Problems with dealership after buying a new Camaro - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Laserjen · 09-12-2012, 06:24 PM

So a little over a week ago I happily posted pictures of my new 2013 Camaro (http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=247676). Now I'm running into some issues with my dealer, and I just wanted to get your input to see if I'm over-reacting.

My dealer located the car I wanted at another dealership. When I looked it over before signing the papers, I pointed out a couple of small scratches. The salesman told me they would fix those in the body shop no problem. I decided they weren't that big of a deal and trusted they would fix them to my satisfaction (ok, that was probably a mistake).

So Monday night I dropped my car off to get fixed Tuesday and picked up a loaner. I didn't notice until after I had left that the gas gauge in the loaner was on empty (as in, there was less than a gallon of gas in it). I found this mildly annoying, but wasn't going to make a big deal about it.

I contacted the dealership Tuesday evening to find out when I could pick up my car and was told it wouldn't be ready until Wednesday. Again, annoying but not worth making a big fuss over.

Today I again had to contact the dealership at the end of the day to make sure my car was ready, and was told they had just finished with it and I could pick it up. So I drove almost an hour (in traffic) to the dealer and when I get there, no one knew anything about my car. Finally, they track down someone in the body shop who explained my car wasn't ready (it still needed to be sanded and buffed). Furthermore, he said the scratches would still be visible after they were done -- which really sucks since one of them is at eye level on the driver's door where I will see it every day.

So now I'm really annoyed about everything. I'm also annoyed that I've been driving a Chevy Cruze for what will be 3 days, just over a week after buying a brand new 2SS/RS.

I sent an email to my salesman listing my complaints and am still waiting for a response. I'm not bashing the dealership since I haven't given them a chance to respond yet, I'm just curious what you would do or ask for in this situation.

Update 10/5/12: Just picked my car up from the dealership (dropped it off Monday night). They gave me my choice of loaner cars (a Sonic, Cruze, Malibu or Impala, with a full tank of gas) and they sent my car off to a custom body shop -- the repaint looks great. They installed the free heritage grille, filled my tank with gas, and threw in a car cover too. I'm satisfied since they did everything I asked and more!

tazz3 · 09-12-2012, 06:31 PM

this is sad they are giveing you a problem . and if they still do
report them to the state's consumer bureau. lets hope they get your ride back soon and if they fix the paint why would you still see the problem

1BADLS3 · 09-12-2012, 06:33 PM

I don't think you're over-reacting. You deserved a competent and informed response before driving an hour to go pick up your car; which wasn't actually ready. I don't know if they owe you anything more than a sincere apology...I'd probably feel a little "cheated" if all I got was "sorry", but I don't know what else they'd owe you in that situation.

It's not uncommon for a body shop to be backed up or behind schedule. They did right by giving you a loaner car, even if it was empty. I'd explain your experience to the service manager or sales manager and gauge his/her reaction. You might get something out of the deal, or maybe not.

But definitely don't sign off or pick up the car if the scratches are still visible. That's unacceptable.

Rhyder · 09-12-2012, 06:36 PM

Im confused about you still being able to see the scratch after they are done on a new car. Its not like the paint is faded.

What are they doing? using touchup paint? They should be redoing the whole area, the whole side if neccessary to remove the blemishes in my opinion.

As stated, do not accept the car, return it for redo if its not perfect....I know it sucks to have to drive the rental more while your new Camaro sits in the shop, but believe me you will be happier after if you make them do it right

SSBlack · 09-12-2012, 06:46 PM

For a change, a thread about a dealership that doesn't involve being lied to, or taken advantage of for a sale.

Your situation is about customer service. And, after the sell (where the lies and the taking advantage of.... occurs), do they care about customer service? Few do.

I would have turned around and taken that loaner back and requested one with gas in it.

I would have gotten the names of every person I spoke to on the phone, especially the person that said it was ready.

Hint to your salesman that you'd appreciate some free oil changes for your personal time you wasted.

Get your car back and look around for a dealership to take it to the next time. Maybe, their service is better.

Some might say you are whining. Not me.

Laserjen · 09-12-2012, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rhyder

Im confused about you still being able to see the scratch after they are done on a new car. Its not like the paint is faded.

What are they doing? using touchup paint? They should be redoing the whole area, the whole side if neccessary to remove the blemishes in my opinion.

As stated, do not accept the car, return it for redo if its not perfect....I know it sucks to have to drive the rental more while your new Camaro sits in the shop, but believe me you will be happier after if you make them do it right

They are using touchup paint -- the scratches were small but down to the metal. The body shop guy explained that they were trying not to repaint since they would have to blend the color with the existing paint and then re-do the clearcoat on essentially the entire driver's side of the car (one scratch is on the driver's side front fender and the other is on the top of the driver's door). Since the factory can bake the paint on at much higher temperatures, the repainted portion would not be as good as the factory paint.

