make me too happy.No one there knows anything about cars or parts.The guys working in the parts department seem to rely only on a computer to identify things instead of studying the cars they sell at the dealership. When I took my baby in for moldings and squeeks and stuff to be fixed they didnt fix anything on the car.The manager of the paint department is an idiot.

[jasonvibe]

When I was shopping for Vibes at the end of the employee pricing. Only one dealer had them within 50 miles. The dealer 3 miles away had none. So I bought from a dealer 45 miles away. Then when I noticed the little green battery "eye" was not green. In fact it was white. Meaning it was faulty. I took it to "Northwest Hills" 3 miles from my house. They refused to even look under the hood or do a load test of the battery. Then told me to go to the dealer I purchased my car from. They were not into "chasing ghosts". Plus they have screwed up my work and personal vehicles I have taken there in the past. NORTHWEST HILLS sucks. So I drove the 45 miles to the purchasing dealer and they swapped the battery, no questions asked. All for the better I think.

[markbenbear]

My Pontiac/GMC dealer in Tucson has been nothing but courteous and professional.....but haven't you noticed a generic set of standard features with all new car dealers? Let me know if you have noticed the similar. "Service Tech. cannot replicate problem with (fill in blank). The strange look that follows that statement like in maybe you need some new focus or therapy. Acknowledgement of problem and solution (in the nicest possible way) but no, or slow, or evasion of acutual put your warranty where your wallet is resolution. Many referrals to the/a 1-800.....number for additional something. I guess what I'm saying is the problems get fixed eventually but almost never on the first shot and usually with the full denial of a problem. The TSB's have been very helpful with speeding this up. Just an observation about the new car service experience.....