"Dealer can't MAKE a dealer service everyone's car - ummm, yes they can. First of all, we have been talking about warranty work (not regular srevice or out of warranty work). The manufacturer can cancel their franchise contract with the dealership and put them out of business"
Something you're not considering - this dealership has a 25,000 deep customer base and the highest CSI ratings in the area, perhaps the entire State of Texas.
They're doing exactly what GM wants them to do - selling cars and trucks and taking care of their customers - that makes GM money, short term and long term.
If someone calls up GM customer assistance and says "those guys at XYZ Chevrolet wouldn't work on my car", they'll tell you that scheduling issues for "store-owned" customers are a priority and they should check with their selling dealer for priority service.
This isn't at all like buying a computer as a Best Buy in Chicago and taking it to a Best Buy in Dallas for warranty issues. Best Buy owns all their stores and have managers who are Best Buy employees.
With a dealership, the owner is given latitiude, especially when their numbers are PERFECT, to handle their business in a way that keeps them in business.
Yup, I don't know anyone who doesn't understand that you need to make an appt to get your car serviced. I'm sure there are some, but I sure wouldn't say 'most.'
In a big city like Houston, it's not a huge issue if a particular dealership can't fit you in for warranty (or other) work, because there are dozens of dealerships. In the town where I grew up, there were only two Chrysler dealerships. If either one started refusing warranty work on vehicles, it'd be a huge problem. At that point, they're likely to have a load of dissatisfied potential customers, which then would become apparant to DCX. In a big city, I can see how it wouldn't affect a dealership much.
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I belive you totally when you say "if it doesn't have a Leo Martin badge on it, don't bring it here".
That is their perogative. But as I have said a few times here - just because you say something doesn't make it right/legal/Ok, and there might be consequences for said actions.
I am sure if a customer is turned away because they don't have a Leo Martin badge and called the maufacturer to complain, Mr. Leo Martin, in the immortal words of Ricky Riccardo "would have some 'splanin to do."
he's taking GREAT care of all his customers, as proven by one of the highest CSI ratings in the state. If they were slugs, it'd be a different story. He's doing EXACTLY what the manufacturer wants - selling cars, doing warranty work, and doing a great job at both.
Clarification - the conversion van subject was a Chevrolet van at a Chevy dealer, but it was a Mark III conversion at 19 of the 22 items on the list were conversion-related. The owner was asked to go to his selling dealer so he could get the GM and coversion items taken care of at the same place, same time, instead of making two visits.
"whiny laundry lists for nitnoid stuff, making the techs mad and tying up the schedule, forget it - THAT'S not good business. "
My 2 cts...I understand most of the points on both sides, but hate this attitude as stated above.
Umm, we, the consumer, spent a lot of money on a vehicle and if something is wrong (squeek, rattle, smell, or something even bigger) it still deserves attention. Ang guess what, if itøs more than one thing (a laundry list), well I'll be even more upset about the purchase. Please do not dismiss people if they complain and even have more than one complaint at a time. Unfortunately it makes you look worse.
For me it's good business to make me happy so I will buy again from that manufacturer, selling dealer or not.
obsesses for 3 days and writes up 20 or 30 complaints, most due to not reading the manual and understand how the thing actually works, that's whining. Nitnoid complaints, to me, is like the lady who complained that her hands got cold when she drove her Malibu, and had to wear gloves and wanted us to fix the problem, demanding a buyback if it wasn't corrected - we corrected the problem by aiming her air conditioner vents away from her hands and the steering wheel - true story, Airport Chevrolet, Medford, OR, 1998.
And btw, I'm not politically correct, and don't do hugs and cappuccinos - I call it like I see it.
Yes, but no one can fix complaints from people like that - I have to believe they're the exception and not the rule. I think we're talking about normal case scenarios here, where someone has a single warranty complaint, and can't get it fixed.
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.... **The manufacturer can cancel their franchise contract with the dealership and put them out of business** ...
Never happen in a million years .. now, if he's chanting weird songs on the frontline and reading books to small children (like someone else we know, then yes .l.o.l.) ...