So my question is, how much worse is it to repaint that much vs living with a small mark? He did say if the touched up area starts to fade or look bad he would fix it again at no cost.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Comrando

How do you see over the steering wheel?

Ha ha. I am pretty short though (5'2").

Quote:

Originally Posted by SSBlack

I would have turned around and taken that loaner back and requested one with gas in it.

I would have gotten the names of every person I spoke to on the phone, especially the person that said it was ready.

Hint to your salesman that you'd appreciate some free oil changes for your personal time you wasted.

Get your car back and look around for a dealership to take it to the next time. Maybe, their service is better.

Some might say you are whining. Not me.

I thought about taking the loaner back, but I had already stood around waiting for the salesman for 30 min because he was busy with another customer.

The person who told me my car was ready was my salesman -- I have it in an email. Up until today, he is the only person I've dealt with at this dealership.

This particular dealer already includes free oil changes and tire rotations for the life of the car.

This is the third dealership in the area I've dealt with. I had my 2010 Camaro serviced at two others and was not happy with their service departments (it's hard to get respect as a female..one dealership was completely patronizing and the other tried to rip me off by overcharging for simple services). I was hoping this one would be better!

1SSFever · 09-12-2012, 07:10 PM

Have you filled out the survey yet? They will do anything to get you to check "completely satisfied" on the customer satisfaction survey. I needed some repairs after the sale too, and they kept calling me asking why I hadn't filled out the survey yet. "Let's finish the deal first, then I will send it" Of course I wasn't happy, I was dealing with the same BS you are.

I had a door ding, and they called and said it was done. "Did you buff the scratches, I said I wanted no trace it was ever there, whatever it takes" They said let us check and get back with you, well they never called back.

And don't listen to that half ass body guy, brand new car and if you can see the scratches after wetsanding and buffing, well they better get to repainting. Doubt he really knows whats going on anyway, just pretend like you didn't hear that person say that, they are probably nobody anyways.

Sorry, that is unacceptable and I'd be 'my way or the highway' with this issue, those scratches would be completely fixed, the time or loaner wouldn't bother me. I'll torture their loaner for as long as it takes, and bring it back running on fumes.

Never, ever rush a body shop... let them take the time they need and get better quality work.

Rhyder · 09-12-2012, 07:12 PM

I do not believe it cant be blended, I hit a pillar in my truck, it was a metalic blue color. Supposedly hard to blend, but the body shop did it so perfect you cant tell.

I would tell the paint shop if they cant blend the paint they need to get it done at a pro shop that can before giving it back to you.

Touch up paint is not a repair, never has been, never will be. It is something you do to keep the metal from rusting that doesnt look to bad until you can get the paint properly repaired.

I would demand they redo the section, and as Ive said, if the paint shop there cant do it correctly, they need to find one who can and send it there to get done.

Laserjen · 09-12-2012, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1SSFever

Have you filled out the survey yet? They will do anything to get you to check "completely satisfied" on the customer satisfaction survey. I needed some repairs after the sale too, and they kept calling me asking why I hadn't filled out the survey yet. "Let's finish the deal first, then I will send it" Of course I wasn't happy, I was dealing with the same BS you are.

I had a door ding, and they called and said it was done. "Did you buff the scratches, I said I wanted no trace it was ever there, whatever it takes" They said let us check and get back with you, well they never called back.

And don't listen to that half ass body guy, brand new car and if you can see the scratches after wetsanding and buffing, well they better get to repainting. Doubt he really knows whats going on anyway, just pretend like you didn't hear that person say that, they are probably nobody anyways.

Sorry, that is unacceptable and I'd be 'my way or the highway' with this issue, those scratches would be completely fixed, the time or loaner wouldn't bother me. I'll torture their loaner for as long as it takes, and bring it back running on fumes.

Never, ever rush a body shop... let them take the time they need and get better quality work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rhyder

I do not believe it cant be blended, I hit a pillar in my truck, it was a metalic blue color. Supposedly hard to blend, but the body shop did it so perfect you cant tell.

I would tell the paint shop if they cant blend the paint they need to get it done at a pro shop that can before giving it back to you.

Touch up paint is not a repair, never has been, never will be. It is something you do to keep the metal from rusting that doesnt look to bad until you can get the paint properly repaired.

I would demand they redo the section, and as Ive said, if the paint shop there cant do it correctly, they need to find one who can and send it there to get done.

Thanks for the advice. I will see what it looks like tomorrow (assuming it's done then) and if I can still see the marks I will ask them to repaint.

I just got an email back from my salesman. He was off today and had trouble getting ahold of the body shop to find out if they were done -- an assistant he talked to told him it was. He will fill the gas tank on my car before I get it back, and said if I wasn't happy with the repair when they are done they will work with me.

