Feeling duped - not sure what to do

[Bfinch2002]

If i were you, i would take the car to another mechanic to have them check it out. Even if you get the work done at your dealer, you should still get a 2nd opinion on what needs fixed. There is a good chance that the service dept is just as shady as the sales people. Take your brother with you since he knows more about cars than you do.
If your friend had good luck at the dealer across the street, consider taking your car there to have it looked at. If you dont mention your issues with thier sister dealer, the probably won't contact the chevy dealer. Any dealer service dept can diagnose cars that the don't sell so it won't matter that its not a chevy dealer. You need to ask if all the issues are connected by a common cause (like others have said). If you can prove that the covered issue caused all the other problems, the other issues should be covered as well.

As for the sales guy not returning calls:
You have 3 options.
1. You can call the dealership and ask if the salesman is in. If he is, go up there and speak to him in person. He can't avoid you if you're in the lobby and know hes there working. When he agrees to talk to you tell him you want the sales manager in the office with you all. Lay out all of your issues to both of them and let them know that they need to work to resolve them before you consider contacting a lawyer.
2. Call the dealer and instead of asking to speak with the salesguy, speak to the sales manager. Make him tell you when you can expect a call from him with some answers and let him know that if you do not recieve a call you will be making some other calls.
3. (this one is a long shot) Call chevy customer service and lay out everything for them. They honestly aren't going to care about your car since its used, but they will care about stopping a shady dealer from making them look bad.

Finally, it sucks that you're going through all this! You may want to check out Uber or Lyft instead of using taxi's. Depending on the distance you are going Uber is pretty close in price to taxi services. The cars are much nicer and normally more trustworthy to get you where you need to go on time.

 

[mja]

That's why I'm torn, now it seems like I'm getting a decent deal for the repairs but it took them going back to do diagnostics three times to get all of it admitted to. So do I go for the seemingly reasonable price and hope they aren't still being shady? Or do I wash my hands, pay more to go somewhere else to get an independent opinion?

I've learned these things are better to leave in the past. It sucks, but if these repair seem expensive, hire an attorney and this will seem laughable. This is nothing compared to medical bills

It's the business of used cars, hard to hate on the dealer... some of the people genuinely don't know that much about cars. Really hard to guess the whole story. It happens at nearly every lot, 365 days a year.

Some dealers offer better service than others, the best I've been to - Classic Chevy in Sugarland TX, usually offers a complementary loaner car for major repairs. They also have a free chauffeur service for people getting cars fixed during the day. Even folks with Nissans and Toyotas bring their cars there to get em fixed. You may be able to work something like this out with your service department.

You could attempt the guilt-trip method (works better for women somehow) to negotiate a deal with the used car lot if you really wana get rid of this thing. See if they have anything without a turbo motor, tell them you didn't know about the added expense and complexities of the turbo. The 1.8L (naturally aspirated/non-turbo) version of this car you'll like more in the long run. Cheaper maintenance, lasts longer, less driveability issues, etc.

Simple list of things to stay away from when buying a used car for the average buyer: Aftermarket (not stock) stereo or lights, bigger wheels, forced induction (turbo or supercharger)

 

[JesusTheAgnostic]

I'm sorry but you payed 10k for a car with 115k on it? I payed 10k for mine including taxes and a 12k mile powertrain warranty with 31k miles on it. You got a bad deal from the start. Now for the actual help, I don't know about the stuff under the car, though if you need to replace the gasket on the oil pan I don't imagine that'd be too hard. I think you drain the oil, unbolt the pan, scrape off the old gasket, put on a new one and bolt it back on. But for the intake manifold you can replace it for about $300 yourself. That's what the intake manifold costs it comes with literally everything on top of the engine that's connected to the intake manifold. I can see from the thread that you're not good with cars if you need help many of us on here have experience with replacing the intake manifold and would be more than happy to help with instructions or pictures. There's a sticky showing the basics, it's called porting the manifold or something like that. I would say replace the manifold yourself then take it to someone else and see what they say about what's wrong with the car. I wouldn't trust somebody who won't give you a straight answer.

 

[Mad Trapper]

You paid way too much. They are basically giving new cars away with all the discounts, new Sonic's are usually 20-25% off sticker. I got my 2016 brand new LT Turbo for 14,500, stickered just under 22k. Downside is trade in value is only around 10k, everyone wants SUVs now.



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[ckronenwetter]

You paid way too much. They are basically giving new cars away with all the discounts, new Sonic's are usually 20-25% off sticker. I got my 2016 brand new LT Turbo for 14,500, stickered just under 22k. Downside is trade in value is only around 10k, everyone wants SUVs now.



