Dealer Tech Didnt Realize I have PDR

[rdollie]

As others said, ask to meet with Service Mgr AND GM and tell them you only stay with them if they promise to assign only their most senior trusted mechanic (get the name) for all future work. Beyond that, if you want to squeeze them for extended warranty or free oils changes thru factory warranty that's up to you.

 

[Ivy1Le]

Last story similar to this that went viral (corvette and 120+ mph) I believe the guy got a new vette out of it lol .. so go for a 2023. You'll likely end up driving the 2022 free of charge (still making payments but get it refunded when the 2023 arrives)

IF that doesn't work then I say go for extended warranty and then take your business elsewhere after you get the warranty

 

[malakas]

So I just took my CT4-V Blackwing to the dealership to get a piece of carbon fiber replaced because it had some factory defects in it. I’ve got my PDR set to auto record. The tech who replaced the carbon fiber is on video trying to activate launch control for roughly 8 minutes and then revving the car some during that time to see if it’s active. He eventually gave up as he couldn’t figure it out. My question for everyone on this forum is this. How should I handle this situation? I plan to go talk to the manager on Friday. What could I expect from the conversation? I want to be able to trust the service department at the dealership and not worry about things like this. This is really ruining the dealership for me.

Things could have played out very differently. Let's say this idiot actually took the car on the road and wrecked it, and injured or killed someone in the process. As the owner of the car, you likely get sued over that. There was recently a story about a tech who was killed trying to perform an oil change when another tech who couldn't drive stick pinned him and the car's owner was sued.

Why a Jeep owner is sued after dealership employee was killed during oil change

A man who took his Jeep to a dealership for an oil change is being sued for millions of dollars after an employee died. Here's why the family is suing the owner and not the dealership.

www.fox10phoenix.com

In my opinion, there is no room for a teachable moment here. This idiot not only abused your car but also put you personally at risk in the process.

 

[Ivy1Le]

Things could have played out very differently. Let's say this idiot actually took the car on the road and wrecked it, and injured or killed someone in the process. As the owner of the car, you likely get sued over that. There was recently a story about a tech who was killed trying to perform an oil change when another tech who couldn't drive stick pinned him and the car's owner was sued.

Why a Jeep owner is sued after dealership employee was killed during oil change

A man who took his Jeep to a dealership for an oil change is being sued for millions of dollars after an employee died. Here's why the family is suing the owner and not the dealership.

www.fox10phoenix.com

In my opinion, there is no room for a teachable moment here. This idiot not only abused your car but also put you personally at risk in the process.

the moral of this story? Get the f out of Michigan.

 

[Tabman]

So I just took my CT4-V Blackwing...

Whatever your outcome is on Friday - 1. video should be sent to Cadillac, and 2. put on the internet.

1. Cadillac needs to know dealers and service departments are not providing the level of care they think they are with these vehicles. Maybe they make it right where the dealer doesn't.

2. Everyone here could use a good chuckle...

 

[Blackwing16]

Things could have played out very differently. Let's say this idiot actually took the car on the road and wrecked it, and injured or killed someone in the process. As the owner of the car, you likely get sued over that. There was recently a story about a tech who was killed trying to perform an oil change when another tech who couldn't drive stick pinned him and the car's owner was sued.

Why a Jeep owner is sued after dealership employee was killed during oil change

A man who took his Jeep to a dealership for an oil change is being sued for millions of dollars after an employee died. Here's why the family is suing the owner and not the dealership.

www.fox10phoenix.com

In my opinion, there is no room for a teachable moment here. This idiot not only abused your car but also put you personally at risk in the process.

That has got to be the dumbest law precedent that I’ve ever read! I would hope Texas doesn’t have a similar law in place.

 

[Blackwing16]

Whatever your outcome is on Friday - 1. video should be sent to Cadillac, and 2. put on the internet.

1. Cadillac needs to know dealers and service departments are not providing the level of care they think they are with these vehicles. Maybe they make it right where the dealer doesn't.

2. Everyone here could use a good chuckle...

If the dealership handles the situation appropriately, then I will let them keep everything internal and not post the video anywhere. I like to give 2nd chances. If they do not handle things appropriately, then I will go from there.

 

[marfan]

I suspect you have already done it, but I would make sure you have a copy of the video on your computer in addition to the one on the SD card.

