chevy dealership blues

caninelver · 12-08-03, 10:39 AM

took the vette to dealership for state inspection. Steering column had a little play & since it needed dimmer switch replaced, asked them to tighten it. They charged about $400 labor. Now the column has more play and even goes sideways. Also the turn signals dont turn off on their own now and the key has trouble turning the ignition. I took it back and the mechanic said"but somebody else has worked on it before"???The service manager says that mechanic is his top guy. That must explain it. If something has ever been worked on before, why fix it, just charge $400. The car is back at the dealership right now. I have a migrain. I should have requested his worst mechanic do the work.

JonM · 12-08-03, 10:56 AM

You should have asked before you sent it out...Could have suggested you take the column out yourself (only about 6 nuts and bolts) and repair it or sent it out for repair...at half the cost.

gray85 · 12-08-03, 11:57 AM

Call me cynical, but I don't trust anyone to work on my car. My theory is if I spend money on parts that I did not need and tools that I did not have, I still come out ahead vs. what I would spend on paying a mechanic. Plus what I learn in process is bonus. There are some things that you have to pay some one: tires and alignment, I don't have thousand to spend on those tools. Of course when you are short of time, you have to go to a mechanic and the best place should be the dealer. My suggestion is to find the best mechanic/shop. I see you are in PA, I can suggest some places in S. NJ.

12-08-03, 06:59 PM

Retired state trooper myself, used to be a happily married man, I had a wife and five girlfriends, why shouldn't I be happy! Then I got rid of the wife and got a Vette. Learned the hard way to find real happiness....all you need a great hairstylist and an good (and honest) Corvette mechanic. Good Luck!

Edmond · 12-08-03, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by gray85
Call me cynical, but I don't trust anyone to work on my car. My theory is if I spend money on parts that I did not need and tools that I did not have, I still come out ahead vs. what I would spend on paying a mechanic. Plus what I learn in process is bonus. There are some things that you have to pay some one: tires and alignment, I don't have thousand to spend on those tools. Of course when you are short of time, you have to go to a mechanic and the best place should be the dealer. My suggestion is to find the best mechanic/shop. I see you are in PA, I can suggest some places in S. NJ.

My attitude is like gray85, if I can do it myself, there is no way that I'm paying someone else to do it. Another plus when doing your own work is that you know it's your car and no one else is going to try as hard as yourself on your own car. The only work I've had someone else to do my car in the past 2 years is having tires mounted, balanced and aligned. Paying ~$70 an hour for shop labor isn't the easy way out!

caninelver · 12-09-03, 10:21 AM

I appreciate your thoughts on this. I had just registered it in Pa and was running out of time to get it inspected so even though I know dealerships are expensive I thought they could do a good job and besides, I know nothing about steering columns. Apparently Apple Chev in York,Pa doesnt either. My wife dropped it off yesterday AM for them to try again. I told the Service Manager about a recall to replace the rear tie rods. He said he didnt know cars had rear tie rods. As of quitting time last night they hadnt even got started on my car. I absolutely need a real corvette shop.

tyrel · 12-09-03, 05:58 PM

Ugh, dealership service. I've never been into the stealership for a non-waranteed repair in my life, I just don't trust those guys. It really pays to find a good independent garage, someone you can get to know. I became friends with my mechanic, and they kept my service manual in their garage, because AllData's information is sometimes, um, questionable. Of course, I do what work I can such as brakes and other easy things that don't require special tools, but a good mechanic is worth his weight in gold. Ask your friends or relatives, or co-workers, to recommend a garage.

silver77vette · 12-09-03, 06:12 PM

Used to work for a dealership, and worked with other one's. I will never take any car to a dealer for anything!!!!!! Compitition is awful! The attitude is to nail the customer for as much as possible!!! Find a good private tech and sick with them. Parts from a dealer usually have a god-awful markup.