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So I'm finding...To be fair the 10k includes everything, the service plan and nonsense they added on. The car sticker was $6800

 

[ckronenwetter]

I'm sorry but you payed 10k for a car with 115k on it? I payed 10k for mine including taxes and a 12k mile powertrain warranty with 31k miles on it. You got a bad deal from the start. Now for the actual help, I don't know about the stuff under the car, though if you need to replace the gasket on the oil pan I don't imagine that'd be too hard. I think you drain the oil, unbolt the pan, scrape off the old gasket, put on a new one and bolt it back on. But for the intake manifold you can replace it for about $300 yourself. That's what the intake manifold costs it comes with literally everything on top of the engine that's connected to the intake manifold. I can see from the thread that you're not good with cars if you need help many of us on here have experience with replacing the intake manifold and would be more than happy to help with instructions or pictures. There's a sticky showing the basics, it's called porting the manifold or something like that. I would say replace the manifold yourself then take it to someone else and see what they say about what's wrong with the car. I wouldn't trust somebody who won't give you a straight answer.

To be fair the 10k includes everything, the service plan and nonsense they added on. The car sticker was $6800

Thanks for all your comments. The bright side of all this was finding this forum, I'm amazed how helpful you all are! I think I will try to get more comfortable with this stuff myself.

 

[ckronenwetter]

You could attempt the guilt-trip method (works better for women somehow) to negotiate a deal with the used car lot if you really wana get rid of this thing. See if they have anything without a turbo motor, tell them you didn't know about the added expense and complexities of the turbo. The 1.8L (naturally aspirated/non-turbo) version of this car you'll like more in the long run. Cheaper maintenance, lasts longer, less driveability issues, etc.

Simple list of things to stay away from when buying a used car for the average buyer: Aftermarket (not stock) stereo or lights, bigger wheels, forced induction (turbo or supercharger)

Thanks so much for the tips. Getting a crash course here!

 

[ckronenwetter]

If i were you, i would take the car to another mechanic to have them check it out. Even if you get the work done at your dealer, you should still get a 2nd opinion on what needs fixed. There is a good chance that the service dept is just as shady as the sales people. Take your brother with you since he knows more about cars than you do.
If your friend had good luck at the dealer across the street, consider taking your car there to have it looked at. If you dont mention your issues with thier sister dealer, the probably won't contact the chevy dealer. Any dealer service dept can diagnose cars that the don't sell so it won't matter that its not a chevy dealer. You need to ask if all the issues are connected by a common cause (like others have said). If you can prove that the covered issue caused all the other problems, the other issues should be covered as well.

As for the sales guy not returning calls:
You have 3 options.
1. You can call the dealership and ask if the salesman is in. If he is, go up there and speak to him in person. He can't avoid you if you're in the lobby and know hes there working. When he agrees to talk to you tell him you want the sales manager in the office with you all. Lay out all of your issues to both of them and let them know that they need to work to resolve them before you consider contacting a lawyer.
2. Call the dealer and instead of asking to speak with the salesguy, speak to the sales manager. Make him tell you when you can expect a call from him with some answers and let him know that if you do not recieve a call you will be making some other calls.
3. (this one is a long shot) Call chevy customer service and lay out everything for them. They honestly aren't going to care about your car since its used, but they will care about stopping a shady dealer from making them look bad.

Finally, it sucks that you're going through all this! You may want to check out Uber or Lyft instead of using taxi's. Depending on the distance you are going Uber is pretty close in price to taxi services. The cars are much nicer and normally more trustworthy to get you where you need to go on time.

Thanks so much, it's really helping to get these different perspectives on this.

I think what I am going to do is have them go ahead with the current repairs since they are now going to give me a bit of a discount and people seem to to be in agreement that the charges for the work don't seem out of line. Then I am going to take it to a mechanic my brother knows to verify that a. the repairs seem to have been done properly and b. there isn't anything else looming.

If there is more they didn't tell me about then I will seriously consider further action, otherwise I'll chalk this up to lessons learned, still cancel the service plan and wash my hands of their service department.

No matter what, they called today to let me know even if I go forward they wouldn't be getting to it yet this week so I can mull it over until after the holiday and make a final decision.

Unfortunately this town is too tiny for the ride-sharing services, we hardly have bus service. I went ahead and re-registered my old car so at least now I have transport through the holiday. So lucky I hadn't gotten rid of it. I should have done it as soon as this started going south but I couldn't believe it was going to go on this long.

 

[Mad Trapper]

So I'm finding...To be fair the 10k includes everything, the service plan and nonsense they added on. The car sticker was $6800

Well good luck with it. Hey at least you live in a nice area, we always drive thru your area on our way up North.


