[bezoid]

Took my Camaro to George Moore Chevrolet in Jacksonville, Florida for an oil change Friday afternoon and one of the service department employees locked the keys to my car, in the car. I purchased the Camaro from the same dealership in August, so I didn’t think it would be difficult for them to retrieve the keys. Apparently I am ignorant regarding 2013 auto lock technology on an OnStar equipped (but not activated) Chevrolet vehicle, because they ended up calling in a “lock smith.” I realize that accidents happen, and even thought I was in a hurry to get out of the shop, I wasn’t overly irritated until I got home and realized that a Slim Jim Lockout Tool had been used to gain access to the car, and the tool damaged the seal on my passenger side window. The dealership has accepted responsibility for the damage and has agreed to correct it, but I feel that the method used to gain entry to my car should have never been used and the situation makes me question the judgment and integrity of the service department team.

If you are interested in a detailed version of the events, please read below.

I had a 2:00 pm appointment for an oil change and arrived on time. When checking in, I requested that the courtesy car wash be skipped, because it was raining and I was interested in saving time. Around 3:00 pm, I was approached by the service advisor who asked if I had the OnStar app on my phone, which I did not. At one point I had the OnStar app, but I uninstalled it after my OnStar trial expired. The service advisor then informed me that the detailer had locked the keys in my car, and that, in order to gain access to the car, he would be having a new key cut. About a half hour later, I was informed that a new key would not be cut because new keys have to “be ordered from Detroit” and that they would be contacting a locksmith to get the car unlocked. I inquired as to how the locksmith would be opening the door and was assured that they would not be using a slim jim/lockout tool. About forty minutes later my car was ready. The service department called Chevrolet Roadside Assistance (using my account) and the Roadside Assistance paid for a lockout service provided by a company called Pop-A-Lock. The dealership gave me half off the price of the oil change, and I left the dealership.

When I got home, I noticed damage to the driver side window seal. A slim jim/lockout tool had clearly been used to get the door open. The lockout tool damaged the seal on the window. A stretch of the seal, several inches long, was shoved down into the door. I immediately called the dealership and spoke with the service advisor. He acknowledged that while he initially thought that the locksmith would not use a slim jim/lockout tool, this type of tool was used. The advisor indicated that the damage would be repaired. Discovering that my car had been damaged was very frustrating, so I immediately called the dealership back to speak with the service department manager. After explaining my dissatisfaction to the manager, he somewhat dismissed my account of the scenario and told me that slim jims/lockout tools are not used anymore, because “they don’t work on new cars” and indicated that they (George Moore service department) could contact Pop-A-Lock (if necessary,) while affirming that the damage would be repaired. I returned to the dealership the next morning. After looking at the damage, there was no denying by the service department manager that entry to the car was gained via a slim jim/lockout tool. The manager ordered the part that will be needed to repair the vehicle and agreed to provide me with a loaner vehicle when the part arrives and I drop my car off.

I understand that mistakes happen and I was completely fine with the incident (which did cost me time and cause me to be late for an appointment) up until the point that damage was done to my vehicle. I find it baffling that I took a 2013 Chevrolet Camaro to the Chevrolet dealership (where I purchased the vehicle new) and they were unable to open a locked door without contacting a subpar locksmith company. I find it completely unacceptable that my vehicle was damaged and that the dealership left it up to me to find the damage instead of immediately owning it. To me, it does not matter who caused the damage to the car. I took the vehicle to the dealership for service and the vehicle left the dealership damaged.

While there are several friendly people in the service department at George Moore Chevrolet, based on my experience, I would not recommend doing business with the company. My experience calls in to question the service department’s decision making capabilities, skills, competency and integrity.