[RatedZ]

I am purchasing my Z out of state. My local dealers are unable to get allocation. I know many of you have done this and was wondering what has happened when you needed any kind of service from GM. Does your local dealer handle it ok ? Or do they have the attitude of , "well you did not buy it here".. I mean this is a $50k car. I hope they treat you good even thought you did not get it at the local dealer.

Anyone have any experiece with this..

Thanks.

 

[Subdriver]

I bought out of state and have had need to service locally. Juries still out.
My car had, and still has, an intermittent sticking throttle. It also had a locked in active handling fault light that came on at about 450 miles. Took it to the biggest local dealer. Got treated well, but not too sure about the actual service.
For the active handling fault, gm tech said to put the car on a lift and cycle the steering wheel lock to lock a hundred times. Not too sure what that is supposed to do, but the fault hasn't come back in the last 200 miles.
However, the throttle really pisses me off. They said they test drove and couldn't duplicate. The car had all of 2 miles more on the odometer when I picked it up. Damn throttle stuck as soon as I started the car when I picked it up.
I drove it to another local dealer today and pulled out the service manager and showed him the car at is sat running at 2800 rpm with no driver in it. I have an appointment with them next Wednesday. We'll see.

 

[Mufflerbearing]

I have had all my vettes serviced at a dealership that I have never bought a car from. No problem. The service department could care less where the car originated. The backroom (service) is usually somewhat independant of the frontend (sales). I use a dealer 4 miles away in the next town because they have a fulltime corvette mechanic and service a large number of corvettes whereas my local dealer does very few. This dealership is also going to prep my new Z06 when it arrives even though I bought it from our own Rick Daniel.

 

[BCSX3170]

The dealer that I had my courtesy delivery through took 6 days to solve a steering column lock problem that should have taken 1 day. I will try another chevy dealer next time, these guys could not have been less helpful, I tried to talk to the owner but he wouldn't see me after I waited 45 min. outside his office. GM needs to address this problem within the dealer network. They are not impressed with the purchase price so you are pretty much on your own.

 

[sconi]

The local dealer has been great here in NH. I know of atleast 2 Z06s that were bought over the internet and are being serviced by this dealer. The service manager has been very glad to help us out. I haven't had any major problems to be fixed so far. But I have confidence in the dealership. Also remember that not all dealerships are set up as corvette dealers. Most corvette dealers have atleast one deadicated corvette tech guy and the specialized equipment required for corvettes. That might explain some of the problems I've noticed on the web sites. As an example, I had a flat tire that a Mass. dealer couldn't/wouldn't even take off the rim! He sent it out to be changed. He also stated that he doesn't have the equipment to take the tires off the C5 pressure sensor rims. Maybe one of the corvette tech members can explain this a little better. Cheers..:cheers:

 

[SMFCPACFP]

As a former car dealer owner, let me tell you how we treated people like you...

with open arms. There is a lot of money to be made on service work. The guy who runs the service dept could give a rats a$$ where you bought your car. He makes his bonus on how much volume he does.

 

[proexpert]

When I recently needed service, I called the biggest Chevy dealer in my area to ask if they would do warranty work on my Z06, purchased elsewhere. The service manager said "With some reluctance." I moved on until I found a dealer that was willing to be nice to me and also treat my car with respect. It was not a pleasant experience. I think I'm going to get a '67 VW microbus. Maybe that will get some respect.

 

[JBsC5]

I bought my car out of state..the local dealer service dept is great.they don't care where you buy your car from. Just be polite and respectful. I would say that goes a long way towards building a good relationship. .Don't worry.

Good luck

 

[Z06Y Lady]

Don't do it the other way

RatedZ,

Your approach sure beats buying locally and servicing out of state unless you live in St. Louis, Kansas City or Philadelphia. Folks in Buffalo and Detroit can buy locally and service out of country. jerboa

 

[BlkZO6]

I have a good friend who owns several car dealerships, and his perspective is he makes the most money from his service department. I wouldn't think you would have problems because of buying a car elsewhere.

On the other hand, you have to think about why you didn't buy the car there in the first place. If the answer is they were jerks to deal with....well, unfortunately you are dealing with the same owner who doesn't know how to run a dealership. If it was allocation, that's another story. JMHO

 

[2001Z06]

If the dealer is reluctant to service your car because you didn't but it there, just don't go there. If they are that stupid, you don't want them working on your car anyway. Service is a "big dollar" revenue generator for a dealer, any business for all that matters. I bought mine from out of town, the vette tech knows that but still treats me great. It shouldn't matter where you bought your car when it comes to having routine or warranty service done.

 

[dsinned]

IMO, if all you need is "routine" service work, like periodic oil changes, or a wheel alignment, ie. work that you must pay for anyway, take it anywhere you like, including an independent garage or even a quicky oil change place. If the latter, you should probably bring your own oil (Mobil 1).

The advantage of a "drive thru" type of service place is that you can usually be present while the work is performed and thus keep an eye on your car. If the work required is something more serious or an actual repair, take it to a "certified" Corvette Chevy dealership. Call CAC to find one in your area. This means they have a properly GM trained repair technician in the service dept.
Call the dealership to make sure they have such a tech and that he is certified to work on the C5.

As an alternative, check with a local Vette club or other owners in your area and find out which dealer(s) they recommend.

Call and make an appointment. Don't come across as a difficult to please Corvette customer with some kind of an "attitude". Just be polite and professional about having the work performed by a
qualified mechanic. Try to get to know him if at all possible and at the very least find out his name.

Simply explain to the service writer that you want to be kept informed of the progress on the work on your car, such as to the outcome of troubleshooting and parts necessary to fix the problem. Politely mention that in return for being kept informed and ultimately being satisfied that your problem is taken care of, you'll be glad to give the service writer a high rating on Chevy's customer satisfaction survey.

I think most "authorized" Chevrolet service departments, that are actually reputable, are sufficiently motivated to get good marks on that customer satisfaction feedback survey, so use this as leverage to get the best possible service.

 

[Rick1]

This is what I am talking about in the post CSI Sales and Service.