bizarre experience this week

[GMCSonoma]

Earlier this week one of the local car dealers in town (non-GM OE) ordered a part from us...

They were in a hurry for it, so rather than wait for my driver who was out of town for another 30-45 minutes, and the dealer in question doesn't have a parts chaser...I send out one of my counterpersons to deliver the part right away...


Fast forward two hours, the dealer parts manager whom we sold the part to calls up asking for me...I answer the phone and he then proceeds to start chewing me out for sending an incorrect part! I told this person to relax a second and let me start over in looking this part up...so I ask for the VIN#, which he reluctantly gives to me and I look up the part in question and read off the part#...the part we sold to him...he then starts hollering it's the wrong part, etc...

I said I could get another one, thinking aloud that it's entirely possible it's packaged wrong...which does occur sometimes...but it would take me a good 90 minutes, as I only stocked one of tht particular part# and I'd have to procure another on the outside...he got all inflammed and said forget it, he'll call the parts store and let them get one for him...

They walked the part to the parts store and supposedly got the "right one"...

So today their counterman comes in today with the alleged wrong part, drops it off for credit and hands us an envelope and walks out saying nothing...

Here is a copy of their workorder charging us for 2 hours of their techs time who "tried to install a wrong part"!!!!!!!!!!

Here is the kick in the nuts, the repair order for the car they included had a different VIN# than the one originally provided!!!!!! I proceeded to call the owner of the dealership, who I know of personnally and explained the situation....

Here they were working on two Chevy Malibus...both 2005's...one was a "classic", the other an Epsilon....they gave us the Epsilon VIN# to order the part (as we noted the last 8 digits on the bill of sale) and instead they were working on a Classic!!!!!!!!!

We got it resolved, however I told the owner I wasn't going to patronize his dealer for parts unless the attitude changed somehow...he assured me he'd see to a resolution...although he never apologized for what was a cluster**** on their part...

What stupidity...all in the name of doing business!

[Uzzy]

Kinda like the time a dealership tried to charge me 3 hrs labor on top of the charges for replacing a dead fuel pump. They said it was diagnostic charges. They were tracing back all of the wiring I had added to the car, to ensure that it was not my fualty wiring that was the problem with my fuel pump. I brought the car in and told them the fuel pump died.

1) The wiring was for fog lights, lights in the grille and lights under the dash. All of which had been disconnected at the time.
2) I was an electronic engineering student at the time (I have since graduated) and knew how to wire a few lights on a 12Vdc system.
3) They wiring was clearly disconnected, simply not removed. Also clearly done by the owner, me. They never called to ask it's purpose.
4) None of it had anything to do with the fuel pump at any time.

Also, they never cleared it with me. They gave me a cost of the pump and the labour, never on this "3hrs Diagnosis."

This is the same Chrysler dealer that drives around other dealer's lots looking for vehicles in their database and calls the owners to tell them the tow truck driver brought it to the wrong location and they'd gladly call a tow comapny to bring it to them. Happened to a lady that stopped going to them for service and would rather get her Caravan serviced at a Saturn dealer, rather than them.

This is why stealerships get bad names. I'm just glad I'm close friends with a number of people that work at a few local dealerships.

[MrCritical]

Sonoma, I know where you're coming from.

We have them bring aftermarket parts back in OEM boxes for credit.

There's one dealer who doesn't keep any parts inventory that buys from us, then orders the part and brings it back to us for credit. Last time we showed him the box he brought the part back in had his dealer name on it and not ours, and sent him on his way.

Somehow, I don't think we've seen the last of the red hot idiots.

[Triple-X08]

how is it your fault for some idiot to install a wrong part. if you cant figure out that part A does not match part B, then you shouldnt be working on cars.

i have had wrong parts before, it happens. window motors, and regulators mainly. go to put it in, look at the old one, damn it!!!, this doesnt match. !!!!

but regardless, it doesnt take alot of effort to say, hmmm, i think we have a problem here, rather than attempt to install it. you should have billed them for the part and not returned it, as it has already been installed on the vehicle, making it now, a used part. i had that happen a few times to myself. it sucks, but it happens.

by the way, what exactly was the part that was in question.

[GMCSonoma]

Originally Posted by Triple-X08

how is it your fault for some idiot to install a wrong part. if you cant figure out that part A does not match part B, then you shouldnt be working on cars.

i have had wrong parts before, it happens. window motors, and regulators mainly. go to put it in, look at the old one, damn it!!!, this doesnt match. !!!!

but regardless, it doesnt take alot of effort to say, hmmm, i think we have a problem here, rather than attempt to install it. you should have billed them for the part and not returned it, as it has already been installed on the vehicle, making it now, a used part. i had that happen a few times to myself. it sucks, but it happens.

by the way, what exactly was the part that was in question.

I never mentioned!!!


Fuel pump module...

[knightfan26917]

Holy cow, GMC...that's just...wrong.

Since he didn't apologize, what kind of "resolution" did the guy plan to have this come to?

I hope, at least, your dealership didn't get stuck with that bill they dropped off....



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[GMCdriver]

OK, heres a bizarre one from the sales side.

Need a very speciffic G5 for a customer and the only one equipped the way we need it is located at a dealer that is 800km away. That dealer wants a CTS in return for the G5, a speciffic 08 from our inventory(we are down to our last 08 3 CTSs and he has 15 08 CTSs in stock but he needs this speciffic set of options for one of his customers so we let the trade go)
We send a driver to take the CTS to him and bring back the G5.
A week and a half later and we still haven't gotten the signed trade letter from his dealership so we call him up to get the paperwork finished and he say that his deal fell appart and he doenst need the CTS anymore(and with 15 of his own to clear out he doesn't need another one with a bunch of miles on it) so he won't sign the letter. He called a transport truck and had the car shipped back to us so now we have an 08 with 800km on the clock.

[MrCritical]

The good thing is those kind of dealers will always call you for another dealer trade eventually.

Know what they say about payback?


"Uh, you're welcome to the car/truck, but we've added about $1500 worth of accessories to it.