ckronenwetter
New member
I really thought I did the right thing going to a certified dealer (Kocourek Chevrolet in Rib Mountain Wisconsin). I thought Chevy, that should mean good car, good service. Picked up a 2012 Chevy Sonic and to be honest I probably fell for it because it was a cute little car and in red. And to my great surprise it was a manual which I prefer, I think it may have been the only manual on the lot.
Unfortunately it has already turned into a nightmare less than a month and a half later. Someone needs to explain to me how replacing the intake manifold and throttle body isn't part of the powertrain, the engine, gaskets, or cooling system and everything else that is covered by my "wonderful" Estate level service plan.
I feel sick to my stomach because I didn't trust my instincts a number of times when things seemed hinky. I just assumed I was being overly cautious about a big purchase. A legit dealer wouldn't be scamming me, right?
I got my first pangs that they were pulling a fast one when I was handed the financing paperwork already filled out with a $2600 service plan (getting close to half the discounted price of the car) that they hadn't even discussed with me. I had to ask him where the much higher price came from before he said anything at all about it! Then the guy tells me he can't in good conscience with a used vehicle let me off the lot without a service plan, he says it's great their mechanics always find stuff that can be replaced under coverage during the first oil change and if I really don't find value in it I can cancel it then.
So I think OK they are just trying to take care of their customer since they know I NEED a car running...
I didn't even get to the first oil change and the car is in for it's second repair. One month and one week in.
The first repair was something I found the very night I bought it, no heat to the windshield...kinda need that in Wisconsin. The sales guy was good about saying they'd take care of that. But then they didn't even fix it the first time around as I sat there waiting for it. Then they blamed it on a miscommunication with the sales guy and they didn't even know I was sitting out there. They didn't call me at home either so I'm not sure when they did plan to communicate with me sitting there or not.
So still I tell myself, it happens...
Now this time the car was inoperable and I was stranded. Used the OnStar and Roadside assistance and although I had to call a taxi because the dealership wasn't open so I couldn't ask for a loaner, it generally seemed like it was going to be ok. The Onstar and Chevy people seemed to take care of things. Until I called the dealer service department the next day... This time they didn't even know the car was towed to the lot even though it was done under the Chevy roadside plan. When they did find it they kind of acted like some big imposition. But he did say he would keep in contact with me during the afternoon. And special treat, "by the way replacement transportation isn't available unless it's a covered repair", so nothing they can do about transportation until they know what's wrong.
I called the sales guy to see if there was anything he could do to maybe help with a loner, or just anything to address this continued and now concerning lack of communication. Starting to feel a bit like I got sold a piece of junk and they were trying to run away from it. Of course he's in a meeting. I leave a message, never even takes the time to give me a call back. So much for the "long term relationship, I take care of my customers" schtick.
When I still hear nothing from anyone at about 4:00 I called back in. Sure enough they had finished looking at it. Apparently forgot about the "keeping in contact" part.
And of course the repair is not covered and going to be over a thousand dollars, even though this service plan was suuuuch a necessity to make sure I had my car running at least for the first two years. So I pay 10 grand for a car and only a month in, I'm paying for taxis and a huge repair bill. My kid has her first day at her first job tomorrow and I get to worry about whether the cab is even going to get her there on time (it hasn't been reliable so far), not to mention the fact the cab fare is probably going to be more than her take home pay for the shift.
After hearing the diagnosis, I started asking about some of the things we had talked about with OnStar and the Roadside assistance that didn't seem to be addressed by the diagnosis and the mechanic says he didn't know anything about it and "we don't talk to them" and "I only had authorization to research the check engine light", which was baloney because I had specifically told him myself that there were multiple warning lights/codes. So after the initial diagnosis he goes back and do it again for the rest of the symptoms, but they won't be able to get to it today. At this point I am enraged.
After calming down I called back about an hour later to specifically share everything I had discussed with OnStar to make sure he investigated all of it and there was no further confusion since he had taken the "you didn't tell me" tack. Now this time he didn't really want to hear about the symptoms and flat out said the OnStar diagnostics are useless and "they don't know what they are talking about". Oh but lo and behold, they had had time to look at the car over after all (really an hour after you said you didn't have time???) and the only other issue was some oil leaking around the oil pan which was "probably caused by the cold".
