Car fixing question

Dealership #1 needs to take responsibility for their repair that didn't fix the problem - or they need to refund your money.  You need to take it back to them and insist they do the work.  (And honestly I would raise hell with them, I can't believe they are asking a customer to do so much when they didn't provide the service they were paid to provide).

It is unreasonable to expect another service provider to fix Dealership #1's problem and then to have to wait on reimbursement from the other dealer.  You could always go to another service provider, pay them, and then send the bill to Dealership #1 for reimbursement, but that takes on a lot of personal risk, so I would ask for something in writing from Dealership #1 before you pursue that option.

I would try to get in touch with the regional manager for the dealership.  I had an issue with a dealership where they checked my car said nothing was wrong and then charged me for checking it since it was "fine".  It broke down a week later and the repair could have been avoided if they would have found out the problem before.  I spoke with the regional manager for that dealership (just google for the number) and they said I was due a refund (for the checking fee) since they should have found the problem.

mrstjohnson

I would try to get in touch with the regional manager for the dealership. 

This is exactly what I was going to recommend. It'll save you a lot of headaches to let him/her sort this out.

Is the regional manager just a fancy term for the manager of the dealership? Or is there like a state wide manager?

 I did talk with the service manager for dealership #1 and he said he wanted to do whatever he had to do to make this right. He called Dealership #2 but the guy wasn't in. I suggested towing my car to them (which is over 70 miles away) and he was hesitant about that because of the cost, of course. I stressed that I felt like I was being jerked around and that I wasn't buying (believing) the repairs that have been quoted to me. I also said that I was calling GM to make a formal complaint (which I did and in the middle of it the line went dead, of course). 

I am beyond frustrated and ready to cry. However, I did get the name and number of a "trustworthy" mechanic and talked to him about what is going on. He said that he has never had to replace a "Body Control Module" (which is what dealer #2 is saying is wrong. I mentioned that if the BCM was bad then I would be having other electrical issues, not just starting issues - which I haven't been. He said he'd be happy to look at it for me and help me out, I just need to get it towed over to them. And of course, Dealer #2 wants $79 to let me take my car away. And I'd have to pay the towing fee.

I'm happy to pay though just to get it away from the dealerships. They are total crooks. 

Jewlieee

Is the regional manager just a fancy term for the manager of the dealership? Or is there like a state wide manager?

Nope, all dealerships are franchises of the manufacturer.  I.e. GM sells a franchise to Joe Blow and that becomes his dealership; however, GM still keeps their hand in it etc. because the dealership is the "rep" with the custoemrs.  The regional manager is from GM not from the dealership.  They have the ability to either tell the dealership to refund your money or they will refund your money from GM.  Say things like fraud, filing a complaint against the BBB, or that you were in the market for a new car and will not be purchasing from either the dealership or the manufacturer.  They should pay for the 1st repair plus whatever it took to get the car to the second dealership, etc. etc.

I'm baffled as to the reason why they told you to take it to a different place for the second repair.  Why would they not want your money (again)?  Is it a proximity thing...is the 2nd dealership closer to you or something like that?  My dad and brother have worked for dealerships for many years.  Dad is a service advisor, who is the person you deal with when you call or take your car in, and I can't imagine he would ever tell a customer to go somewhere else.  Of course, he doesn't want any customer to leave or return unhappy, so maybe he's one of the few who actually care about his customers. 

My brother is a mechanic.  If you want to PM me with the make, model, and issues going on with the car, I can certainly get his expert opinion for you. 

Jewlieee

Is the regional manager just a fancy term for the manager of the dealership? Or is there like a state wide manager?

In a state our size, there's usually a Northern and Southern Calif rep. We had to contact the one for Chrysler/Jeep when the paint on our Laredo started flaking off. Once we did, the dealership was happy to help us.

Even if you do take it to the private repair place, I'd recommend writing a ltr to GM and you can even cc both dealerships about what's taken place. It might get you some money refunded. Whatever happens, I hope your car gets repaired soon.

I had a similar situation when one of my kids was in college.  We had an expensive repair done, my son went back to school, and the problem redeveloped.  Dealer 1 said take it to another dealer and they'd (#1) pay.  I faxed them a copy of the bill, from dealer #2, and they mailed me a check.  Worked out well for us.

Julie as others have said your best bet is to get hold of the regional manager - it is good to hear that dealer #1 wants to make it right. What year, make and model do you have?  It is worth doing a search to see what sort of issues come up with that model.  It is unfortunate but DH had to do that as well as our friend's when they couldn't get anything but grief from the service dept at the dealership.  In the case of my friend it turned out it was a known widespread problem that would be replaced for free IF the customer knew of the issue.  If you didn't flag it up they would charge the customer.  Pure insanity.

In DH's case it sounds more like your problem in that they couldn't 'diagnose' it (basically they just hook it up to a computer and read what it tells them) so they kept 'trying' stuff.  He started researching his model and year and found it was a fault that everyone seemed to have a hard time diagnosing.  But someone along the way figured it out and then the others got that part fixed and it was correct.  DH printed out the information and told them to do what it said to do and wala his problem was fixed.

Good luck - I HATE car problems 

I despise car problems too. It's a 2002 Buick Rendezvous. Apparently this is a common problem with the pass key system. I have not heard of a really good fix.

Right now I am on hold with Dealer #2. I called to have them fax me the estimate and they are giving me the run around "hold on" "can I call you back? I am with a customer it'll be a while" yeah right. I said "can't anyone else help me?" "No we're all busy" Well then I'll hold. I have a feeling I'll be on hold for a half an hour if not longer.

Good thing I have speaker phone :)

bless you - I send you some calming vibes (of course I am one of the most impatient people with customer service you could ever know, but hey I try).

Good luck I sure do hope it gets fixed this time electrical problems are always the worst 

They are refusing to give me the name and number of the regional manager. How would I find that number if they won't give it to me? (the GM dealership and the GM service hotline) 

Jewlieee

They are refusing to give me the name and number of the regional manager.

Holy cow are they asking for trouble 

Others have done it so I hope they respond but I'll check the Buick website -  

here we go

Jewlieee

They are refusing to give me the name and number of the regional manager. How would I find that number if they won't give it to me? (the GM dealership and the GM service hotline) 

I found this on Buick's website: