Generalized Rant

brin · Feb 1, 2010

From my experience we have to watch the service managers at the car dealers when we take our trucks or cars iin for service especially in these economic times.

I took my Jeep Cherokee in for an oil change and got a call from the service manager that I needed a new Ideler ..I told him I had not been having any problems with the idle and to forget it...that has been over a year ago now and I still don't have a problem with the idle..had I just said OK fix it...which is always the tempting thing to do, it would have cost me $100.00+ for nothing. Another time I had a problem with the air conditioning cutting on and off from time to time ...the local dealer replaced the compressor and all seemed ok but we took a road trip and the whole Jeep began to vibrate so I took it to an out of town dealer who replaced something different and when I told them about the compressor being replaced they said the other dealer had misdiagnosed the real problem...who knows what is true ? Bottom line - customer service is gone for the most part and we have to really be hands on and pay attention to where and what we spend our money on and be sure we are not being taken advantage of..

Soundguy · Feb 1, 2010

Well.. what do you expect.. gm had their hands in there... I've never had so many problems with a non cheap vehicle as i have had with my gmc yukon.. it's on it's back more than a 2$ who.. er.. uh.. 'oldest profesion' type worker..

can't ever see myself getting that brand again.. if it ever comes down to that brand only.. I'll WALK!

soundguy

timswi said:
Given the state of the economy, you would think that all businesses would be bending over backwards to keep cusomers happy so that they come back.

I bought my wife a Hummer H3, slightly used but not cheap, for her 40th birthday. A week later the TPM service light came on..No big deal. Took it back twice to the dealer. once they said it was fixed..All they did was clear the codes. Got 5 miles from the dealer and it came back on.

Went back the next day. The "tech" cleared the codes and said that the tire pressures were low causing the problem. I called the dealer and told them that I am a recovering machanic and sevice manager and that the "tech'" flat out lied on the RO. Low pressures will set off the warning light, but not the service warning. Second trip ended up the same as the first.

Came home and reset the system myself..lasted 3 days instead of 5 miles. Went back, and they finally found a fault..how about that?

While I was there, I told them to replace the key fob as the part that connects to the key chain was broken on mine..$113.00...Rip-off, but whatever.

Next day SHMBO calls at work an tells me that her transmitter doesn't work. Battery I figure. Replace the battery and nothing.

Turns out, all transmitters must be present if you replace one. No one told me this, now I'm $113.00 lighter and no better off...

Can someone explain this garbage that is becomming common in our society?

If I did my job the way that is becomming common I would have been fired years ago.

This is but one example of the lack of concern of many customer service people over the last few years...

I'm not going to get into the issues with my RTV500 that had to be figured out with various TBN members since Kubota couldn't care less.

When you spend a ton of money, is it too much to ask to get you money's worth?

Generalized rant..But gotta vent somewhere.

JB4310 · Feb 1, 2010

I was always a used vehicle guy, I would avoid auto dealers like the plague. But now I'm on my 3rd new vehicle in the last twelve years, no major complaints, they've all been mopar, not cause I am so brand loyal they just had what I wanted.

I never trust them when they say somethings needed, Most of the time it isn't, or if it is I'll usually do it myself.

On other side of the coin, they probably hate me for one of the deals we made. When we bought the Grand Caravan they offered extended warranty, which I do buy for new vehicles (nothing else) as an incentive to buy the extended warranty they offered use lifetime oil changes. Well after the warranty was up they tried to claim they were thru with us, but I had a simple little note initialed by a salesman long gone.

So it's been 12 years now I've never had to change the oil

We always joke about how they must cringe when my wife shows up, they are always trying to sell her something else of course.

JB.

timswi · Feb 1, 2010

Soundguy said:
Well.. what do you expect.. gm had their hands in there... I've never had so many problems with a non cheap vehicle as i have had with my gmc yukon.. it's on it's back more than a 2$ who.. er.. uh.. 'oldest profesion' type worker..

can't ever see myself getting that brand again.. if it ever comes down to that brand only.. I'll WALK!

soundguy

Actually Soundguy..The issues I'm having aren't the trucks fault. TPM errors are common across the board with all brands. My issue is the tech just clearing the codes instead of fixing the problem thereby wasting my time, and his.