 

[Throat Yogurt]

I like your approach of giving 2nd chances/giving them the opportunity to make things right. I would go into the meeting with the video loaded on your laptop or ipad and take it out and offer to show them, unprompted. If it were me, I would take the high road and say that I don't want to meddle in their HR procedures but I would hope the employee would be "retrained" and not fired.

As for the remedy, for me, a sincere apology and the offer of, say, free service for the next X years would be enough to keep me as a customer and keep the video off the internet. I would expect that, going forward, you will be treated with white gloves at that dealership and all the techs will learn this story and your car will be treated exceptionally well in the future. I would NOT use the threat of making the video public as leverage to get compensation...that may work in the short term but you will go from victim to asshole in 2.2 seconds.

If they try to minimize the situation or blow you off, obviously the video gets shared, first with the dealership owner and then with GM, followed by us, followed by the rest of the internet. I would also freely share the story at the next dealership you go to and that will likely be enough to keep it from happening there as well.

 

[1Evil55]

I wouldn't have had the thought to post here. I'd have been in that dealership asap.

A couple years ago I was at Discount Tire for fresh rubber. When the tech was pulling my car from its spot to the bay he decided to gas it pretty good and ultimately had to lock brakes because he was flying into the garage. I was only 10 steps away myself. Once he got to a stop I immediately told him in as much colorful language you could imagine how dumb that was. Not to mention he easily could have hit someone. Manager came over pretty quick after hearing me. Low and behold, the kid was still pulling in cars after I left. These shops are probably hurting to find people and willing to hire anything that walks.

 

[dstewart51]

What would piss me off the most is if the service tech got a better 0-60 than I could.

 

[Daijoubu]

I was offered the dealerships oil change package, (6 oil changes for $350, which is about $40 cheaper per change than I can do myself) but I didn't have the heart to tell the sales guy it's worth $40 just to keep my car out of the service departments hands. I still might buy the package, but only if they let me take the oil and filter home to do myself. Your story is just one more that reaffirms my thoughts on dealerships.

 

[Blackwing16]

I wouldn't have had the thought to post here. I'd have been in that dealership asap.

A couple years ago I was at Discount Tire for fresh rubber. When the tech was pulling my car from its spot to the bay he decided to gas it pretty good and ultimately had to lock brakes because he was flying into the garage. I was only 10 steps away myself. Once he got to a stop I immediately told him in as much colorful language you could imagine how dumb that was. Not to mention he easily could have hit someone. Manager came over pretty quick after hearing me. Low and behold, the kid was still pulling in cars after I left. These shops are probably hurting to find people and willing to hire anything that walks.

The main reason I didn’t go straight back to the dealer is because I was furious and didn’t even know if the right people to talk to would be at the dealership. Wanted to go in with a clearer head. That way I don’t come off as a crazy person. I’ve got a tendency to get a very hot head and that just leads to people getting defensive

 

[Throat Yogurt]

The main reason I didn’t go straight back to the dealer is because I was furious and didn’t even know if the right people to talk to would be at the dealership. Wanted to go in with a clearer head. That way I don’t come off as a crazy person. I’ve got a tendency to get a very hot head and that just leads to people getting defensive

Score one for maturity.

 

[1Evil55]

The main reason I didn’t go straight back to the dealer is because I was furious and didn’t even know if the right people to talk to would be at the dealership. Wanted to go in with a clearer head. That way I don’t come off as a crazy person. I’ve got a tendency to get a very hot head and that just leads to people getting defensive

I hear you. My hot headedness wouldn't allow me to sleep. And I'd likely come off as crazy because I should be at that moment. I just took my 5 in the other day for its first oil change. When the service writer started asking me about doing other things I literally told him I didn't want a tech to even breath in the car. Just get rid of the old oil/filter and put fresh stuff in. DO NOT DO ANYTHING OTHER THAN THAT. Call me crazy.

 

[jbawden]

Any performance car is at risk of abuse by others, including your own family, valet parking attendants, and certainly service centers. These incidents are very common. I'm totally over the top when it comes to my emotional attachment to my cars. With that said, I would let go of any premise that you "deserve" anything here, as its impossible to quantify any harm that was done (probably none in my view). I think its worth showing the service manager the video as that tech is a liability to the dealership (Michigan notwithstanding). I'd add too this is not the expectation of care you expect when you leave you car and until there are procedural changes, you will no longer bring your vehicle in for service. We all know service is a huge portion of dealer revenue.