Sorry Drift, you even lost me on the Van deal, but I get lost all the time anyway ...
I guess what were missing here is, that any dealer will welcome "any" service work .. but, it his prerogative to schedule it when and how it's done ... if he feels that his personal customers should be done between 7am and 1pm, then it's his business, and if he feels he will only do other service work between 1:30pm and 6:30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, then it's his call and most dealers will take emergency work first, I said most, not all ...
Having a service connection is a very important part of life, whether it's a plumber, electrician or a carpenter, they're nice to have around on a phone call .... when I kept my boat at the Marina, I made sure those guys got a "little something" at the end of the month, whether they needed it or not .. cuz' the only time a boat fails is on Memorial day, the 4th of July and Labor Day - oh yeah, and 2 hrs before the Christmas boat parade ..l.o.l..
Some of my guys are the best in the business when it comes to service, and speaking of Christmas, their offices are filled with all kinds of stuff from customers (what about ME.?) so they "will" remember when they get a phone call at 7:25 at night and this guys power window just coughed up a lung and he/she will be on it at 6am the next day .. will I do service work at anytime for anyone, you betcha ~ as long as it doesn't conflict with one of my customers and he/she doesn't have to be inconvenienced ..... remember, your only a visitor ................
I think this issue is getting blown out of proportion. I believe most dealers give preference to their buyers, but for normal work you rarely notice. I think most of the time it's the difference between your car getting done at 10AM versus 3:30PM, and you don't care because you can't pick it up until 5:30 anyway. The dealers that ONLY work on customer cars are few and far between. So everyone take a deep breath...
Goes back a few years, but exactly hits the point.
I moved from North Jersey to S. Jersey in the late 80s (about 100 miles south). At the time, I had a mazda 323 that developed a problem with the clutch, while under warranty. I called the local dealer (who pretty much had a monopoly in this part of NJ), and was told, point blankc, "since you didn't buy it here, if it showed up on the back of a tow truck, I wouldn't let them drop it on the lot"
Real good way to build a customer base. I actually ended up taking it back where I bought it (a bit of a PITA logistics wise) the first time, but eventually got it in locally when it needed follow-up work down the line.
Of course, the same place tried to brush me off, until I had a shouting match (and it takes a lot to make me lose my temper) at the service desk, in front of other customers, and with the zone rep in attendance.
Could have saved themselves a lot of grief. The zone guy simply said 'replace it under warranty", and problem solved.
I later found a dealer in Phila to handle paid service work.
In fairness, they improved greatly later on. Maybe because of compitition, or becasue mazda sales went down, but when I had my Miata last year (bought used elsewhere), they were very accomodating. The car was actually bought new at that dealer, just not by me.
you had a clutch replaced under warranty. I've authorized ONE clutch replacement in 12 years. The disc isn't warrantable, unless it's a BMW or MB product, and the pressure plate usually fails due to disc failure.
Here's another side of that coin: if the service department is smart, they'll go to bat for the customer who bought there. I've had a couple of issues over the years that might or might not qualify as warranty problems. Because I'd bought the car at that dealer, the service manager said he'd try to get the manufacturer (Mazda in one case, Toyota in another) to cover the repairs. In both cases they did. Would they have gone to bat for me if I'd bought elsewhere? Doubt it. This particular dealer also does things for its own customers that it doesn't for others, such as give free loaner cars when a car is in for repairs.
It was in the old 12/12 days, and even my wife couldn't kill a clutch that fast. Especially since it was the car I usually drove!
I think the problem was a bad flywheel or something, not a normal worn clutch. Or it could have been the homicidal look on my face.
I did get a clutch at 3 years (30K) on my Maxima that was just worn out. Helped that the service writer was married to my duaghters kindergarten teacher, and the GSM was my neighbor. I even bought it used, and not from them!
OT, that is the way to build referrals and a positive customer relations base.
I've done that hundreds of times, mainly when someone was out of basic or extended warranty by a few hundred miles - I'd call the DM and plead the case, and 99% of the time, get something covered.
