I got mine installed and was happy with the price at the 2nd dealer I went to. I have a couple of questions for service managers, service advisors, or techs.
1. Since this kit is a GM part(s) going on a GM car by a GM tech should the customer be charged for any time the tech spends on the phone with TAC?
2. If the tech is learning how to do this install should the customer be paying for the training?

 

If you cant find a dealer that has already done one with positive results, I think the key is to talk with the service tech about what is to be done and agree on a reasonable estimate. Otherwise you could be on the hook for however many hours they actually take.

 

1. In my shop no. It's part of the process. I took advice from turbotech and have already pre-called in the download. So we are ready to update after the sensors are installed this Friday.

2. In my shop no. 99% of the time accessories have good instructions and you don't have a lot of training time. Everyone knows the first time with any install takes a little longer, but the tech makes it up on the next one. But GM screwed up the kit instructions by not giving good HHR information. That's not the techs fault or the customers fault. So if we were putting the kit in with the original instructions and had problems I would either pay the tech and eat the labor or plead my case with my GM rep.

But dealers are independent businesses, and each does things differently.

 

In my case the dealer charged me what he quoted based on the GM recommended time and then attempted to charge the additional time it took to debug to warranty (probably what you meant by pleading with GM rep), not sure if they got paid or not, but took care of their cutomer... me

If anyone in Western Michigan wants this done, I would highly recommend Gage Chevrolet in Grand Haven.

 

This is exactly what I too experienced. The extra time to train and triage was not billed to me. They took care of the customer. It makes you appreciate having a fair and honest dealer to give your business to.
So if you are in Rhode Island I would recommend Simon Chevy to perform the upgrade.

 

Funny how some of these installs went correctly for the customer and some not so good. I guess that goes to show all of us that not all dealerships are out to bend you over. There are probably quite a lot of dealerships that wil bend over backwards for the customer.

 

Wooo Hooooo! Second install started today. Automatic trans this time. 6 minutes 17 seconds on the phone with TAC. May be a worlds record!

 

Well, my install is scheduled for Wednesday. It'll be a bit of a drive (it'll be at the dealer that runs the Crateengine website) but I know the place has done them before for at least 1 other member and their install price is very reasonable. I can't wait.

 

Second call to TAC was still 20 minutes for me. Congrats for you Mgr. PDI'd an 09 Colbalt SS this morning. It is in dire need of an upgrade. Not impressed.

 

Second install done in 2 hours 37 minutes, same tech did the install. Tech soldered the wiring on this one also. Add the 6 minutes on the phone to TAC (I still think it's a worlds record) and the install still can't be done in the suggested 1.2 hours.