What Happens When Dealership Refuses to Work on Your Pontiac G8?

[wyd_trkr]

Like the title states, what would you do if your local Pontiac GM Dealership refused to work on your vehicle if you have had it back into that Dealership numerous times to get a certain problem taken care of under the Factory 3yr/36k Bumper to Bumper Warranty? Also this is for work that has already been performed on your vehicle and just because they cannot correct the problem they created after putting the car back together, now they refuse to work on the car and tell you to take it to another GM Dealership!

This work was performed on my car well before this past Christmas 2010 and to date it still has not been repaired correctly, as the original problem was setup to have the Technician to replaced the 3rd Brake Light and when they put the car back together, he left out securing clips that hold the rear windshield window sails back into the Trim and this was part of the cause of the Rear Speaker Package Tray to Rattle and Vibrate when playing music that was not there, before they replaced the 3rd Brake Light! Then the Service Tech told the Service Director he needed to replace the Rear Sub Woofer Speakers in which were not Blown, but I went along with what he suggested, but I knew better. After installing them, the noises were still there, then the Service Tech told the Service Director he needed to order some DynaMat to quiet down the noise, so they installed that and still the noise was still there! I talked to the Service Director and he told me that he did all that GM was Authorized to do to correct the problem and there was nothing else they could do and that they were not going to do anything else to fix the problem, but the Noise is still there today!

After 2 months of patiently awaiting them to fix the problem, I talked at length with the Dealerships Owner and he assured me that between himself and the Service Director they would get a Factory Representative in there to Check out my vehicle and after waiting 5 weeks and still nothing done, I decided to call GM Customer Service and Voice a Complaint and they assured me that the Florida GM Factory Representative would get in contact with me! Well after 4 more weeks went by, since waiting for my Dealership to call and schedule an appointment, I decided to stop into the Dealership today and I was confronted by the Dealership Owner Mr. Jim Linus, who told me I was not welcome in his Dealership anymore ( Apparently for Contacting GM Customer Service) and for me to take my car to some other GM Dealership to get work done on my car.

Now, I ask myself what is wrong with this picture as I bought my 2009 Pontiac G8 GT Brand New from this Dealership , as well as purchasing GMCPP's 6 yr / 100k Bumper to Bumper Extended Warranty and now I am being refused Service to my vehicle for their mistakes, in which these people messed up in the first place and now they want me to take it to a different Dealership to ABSORB their mistakes! I Do Not think so!

It has always been my understanding that if you buy a Brand New GM Vehicle, you have to take it into the GM Dealership you purchased it from as long as it is still under the Factory Warranty! What would some of you do in a situation like this, take your car to Chevrolet and complain about the pre-existing problem and tell them to fix it? I do not think so! All replies would be appreciated, as I am strongly considering calling GM Customer Service again tomorrow and get the Ball Rolling to expose this Dealership for who they really are and that is that they lure Customers into their Dealership to buy a vehicle and then when someone calls GM Customer Service on them, they tell you to take your business elsewhere!

By the way, the Dealership in question is LINUS PONTIAC - CADILLAC - BUICK - GMC - Owned by Jim Linus which is located in Vero Beach, Florida 32960

[HVYCHVY]

Holly crap!!!! Sorry to hear about how crappy the dealer is treating you. iI hope my dealer treats me loike that when I get my g8. Thats major BS. Did you ask the dealer to double check the 3rd brakelight/ sail panel clips before they added the dynomat and non blown sub? Was the wiring bad, or is changing the bulb that big of a PITA?

[wyd_trkr]

Holly crap!!!! Sorry to hear about how crappy the dealer is treating you. iI hope my dealer treats me loike that when I get my g8. Thats major BS. Did you ask the dealer to double check the 3rd brakelight/ sail panel clips before they added the dynomat and non blown sub? Was the wiring bad, or is changing the bulb that big of a PITA?Supposedly they were supposed to know how to change out a 3rd Brake Light and they did a halfway job, as when I got home from the first visit for the repair or replacement the light was hanging down on the drivers side. I took it back the next day for them to correct that, as when the back package tray or something started rattling and vibrating and annoying. They told me I was playing my music to loud and the bass was turned up to high, as to why the problems were happening. I tried to explain to them on several attempts to check and make sure all the clips , anything else that was lose to cause these problems. After 3 months I still have these problems and I do not expect another Dealership to step in and Fixed another Dealerships mistakes, as that is totally Unethical and they should make it right, but won't. I will know more tomorrow, after I talk to GM Customer Service and talk to the District Representative and find out what he can do to correct the problem. If not, then I will call the State Attorneys Office and also the State BBB and file a Formal Complaint against the Dealership Owner as it should be done. Will post my findings.