Bear in mind, it would be more profitable NOT to do that - if you blew a head gasket or transmission, my tech, service advisor, and department make much more money if the parts are at retail and the labor is "customer pay".
Most dealers have no trouble doing warranty work for anyone.. and, as stated many times above, their "customers" get priority for service appointments..
So, where are you taking your car for regular maintenance? I guarantee that 99.9% of dealers consider someone that pays to have their regular maintenance done at their dealership to be one of "their customers".
If you take your car to Jiffy Lube or elsewhere for your regular maintenance, but then expect a dealer that didn't sell you your car to do all of the warranty work, I wouldn't be surprised if you get put at the bottom of the list..
I've had service work done at one particular Honda dealer on five different Hondas.. I only bought one of the cars at that particular dealership.. But, the service department considers me "their customer", because I am.
I won't even get into the "more flies with honey than vinegar" argument..
I have read many posts where warranty work does not pay as much as nonwarranty work for dealerships. What would the difference be..on say putting in a new starter?
One issue on the dealership that required the 'badge' to get in for service....I remove those stickers as soon as I get home since no one paid me to advertise for their dealership. I think I would be at an impase with this hard-headed dealer. I would probably try to deal with my local dealer before going to the mega dealer and think that if they care about the local business they should advertise that they will come close if not meet the mega deals. I don't think we have really answered the original question. I can see the arguments from both sides.
That I agree- If you take a Chevy to a Ford dealer, I bet you'll get kicked out pretty fast.
But when you take a Ford to a Ford dealer for warranty work and the dealer refuses to do the work because the customer did not buy the car from them? Even if the manufacture cannot make the dealer to do the warranty work, the customer is going to blame it not only on the dealer, but also the manufacture.
I am just trying to point out that it's a very bad business practice. And you have to look it as a third party business consultant, it's business, nothing personal. Again, don't blame your competitor or even your consumers, look at yourself. Ask yourself WHY do people go to the mega dealership. You already have the advantage of being much closer to the community, you have a small community so you probably know Mrs. Smith, why is Mrs. Smith willing to travel over 100 miles to get her car?
That's a better solution. Again, look at it as a neutral third party.
If I were the consumer I probably wouldn't be too happy, but I would understand. As a matter of fact, that's what I do too. When our biggest client wants a loan to be rushed, the loan gets rushed. When a small client of ours wants a loan to be rushed, we try, but if we have other clients in front of him, They'll have to wait.
Even if I have to wait a few days, at least I feel the dealer is trying to get some business and try to be customer friendly. Turning away a customer just seems unacceptable in my opinion, and I would assume that's the same for all industries.
Lastly, I just want to point out, I would assume at least 80% of the consumers think they could get their warranty work done in all dealers... even if they can't, guess what, they'll still blame it on the dealers and manufactures. The better solution is NOT turning them away.
The badge doesn't really matter - all they have to do is run a warranty printout to see where the car was sold - also shows build date, in-service date (very important for warranty coverage), etc.
I have always heard that the larger a dealer is (by volume of cars sold), the cheaper they can buy cars from the manufacturer. Sometimes I hear that the invoices are actually different, sometimes that the holdback amount is different. Basically, can the Mega dealer actually sell cars cheaper (or make more profit at the same price) than the small local guy? Most of the "volume" dealers even advertise that because they buy so many new cars they can discount them more.
If so how much of a difference would there be? Not that this would justify passing by the small local guy just to save a few bucks.
When I drive by a huge mega dealer with all their bright lights flashing all I can think of is how much more they have to sell their cars for to pay for all those bright lights. Oh, and let's not forget all the advertising I see and hear on the TV & radio. IMO, mega dealers that say "we can sell for lower because we deal in volume" are just using that as a sales pitch to get you in the show room.
"has a sign in service that reads "if it doesn't have a Leo Martin badge on it, don't bring it here".
So, I guess if someone moved there from Ohio, then that dealer would refuse to perform warranty work?!?!?!
