Time to switch Dealers...

[radioguy69]

I'm bummed. I took my 13 sonic to Concord Chevrolet to take a look at why it was shifting so rough and getting such horrible gas mileage. They made me wait almost 45 minutes after my appointment and at that point the guy tells me that *I* was late and that a tech couldn't do a test drive, and that they would charge me $100 bucks if they couldn't find anything wrong. He then interrogates me with a barrage of questions insinuating that it was bad gas or that I didn't know how my own car shifts "Have you even driven another sonic?"

Fast forward to the next day and I get a call from him informing me that the car was fine and he needed the loaner car back and that they were charging me the 100 bucks. I went and picked it up after work and he told me I was out of luck, that I was late again and a tech couldn't ride with me. As I drove off the lot, the car shook and shifted funny.

Finally today in Downtown Sacramento, the transmission gives up the ghost and goes into reduced power mode. Is there any chance I can get my 100 bucks back? I sure as hell ain't going back to that dealer again.

And customer care, if you are reading this, please contact me.

 

[attrapereves]

Why were you even charged $100? Sounds like you need a new dealer.

 

[Gsrdude]

Is your car out of warranty already?

How could they charge you $100? Did you not question this charge or simply laugh at it?


Sorry I'm confused here

 

[Chevrolet Customer Care]

I'm bummed. I took my 13 sonic to Concord Chevrolet to take a look at why it was shifting so rough and getting such horrible gas mileage. They made me wait almost 45 minutes after my appointment and at that point the guy tells me that *I* was late and that a tech couldn't do a test drive, and that they would charge me $100 bucks if they couldn't find anything wrong. He then interrogates me with a barrage of questions insinuating that it was bad gas or that I didn't know how my own car shifts "Have you even driven another sonic?"

Fast forward to the next day and I get a call from him informing me that the car was fine and he needed the loaner car back and that they were charging me the 100 bucks. I went and picked it up after work and he told me I was out of luck, that I was late again and a tech couldn't ride with me. As I drove off the lot, the car shook and shifted funny.

Finally today in Downtown Sacramento, the transmission gives up the ghost and goes into reduced power mode. Is there any chance I can get my 100 bucks back? I sure as hell ain't going back to that dealer again.

And customer care, if you are reading this, please contact me.

Hey there,

I am truly sorry for this disheartening experience at the dealership. I would be happy to assist and look into this further for you. Please send me a private message with your VIN, current mileage, contact info and the dealership that charged you. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Patsy G
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

[RMinNJ]

Can't the dealer at anytime charge us their hourly rate?

Ie.
Customer: I have this shifting problem/ problem xzy.
Dealer: We'll check it out.
Dealer: We could not find anything wrong with it.
Customer: Ok...
Dealer: Ok...here's our bill for diagnosing it and looking at it.

 

[Gsrdude]

Not if your car is still under Bumper to Bumper Warranty and no part of your issue is do to any sort of aftermarket modification.

Once the bumper to bumper is up then you have your powertrain warranty. Which when I had my Sonic was 7yrs 100k


I guess the dealer can "say" whatever they want and if you agree to pay it then well..... Got ya I guess. I have never had that experience at a dealer with any vehicle I've ever owned under warranty (Dirt Bikes and ATV's) included.

Always taken in and fixed, in the Sonics case tried to fix no questions asked. I guess it's the old they saw you coming routine, they have some balls to be asking diagnostics fees for cars under warranty

 

[Swordsmith]

I have heard this before, and not just Chevy, nor with just cars. If there is a problem, and it is a problem covered by your warranty, then we will fix it, provide a rental, in the interim, etc. BUT if it turns out the problem isn't covered, or that we cant find a problem at all, then we won't be able to charge the manufacturer so you will have to pay for our diagnostic time (you ignorant hypocondriac... they don't say out loud but are clearly thinking)

Then when they don't find anything, you pay up, and a week later the part breaks, you end up mad as hell and if they are smart they reimburse you instead of trying to pretend that it somehow broke in between the diagnosis and the actual event.

 

[fletch]

Call or talk to GM customer service, and report it, if you under warranty of any kind this "never " should have happened they ripped you off, just think if they did this to everybody and then submitted a claim to GM they are double dipping,

 

[radioguy69]

Honestly, despite what I wrote, it's not really about the $100, so much as it's about the way I was treated. Paying the $100 was the best part of the whole experience. The lady at the cashier's desk was sweet and nice and suggested I come back when the other service manager came back from vacation.

I felt like I was dropping my car off to be fixed at a sleazy used car dealer instead of an Authorized Chevrolet Service center. I almost left while I was waiting to drop off my car, based solely on the guy's treatment of the other people, especially the women there (he seriously stared at this young woman's chest the ENTIRE time she was talking to him, trying to pick up her car). But no, for some reason I expected to be treated with respect and get my car fixed.

I want to get the car looked at and fixed, but I'm genuinely afraid to take it to a Chevrolet Dealer now. I have such a bad taste in my mouth. I've contacted Customer service, but I have no idea what to do. The CEL cleared itself the next day and the codes haven't popped back up yet, I'm sure they will though.

I realize this issue is somewhat intermittent, but it was obvious from the odometer that they just drove the car around the block and charged me $100. Bleh. If they had driven it on the highway, or even went on a test drive with me when I arrived, they would've seen the issue.

 

[sonicboost14]

If it popped a CEL and went into "limp mode", the code is still there. It might have cleared the light and run fine but there is a log of it on the ECU. I've had mostly horrid experiences with Chevy dealers in general. Worse than others. Take some time, hit a few different dealers till you find a service advisor you like. They are the go-between for you with the tech and GM. It sucks it falls on you to find a good dealer and not GM to make sure the dealers aren't full of douchebags.

 

[photoman475]

Radioguy69:

I feel your pain, and understand your feelings.

My wife's 2012 Sonic started overheating and going through coolant last Friday afternoon just before we were to leave go out of town; didn't use the car over the weekend as a result.

I called the local Chevy dealer Monday morning this week and was told the service department could NOT take the car for a week! I've never been told that before by anyone, dealer or independent service facility. I didn't want to take the car to the dealership we bought it from, about 50 miles east of town, as I wasn't sure it would make it without damaging it. We are close to the end of the 3-year warranty, and I since I wasn't sure what was wrong, I didn't know if it was going to be a warranty repair or not. That's why I wanted to go to a Chevy dealership.

So, it went to an independent service facility I've dealt with before, and they took care of the problem, which was the fuse had blown. It was worth getting the car fixed rather than waiting.

Let's just say that that is one dealer who will never get any further business from me-and I'd bought a couple of cars from them in the past.

(Full disclosure: My wife and I had gone to the local dealership to look at Sonics. They didn't have any in stock and said they'd call us in a week when they did. Well they never called and we went 50 miles east to a dealer that had five on the lot.)

Photoman475