[kevinm0131]

You do not have to take it back to the dealer you bought it from. I bought my car from St. Charles Pontiac in St. Charles IL. 5+ hours away from where I live in Oxford, OH. I have been taking my car to Fierher Pontiac for warranty and service without a peep. I think they would prefer, you go back to where you bought it, but, they can not require it.

[MongosG8]

Wow.. holy shit.. give you credit I would of showed up and smashed the owner in the head with a baseball bat until his brains leaked out of his ears. OK maybe I wouldn't go to that extreme but I believe in an eye for an eye.
I would start by reporting the dealer constantly to GM until you become a pain in their ass. I would also file a complaint with the better business bureau in Florida. This way there is a report against that dealer. If you know anyone who is an attorney ask them for a favor and have them write a letter of intent to consider possible lawsuit of breach of contract. GMs warranty states they need to fix the problem no matter what.

But Kevenm0131 is correct .. its not required that you bring the car into the dealer you purchased it from. I'm on my 3rd dealer and I don't plan on going to anyone else. 3rd was a charm.
I explained to them I didn't purchase it from them but they didn't care and been giving me the best customer service I EVER seen from GM.

[GXPaycheck]

Have a local media outfit do an investigation. Bet they would LOVE the attention!

[texn884]

I have been taking my Holden to the Chevy store and they work on my car and treat me with great service. I have a great relationship with the service writer and I let them do work becasue they do not screw me. I have no issue with paying for getting the job done right for a fair price.

That owner sounds like a real butt hole. I guess he does not know that there are other car dealers and competition out there. Screw him just watch for him to be walking across the street and blow your horn at him to scare the crap out of him.

Sorry to hear that I am glad my Chevy store is a good one.

[Bhuge]

Try this number 313-556-5000. It's the GM home office in Downtown Detroit. They tend to be a bit persuasive when talking to Dealerships.

[WickedMom]

Would you really want to force someone to work on your car?


Sent from my amazing and awesome iPhone4

[ULTRA Z]

that sucks your having asuck a hard time with them are chevy place here in philadelphia ms is pretty good and they got a heck of a mech. there to i would trust him to do high performance work on my car

[TLS]

Just take it to any GM dealer and say you have a rattle in your rear deck area.

They don't need to know someone else screwed it up.

They'll replace the clips and be none the wiser.


As WickedMom said....I wouldn't want anyone working on my car that didn't want to.

[Flipped192]

BBB !
Everytime i have had issues like this and made a claim with the BBB , it has always been taken care of.

[pistonbone]

As stated above, complain with GM again, put them on the BBB (always gotten great results with that), and go to another dealership

[96Prix]

You should also mention the treatment to the new dealership you go to. Around here anyway, the dealerships will fall all over themselves taking care of a customer wronged by one of their competitors.

[cvidt]

Fix it yourself so you know its done right. And move on.
Now if your engine blows and they wont work on it, then there is a problem.

[GeorgeInNePa]

You are not required to take your car to any certain Dealer.

Take it to a Dealership where the Service Staff is competent.

Complain about the shoddy service to GM, find a new dealer, and never look back.

[Panzer Leader]

Agree with all of the above. Next time I have a Dealer problem I am bringing MONGO. LOL

[GT-610]

at this point in the thread you dont need anymore advice,but i will share this...i brought my car in when my tranny was blown(an 01 Grand prix)and as you drove it at 70mph the rpm's were 1k too high-the dealer had the nerve to say it was because i put a coller in and the fluyid was too cold,its MY fault,go somewhere else! thats the short end of a LOOOONG story but it was just as bad-"pontiac cares" even faught them-didnt matter

[piecesparts]

Just go to another dealer and get them to look at your car. You do NOT have to go back to where you bought it. There is no way they can hold you to that. If they do, then tell them that the dealer is not honoring your warranty or supplying you with what you need.

[Sephiroth]

What would some of you do in a situation like this, take your car to Chevrolet and complain about the pre-existing problem and tell them to fix it?
Absolutely. I've taken my GT to the Chevy Dealership 5 minuites away from my house for a plethora of reasons, almost all of them pre-existing in one way or another.


But Kevenm0131 is correct .. its not required that you bring the car into the dealer you purchased it from.
I believe somewhere in the warranty verbage it reccomends you take it to the dealer you bought it from, but it's mostly marketing garbage so that the signing Dealer can establish customer relationships for out of warranty service. Some of it is Dealers with longer service histories can better diagnose problems, and some of it is Pontiac Dealers presumably know how to work on our Commodores better than the Chevy dealer down the street.