I remove (or have the dealer remove before I take delivery) any dealer plates from every car I buy, so even if I was there and boought a car from them, it wouldn't have one of their plates on it in any event!
from up north moving into small towns in Texas anyway, not just a dealer thing...
Three things a Texan hates to see - a burr in his saddle, a rock in his boot, and a Yankee with a U-Haul.
But no, if you moved there from Ohio, they wouldn't hold it against you, unless you bought a new car in Houston on your way through...
bender - invoices are the same - volume does count, but one dealer can sell for the same as another. Now, when they have crazy money turning over in their used car dept, they can subsidize the new car side. That being said, we're not talking about anything that's not still in reach of a smaller dealer, if they want a deal bad enough.
The key with smaller dealers is to provide great service, both in sales and service, and keep a strongly attached customer base that doesn't stray very far.
>keep a strongly attached customer base that doesn't stray very far.
And that customer base keeps recommending them to their friends for honest sales and honest service which brings in new customers for sales after they've had a bad experience at a "city" dealer.
It helps that the country dealer I'm established with is 30 miles from downtown, has three brothers who own it, two of whom are there everyday selling and being in charge of service and gas pumpers and..., and two of their sons and some other relatives are there working through every job in the place from service writer to tow truck driver to car sales. There is no manager treating customers or mistreating customers without their knowledge.
The service manager/writer tells me how to fix my car since I do most work myself. When I take something in and pay a high price for repair, I've had that extra cost repaid in help for what I could do myself.
Ever had a salesman call after they gave you a quote on a trade to tell you if you buy a certain radio the extra rebate on the group keeps the cost the same as quoted. He asked if we wanted to add that option.
Ever ordered a car without a deposit? Handshake seals the deal there, unless you're ordering something far out that they might have a problem moving if you drop the order.
... ** When a small client of ours wants a loan to be rushed, we try, but if we have other clients in front of him, They'll have to wait** ...
Mortgage, auto, home builders, boat business, computers, it's pretty much the same .. you take care of your primary customers first and then sort out the rest ... your not going to let a 10 year customer on his 3rd mortgage cool his heels and then do the guy looking for $80 grand and he wants the mortgage yesterday, first - that ain't good business, no matter what industry your in ...l.o.l......
Drifty, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I feel your comments are perpetuating an unnecessary fear amongst car buyers: that if they don't buy their car at "X" dealership, they can't have warranty work done there. I, in my experience, have NEVER had this happen to me, nor have I heard of anyone I know having been refused warranty work at another dealership. It must be pretty rare. I will concede that the dealership can arrange the priority order however they see fit, and maybe they can even outright refuse if they are completely "swamped" with their own loyal buyers (something that has never happened to me).
I absolutely think its very bad business, and in poor form in representing the manufacturer's cars they are selling. And I don't want readers of this forum to be afraid or intimidated to purchase wherever they want without fear of discrimination by dealerships.
***that if they don't buy their car at "X" dealership, they can't have warranty work done there. I, in my experience, have NEVER had this happen to me, nor have I heard of anyone I know having been refused warranty work at another dealership***
I don't know why you have such an attitude toward someone with lots of practical esperience.
I buy ten to fifteen cars a year for a corporate fleet. By corporate edict, I have to work through one of the large national leasing companies. NOW, I specify that the vehicles are to come through a dealership close to the business or to the driver's home.
I have experienced delays in getting warranty work done at the closest local dealership when the car was delivered elsewhere on at least five occasions. Most of them won't come out and say that they won't service your car. No, what they say is "well, your transmission on your new Volvo S80 is slipping ... well, we didn't sell you the car ... well, I have an appointment for you ... maybe in three weeks, we are busy right now ..." Imagine the reaction of the driver who needs to drive to Indianapolis later in the week ...
Personally, I found that any *GOOD* dealership service department here in Chicago has darn near all the business that they can handle from their OWN customers much less worrying about the guy who saved $100 by shopping 25 miles away. And the ones that aren't busy ... usually aren't places that you want to take your car to.
