THe lesson here might be to find out what the entire cost of the install will be (labour, parts, and "mystery" charges) before getting work done.

After the work is complete is too late.

 

They will never be charged for the VCI number. I will bet $50 on that.

All they have to do is ask the GM Tech that they call the kit number in to. He/She will tell them there is no charge to load the number to the VIN. We have now done 7 installs on HHRs, Cobalts and a Saturn. Never been charged for the VCI number.

 

JoeSchmoe: You have a very valid point. I talked to the head service guy before hand and he said there may or may not be this charge. I told him great, when he checks into it I'm confident the charge wont be there. The tech wrote up the ticket and the service manager made him go back and add the charge. WHen I went to pick up the car the charge was there and the service manager wasn't. I'm still hoping to get my money back

Thanks ChevyMgr, thats the answer I'm looking for.

 

Its all up to the dealer and how experienced they are with this install. Luckily for me my dealer has done it before. i got charged for 2 hours of labor and the labor costs are high here so the total for labor was about 220. Not too bad considering i paid 475 for the kit from gm parts direct. And they said nothing about me supplying the parts.

NOTE: i called the dealer first for pricing first after i checked out what ebay sells were asking for. They told me the kit would be 650 plus tax. I told them I could get the kit for 550 from ebay and the saleman quickly relpied that he could do it for that price. Work the dealer dont let em work you!

 

Yeah, that's a tricky one.... sucks when they sort of give you a straight answer, but there's some wiggle room to charge you 50 bucks!

The dealer I went to was great. The part was $X, installation was $X and that's what I was charged. Hope you get your $50 back... they obviously are wrong to charge you for it....

 

Went something like this.
Me - Can you call your gmtech guy and see if there is a charge
Him - We called several times and were told we would be charged.

Me - No other dealer on the face of the planet got charged for this
Him - We are not everyother dealer on the planet. We get charged for every VCI download. In fact we used to not charge for it because we didnt know we were getting charged but now we know so we charge. If some other dealer told they are not being charged then they need to check their records, I bet they are.

I'm not gonna win this one, he has an answer for everything. Its the dealerships first install, they installed the wrong download first and it had to be redone. They are getting charged when noone else is?!? Maybe the next guy will benifit, who knows. At least the car runs now

 

Further reseach

From gmpartsdirect page -
Includes new calibration (flashed by your local dealer, additional charges may be required) and 2 new MAP sensors.

From GMpartshouse page

All dealers will charge you for the flash, plus installation of kit parts.

 

Time: 4:02 pm CST

Dialed 1-800-XXX-XXXX (GM Techline)

Entered: Prompt (1) VCI Programming

Entered: Prompt (1) Accessory Programming

Spoke to: Julie

Julie: GM Dealer Code

Me: XXXXX

Julie: Okay, you are at XXXXXXXXXX Chevrolet

Me: Yes

Julie: Your position

Me: Service Director

Julie: How can I help you today?

Me: Is there a $50 or any charge to obtain VCI programming for an HHR turbo upgrade kit.

Julie: No, the charge is built into the price of the kit. The customer pays for it when they purchase the kit.

Me: Thank you.

Julie: You're welcome, is there anything else I can help you with?

Me: No

Julie: Good bye

Me: Good bye
------------------------------------------------------

And that my friend is the way it is.

 

^^^^

Great to have you around ChevyMgr

 

i plan on ordering mine online gmparts direct seems the cheapest the dealor i bought the car from sells it for 600 plus 200 for install they have done a few cars before is that too much?