Full disclosure: I have driven nothing but GM trucks for the last 25 years and really have had no major problems and ran them all to nearly 200k.

Soundguy · Feb 1, 2010

who does the tech work for?.. or better put.. who does the tech represent? the company he works for.

soundguy

timswi · Feb 1, 2010

Soundguy said:
who does the tech work for?.. or better put.. who does the tech represent? the company he works for.

soundguy

A GMC/Pontiac/Hummer dealer....Big, Big one around these parts.

Soundguy · Feb 2, 2010

that's my point.. the bad service tech represents gm.. make sthem look bad inthe process.

soundguy

N80 · Feb 2, 2010

I think one of the biggest problems in all makes and brands is the "Check Engine Light" itself. I have two Nissans that run great and are great cars but the Check Engine Lights are on permanently and neither the dealer, local mechanics or Auto Zone ever give the same story as to why they keep coming on. I've quit worrying about it and I don't even notice anymore.

Bottom line is, the little light ought to say "Check Wallet". As far as I'm concerned that's all they are, an idiot light designed for you to give money to the dealer for problems they can't diagnose, don't understand and can't fix. Or its something they can fix, usually for around $200......that isn't broken.

eepete · Feb 2, 2010

What's sad about "check engine" lights on cars, and "Error Code XXX" on tractors is that the devices know exactly what's wrong. But they force you to go to a dealer to find out what's happening. A small graphic display LCD is about $15 in quantity. It could tell you exactly what's wrong or even draw a picture, but no.
On tractors where the controller can tell if a light bulb or relay coil is blown, it could just tell you what's going on. But a display that shows more than 8 characters would add about $10 to the instrument panel.

So the "bad attitude" problem is systemic throughout all levels of most corporations. Big wigs want stuff designed for dummies to get more market share. Others want to support their dealers and make you go there when anything is wrong. Dealers then work to re-inforce that behavior. And at the bottom of the food chain is the poor technician who is blamed for everything. Yes, sometimes the tech is operating way out of their league. But I wonder how many times they don't have the right diagnostic tools to help, or how often the service manager is the real Mr. Goodwrench in the works.

So listen up high end tractor manufactures! Don't treat us like idiots. Remember we want to fix some minor stuff ourselves. In the field (literally) we need to know if the error code is a big problem now or a fix it later issue without looking it up in the manual that is at the house.
I don't have much hope for the car guys...

Sorry, but this is a generalized rant thread...

Pete

jayste · Feb 2, 2010

timswi said:
Given the state of the economy, you would think that all businesses would be bending over backwards to keep cusomers happy so that they come back.

I bought my wife a Hummer H3, slightly used but not cheap, for her 40th birthday. A week later the TPM service light came on..No big deal. Took it back twice to the dealer. once they said it was fixed..All they did was clear the codes. Got 5 miles from the dealer and it came back on.

Went back the next day. The "tech" cleared the codes and said that the tire pressures were low causing the problem. I called the dealer and told them that I am a recovering machanic and sevice manager and that the "tech'" flat out lied on the RO. Low pressures will set off the warning light, but not the service warning. Second trip ended up the same as the first.

Came home and reset the system myself..lasted 3 days instead of 5 miles. Went back, and they finally found a fault..how about that?

While I was there, I told them to replace the key fob as the part that connects to the key chain was broken on mine..$113.00...Rip-off, but whatever.

Next day SHMBO calls at work an tells me that her transmitter doesn't work. Battery I figure. Replace the battery and nothing.

Turns out, all transmitters must be present if you replace one. No one told me this, now I'm $113.00 lighter and no better off...

Can someone explain this garbage that is becomming common in our society?

If I did my job the way that is becomming common I would have been fired years ago.

This is but one example of the lack of concern of many customer service people over the last few years...

I'm not going to get into the issues with my RTV500 that had to be figured out with various TBN members since Kubota couldn't care less.

When you spend a ton of money, is it too much to ask to get you money's worth?

Generalized rant..But gotta vent somewhere.