What happened to my Camaro at the dealer?

[OHIOSS]

Everyone beware, I talked to a fellow Camaro owner at a car show this afternoon and he said that someone @ the dealership (not the same dealer that I got my car from) drove his car almost 30 miles. He had dropped the car off for an oil change and to check a wheel vibration in the front end of the car. He didn't notice the mileage difference until he had left the dealership so he went back and talked to the service manager. The service manager said they had to test drive the car because they couldn't feel any wheel vibration, so him and one of the shop guys drove the car at different speeds to try to recreate the vibration. The owner told the service manager that he was full of $hit, that it didn't take 30 miles to recreate the vibration. The dealer didn't offer him anything, no free gas or anything else, basically blew him off.

Russ

[5thGenAnyone?]

Originally Posted by Russ Hunsaker

I had to drop off my Camaro to replace a defective tire pressure monitor on the front right wheel. When I got in my car my seat had been completely changed, not just rolled forward. The height was changed, the seat had been moved forward, and the seat back was tilted back. My steering wheel was also completely changed, it had been lowered and telescoped all the way out.

I didn't notice the miles that was on the car when I dropped it off but I think someone has been driving it. My clutch feels different, not as stiff as it has been since I got the car. I decided to wax the car and found a crack about
2" long in my wheel on the same tire they had to remove to change the tire pressure monitor It looks like someone tried to fix the damage to my wheel but stopped before it was finished. I'm sure it's going to be a big fight with the dealer for them to admit that the damage happened in their shop.

There would be no reason to move the seat other than forward or back to simply drive the car into the shop. It's like the seat was changed to be comfortable for someone that took it for a ride.

WTF happened since I dropped it off??

I have a picture of the crack in my wheel but I can't figure out how to post it.

Russ

The FIRST thing I ever do before taking a vehicle into the shop is write down and take a picture of the odometer. Mechanics DO NOT need to be driving my car unless need be. I also ask them if they think they might have to drive it after a repair to test something or see how something feels. That is fine, IF NEED BE. I simply just don't trust people that I don't know.

[hot ss]

an employee and i were delivering 2 porsches to one customer 6 years ago.....the drive was about a mile away, and i got there, and my helper showed up 10-15 minutes later saying he took a wrong turn (as the car is ticking and cooling), i fired him on the spot.
i have rules for driving peoples cars.
1: if you dont like what the stereo is pumping out, push the button and shut it off. dont turn it up, down, definetely do not change settings/stations/discs.
2: no WOT OR BREAKING SPEED LIMIT.
3: let car idle to operating temp as many german and exotic cars can foul plugs if driven too early.
4: never set anything on top of someones car for even a second.
5: do not lean on car or allow others to lean on car.
6: only move seat up or back if you cant fit into it. do not change settings, you can tolerate the 10 minute drive for delivery.
7: mirrors same as seats.
if anything is damaged, call customer shortly after having the repair lined up. run it past him and get authorization to proceed.

no one likes "finding things". the few incidents we have had were non issues following this protocol list.
the C4S my employee was driving wasnt harmed, the customer was happy i fired the guy, and the guy tried calling every government number he could to get my operation in trouble. too bad for him we are squeeky clean. i have a 20 year friend in his 50's delivering cars for me now, and this seems to be very accepted by my customers.

[Timberline]

Looks to me like you should get a new wheel out of this since it is the wheel they worked on. They did have to dismount the tire to replace the valve stem which when the damage happened.
Unfortunately the rest is your word against thiers and no way to prove it.
Keep pushing for a new wheel you will get it. Start with the service manager and if you don't get results start working your way up the ladder.

[hot ss]

this week the service dept scratched the inside of a brand new 22" escalade wheel.
he refused to replace it, or acknowledge that such a claim was important. the sales mgr, knows we buy a lo0t of cars, so he spoke with him and got nowhere. this dealer gives my company work so i cant rock the boat too bad, so i was unsure how far to take this.
the sales mgr, offered us his new demo's tire/ wheel to keep us happy.
same dealerships service manager found out about the blower that was going on the car,
and he read me the riot act, and told me if he sees the camaro, he will void me. a real company man, warranty nothing if you can get away with it. or how about slamming the hood, and putting a big dent in it. again sales paid for that, not service. or how about the power lock actuator that had to be changed, and the moron running the door panel clip removal tool, dented and chipped paint off the door shell...and they gave us a bottle of touch up paint when we bitched.
or how about ramming the telescoping hoist arms into my painted mudflaps leaving hoist paint on them, and service manager saying "we can polish that out, why are you so fussy? " not once did they fess up and say something was damaged. we had to find it all later. once the camaro is pdi'd tuesday or wednesday, they will never see that car again.

[djsnoflake]

My big tip when you are getting your vehicle service is this:

1:Before you hand the keys over, write down your mileage on a piece of paper and also beside your signature (my dealership requires a signature before any work happens, even an oil change)

2: Say to your service advisor, "My car currently has XXXX Miles on it, can I get a commitment from you on how many miles you will put on it for the requirements of the work being done?"
Get the commitment from him, and get him to add it to the service details.


I do this every time I get any vehicle I own serviced. It might make the service guys think I am a bit eccentric or paranoid, but if it keeps the joyrides away, who cares?

[OHIOSS]

There is no way to repair the wheel and I won't be satisfied with anything less than a replacement wheel. I took pictures on Friday and e-mailed them to the sales guy I bought the car from. You would think that whoever did it would have admitted it when it happened, I don't want anyone to get fired over it, I just want the car back in the same condition I dropped it off.

Russ

[OHIOSS]

Update: I e-mailed pictures to the dealer on Saturday and called them this morning. I had to leave a message and the Service Dept Manager called me this afternoon. Right away he told me that the wheel damage was done prior to them working on my car. He told me the guy that did the work called him and had him check out the damage on the wheel prior to doing anything so they wouldn't be blamed for it. I told him there was no way that I did this damage to the wheel, if I did I wouldn't have tried to blame it on them.

There was a long pause on the phone and he suggested I check out the damage again and if I still thought they did it, to call him. When I got home I was so pissed that I decided to go meet him face to face, but before I went to the dealer I stopped at a good friend of mine that owns his own tire company. My cousin also works at the same shop so I called them and told them I was on my way and I wanted their expert opinion of the damage. I wasn't there 10 seconds and they both concluded it was tool damage because the dealer tried using a tire machine that wasn't made for 20" wheels. They both concluded there was really no way I could have caused the damage.

I ran over to the dealer and met the sales manager and walked him out to my car. He right away suggested that someone else may have been driving my car and caused the damage. I told him no one else has ever driven the car but me. I noticed the damage the same day I got the car home from the dealer, the wheel that is damaged is the only wheel that had been removed from the car, and there is no other damage like scuff marks on the tire or anything. If he were me what would he think? Then I told him what the tire shop told me, then he offered to buy me another wheel.

I told him that I wasn't trying to screw them over, in fact I was not in any hurry to get the new wheel. Hopefully they would get a Camaro in that the owner wanted to put different rims on. I told him they had 2 months to get me a replacement rim and I would be happy with that.

The next time the car goes to the dealer I am going to take pictures of the odometer and pictures of everything else I can think of. Let my mistake be a lesson to all of you and hopefully this won't happen to you.

Russ