I'm sorry you feel paranoid - not my intention. Simply giving out information about how one business runs, and how my business would run if I owned a dealership.
I don't "share my feelings", do group hugs, or drink cappcucinos, or any that other politically correct nonsense. I call 'em like I see 'em.
It's too bad I don't worship Drifty. Sometimes he says something good and other times, not. Get over it. We all have our opinions...I wasn't aware of the forum rules that we have to agree with Drifty. I have never said anything personal against him, but I disagree with his attitude about warranty coverage.
As I said previously, poor business policy to refuse warranty work for cars purchased elsewhere. You are welcome to feel however you want. You will not be changing my mind. I haven't been refused warranty work ever, nor have I heard true posters here state they have either, just the dealers saying this. Regardless, I suggest people buy cars wherever they want and insist on getting warranty coverage wherever they need it. If they are refused, I suggest they make a big stink and voice their displeasure, as our host has suggested.
I have only heard silly arguments for not providing coverage, including ridiculous examples of OCD customers with laundry list problems, or people trying to get cars repaired at another manufacturer's dealership. This is not the norm and we all know it. Some keep harping on someone saving $100 elsewhere and the service dept having to deal with them. Its that attitude about the customers I think that ticks off some of us posters. Who said they bought the car elsewhere for monetary purposes? Why couldn't it be that there was a jerk of a salesman? Or some non-monetary reason? Too many assumptions, and too much attitude about the customers who bought elsewhere. And again these vague threats of "places you wouldn't want to take your car"... trying to scare potential buyers.
This is one dealership's business policy, that happened to come up in our conversation here. We've discussed it. You don't like it. That's fine. Don't move to Lake Jackson, TX, buy a car in Houston and try to get warranty work done at Leo Martin.
If you don't do those things, this shouldn't have an affect on you.
I explained several reasons why this makes sense. Others have said it's a bad business practice. I further indicated that this dealer principal is an outstanding example of how to run a dealership and is doing a great job of taking care of his technicians and other employees. Also, this is a business decision of a person who owns a business, not a manager at Best Buy who is simply running the show.
I would emplore you to consider the roughly $200,000 (and counting) invested in each trained technician before automatically assuming the customer comes first in EVERY situation. That assumption hasn't worked for the particular CEO, and he made a decision - I'd make the same decision in his shoes.
Well - this whole conversation just might be academic. I just called the dealership, and asked if they will perform regular scheduled maintenance or warranty work on cars not bought at their dealership. A very nice man asked if the car was a GM brand, and I answered yes. He said he would be more than happy to service the car, and to just give a call (and ask for him by name) to schedule an appointment when I am ready.
I'd say the same thing - this is an internal policy they're not going to discuss on the phone with someone they don't know, and aren't going to be dragged into an internet conversation.
This dealership can't do warranty work on ANY GM vehicle, only Chevrolet, by the way - the statement seems flawed.
I used them as a reference for discussion, period, and wouldn't have done it if I didn't know these people and know how strong their customer and employee relationships are - if anyone takes the time to "stir the pot" by harrassing the dealership with unneeded phone calls, well, you should be ashamed of yourself.
I've followed your opinions and for the most point have respected them. But you're over board with this. You bring up exceptions to make your points, i.e. laundry lists of 20-30 nitnoid complaints, lady with cold hands. You use one small town dealer to prove your points about waranty work issues, which may apply in a small town but may not in a big city.
Then you're proven wrong about that dealer and attack the individual. Why wouldn't the dealer just politely state their policy that you state?
I think we've gone round and round on this subject enough times to realize that 1) people have different experiences, and 2) we aren't going to come to an agreement about whether it's right or wrong. Once we reach that point, the conversation tends to degenerate, and it's already on that road.
Let's start with a whole new question and drop this one unless brand spankin' new information is available.
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Something you're not considering - this dealership has a 25,000 deep customer base and the highest CSI ratings in the area, perhaps the entire State of Texas.
They're doing exactly what GM wants them to do - selling cars and trucks and taking care of their customers - that makes GM money, short term and long term.