Also, I have not filled out the survey yet so I do have that leverage left!

I feel much better now!

1SSFever · 09-12-2012, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laserjen

They are using touchup paint -- the scratches were small but down to the metal. The body shop guy explained that they were trying not to repaint since they would have to blend the color with the existing paint and then re-do the clearcoat on essentially the entire driver's side of the car (one scratch is on the driver's side front fender and the other is on the top of the driver's door). Since the factory can bake the paint on at much higher temperatures, the repainted portion would not be as good as the factory paint.

This part is a blatant lie, they just don't want to put the time in. It's about 16 labor hours + material they will have to eat, instead of paying the touch up guy $200 like they hoped would work.

Laserjen · 09-12-2012, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1SSFever

This part is a blatant lie, they just don't want to put the time in. It's about 16 labor hours + material they will have to eat, instead of paying the touch up guy $200 like they hoped would work.

Good to know!

1SSFever · 09-12-2012, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laserjen

Also, I have not filled out the survey yet so I do have that leverage left!

I feel much better now!

The 3rd time the Sales Manager called me, he explained how much leverage the survey gives you.

Basically they don't get paid for the sale if the survey comes back with a bad review.

It comes down to this, because all they really want is for you to give a good survey, then go away. Don't ask them for anything, you are the boss so you tell them. I use key phrases that may or may not be true, such as:

"This is the worst car buying hassle I ever dealt with" or "I wish I never even got into this BS" or my personal fav I had to use "The car I traded to you looks newer than this piece of crap you are trying to pressure me into accepting"

I figure they make shit up as they go, so I may as well play the game too.

Supermaro585HP · 09-12-2012, 07:35 PM

If you can still see scratches tell them to do it right or you will take it to your body shop and give them the bill. What you are going through is bullshit.. Good luck man!!

mountsalami · 09-12-2012, 07:39 PM

Sorry to hear about your experience.
Unfortunately with Camaros, if you get a bad enough scratch they have to redo the entire section. Along with blending in the clearcoat. If you have a scratch on the door, they basically have to repaint the entire door and blend the clear thoughout the entire side of the car.
I've been there done that. That is why I carry a 250 dollar dedectable. One scratch can cost a thousand dollars in no time.
Make sure they do it right. Touch up paint looks like garbage and can be easily spotted. Take care.

09-12-2012, 06:24 PM	#1
Laserjen Drives: 2013 Camaro 2SS/RS Join Date: May 2009 Location: MD Posts: 203	Problems with dealership after buying a new Camaro (UPDATED) So a little over a week ago I happily posted pictures of my new 2013 Camaro (http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=247676). Now I'm running into some issues with my dealer, and I just wanted to get your input to see if I'm over-reacting. My dealer located the car I wanted at another dealership. When I looked it over before signing the papers, I pointed out a couple of small scratches. The salesman told me they would fix those in the body shop no problem. I decided they weren't that big of a deal and trusted they would fix them to my satisfaction (ok, that was probably a mistake). So Monday night I dropped my car off to get fixed Tuesday and picked up a loaner. I didn't notice until after I had left that the gas gauge in the loaner was on empty (as in, there was less than a gallon of gas in it). I found this mildly annoying, but wasn't going to make a big deal about it. I contacted the dealership Tuesday evening to find out when I could pick up my car and was told it wouldn't be ready until Wednesday. Again, annoying but not worth making a big fuss over. Today I again had to contact the dealership at the end of the day to make sure my car was ready, and was told they had just finished with it and I could pick it up. So I drove almost an hour (in traffic) to the dealer and when I get there, no one knew anything about my car. Finally, they track down someone in the body shop who explained my car wasn't ready (it still needed to be sanded and buffed). Furthermore, he said the scratches would still be visible after they were done -- which really sucks since one of them is at eye level on the driver's door where I will see it every day. So now I'm really annoyed about everything. I'm also annoyed that I've been driving a Chevy Cruze for what will be 3 days, just over a week after buying a brand new 2SS/RS. I sent an email to my salesman listing my complaints and am still waiting for a response. I'm not bashing the dealership since I haven't given them a chance to respond yet, I'm just curious what you would do or ask for in this situation. Update 10/5/12: Just picked my car up from the dealership (dropped it off Monday night). They gave me my choice of loaner cars (a Sonic, Cruze, Malibu or Impala, with a full tank of gas) and they sent my car off to a custom body shop -- the repaint looks great. They installed the free heritage grille, filled my tank with gas, and threw in a car cover too. I'm satisfied since they did everything I asked and more! __________________ Then: 2LT/RS Black/Black auto w/sunroof Now: 2SS/RS CRT/Black auto w/sunroof Last edited by Laserjen; 10-05-2012 at 03:27 PM.