 

[Carguyshu]

I was offered the dealerships oil change package, (6 oil changes for $350, which is about $40 cheaper per change than I can do myself) but I didn't have the heart to tell the sales guy it's worth $40 just to keep my car out of the service departments hands. I still might buy the package, but only if they let me take the oil and filter home to do myself. Your story is just one more that reaffirms my thoughts on dealerships.

that is absurdly cheap if they are using the correct oil on a 5. You can't even buy the oil that cheap by itself. On summit racing (about the cheapest I could find) it's $8.79/qt and takes 10.

 

[dribs15]

Any performance car is at risk of abuse by others, including your own family, valet parking attendants, and certainly service centers. These incidents are very common. I'm totally over the top when it comes to my emotional attachment to my cars. With that said, I would let go of any premise that you "deserve" anything here, as its impossible to quantify any harm that was done (probably none in my view). I think its worth showing the service manager the video as that tech is a liability to the dealership (Michigan notwithstanding). I'd add too this is not the expectation of care you expect when you leave you car and until there are procedural changes, you will no longer bring your vehicle in for service. We all know service is a huge portion of dealer revenue.

Sorry to also not agree with the general sentiment, but this is .
Anything extra is a bonus.
... and yes I'd be pissed off as hell (as a matter of fact I have to talk to my dealer because earlier this week I picked my car up after leaving it there for the day and as I pulled out of the parking lot I saw not only did they drive it 14 miles, but also that the avg mpg for that tank of gas dropped 1.1mpg (from 14.5mpg to 13.4mpg)... plus they also had driven it 6 or 7 miles when it first was delivered (@Throat Yogurt was my odometer at 3 or 4 miles when we saw it arrive from the transport?... because it was at 10 miles when I signed for it).

... but at the end of the day what real damage was done?...so I'm not saying to just ask them for a mea culpa... instead let's work on their acknowledgement, apology, and correction for the future in a manner that doesn't start by burning bridges and then can lead to scorched earth (in this situation it is lucky that no one got hurt and that no actual damage was likely done to the car... but the end result is the end result).

Even if you move on from your dealership (which may be your choice), you never know if you'll meet up with any of them individually or as part of another team that you want to work with or need their help in the future.

 

[Daijoubu]

that is absurdly cheap if they are using the correct oil on a 5. You can't even buy the oil that cheap by itself. On summit racing (about the cheapest I could find) it's $8.79/qt and takes 10.

I think it's 9 quarts, but yes they told me they know they lose money on it, but they obviously try to upsell you on other services, or hope you don't use all 6, which is probably 5-6 years for most people. Also, not many cars use 9 quarts of $15/quart (dealer price) oil. In the end, I'd much rather do it myself.

 

[Throat Yogurt]

Sorry to also not agree with the general sentiment, but this is .
Anything extra is a bonus.
... and yes I'd be pissed off as hell (as a matter of fact I have to talk to my dealer because earlier this week I picked my car up after leaving it there for the day and as I pulled out of the parking lot I saw not only did they drive it 14 miles, but also that the avg mpg for that tank of gas dropped 1.1mpg (from 14.5mpg to 13.4mpg)... plus they also had driven it 6 or 7 miles when it first was delivered (@Throat Yogurt was my odometer at 3 or 4 miles when we saw it arrive from the transport?... because it was at 10 miles when I signed for it).

... but at the end of the day what real damage was done?...so I'm not saying to just ask them for a mea culpa... instead let's work on their acknowledgement, apology, and correction for the future in a manner that doesn't start by burning bridges and then can lead to scorched earth (in this situation it is lucky that no one got hurt and that no actual damage was likely done to the car... but the end result is the end result).

Even if you move on from your dealership (which may be your choice), you never know if you'll meet up with any of them individually or as part of another team that you want to work with or need their help in the future.

14 miles? WTF? I would be all over them about that.

I don't recall the mileage of your car at unloading, but the adjacent 4BW had 8 miles and the salesman bragged that he had "taken it out".