If someone calls up GM customer assistance and says "those guys at XYZ Chevrolet wouldn't work on my car", they'll tell you that scheduling issues for "store-owned" customers are a priority and they should check with their selling dealer for priority service.
This isn't at all like buying a computer as a Best Buy in Chicago and taking it to a Best Buy in Dallas for warranty issues. Best Buy owns all their stores and have managers who are Best Buy employees.
With a dealership, the owner is given latitiude, especially when their numbers are PERFECT, to handle their business in a way that keeps them in business.
We must live on different planets. I know no one like that. Making generalized statements like that I can see why the others here are defensive.
In a big city like Houston, it's not a huge issue if a particular dealership can't fit you in for warranty (or other) work, because there are dozens of dealerships. In the town where I grew up, there were only two Chrysler dealerships. If either one started refusing warranty work on vehicles, it'd be a huge problem. At that point, they're likely to have a load of dissatisfied potential customers, which then would become apparant to DCX. In a big city, I can see how it wouldn't affect a dealership much.
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That is their perogative. But as I have said a few times here - just because you say something doesn't make it right/legal/Ok, and there might be consequences for said actions.
I am sure if a customer is turned away because they don't have a Leo Martin badge and called the maufacturer to complain, Mr. Leo Martin, in the immortal words of Ricky Riccardo "would have some 'splanin to do."
Clarification - the conversion van subject was a Chevrolet van at a Chevy dealer, but it was a Mark III conversion at 19 of the 22 items on the list were conversion-related. The owner was asked to go to his selling dealer so he could get the GM and coversion items taken care of at the same place, same time, instead of making two visits.
He lost his cotton picking mind.
My 2 cts...I understand most of the points on both sides, but hate this attitude as stated above.
Umm, we, the consumer, spent a lot of money on a vehicle and if something is wrong (squeek, rattle, smell, or something even bigger) it still deserves attention. Ang guess what, if itøs more than one thing (a laundry list), well I'll be even more upset about the purchase. Please do not dismiss people if they complain and even have more than one complaint at a time. Unfortunately it makes you look worse.
For me it's good business to make me happy so I will buy again from that manufacturer, selling dealer or not.
And btw, I'm not politically correct, and don't do hugs and cappuccinos - I call it like I see it.
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"can the manufacturer pull the franchise agreement of a dealer who refuses to do warranty work on a vehicle that was not purchased there?"
Never happen in a million years .. now, if he's chanting weird songs on the frontline and reading books to small children (like someone else we know, then yes .l.o.l.) ...
Sorry Drift, you even lost me on the Van deal, but I get lost all the time anyway ...
I guess what were missing here is, that any dealer will welcome "any" service work .. but, it his prerogative to schedule it when and how it's done ... if he feels that his personal customers should be done between 7am and 1pm, then it's his business, and if he feels he will only do other service work between 1:30pm and 6:30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, then it's his call and most dealers will take emergency work first, I said most, not all ...
Having a service connection is a very important part of life, whether it's a plumber, electrician or a carpenter, they're nice to have around on a phone call .... when I kept my boat at the Marina, I made sure those guys got a "little something" at the end of the month, whether they needed it or not .. cuz' the only time a boat fails is on Memorial day, the 4th of July and Labor Day - oh yeah, and 2 hrs before the Christmas boat parade ..l.o.l..
Some of my guys are the best in the business when it comes to service, and speaking of Christmas, their offices are filled with all kinds of stuff from customers (what about ME.?) so they "will" remember when they get a phone call at 7:25 at night and this guys power window just coughed up a lung and he/she will be on it at 6am the next day .. will I do service work at anytime for anyone, you betcha ~ as long as it doesn't conflict with one of my customers and he/she doesn't have to be inconvenienced ..... remember, your only a visitor ................
Terry.
Not going to happen, period.
Much better explanation than mine given by Terry.