09-12-2012, 06:31 PM	#2
tazz3 Drives: 2012 camaro Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: east islip ny Posts: 228	this is sad they are giveing you a problem . and if they still do report them to the state's consumer bureau. lets hope they get your ride back soon and if they fix the paint why would you still see the problem

09-12-2012, 06:33 PM	#3
1BADLS3 Drives: Sold: 2011 2SS/RS Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: United States Posts: 1,896	I don't think you're over-reacting. You deserved a competent and informed response before driving an hour to go pick up your car; which wasn't actually ready. I don't know if they owe you anything more than a sincere apology...I'd probably feel a little "cheated" if all I got was "sorry", but I don't know what else they'd owe you in that situation. It's not uncommon for a body shop to be backed up or behind schedule. They did right by giving you a loaner car, even if it was empty. I'd explain your experience to the service manager or sales manager and gauge his/her reaction. You might get something out of the deal, or maybe not. But definitely don't sign off or pick up the car if the scratches are still visible. That's unacceptable.

09-12-2012, 06:36 PM	#4
Rhyder Drives: 2012 45 Anniversary Vert Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: atlanta Posts: 2,511	Im confused about you still being able to see the scratch after they are done on a new car. Its not like the paint is faded. What are they doing? using touchup paint? They should be redoing the whole area, the whole side if neccessary to remove the blemishes in my opinion. As stated, do not accept the car, return it for redo if its not perfect....I know it sucks to have to drive the rental more while your new Camaro sits in the shop, but believe me you will be happier after if you make them do it right

09-12-2012, 06:46 PM	#5
SSBlack Account Suspended Drives: 2010 2SS/RS JFB Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: DFW Posts: 807	For a change, a thread about a dealership that doesn't involve being lied to, or taken advantage of for a sale. Your situation is about customer service. And, after the sell (where the lies and the taking advantage of.... occurs), do they care about customer service? Few do. I would have turned around and taken that loaner back and requested one with gas in it. I would have gotten the names of every person I spoke to on the phone, especially the person that said it was ready. Hint to your salesman that you'd appreciate some free oil changes for your personal time you wasted. Get your car back and look around for a dealership to take it to the next time. Maybe, their service is better. Some might say you are whining. Not me.

09-12-2012, 07:10 PM	#7
1SSFever Drives: 2012 1SS Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: home Posts: 280	Have you filled out the survey yet? They will do anything to get you to check "completely satisfied" on the customer satisfaction survey. I needed some repairs after the sale too, and they kept calling me asking why I hadn't filled out the survey yet. "Let's finish the deal first, then I will send it" Of course I wasn't happy, I was dealing with the same BS you are. I had a door ding, and they called and said it was done. "Did you buff the scratches, I said I wanted no trace it was ever there, whatever it takes" They said let us check and get back with you, well they never called back. And don't listen to that half ass body guy, brand new car and if you can see the scratches after wetsanding and buffing, well they better get to repainting. Doubt he really knows whats going on anyway, just pretend like you didn't hear that person say that, they are probably nobody anyways. Sorry, that is unacceptable and I'd be 'my way or the highway' with this issue, those scratches would be completely fixed, the time or loaner wouldn't bother me. I'll torture their loaner for as long as it takes, and bring it back running on fumes. Never, ever rush a body shop... let them take the time they need and get better quality work.

09-12-2012, 07:12 PM	#8
Rhyder Drives: 2012 45 Anniversary Vert Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: atlanta Posts: 2,511	I do not believe it cant be blended, I hit a pillar in my truck, it was a metalic blue color. Supposedly hard to blend, but the body shop did it so perfect you cant tell. I would tell the paint shop if they cant blend the paint they need to get it done at a pro shop that can before giving it back to you. Touch up paint is not a repair, never has been, never will be. It is something you do to keep the metal from rusting that doesnt look to bad until you can get the paint properly repaired. I would demand they redo the section, and as Ive said, if the paint shop there cant do it correctly, they need to find one who can and send it there to get done.

09-12-2012, 07:35 PM	#13
Supermaro585HP Account Suspended Drives: 2011 Camaro SS RS Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 1,186 View My Garage	If you can still see scratches tell them to do it right or you will take it to your body shop and give them the bill. What you are going through is bullshit.. Good luck man!!

09-12-2012, 07:39 PM	#14
mountsalami Drives: 2010 Camaro 2SS 6M Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Iowa Posts: 98	Sorry to hear about your experience. Unfortunately with Camaros, if you get a bad enough scratch they have to redo the entire section. Along with blending in the clearcoat. If you have a scratch on the door, they basically have to repaint the entire door and blend the clear thoughout the entire side of the car. I've been there done that. That is why I carry a 250 dollar dedectable. One scratch can cost a thousand dollars in no time. Make sure they do it right. Touch up paint looks like garbage and can be easily spotted. Take care.