steelership

nategors · 03-28-2007, 09:20 PM

Should I be angry?

Timeline is as follows.

1:40 call dealership and ask if they would be able to replace alternator for my 99RS. Yes we can do that this afternoon. They know make model and parts needed.

1:45 battery doesn't have enough juice to make it, so I call the tow truck and get there by 3:00.

3:00 give service advisor my info and tell him what I need.

4:30 service advisor tells me they don't have the parts and cannot locate them any closer than Layfette Indiana.

??? Why did they say they could get the job done if they didn't even have the parts!

5:00 they tell me they have found the parts if they can get them by 6:00 they will get it done.

6:30 Sorry we won't be able to get the work done until first thing tomorrow morning.

This whole time my car has not moved off of the lot. If they had any intension of completing my vehicle they should have had it in the shop w/ the alternator removed and ready to install the new one.

The only reason I took it to the dealership was for the convienence of having it fixed quickly so I could have transportation. This seemed worth the etxra money to me. Now my car is at the dealership I'm without transportation and if I let them do the work I'm spending the extra money for a complete inconvienence. If they would have told me they didn't have the parts and couldn't get it done today I never would have takin it to them. I would of delt with the inconvienence and put the new alternator in myself and saved a bunch of money.

While waiting for my service I listened to two other customers complaining about services they were being charged for. 1 was being charged a $30 fee for disposal of motor oil on top of a $800 charge for a "tune up". The other was being charged for two labor hours of diagnosis of an evaporitive emmisions code 440 the gas cap! They were also told it was to erase the code because it wouldn't go away on its own.

It's been a long day so I left the name of the dealership out of this thread for now. Before I left I told them to have the service manager call me before they begin work on my car. I feel like I'm gonna be stuck with it now cause it ain't gonna be worth it to have it towed and do the work myself. Anyway thought I would vent my frustrations and see what you guys have to say about it.

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Subie Gal · 03-28-2007, 09:27 PM

i understand you're upset -
but it's obvious that you've very little idea how dealerships work

You didnt have an appt, you are a walk in customer
Those customers with scheduled appts come first.....

Did the service advisor tell you on the phone that they had the part in stock?
If so...
perhaps the parts dept TOLD the service dept they had an alternator
later learned they did not.

regardless
sounds like they took the trouble and located one for you
sent their parts delivery driver to pick it up...
driver could not get back in time
to get your car serviced and out of the shop by the end of the day

thus your car will be fixed tomorrow rather than today

and honestly,
there is no need to move a car into a work bay
until the work can be completed

again,
you didnt have an appt
seems like they tried to meet your needs and sort you out
but simply ran out of time

perhaps they did not communicate this well enough to you
to meet your needs of understanding

so you're going to have to wait one more day

bummer

but i'm not really seeing how the dealership is being all evil and stuff???

Jamie

silvaru · 03-28-2007, 09:28 PM

you stick your hand in the pit bulls mouth and you wonder how you got bit?
dealers can always be counted on killing you with extra fees.
do it yor self if you want to keep the cost down.

armand1 · 03-29-2007, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nategors

Should I be angry?

Just with your spelling teacher (

), unless you are really bummed out by the Pittsburgh football team.

But seriously, you did get delayed in getting it to the dealership, so it was 3PM by the time you got it there, which leaves VERY little leeway, in addition to what Jamie said. It sounds like getting it there an hour earlier might have made all the difference.

As for the importance of getting it fixed the same day, if you explicitly made that clear to the dealership from the beginning, and they promised you that it would definitely be done by the end of the day, you may have a complaint; otherwise, I'd chalk it all up to "average" service and perhaps waiting a bit too long to get your alternator fixed.

Mavrik · 03-29-2007, 04:01 PM

I'll have to agree with Jamie. 3pm in the afternoon is pretty late in the day to get something done, and when you have unexpected complications... even worse. I see this all the time at the dealership I work at. We expect everything to go one way, then something happens and now it all changes. Its all in a days work at any repair facility.

BlackfeetVI · 03-29-2007, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silvaru

you stick your hand in the pit bulls mouth and you wonder how you got bit?
dealers can always be counted on killing you with extra fees.
do it yor self if you want to keep the cost down.

Wow. Thank you for the stunning and wonderful insight into the ways of a dealership service department.

I was going to say the same thing Jamie said, she just beat me to it. Parts people make mistakes, just like everyone else. It sounds like they tried to help you out but ran out of time. Coming in late in the day as a walk in appointment doesn't leave much time for the tech, and they have lives outside of work that they'd like to get to when it's closing time. I understand your frustration but I think you need to give them a lot more credit. So you're without your car for a night. It could be a lot worse.

blackfang · 03-29-2007, 06:30 PM

I also agree with Jamie.

nategors · 03-29-2007, 08:09 PM

It is alot worse

Also I should tell you why I decided to get it replaced.

On the way to work the previous night my gauge cluster lost power. And the voltmeter on my radar detector was reading 11.8V. Also my windows stopped operating. Basically my car went to limp mode for a low voltage. Used my dmm to measure voltage at the alt. and still had 11.8V

Yeah I got there at 3, butthey are open till 7 which is four hours and more than enough time to change an alternator on our cars.

Mavrik · 03-29-2007, 08:18 PM

whats the actual hours of operation? They may be open until 7 but the techs may go home at a different time. For example the dealership I work at is open 7am to 6pm but the techs work 8am to 5pm.

Cooter05WRX · 03-29-2007, 08:29 PM

also if they couldn't get the part until late they didn't want to start something if they ended up having problems. I have had issues with my mustang and run around trying to find the part and not getting it done till late in the evening. if you wanted it done so fast next time do it yourself. Dont say the dealership is bad because they didn't bend to your time frame.