I moved from North Jersey to S. Jersey in the late 80s (about 100 miles south). At the time, I had a mazda 323 that developed a problem with the clutch, while under warranty. I called the local dealer (who pretty much had a monopoly in this part of NJ), and was told, point blankc, "since you didn't buy it here, if it showed up on the back of a tow truck, I wouldn't let them drop it on the lot"
Real good way to build a customer base. I actually ended up taking it back where I bought it (a bit of a PITA logistics wise) the first time, but eventually got it in locally when it needed follow-up work down the line.
Of course, the same place tried to brush me off, until I had a shouting match (and it takes a lot to make me lose my temper) at the service desk, in front of other customers, and with the zone rep in attendance.
Could have saved themselves a lot of grief. The zone guy simply said 'replace it under warranty", and problem solved.
I later found a dealer in Phila to handle paid service work.
In fairness, they improved greatly later on. Maybe because of compitition, or becasue mazda sales went down, but when I had my Miata last year (bought used elsewhere), they were very accomodating. The car was actually bought new at that dealer, just not by me.
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I think the problem was a bad flywheel or something, not a normal worn clutch. Or it could have been the homicidal look on my face.
I did get a clutch at 3 years (30K) on my Maxima that was just worn out. Helped that the service writer was married to my duaghters kindergarten teacher, and the GSM was my neighbor. I even bought it used, and not from them!
OT, that is the way to build referrals and a positive customer relations base.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Bear in mind, it would be more profitable NOT to do that - if you blew a head gasket or transmission, my tech, service advisor, and department make much more money if the parts are at retail and the labor is "customer pay".
So, where are you taking your car for regular maintenance? I guarantee that 99.9% of dealers consider someone that pays to have their regular maintenance done at their dealership to be one of "their customers".
If you take your car to Jiffy Lube or elsewhere for your regular maintenance, but then expect a dealer that didn't sell you your car to do all of the warranty work, I wouldn't be surprised if you get put at the bottom of the list..
I've had service work done at one particular Honda dealer on five different Hondas.. I only bought one of the cars at that particular dealership.. But, the service department considers me "their customer", because I am.
I won't even get into the "more flies with honey than vinegar" argument..
regards,
kyfdx
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But when you take a Ford to a Ford dealer for warranty work and the dealer refuses to do the work because the customer did not buy the car from them? Even if the manufacture cannot make the dealer to do the warranty work, the customer is going to blame it not only on the dealer, but also the manufacture.
I am just trying to point out that it's a very bad business practice. And you have to look it as a third party business consultant, it's business, nothing personal. Again, don't blame your competitor or even your consumers, look at yourself. Ask yourself WHY do people go to the mega dealership. You already have the advantage of being much closer to the community, you have a small community so you probably know Mrs. Smith, why is Mrs. Smith willing to travel over 100 miles to get her car?
That's a better solution. Again, look at it as a neutral third party.
If I were the consumer I probably wouldn't be too happy, but I would understand. As a matter of fact, that's what I do too. When our biggest client wants a loan to be rushed, the loan gets rushed. When a small client of ours wants a loan to be rushed, we try, but if we have other clients in front of him, They'll have to wait.
Even if I have to wait a few days, at least I feel the dealer is trying to get some business and try to be customer friendly. Turning away a customer just seems unacceptable in my opinion, and I would assume that's the same for all industries.
Lastly, I just want to point out, I would assume at least 80% of the consumers think they could get their warranty work done in all dealers... even if they can't, guess what, they'll still blame it on the dealers and manufactures. The better solution is NOT turning them away.
If so how much of a difference would there be? Not that this would justify passing by the small local guy just to save a few bucks.
So, I guess if someone moved there from Ohio, then that dealer would refuse to perform warranty work?!?!?!
I remove (or have the dealer remove before I take delivery) any dealer plates from every car I buy, so even if I was there and boought a car from them, it wouldn't have one of their plates on it in any event!
Nice bunch of folks!
Three things a Texan hates to see - a burr in his saddle, a rock in his boot, and a Yankee with a U-Haul.