bossvette · 12-09-03, 07:02 PM

don't know what part of PA you Are in

http://www.bairs.com/

try the local Corvette Club for shops, sometimes the little hole in the wall is the best bet altho I agree do it your self
the column is a easy swap and can be picked up at several Corvette only junk-yards.
http://www.michigancorvette.com/
http://www.vette2vette.com/
http://www.fparts.us/
hope this helps
Craig sr

ps http://www.fparts.us/ is located in Bristol Pa

12-09-03, 08:46 PM

I bought my 84 in April 2003. I knew going in I had alot of work ahead of me. I've replaced the dashboard, shifter, steering column, fresh diff. oil, half shaft u joints, rear control arms and bushings, rear sway bar bushing, starter and alternator. Interior was shot, pulled EVERYTHING out and found half the screws were missing. Cleaned and replaced with new screws. No horn, air, heat and lights. I did all this work and I'm not a mechanic. I bought the manual for my car and realized one thing, when you own a vette you better be patient and join a forum!
I myself do not care for service centers, by doing the work myself I know it has been done correctly.
Now my tranny is going, I'll drop it soon and rebuild it, myself.
After all this work I still like my vette, even more.
I also know my 84 is the first year with the new body style and the cross fire injection. One day........... One day

gray85 · 12-10-03, 07:53 AM

I just completed an engine rebuild, first time and all seems well. The one thing that we all should realize is that owning a Corvette is a hobby (or obsession). Constantly needing something tweaked or fixed, but the end product is the greatest American sport car. No one can have the appreciation of our cars, except the owners, it's a labor of love.

Two shops that I have heard good things about in S. NJ, but I have never tried, Classic Chevy and Corvette Paramedics. Classic is a dealer that specializes in Corvettes, usually very expensive. Corvette Paramedics has no dealer connection, they do good work but usually requires much time.

taegdh · 12-10-03, 02:01 PM

I agree about what has been said about dealerships. Their mark-up is upward of 200 pct. I also must back what has been stated about finding ONE good mechanic and sticking with them. I've found their prices are better and they also have their personal reputation to uphold.
I would also recommend that you find someone who has experience with Corvettes, because Joe Blo who works on honda and toyota won't know the nuances of THE Great American Road Car.
Since I'm just in the final parts of a move, I'm now going to have to ask arround the Charleston SC area for a good Vette Mech!

86PACER · 12-11-03, 01:39 AM

I could not agree more with all of you here. In the past, I took the vette to the dealership for an alignment. They told me they could not align it because I needed a new lower ball joint and 2 wheel hub assemblies before they could align my vette. The total price with parts and labor was over $1,200 NOT including the aligment!: ( Long story short, I spent $249 and rebuilt my entire front end myself in the driveway. They sold the hub assemlies for over $300 each.You can buy those for less than $150 somewhere else. I do the work on my vette myself.

69MyWay · 12-12-03, 08:22 AM

Here is the problem with steering columns.

They require some speciality tools to service them. There are generic tools out there, but even that gets expensive when you add up all the ones needed to do this job right.

You need:

1. steering wheel puller
2. Special steering wheel puller due to the telescopic wheel issue not found on standard GM cars--not everybody has this.
3. Horn ring/snap ring puller
4. special star/torx for the bolts that get loose in the column
5. Special slide hammer puller to remove the tilt pins, and reinstall without doing damage to the column.
6. A good shop manual/GM service training to follow the correct steps and put it back correct (one pinched wire, or left out part will kill the column).

**NOW, I am not defending poor craftsmanship, but I want to make it clear that a steering column tear down and repair is not for the average do it yourselfer...unless you have all the 6 items listed above. Otherwise, this $400 could turn into a $750 if you damage it worse than it was to start with due to a silly install error.

Most of the time the dealer or column specialty service is best for this job, as the average shade tree guy can't justify all the tools for a one time only operation (although I would because I prefer to do all my own work).

I hope they get it fixed for you!

caninelver · 12-14-03, 10:12 PM

I got the car back from dealership who assured me the steering column was fixed this time. Noticed a screw on floor, while picking it up noticed the plastic rim of underdash cover was broken which is where the screw belongs. And now the digital lights on the right side of display-tach, coolant temp etc., does not come on. Mechanic must have pinched, broke or disconnected a wire while breaking dash cover after fixing steering. Went back next day and service manager is ordering a new dash cover and will fix digital lights. If this keeps up I will be able to rebuild car for free. I have located a corvette specialty shop in Reading Pa which is not far from York. I will go there next time and see how I make out. I am amazed at all the interest shown in this by so many people. I get frustrated at times with the problems I am experiencing with the car but obviously I'm not the only one. But, no matter how much time, money and sweat I expend on this toy, at the end of the day, I am actually amazed at something. I own a vette. Neat. Tomorrow it will give me some more grief but I don't care. Yeah, I got a vette. And something tells me all you people reading this must feel the same way. Well, time for bed. After I take a peek at something sitting in my garage. Good night.