[Slizzo]

That's true Sepphy, but the Chevy dealer has more experience with the 6L80E in our cars. :)

[TLS]

That's true Sepphy, but the Chevy dealer has more experience with the 6L80E in our cars. :)

And for that matter, more experience with the LS engine family. Previously Pontiac's fleet was 4cyl and 6cyl FWD cars. With a Chevy dealer you have the trucks/vans, Corvette's and Camaro's.

[edfiero]

Any update on this story? Any results after reporting the dealer to the BBB?

[-Ray-]

Members last log in was 3/22
no updates were given on at 3 sites he posted this on.

[Sephiroth]

And for that matter, more experience with the LS engine family. Previously Pontiac's fleet was 4cyl and 6cyl FWD cars. With a Chevy dealer you have the trucks/vans, Corvette's and Camaro's.

that would fall in line with the service I have had so far, my chevy dlr has been good for the powertrain stuff, but not so much the interior/bumper to bumper.

[Slizzo]

I suppose I'm lucky that my dealer is also a big GMC dealer, so they have experience with V8s of all kinds, and also the transmission.

[Sephiroth]

I suppose I'm lucky that my dealer is also a big GMC dealer, so they have experience with V8s of all kinds, and also the transmission.

I've been wanting to leave this one for a while. Figures Statefarm has them listed as a preferred body shop for the paint chips, and I'll probably get them to fix the rear outputshaft seal on the trans before dumping them for the Buick/pontiac DLR.

[fcsuper]

Lots of states have lemon laws. Refusing to work on a car for the same problem over and over would very likely trigger your right to invoke the lemon law in your state (check and research first)

[redjeff]

Dude just call GM. They will have a rep come down and make sure you car is taken care of properly. GM does not tolerate unhappy customers when it comes to service

[WickedMom]

Gm makes phone calls, they don't send reps all over the place... Lol.
When I was with The dealer, we saw our rep MAYBE ever 8 weeks... If that.


Sent from my amazing and awesome iPhone4

[piecesparts]

Dude just call GM. They will have a rep come down and make sure you car is taken care of properly. GM does not tolerate unhappy customers when it comes to service

Yeah right and I have a genie in my pocket. That doesn't happen in my area, unless Hell is about to freeze....

[redjeff]

I have seen it happen a few times. I am a tech at a GM dealer and if a customer raises enough of a stink they will take care of you. Trust me! Call the corporate office...complain to them. They will make it right

[jeffs42885]

What if your dealer is "taking care of you" because you have mods, they have had your car for nearly a month, and have not provided any updates?

[redjeff]

You have to realize that a car with mods is a shock to a dealership. Its not easy working on modified cars, and most techs will not work on them. There is usually one or two that don't care, because they have experience in that stuff etc. Its more time consuming and you never know who did what and why. So have some understanding for your local dealer. Also G8's are really hard to get parts for. They also require many special tools that most dealers didn't buy, so they either have to borrow or buy them. I would give them a call and ask what is up.
Most dealer techs are premadonna's! Most think they can dictate what they do and don't do. A good service manager will let them know whats up. In your case talk to the service manager.......actually in both these case's....

[Tjay74]

I have several email address for GM corp execs, I gave them to a ceo of my company and with in 24 hours of writing a very professional email he had someone form the GM exec offices contacting him and 2 weeks later GM bought his 2009 CTS back and put him into a 2010 CTS.

Here they are, I dont know how many are still active so you might get a email kick back on some of them.

bob.lutz@gm.com
cclarry.burns@gm.com
robert.s.osborne@gm.com
steve.shannon@gm.com
steven.j.harris@gm.com
alan.lowenthal@gm.com

[MR_JIZZ_G8]

Sorry dude, that sucks. I work as a heavyline technician at a chevy dealer, and i've heard of other dealers giving people the same treatment you recieved, which i say is total bullshit. But as a tech when a vehicle is brought back to me for my previous repair. That car won't leave till its fixed right, which i'm all about and my service director and general manager would make sure you were taken care of. I have personaly talked to customers that were refused service from a dealer down the freeway because the dumbass techs didn't know how to fix shit. Then when they bring us their car. They always come back because it was fixed the first time. Hope it all works out for you bro, take your car to a dealer who can fix it right the first time

[02firehawkt/a]

Like others have said here.. take it to a dealer that will fix it. Also, in my experience with anything customer related if you make a big stink you will get the issue resolved. Also be sure to leave a lovely rating for that dealership on dealerrater :thumbsup: