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| Reno Buick GMC Cadillac Something is seriously wrong with this dealership Reno, Nevada |
| 31st of Oct, 2011 by User456518 |
In January of 2011 the check engine light came on in my 2007 GMC Yukon Denali. There was also a
message displayed that the Stabiltrack needed to be serviced. The car was also handling awkwardly during driving. I brought my car into Firestone on S. Virginia and they ran a diagnostic test and determined that there was a transmission error. Due to the proprietary nature on GMC’s software, they were unable to determine what the issue was and recommended a local transmission shop. On February 7, 2011 I brought my car into Winkel/Reno GMC to service this issue. They secured the same transmission error and said that they needed to upgrade/update the operating software to see if that fixed the problem. They “reprogrammed†the system and the car was operating normally. The cost of the initial visit per the attached invoice was $206.41. (Item #1) The car operated normally until May 4, 2011, at which point the same error messages came up. The car was brought back to Winkel/Reno Buick GMC Cadillac on May 5th. I was told that
they needed to reprogram/recalibrate the transmission solenoid and this appeared to solve the problem once again. In now reviewing the invoice, I see that they replaced a “switchâ€, but they specifically told me that it was a reprogramming issue. The total cost for this visit was $188.53. Also during that visit we were informed that a sound that we have been hearing since the vehicle was purchased from Winkle/Reno GMC was a “broken motor mountâ€, which despite the fact that they failed to pick this up during previous visits while the car was under warranty, it was now just out of warranty and the cost to fix this issue was $709.34, per their written quote. They also quoted a malfunctioning “back up sensor†at $400.00 to replace. I decided not to address those issues at that time. The car again functioned normally until July 31, 2011. The same service stabilitrack message came up and the check engine light came on. The car would also not go into reverse. I pushed the car out of my garage and drove it to Winkle/Reno Buick GMC Cadillac and deposited the keys in the night slot. On the paperwork I filled out, I specifically did not check either box with regard to wanting or not wanting the parts returned. On August 1st during the late afternoon, I received a call from Jim Lauer at GMC. He told me that the transmission solenoid needed to be replaced. I asked him if he was sure it was not an electronic issue since the two
times previous it was only necessary to reprogram the system and he responded that it must have been an intermittent problem and the part now needed to be replaced. He told me it would cost $1300 to replace the solenoid and I told him to proceed if that is what needed to be done. I received a call from Mr. Lauer on the morning of August 2nd stating that he was having some difficulty securing the part and that he would need the car until Wednesday. He brought up the issue of the items that needed to be replaced/ repaired per their May 4th estimate and I told him to please proceed with the backup sensor and the power steering hose. He asked about the motor mount and I asked what the cost was. He said that is was $700, but that if I did it in conjunction with the other work, he would only charge me $440. I then asked him what all the work would bring the total to and he responded that he “didn’t remember what he quoted me for the solenoid†and then asked me if I remembered. I told him that I had the number written down at home and he said that he would check his notes and call me back. When I hung up the phone I was a little puzzled because it was always my belief that GMC based their billing on the actual cost of the part, plus markup, plus the hourly rate stated at the service desk. I never imagined that GMC would be wheeling and dealing to get service work and quoting rates that far exceeded the actual cost of the repairs. Jim called me back and said that the total cost to replace the solenoid,
the power steering hose, the backup sensor and the motor mounts would add up to just under $2,000. The numbers didn’t add up in my head and I told him to do everything except the motor mounts. The next day around 2pm, Jim left a message on my cell phone saying that my car was ready to pick up. I called him back within 5 minutes of receiving his message and was transferred to his voicemail. I left him a message stating that I had a meeting at 4:30 and was pressed for time, so I would appreciate it if he would fax over the final invoice to my office so I could review it before I arrived at the dealership. I left my fax number on the message and asked him to also please put the parts that they replaced in a box for me to take. At 3:00 I had to leave my office to head down to Reno and the fax still had not arrived. I asked the receptionist to please page Mr. Lauer, which they did. When Jim picked up the phone, I told him that I had to leave the office within 5 minutes and could he please send the fax, to which he responded,†I am on my way down to the office nowâ€. I received the fax and drove down to GMC. When I arrived I sent my wife into the administration office to pay the invoice and asked Mr. Lauer for the parts, to which he responded, “I didn’t know that you wanted themâ€. I told him that I asked him in my message to please set the parts aside for me to take and he stated “I never got your messageâ€. I told him “you obviously got my message because you acknowledged that you knew I was waiting for the fax and I never gave you the fax number when we spoke, so you obviously got my messageâ€. Mr. Lauer then said, “Oh that message, yes I got it, but I didn’t listen to the whole thing and deleted it half way throughâ€. After I was through being astonished, I asked him if he could please get me my parts. He came back 5 minutes later and said that the mechanic had gone home and he couldn’t find them. When I asked to speak with a manager, he went back to one of the mechanics bays with two other people and came back several minutes later and handed me a part. Item #3 is a photograph of the part he gave me. I said to him, “this is a transmission solenoid?†and he stated that is was “the transmission assemblyâ€. I further said, “If this is a $600 part, we’re going to have a problem†and he said that he would double check with the mechanic in the morning. Mr. Lauer did not call me the next morning as promised and I called him on August 4th at 12:01. Mr. Lauer stated that he found the parts and that the part he gave me was not from my car, but rather a “1992 2500 pickupâ€. He further stated that there was a core charge for my part and if I wanted it, I would have to pay $100. I told him that I didn’t want the part to keep, only to verify that it came from my car. I asked who was the Service Manager and to please transfer me to his office. Mr. Lauer put me on hold for almost 5 minutes and came back and said that Greg Oberty was in a meeting, but he said to just give me the parts. Mr. Lauer said he would deliver them to my office and took my office address and said that he would send it up that afternoon. He also stated that he would need to take back the part incorrectly given to me. I told him that I would give him both parts back just as soon as I verified that they did or didn’t belong to my vehicle and I asked him to please have Mr. Oberty call me when he was out of his meeting. The part was never delivered and I called Mr. Oberty on August 5th at 12:30. I was told by the secretary that Greg Oberty was away until Tuesday the 9th and I left a message for him to call me. I then called back and spoke with Mr. Lauer to find out what happened to the part. He stated that if I wanted it, I would have to buy it. I stated that they already agreed to loan me the part so I could verify that it belonged to my vehicle, but he stated that I would now have to “buy itâ€. I reminded him that I purchased my vehicle at that dealership and occasionally bring it there for service and they want me to buy a part so I can verify that it belongs to my vehicle, and he stated, “Yesâ€. I then told him that under no circumstances was he to get rid of that part and that I would be filing a formal complaint about how they’ve handled this transaction. I never received a return call from Mr. Oberty. After this experience I did a little research online. On the invoice it references a P1825 error code. From the information secured online, someone describes a very similar experience on the same vehicle and references the P1825 error. They state that this can be related to a faulty Internal Mode Switch, which is “part of a wire harnessâ€, a part that looks nearly identical to the part originally given to me by Mr. Lauer, which he later claimed belonged to a 1992 2500 pickup. Ordinarily I would never question whether a dealership was being honest with me due to their very high markup, but to me it’s clear that Mr. Lauer lied to me when he said that he didn’t receive my message and I believe he again lied to me when he said that he only listened to half of my message and deleted the rest. Also, I cannot understand how a service representative can have no basic knowledge of what the parts are that come out of their vehicles. This combined with the fact that he didn’t remember the first price he obviously made up, and ultimately charged me another price that he obviously made up, all without providing a written estimate, leads be to believe that they have not been entirely honest with me. I also cannot understand why they couldn’t produce the parts when I picked up the vehicle and later refused to. To make a long story short, today is November 1st, almost three months to the day that this work was performed and I am now getting the exact same check engine light and service stabilitrak messages on my vehicle. I have the car at another repair shop and should soon know if I was defrauded or just the victim of an incompetent dealership repair shop.
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