JadedZ28

I have been pondering this for quite some time now, and although we do mention it from time to time, i feel GM's dealership network is something we should focus on a lot.

Let me set the stage for you, i am 23, a recent college grad (lafayette college for all those interested ) and am now a young working professional in the insurance industry. I picked up my Camaro at the end of my junior year and have had it ever since. I am still making payments to GM for my car and have the GMPP 100k warrenty, as a result i try get to the dealership for as much maintenance as possible just so there is a documented proof that GM has worked on my car.

Now here comes the issue, I have had to search for two dealerships in the past, one when i was out at school, and now another that Ive graduated and started to work in an area not by college. I managed to find a GREAT, REMARKABLE (i can go on and on) dealer in Clinton Chevrolet of Clinton, NJ. They treated me with respect, dignity, and knew i was a college student at that point and would honestly go out of their way to make sure my car was in and out ASAP and with minimal hassel to me. Since moving back to Northern Jersey i now work about 45 minutes from my home, so i needed to find a new dealership to go to. I went to three dealerships in my area (who will remain nameless) and had TERRIBLE experiences. I would be ignored, shunned to the side, and generally treated poorly, mostly i would think, do to my age and assumed lack of knowledge (but thanks to this site and ls1tech.com i can safely say i know more about my Z than most people at those dealers).

I finally found another unbelievable, remarkable, etc dealership in Gearhart Chevrolet of Denville, NJ. Now i completely understand that i am only 23 years old, but i am a college graduate that makes a decent salary and my money is just as green as everyone elses. If i wasn't such an ardent GM fan i would be inclined to take my money elsewhere on my next vehicle purchase after some of these experiences. However i will be purchasing my next chevrolet from either Gearhart, which is 45 minutes travel from home, or Clinton Chevy which is a little over an hour away. Even though there is a dealer 10 minutes down the road.

Why treat repeat customers like myself, and potential new car deals in the foreseeable future with such disdain? Why alienate anyone?? In highschool a few buddies and i would travel up and down rt 17 which has every dealership you can think of, from Mini to Landrover and look at the new cars, etc. Now obviously we did not expect anything big from the salesmen since we were only 17, but the people at EVERY Ford dealer we went to were exceptional, as were the Toyota people. They would honestly go out of their way to talk with us and show us the Mustangs/Lightenings/Used Supra's etc even though it was obvious we werent there to buy. However only a few years later i could go back and make a purchase if i wanted.

This seems like a large concern to me, especially as so many Ford and GM dealers have closed up shop or consolidated. thoughts?

Finally, I am so passionate about this that i come to you guys for help. i want to write a letter to the regional director/manager, and to the service managers at the aforementioned dealerships about my wonderful experiences there. i want as many people as possible to be able to see my letter. can you provide me with a list of people, or at least point me in the right direction so i can get their email address and snail mail addresses?

wow that was long! hope i didnt bore anyone!

97z28/m6

i agree 100%! and i'll note that there is not one good GM dealership within an hour of me!



it doesn't matter how good the car is if going to the dealer is the an awful experiance.

Sinister_Z

I, too, 100% agree with you...and this is coming from someone that works at a GM dealership.(parts department) I see it day in, and day out...and have experienced it first hand...The way some of the customers are treated when they come in for service is just unbeleivable...it is amazing they come back time and time again. I have worked for two GM dealerships for the past 15 years, and I can honestly say, that had I not worked at the store, and I was an individual coming in to get routine service/warranty work done on my vehicle, I would have never darkened the doorway again. It has actually gotten to the point that I no longer bring familly or friends vehicles here, and reccommend people to go elsewhere.(saves me the headaches) It is no wonder, that this store has the lowest C.S.I rating in the area...GM has their work cut out for them!

Oddball

In my position, I evaluate tool that engineers at my company may use. The actual tool itself is only part of the picture. The support and the company are also a big part of my decision. I have turned down better tools becasue we found a cheaper one with a more responsive vendor willing to work with us.

I use the same process when shopping for a car, and so do a lot of other people. Honda has treated me extremely well, even extending the warranty on parts they had problems with because they felt it did not meet their quality standards even though it was far short of a recall. How many horror stories do you hear about GM dealerships and them not honoring warranties?

A car is a whole experience, not just a piece of metal, and GM needs to learn that. You bet when my 2001 Accord daily driver wears out in 4 - 5 years not only will I look at the model lineup but I will look at a dealer as a whole.

Shellhead

I think this just supports the idea of a dealer database, or even a list on this site of reputable dealers.

JadedZ28

I really hope this problem gets addressed. When i was shopping for my new car (when i bought my camaro) i stopped in at a Pontiac Dealership in PA. Literally, i hadn't closed the door to my gf's jeep when i was approached (rather rudly) by a saleswoman asking "what did i want"

When i told her i was interested in the '04 GTO they had on the lot, i was given a groan and she actually told me "Why do you want to see that, you can't afford it"

She had no clue who i was, my financial background or anything. As oddball stated buying a car is a whole experience. i WILL be making my next vehicular purchase from either of the two dealerships i mentioned, due 100% to the amazing service and amount of respect i was shown there. PLEASE GM, STRAIGHTEN THIS MESS OUT!

JasonD

This is an interesting thread.

However, keep in mind...GM is basically the manufacturer and dealerships are basically independent distributors. GM does not own any dealerships and I think they are limited to how much they can dictate how they do business or make arrangements to have someone reprimanded because they are rude or just plain suck.

The best you can do is buy from a dealership you feel good about and that treats you right and be prepared at any point to walk from any dealership that doesn't treat you right.

2MCHPSI

The last time we shopped for a car, we went to a Chevy, GMC-Pontiac,Toyota, Nissan and Honda dealer. THe Chevy and GMC-Pontiac were horrific experiences, while the others were very professional. The Chevy dealer literally had a mental patient woman showing us an Equinox. She was literally a nut job. Management did not seem to care when I let them know such a freak was working there.

I used to work at a GM dealer for years, and was shocked at what I saw at the 2 GM dealers I stopped at. The GM dealer I worked at had some real idiots running the service dept and body shop, but nothing like what I saw.

2MCHPSI

I think the potential problem is if there are many more GM dealers like mentioned in this thread, people will go to OTHER manufacturers dealerships and buy. I think GM should at least try and rein in the bad dealerships. I am sure GM knows who they are also.

JadedZ28

Exactly, GM must have some control over how the dealers represent the product and the GM name. I can't imagine buying the franchise would be a cheap and easy process. I wonder if Scott can provide any insight?

Sinister_Z

Bingo! My g/f has been having one heck of a time with her brand new G6. It has been in and out of the dealership for one thing or another. Now, this alone doesn’t bode well for the General…with it being her first GM vehicle. The experience that she has had, right from the purchasing of the vehicle, to the service she has received, has been absolutely horrible! She has been in contact with GM customer care since almost day one…but this has done little to alleviate the problem. This car has been to the original store, where the car was purchased, for service and to the store I work at. The first store did fix one of her complaints, brake pulsation with 157km on the car, but did little to address the scuffs in the paint…that were present when she picked the car up(whole other story). It wasn’t until I drove the 55 minutes back to the dealership, on my day off, that I was able to get something done with that issue. There is more to the story, but I don’t need to get into too many details, we’ll just say that the mechanic that drove her and her car to her destination, while they worked on the car, left a not so good impression… So, this is where I go and speak to the service manager of the store I am employed at. I explain the situation, and that she wasn’t pleased with the service she received from the original store, and wondered if they would be willing to do the service/warranty repairs on the car? “No problem” I was told. Well, if it wasn’t a problem, I would hate to see what the treatment would be, had it been a problem. This car is a lemon…no doubt about it…but none the less…it needs to be fixed. All the issues she has had with the vehicle have been addressed and repaired, except one…an intermittent vibration when the vehicle has been sitting. After being into the dealership three different occasions, they haven’t been able to fix said problem…in fact, I went out with the shop foreman, felt the vibration…and he told me that the car was engineered that way, and I was to call a GM engineer and have him tell me just that.(guess what…GM engineer I contacted doesn’t seem to agree with him…go figure) Well, the good news is…that guy retired that very day…the bad news is…he is the only one to have felt the vibration…other than myself and my g/f…so, ultimately they don’t feel that there is anything wrong with the car…and the service manager actually came to me and said…I am quoting here “why are we bending over backwards for this girl? She didn’t even buy the car here. We haven’t made a dime off the car…so I don’t feel we should be WASTING our warranty dollars on repairing it” Oh yeah…I was really impressed with that comment.

So, onto the relevance of my post…sorry for it being so long winded…but believe me, I am only skimming the surface on this one, so as to give you an overview of what has transpired. With all that has been said, and done (or lack there of)…from two different stores, my g/f has came up with her own conclusion of the General. She has vowed to never purchase another GM vehicle, and will make sure that her friends and family never purchase one as well.

I am a very loyal GM enthusiast…and will be purchasing one more product from the General…that being the fifth gen Camaro…however, with the sour taste this has left in my mouth, and hers…I will no longer support a company that has this kind of person/persons representing their front line…I know they are separate from GM, but I just can’t get passed the politics involved, and the b/s no customer should have to put up with. Again, sorry for the long winded post…but thanks for reading.
RANT

97z28/m6

sorry to hear about the g/f car

they are not separate as they sell and service GM cars and they have GM names out front.


this just proves that it's not all about the cars.

Sinister_Z

Thanks, appreciate it...and yeah, I should have put quotations around "separate"...but your right...just proves that it isn't all about the cars...or the people that drive them.

Jason E

Working in the business for the last 7 years, I can assure you that most dealers suck...period. The one thing I hate about working in the business (actually, the ONLY thing I hate about it) is the fact that people look at anyone who works at a dealership as being one step above the dirt under their shoe. Typically, that's an accurate statement, but I digress...

The SEL light in our Comp G was on last week...my girlfriend is living 45 minutes away temporarily, so she called a local Pontiac dealer out her way. They told her "if you didn't buy it from us, we don't service it." WTF????? The car is under warranty, so you're turning away easy money?? I wish I was Westboro Pontiac in Central MA...apparently they make so much money, they can turn away customers!! I know in our service department, if it says Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep on it, we'll take it. Sure, it makes me mad when I see customers not buying from me, but you can't win them all...

Sinister_Z

Working in the industry now, for 15 years.(parts department) I know how I want to be treated as a customer, and I extend that exact level of service to anyone that gives us the privelage of their business...no exceptions! It boggles my mind when a dealership(service department) takes the approach of the bolded statement in your quote. I know for a fact, it has never...never been too busy to look after a customers needs...it all boils down to politics...and whether you get someone on a good day or not...unbeleivable...but true.