03-28-2007, 09:20 PM	#1
nategors Scooby Newbie Member#: 73740 Join Date: Nov 2004 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Illinois Vehicle: 1999 Impreza 2.5rs white	steelership Should I be angry? Timeline is as follows. 1:40 call dealership and ask if they would be able to replace alternator for my 99RS. Yes we can do that this afternoon. They know make model and parts needed. 1:45 battery doesn't have enough juice to make it, so I call the tow truck and get there by 3:00. 3:00 give service advisor my info and tell him what I need. 4:30 service advisor tells me they don't have the parts and cannot locate them any closer than Layfette Indiana. ??? Why did they say they could get the job done if they didn't even have the parts! 5:00 they tell me they have found the parts if they can get them by 6:00 they will get it done. 6:30 Sorry we won't be able to get the work done until first thing tomorrow morning. This whole time my car has not moved off of the lot. If they had any intension of completing my vehicle they should have had it in the shop w/ the alternator removed and ready to install the new one. The only reason I took it to the dealership was for the convienence of having it fixed quickly so I could have transportation. This seemed worth the etxra money to me. Now my car is at the dealership I'm without transportation and if I let them do the work I'm spending the extra money for a complete inconvienence. If they would have told me they didn't have the parts and couldn't get it done today I never would have takin it to them. I would of delt with the inconvienence and put the new alternator in myself and saved a bunch of money. While waiting for my service I listened to two other customers complaining about services they were being charged for. 1 was being charged a $30 fee for disposal of motor oil on top of a $800 charge for a "tune up". The other was being charged for two labor hours of diagnosis of an evaporitive emmisions code 440 the gas cap! They were also told it was to erase the code because it wouldn't go away on its own. It's been a long day so I left the name of the dealership out of this thread for now. Before I left I told them to have the service manager call me before they begin work on my car. I feel like I'm gonna be stuck with it now cause it ain't gonna be worth it to have it towed and do the work myself. Anyway thought I would vent my frustrations and see what you guys have to say about it. * Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

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03-28-2007, 09:27 PM	#2
Subie Gal GC84Ever Super Moderator Member#: 301 Join Date: Sep 1999 Chapter/Region: NWIC Location: WA Vehicle: 2001 2.5 RS/70 Van 02 WRX Rally Stud	i understand you're upset - but it's obvious that you've very little idea how dealerships work You didnt have an appt, you are a walk in customer Those customers with scheduled appts come first..... Did the service advisor tell you on the phone that they had the part in stock? If so... perhaps the parts dept TOLD the service dept they had an alternator later learned they did not. regardless sounds like they took the trouble and located one for you sent their parts delivery driver to pick it up... driver could not get back in time to get your car serviced and out of the shop by the end of the day thus your car will be fixed tomorrow rather than today and honestly, there is no need to move a car into a work bay until the work can be completed again, you didnt have an appt seems like they tried to meet your needs and sort you out but simply ran out of time perhaps they did not communicate this well enough to you to meet your needs of understanding so you're going to have to wait one more day bummer but i'm not really seeing how the dealership is being all evil and stuff??? Jamie

03-28-2007, 09:28 PM	#3
silvaru Scooby Newbie Member#: 70763 Join Date: Sep 2004 Chapter/Region: NESIC Location: billerica, ma Vehicle: 2007 legacy newport blue pearl	you stick your hand in the pit bulls mouth and you wonder how you got bit? dealers can always be counted on killing you with extra fees. do it yor self if you want to keep the cost down.

03-29-2007, 04:01 PM	#5
Mavrik Scooby Guru Member#: 90347 Join Date: Jul 2005 Chapter/Region: AKIC Location: Anchorage AK Vehicle: 2013 BRZ & Imp 2.5RS Yamaha FZ8	I'll have to agree with Jamie. 3pm in the afternoon is pretty late in the day to get something done, and when you have unexpected complications... even worse. I see this all the time at the dealership I work at. We expect everything to go one way, then something happens and now it all changes. Its all in a days work at any repair facility.

03-29-2007, 06:30 PM	#7
blackfang Scooby Specialist Member#: 131347 Join Date: Nov 2006 Chapter/Region: MAIC Location: Richmond Va Vehicle: 2007 Legacy 2.5i SE 98 Z/28, VN 900 custom	I also agree with Jamie.

03-29-2007, 08:09 PM	#8
nategors Scooby Newbie Member#: 73740 Join Date: Nov 2004 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Illinois Vehicle: 1999 Impreza 2.5rs white	It is alot worse Also I should tell you why I decided to get it replaced. On the way to work the previous night my gauge cluster lost power. And the voltmeter on my radar detector was reading 11.8V. Also my windows stopped operating. Basically my car went to limp mode for a low voltage. Used my dmm to measure voltage at the alt. and still had 11.8V Yeah I got there at 3, butthey are open till 7 which is four hours and more than enough time to change an alternator on our cars.

03-29-2007, 08:18 PM	#9
Mavrik Scooby Guru Member#: 90347 Join Date: Jul 2005 Chapter/Region: AKIC Location: Anchorage AK Vehicle: 2013 BRZ & Imp 2.5RS Yamaha FZ8	whats the actual hours of operation? They may be open until 7 but the techs may go home at a different time. For example the dealership I work at is open 7am to 6pm but the techs work 8am to 5pm.

03-29-2007, 08:29 PM	#10
Cooter05WRX Scooby Specialist Member#: 110567 Join Date: Mar 2006 Chapter/Region: NWIC Location: Oregon Vehicle: 2009 JK Sunburst Orange	also if they couldn't get the part until late they didn't want to start something if they ended up having problems. I have had issues with my mustang and run around trying to find the part and not getting it done till late in the evening. if you wanted it done so fast next time do it yourself. Dont say the dealership is bad because they didn't bend to your time frame.