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[JBScat]

Glad to hear you're getting close a resolution. Good luck. Once this is behind you Im sure you'll love the car.

 

[ckronenwetter]

Well good luck with it. Hey at least you live in a nice area, we always drive thru your area on our way up North.


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Thanks! I certainly like it here.

 

[ckronenwetter]

Glad to hear you're getting close a resolution. Good luck. Once this is behind you Im sure you'll love the car.

I certainly hope so!

 

[LorbeerTLC]

Local TV Station

As a last resort, do you live near a local TV station that does the evening news? Sometimes they do public service stories with titles like, "7 On Your Side!" or equivalent. This could be your other option. Nobody likes to have a news reporter come and put bad press on their company or employees. And with a little exposure, it's amazing how attitudes can suddenly change.

If this option is available, I would give your local TV station(s) a call and explain your story in detail. You seem to have a lot documented materials here and you would be doing your fellow citizens a service to let them know just what kind of a dealership is serving your area.

Just a thought.

I'm sure sorry and Hope this gets resolved soon.

 

[ckronenwetter]

As a last resort, do you live near a local TV station that does the evening news? Sometimes they do public service stories with titles like, "7 On Your Side!" or equivalent. This could be your other option. Nobody likes to have a news reporter come and put bad press on their company or employees. And with a little exposure, it's amazing how attitudes can suddenly change.

Ha, you sound like my brother that was totally what he wanted me to do right away.

 

[backroads]

What you might try

I used to live in central Wisconsin and feel bad for you. I don't believe a dealer should treat you this way. Of course, I think you have learned that there is research to be done before buying a vehicle: both about the vehicle itself (115,000 miles is a lot of miles), the buying process and how salesmen will try to sell you things like extra warranties without you requesting them, and on the dealership itself. For example, you can look up the BBB -- Better Business Bureau -- information about a dealership and see the reviews and specific complaints against them. All dealers get complaints, but see how they resolve complaints, and also see if there are any unusual situations that seem a little "off" or bizarre.

By the way, sales people get a commission on these warranties, and the dealers make good profits selling them, so they have incentive to sell them whether you want them or not. A good dealer will at least ask you about a warranty and explain it better to you, rather than just telling you "they want to take care of you." I had a dealer try to stick that in a sales agreement without me asking and I just walked away.

Also, just because a dealer is a GM-franchised dealer like Kocourek does not guarantee ethics. Sorry to say, but true. And be careful about using the word "certified." In the car business, "certified" is usually used to designate a used car that has been inspected and meets a specific set of quality criteria. They are typically low mileage cars and come with a no-cost manufacturer (e.g., GM) warranty.

Here is something you might try. In your particular situation, you could write to the owner and appeal to his sense of integrity. I say this because Keith Kocourek has been nominated to represent Wisconsin in the 2017 Time Magazine Dealer of the Year contest. If you go here https://www.ally.com/learn/allydealerheroes/nominees/ you will see him in the eighth row. Click on him and read about him. Since he feels it is important to be a good member of the community, you could write him and nicely but firmly explain how you have been treated. Compliment him on his nomination, and then say you do not understand how his dealership could treat you this way. Ask how his dealership could sell you a car with so many problems and at the same time sell an expensive aftermarket warranty that did you no good whatsoever. Don't be angry, just lay it out for him about how his employees have treated you, e.g. the salesman who told you the guys always find "something" wrong at the first oil change and so you need a warranty but then ducks your calls. Tell him about the "miscommunication" between sales and service, and the service guy saying the ONSTAR diagnosis is worthless. None of what you have described sounds very good, especially not in a small city like Wausau. If he's a genuinely good owner, he will at least get back to you and hopefully try to fix things.

If you never hear back from him or his general manager, you could then go to a consumer TV reporter. Then you can say you gave him a chance and still did not get satisfaction.

I had decent experience with Wheeler Chevrolet in Marshfield, but that was over 10 years ago. It is a smaller dealership, more of a family operation than Kocourek, although that is no guarantee.

Good luck.

 

[Prospector]

Agree with the last post, but want to add... You are trapped in a sunk cost fallacy with regards to the guarantee. The dealership will rely on you coming back forever for everything because you are afraid of losing the $2500 that you have already lost for it. That cash is gone. you may get it back, but regardless, don't be controlled by that tether. You have already found that the guarantee isn't worth the paper its written on.

Move along to another service garage that can keep its promises. Holding onto that paper is only proving you to be a bigger sucker and marks you as someone the dealer can take advantage of. Let them know you are breaking the tie and force them to earn you back.

You aren't special to the dealership. They are not looking out for you. You are an income source. Nothing more.

 

[Chuck Schick]

So how has this turned out?