Posted on 10/09/2012 4:01:59 PM PDT by detective
When you own a sports car, you inevitably get a little paranoid about how it's treated when in the care of strangers. One South Carolina man was worried enough that when he took his 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS in for service at a Chevy dealer, he hid a voice recorder in the car. He was right to be worried: The recorder caught mechanics doing burnouts and discussing how to make the owner pay for a ruined clutch the car didn't have before coming in. Now the Internet Justice League has taken the wheel.William Clark says he took his Camaro to Best Chevrolet-Kia in Easley, S.C. for a clunking noise in the car's six-speed manual transmission. After a previous visit to a different dealer, his Camaro had died shortly after Clark retrieved it; while he suspected the staff at that dealership of joyriding, he had no proof at the time.
This time, the voice recorder hidden in the door pocket catches employees doing several burnouts and hard launches in the Camaro; Smith later says the techs drove it harder in 20 minutes than he had in three years. Once back in the shop, the mechanics realize the Camaro's clutch has been fried, and come up with a plan to blame the damage on Smith, saying to "write it up as him buying a (expletive) clutch," while saying another part failed under warranty so that General Motors would pay for its replacement.
(Excerpt) Read more at autos.yahoo.com ...
I took my Explorer in to the Ford dealer because the brakes were chattering. I told them it felt to me like the brake pads were worn. They said the brake pads were in excellent shape, but a computer had failed. It was $700 to replace the computer.
The brakes still chattered, so I took it back. They said the brake pads were now worn. I asked how that happened overnight. They denied they had told me the brakes were in great shape. I took it to a brake place and got the brakes fixed. I will never set foot in the Ford dealership in Tucson again. They screwed me for $700, and I hope to see them lose every penny of it and more!
Dealers charge premium prices for parts and rack rates for mechanics’ time. An independent shop will almost always give you a better deal on replacing anything that can be had as aftermarket.
Dealers charge premium prices for parts and rack rates for mechanics’ time. An independent shop will almost always give you a better deal on replacing anything that can be had as aftermarket.
Just a bit off topic,but you haven’t seen premium prices until you’ve taken a BMW motorcycle to a BMW Motorrad dealer. $100/ hr rates, $15/ quart oil, $25 filter. One will only do that once!
A doctor I work with had a Ford GT, not the Mustang but the $100,00.00 sports car version. The battery was acting up so he took it to the FW Ford dealer where he bought it. The mechanic and a buddy decided to test drive it. Yep, crashed it in a wild joy ride. Dealer would not replace, but repaired. One hot doc!!!!!
Oh, Harley Davidson is up there too. Though Harley dealers commonly have oil change specials.
Bet that doc went over the rebuilt auto with an otoscope.
Oh by any chance was this doc a shrink?
Not true :) By experience!
I drove a turbo Chrysler 4-banger in 4th gear, due to mangled shifter cables, for 20m to a dealer. Perfectly good clutch was burned to shreds.
One of my auto gnomes was asked to "test" this funny looking chassis and see if he could break it..... He got looking at it and said wait a minute this thing is production intent! This was way before it was shown :-).
But what is sad it is going to be hard to find a pristine un-molested and or un wrapped GT, these things are being totaled at an alarming rate, it is a shame....
We had a Hornet and hated it!!!! It’s engine was too heavy for the size of the car, and it drove like a bucking bronco. We dumped it after 6 months.
Nope, a surgeon!
There are damages, and then there are punitive damages.
I can promise you I wouldn't stop at asking them to buy back the car, I'd go for a piece of the dealership too.
My limited experience with paid mechanics, especially dealerships, is such that I do my own work. I like my vehicles.
When I moved to Columbia 15 years ago, there was a guy who drove around town in a ‘96 Ram pickup similar to mine, except his had “DODGELAND OF COLA SUX” spray-painted down both sides. He had an ongoing dispute with Dodgeland of Columbia about the truck, and when he didn’t get satisfaction, he spraypainted his own truck and drove it all over the city. I think eventually they relented and came to an agreement with him.
}:-)4
That must be what happened to a former boss of mine back in the mid-70s. He bought a new Chevy El Camino, and was only able to use 3 months out of the 18 months he owned it. The rest of the time it was in the shop for various problems. One time a flood of water came down from the leaky ceiling; Chevy dealer opened it up and found a wrench there from the factory. After various engine, tranny, rear end and paint problems he sued General Motors and won the lawsuit. He vowed to never again buy an American car, and didn't.
“Dealers charge premium prices for parts and rack rates for mechanics’ time. An independent shop will almost always give you a better deal on replacing anything that can be had as aftermarket.”
You are right. I was wrong, but I won’t be wrong twice...
;>)
I’ve had good service from my Ford dealership.”
I have been taking my 2004 Chrysler to the Ford dealership close to where I live for the last three years. Often difficult for a female to find someone she can trust. Unlike the local Chrysler dealer, Ford has thus far have been very trustworthy, quick and affordable. There was going to be a delay last time I was in while they were trying to find parts so they loaned me a new car free of charge. Will keep using them until I find a reason not to.
This is actually a long time tradition at GM dealers, especially chevrolet. (once had a new Vet that got beat up on its first visit)
>> “They suck but, driving like that for 20mins should not burn out a clutch.” <<
.
Back in the day when clutches were made with asbestos, you would be right, but a kevlar clutch can be toasted in one long slip start. If the clutch is engaged when the engine torque is at max, God help the clutch.
This story is not only a perfect reflection of the whole Government Motors Obama coup, but a blueprint for everything Obamugabe does. Totally screw something up, blame someone else for your mistakes, and then make the taxpayer foot the bill.
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