More Dealership Service Mngr BS...

[PalmerGA]

Was at my dealership this morning having the MyLink repaired (for the second time) and overheard a conversation between the Service Manager and another customer.

Nice looking middle-aged lady brought her 2013 Camaro in for oil/filter change & tire rotation. Service guy comes out to the waiting area and tells her it's ready, though they didn't rotate the tires. She asks him why not and he tells her "the front and rear tires are different sizes and cannot be rotated". I didn't say anything, since my car was on its second hour in their shop at the moment. Felt kind of bad for the lady though.

So I get my car and drive to Wally-World to pick up a few groceries. I see a black Camaro parked away from other cars so I park a space away in the same area. I get out and head toward the nuthouse and, low and behold, here comes the lady from the dealership (must have been Karma). She recognized me and I told her the service guy was feeding her a line, and that her tires can be rotated side to side... just not front to back. (She has the factory P-Zeros, same as mine).

"Why would he tell me he couldn't do it? I got two years of free oil changes and tire rotations as part of the deal when I bought my car from them. What should I do now?"

I hypothesized they just didn't want to do the "free" work plus, they could sell her tires sooner.

We went back to her car and I showed her the tire rotation section of her manual (specifically the "non-directional" tire rotation portion) and suggested she go back to the dealer and show it to the service manager. She said she would do that right away - she was pretty upset. I don't blame her.

I know there are many here who say "don't bother with side to side rotation" and that it doesn't extend your tire life. Well, I disagree as I have been rotating tires on my vehicles for decades and it DOES make a difference in tread life.

I hope the lady put it to 'em at the service department. Their regular service manager (who seems very good) was off today. I suspect the one that was "filling in" just took a lazy mechanic's word that the tires couldn't be rotated. They are normally very good at that dealership though.

Just thought I'd share.

[HDRDTD]

Maybe he was thinking of the ZL1. The tires on the ZL1 are indeed unidirectional and the wheels are different sizes.

Nah.........

[wayne watson]

palmer, i used to do that on the race car and it was good for a few more runs than if they were not swaped

[13lstuner]

Just pitiful, taking advantage of someone who doesn't know better.

[MLAZ1990]

I don't know why people are so surprised when the service department gives you BS. The bottom line is if your car has a warranty, they don't want to help you! They want you to stay away until the warranty is up so that they can put your ass through the wringer! I've had so much trouble with Chevy service departments! Once they refused to scan my car because the CEL went away! But I bet once my warranty is up they'll have no problem scanning my car no matter what happens!

[jd10013]

never understood why people go to dealerships for anything other than warranty or recall work.

[PalmerGA]

Originally Posted by 13lstuner

Just pitiful, taking advantage of someone who doesn't know better.

Yeah, and I that's what it boils down to. My better half is so wary of dealer repair shops and many of the independents are not much better sometimes. She finally found a place that she totally trusts to service her Honda CRV... and it ain't the Honda place. She's been using them for a couple of years now and I kept tabs on them for the first few times she took her car there. They have been nothing but honest, helpful, and fair so far. I take my truck to Goodyear locally and have been doing so without issue for over a dozen years. I'll probably go to the wife's place though when it's time for tires.

[PalmerGA]

Originally Posted by jd10013

never understood why people go to dealerships for anything other than warranty or recall work.

Me too, but this lady has 2 years oil changes and rotations that came with her car.

[Evergreen6]

I'm not understanding something. And maybe it has to do with the assumption that the P-Zero is a uni-directional tire (looking at the tire itself)

Swapping the tires side-side would cause the tires to rotate opposite the recommended direction.

So the service manager was correct in saying they shouldn't and didn't rotate the tires?

Or am I thinking of a different model in the Pirelli P-Zero lineup?


Edit:: After some searching, it's that the tires are marked with "inside" and "outside". They aren't true directional tires. My mistake!

[jd10013]

Originally Posted by PalmerGA

Me too, but this lady has 2 years oil changes and rotations that came with her car.

and she sure got what she paid for, didn't she. I never indulge myself in "free" stuff. it's never worth it.

[PalmerGA]

Originally Posted by Evergreen6

I'm not understanding something. And maybe it has to do with the assumption that the P-Zero is a uni-directional tire (looking at the tire itself)

Swapping the tires side-side would cause the tires to rotate opposite the recommended direction.

So the service manager was correct in saying they shouldn't and didn't rotate the tires?

Or am I thinking of a different model in the Pirelli P-Zero lineup?


Edit:: After some searching, it's that the tires are marked with "inside" and "outside". They aren't true directional tires. My mistake!

Correct. Even though the tread pattern differs from one side of the tire to the other, they are not "directional" tires. If the were, they would have an arrow on the sidewall and rotating them would NOT be recommended. The standard factory P-Zeros only specify "outside" on the sidewall and can be on either side. Rotation IS recommended in the owner's manual.

[Rock-It Man]

Don't be so quick to judge. The 2010 manual says no rotation for the SS.

Later, GM changed their mind.

So, the service manager needs to be educated, but not necessarily accused of ripping off customers.

[Rock-It Man]

Originally Posted by Evergreen6

I'm not understanding something. And maybe it has to do with the assumption that the P-Zero is a uni-directional tire (looking at the tire itself)

Swapping the tires side-side would cause the tires to rotate opposite the recommended direction.

So the service manager was correct in saying they shouldn't and didn't rotate the tires?

Or am I thinking of a different model in the Pirelli P-Zero lineup?


Edit:: After some searching, it's that the tires are marked with "inside" and "outside". They aren't true directional tires. My mistake!

P-Zeros are NOT unidirectional. Take another look. Unidirectional tires are clearly labeled with a direction arrow, whereas P-Zeros are labeled only inside/outside.

[PalmerGA]

Originally Posted by Rock-It Man

Don't be so quick to judge. The 2010 manual says no rotation for the SS.

Later, GM changed their mind.

So, the service manager needs to be educated, but not necessarily accused of ripping off customers.

So if it was a 2010 1LT/RS, they did recommend rotation? I believe you, but that makes no sense.

This customer's car was a 2013 2LT/RS. Education may be lacking, that's true. Regardless... I think this lady will give him an education pretty quick. She was just a bit upset and was heading back to the dealership.