Certainly true. Making it difficult is normally not the wiser choice. When I lived in Massachusetts I remember reading a story about a guy who got jerked around by his local Lincoln dealer. He took the car to a different Lincoln dealer who found and fixed the problem while the customer waited. The customer tipped the technician, drove around to the front of the dealership and traded his Lincoln for a new one on the spot. He then drove back to the dealer who gave him a hard time, told the story and showed his brand-new Lincoln to the dealership's sales manager.
I love this story! Now, that's my kind of guy. Good for him.... It's obvious, he had disposable income. That's something I don't have.
If your friend at the Performance Shop replaces the valve and it doesn’t fix it, then what? Are you paying them to just replace the valve per your request, or are you giving them the opportunity to diagnose it themselves? Just because a dealer diagnosed something doesn’t make it gospel. They have the same help problem everyone has in skilled trades. So fast forward a bit. Your friend replaces the valve and it’s either fixed or not fixed. Fixed = yippee! That dealer was trying to rip me off. Not fixed = now what? Back to the dealer and tell him your friend replaced the valve and it didn’t fix it? Now you’ve made them look bad and they can deny warranty coverage of the turbo (assuming it’s bad) because someone else touched it. So choose your direction wisely. A turbo is 2k plus and comes with a new valve. Are you ready to risk the warranty coverage of the turbo because of what’s considered an emissions part vs a powertrain part and your hatred towards the GM dealer? It isn’t an Amercian dealer vs the world kind of thing either. There are good ones and bad ones everywhere with every emblem on the grill. Why did you let your daughter buy from an American dealer with your disdain for them, instead of buying a Honda or Toyota for example? It’s hard to do, but if you insist on buying new then choose your dealer wisely and develop a relationship with them. The gray areas can go in your favor.
All good advise. My daughter is 44 years old, it was her decision to buy the car. She never told me she was going to buy a Chevy. I never assume the dealer is correct in their diagnosis. My friends garage has full capability to diagnosis her car, which he will do. I'am 75 so you can guess I have dealt with many dealerships over many years. Some very good, some shouldn't own a dealership. Most of the relationship building you speak of is developed after you buy the vehicle and have it serviced by the dealer you bought it from, this is where you see IF a good relationship is going to be developed. This is where you find if you bought your car from a good or bad dealership. Unfortunately, my daughter bought her Chevy online from a company in California. Her effort to get the best price she can afford. Our local Chevy dealership doesn't have any financial or customer relationship with her. That could be some of the bad attitude from the dealership she is running into. Example, I have a good relationship with the Honda dealership where I bought my Honda minivan from. They have a policy, if you buy your car at the dealership, they will provide a FREE State Safety Inspection. That cost $20.00 bucks at a Service station. So I get my safety inspections at the dealership. If you didn't buy your Honda there, you pay the $20 bucks. To get good Service, it's a two way street. When my daughter and I are treated unfairly and disrespected, I have the option of NOT giving them my money for their lousy service. Exactly what i'am doing. Vet
Almost without exception, I have found that smaller local dealerships that have been around for a while are the best to deal with. You may pay a bit more for the car, but they count on repeat business, and they will almost always do their best to help you. Sadly, these are precisely the type of dealers that the manufacturers are trying to get rid of. They want huge, high-volume dealers who are seldom as caring about service as the smaller dealers.
John, have a great story about a small dealership. About 6 years ago. My daughter had an accident and insurance cut her a check for 10 grand. She says what kind of reliable car can I buy for 10k. I said not much. What I'm I going to do? Let's look for older Cadillac or Lincoln. So we went to a dozen dealerships, all junk, pics look great until you see the vehicle up close. So I see this Ad for a 2003 Cadillac DeVille at a small dealership in Maryland. I called and talked to the owner. Look, i'am a good 50 miles away from you and your Ad says this car is super clean with low mileage. I see the pic but pics always make cars look much better then they really are. So he says, tell you what, you come up today and see the Caddy and if it's not as clean as I say it is, I'll give you $100 bucks. I said you're on. Bottom line, the Caddy was perfect and I never road-in a car that comfortable in my life before. That Caddy turned out to be a very reliable caris. O' ya The engine was the Northstar. Really cool engine and it got very good gas mileage for a Caddy. Vet