So now I'm feeling awful and I don't know what to do. I told them I needed to think about it before they did any work. I don't know if I trust anything about this whole transaction. They kept talking about their service and how great and proactive it is and at every step the service department says it's not their problem or "they didn't know."
Unfortunately it has already turned into a nightmare less than a month and a half later. Someone needs to explain to me how replacing the intake manifold and throttle body isn't part of the powertrain, the engine, gaskets, or cooling system and everything else that is covered by my "wonderful" Estate level service plan.
I feel sick to my stomach because I didn't trust my instincts a number of times when things seemed hinky. I just assumed I was being overly cautious about a big purchase. A legit dealer wouldn't be scamming me, right?
I got my first pangs that they were pulling a fast one when I was handed the financing paperwork already filled out with a $2600 service plan (getting close to half the discounted price of the car) that they hadn't even discussed with me. I had to ask him where the much higher price came from before he said anything at all about it! Then the guy tells me he can't in good conscience with a used vehicle let me off the lot without a service plan, he says it's great their mechanics always find stuff that can be replaced under coverage during the first oil change and if I really don't find value in it I can cancel it then.
So I think OK they are just trying to take care of their customer since they know I NEED a car running...
I didn't even get to the first oil change and the car is in for it's second repair. One month and one week in.
The first repair was something I found the very night I bought it, no heat to the windshield...kinda need that in Wisconsin. The sales guy was good about saying they'd take care of that. But then they didn't even fix it the first time around as I sat there waiting for it. Then they blamed it on a miscommunication with the sales guy and they didn't even know I was sitting out there. They didn't call me at home either so I'm not sure when they did plan to communicate with me sitting there or not.
So still I tell myself, it happens...
Now this time the car was inoperable and I was stranded. Used the OnStar and Roadside assistance and although I had to call a taxi because the dealership wasn't open so I couldn't ask for a loaner, it generally seemed like it was going to be ok. The Onstar and Chevy people seemed to take care of things. Until I called the dealer service department the next day... This time they didn't even know the car was towed to the lot even though it was done under the Chevy roadside plan. When they did find it they kind of acted like some big imposition. But he did say he would keep in contact with me during the afternoon. And special treat, "by the way replacement transportation isn't available unless it's a covered repair", so nothing they can do about transportation until they know what's wrong.
I called the sales guy to see if there was anything he could do to maybe help with a loner, or just anything to address this continued and now concerning lack of communication. Starting to feel a bit like I got sold a piece of junk and they were trying to run away from it. Of course he's in a meeting. I leave a message, never even takes the time to give me a call back. So much for the "long term relationship, I take care of my customers" schtick.
When I still hear nothing from anyone at about 4:00 I called back in. Sure enough they had finished looking at it. Apparently forgot about the "keeping in contact" part.
And of course the repair is not covered and going to be over a thousand dollars, even though this service plan was suuuuch a necessity to make sure I had my car running at least for the first two years. So I pay 10 grand for a car and only a month in, I'm paying for taxis and a huge repair bill. My kid has her first day at her first job tomorrow and I get to worry about whether the cab is even going to get her there on time (it hasn't been reliable so far), not to mention the fact the cab fare is probably going to be more than her take home pay for the shift.
After hearing the diagnosis, I started asking about some of the things we had talked about with OnStar and the Roadside assistance that didn't seem to be addressed by the diagnosis and the mechanic says he didn't know anything about it and "we don't talk to them" and "I only had authorization to research the check engine light", which was baloney because I had specifically told him myself that there were multiple warning lights/codes. So after the initial diagnosis he goes back and do it again for the rest of the symptoms, but they won't be able to get to it today. At this point I am enraged.
After calming down I called back about an hour later to specifically share everything I had discussed with OnStar to make sure he investigated all of it and there was no further confusion since he had taken the "you didn't tell me" tack. Now this time he didn't really want to hear about the symptoms and flat out said the OnStar diagnostics are useless and "they don't know what they are talking about". Oh but lo and behold, they had had time to look at the car over after all (really an hour after you said you didn't have time???) and the only other issue was some oil leaking around the oil pan which was "probably caused by the cold".
So now I'm feeling awful and I don't know what to do. I told them I needed to think about it before they did any work. I don't know if I trust anything about this whole transaction. They kept talking about their service and how great and proactive it is and at every step the service department says it's not their problem or "they didn't know."
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