I had an 9:00 AM appointment for an oil change and needed a noise checked out in the front end. Went through with reception and test drive and handed over my keys...estimated time to return to dealer...2 hours.
OK fine.
Got there after 11:15 and my HHR is still outside and has not been looked at.
OK fine.
I get the service manager to drive me home, thank you very much. He will call and pick me up later.
OK fine.
3:30 PM and he calls so I end up getting my car about 4:00 PM. The front hub is shot (50,000 Kilometers) and there isn't one in stock, he will call me back later.
OK fine.
I pay for the Oil,Filter and Lub job.
OK fine.
Just a second did I say fine... check the invoice..."Bulk Oil"...now I have been using synthetic oil since the first oil change!!!
OK anyone can make a mistake so on the phone I get this song and dance..."You don't need synthetic oil, the oil we use is just fine for your car so we decided to put in bulk oil"...now I am a nice guy but I thought this is my car and this was my decision not their's to use synthetic oil and I expected that they should have it changed immediately...well we will have to get you another appointment at the next available time...
Now get the picture straight, we live in a small town and the nearest dealer is 25 Kilometers away in Canmore, the next nearest dealer is 130 Kilometers away in Calgary.
I love my HHR, now I have to find a dealer I can trust to give me good service.

 

Gotta watch those dealerships!!!

 

You know my last 4 vehicles have been a Nissan (Maxima), Ford (ZX3), Saturn (Vue) and Toyota (Matrix)

At one time or another I have had the same experience that you listed above.....I don't think it matters who the brand is....you either are gonna have a good delaer or a crap one. Looks like they have you over the railing given they are the only Chevy dealer within a reasonable distance.

The Nissan dealer was decent and the Saturn guys were awesome considering they rebuilt the Vue from ground up given all the things wrong with it.


As far as the oil goes...if by any chance you can change your own oil please do it. It is so super easy on the HHR. That way you know exactly what is going in your engine and what filter is being used. Then again not everyone has the space and time to do so but if at all possible look into it



Goose

 

I didn`t see where you told the service tech. you wanted syn. oil before you turned it over to him.
Certainly you don`t think he remembers you, unless you`re the ONLY HHR in town.

 

Where I worked a cust history was with each repair order given to the tech, If it was a new cust. R.O. was stamped NEW CUST. that way the tech would know what oil,tire press.what service was needed or had been done and what was going on with this car/truck,van and with the cust. Good or bad

 

BB...it sounds to me like this is where his car has been serviced all along...which means they have the records which indicate what type of oil he uses. And maybe he told them and just didn't mention it in his post.

I live in a big town and my dealer services tons of cars and they know me by name and know that I use synthetic oil in my car...so I don't understand why you would think that other dealerships may not be the same.

When I drop my car off for warranty work, they take me to work and call me when the car is ready. If I don't have someone who can take me up there, they will come and get me. If it's just an oil change they do it while I wait and it's about 30 min or so and I provide my own oil so there's no question on what I want done. They provide the filter and do the labor and charge me $20 and I'm happy. Maybe I'm just a little spoiled and think that others are as well.

 

Well I think I get the picture...thanks for the exchange of experiences.

I expect that in this day of computer tracking of customers service records it should be a convenience to have your vehicle attended to in a timely manor...e-mail notification or just good old snail mail...friendly reminders for regularly maintenance etc. I used to get that from Ford.

I will certainly be doing most if not all of my future servicing at home...but warranty work is another thing. After all it's what we pay the big dollars for, right!