But no, if you moved there from Ohio, they wouldn't hold it against you, unless you bought a new car in Houston on your way through...
bender - invoices are the same - volume does count, but one dealer can sell for the same as another. Now, when they have crazy money turning over in their used car dept, they can subsidize the new car side. That being said, we're not talking about anything that's not still in reach of a smaller dealer, if they want a deal bad enough.
The key with smaller dealers is to provide great service, both in sales and service, and keep a strongly attached customer base that doesn't stray very far.
And that customer base keeps recommending them to their friends for honest sales and honest service which brings in new customers for sales after they've had a bad experience at a "city" dealer.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The service manager/writer tells me how to fix my car since I do most work myself. When I take something in and pay a high price for repair, I've had that extra cost repaid in help for what I could do myself.
Ever had a salesman call after they gave you a quote on a trade to tell you if you buy a certain radio the extra rebate on the group keeps the cost the same as quoted. He asked if we wanted to add that option.
Ever ordered a car without a deposit? Handshake seals the deal there, unless you're ordering something far out that they might have a problem moving if you drop the order.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
How does work performed under an extended warranty (ex. Honda care) pay the service department, full boat or a percentage?
Thanks
Mortgage, auto, home builders, boat business, computers, it's pretty much the same .. you take care of your primary customers first and then sort out the rest ... your not going to let a 10 year customer on his 3rd mortgage cool his heels and then do the guy looking for $80 grand and he wants the mortgage yesterday, first - that ain't good business, no matter what industry your in ...l.o.l......
Terry.
Drifty, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I feel your comments are perpetuating an unnecessary fear amongst car buyers: that if they don't buy their car at "X" dealership, they can't have warranty work done there. I, in my experience, have NEVER had this happen to me, nor have I heard of anyone I know having been refused warranty work at another dealership. It must be pretty rare. I will concede that the dealership can arrange the priority order however they see fit, and maybe they can even outright refuse if they are completely "swamped" with their own loyal buyers (something that has never happened to me).
I absolutely think its very bad business, and in poor form in representing the manufacturer's cars they are selling. And I don't want readers of this forum to be afraid or intimidated to purchase wherever they want without fear of discrimination by dealerships.
I don't know why you have such an attitude toward someone with lots of practical esperience.
I buy ten to fifteen cars a year for a corporate fleet. By corporate edict, I have to work through one of the large national leasing companies. NOW, I specify that the vehicles are to come through a dealership close to the business or to the driver's home.
I have experienced delays in getting warranty work done at the closest local dealership when the car was delivered elsewhere on at least five occasions. Most of them won't come out and say that they won't service your car. No, what they say is "well, your transmission on your new Volvo S80 is slipping ... well, we didn't sell you the car ... well, I have an appointment for you ... maybe in three weeks, we are busy right now ..." Imagine the reaction of the driver who needs to drive to Indianapolis later in the week ...
Personally, I found that any *GOOD* dealership service department here in Chicago has darn near all the business that they can handle from their OWN customers much less worrying about the guy who saved $100 by shopping 25 miles away. And the ones that aren't busy ... usually aren't places that you want to take your car to.
I don't "share my feelings", do group hugs, or drink cappcucinos, or any that other politically correct nonsense. I call 'em like I see 'em.
As I said previously, poor business policy to refuse warranty work for cars purchased elsewhere. You are welcome to feel however you want. You will not be changing my mind. I haven't been refused warranty work ever, nor have I heard true posters here state they have either, just the dealers saying this. Regardless, I suggest people buy cars wherever they want and insist on getting warranty coverage wherever they need it. If they are refused, I suggest they make a big stink and voice their displeasure, as our host has suggested.
I have only heard silly arguments for not providing coverage, including ridiculous examples of OCD customers with laundry list problems, or people trying to get cars repaired at another manufacturer's dealership. This is not the norm and we all know it. Some keep harping on someone saving $100 elsewhere and the service dept having to deal with them. Its that attitude about the customers I think that ticks off some of us posters. Who said they bought the car elsewhere for monetary purposes? Why couldn't it be that there was a jerk of a salesman? Or some non-monetary reason? Too many assumptions, and too much attitude about the customers who bought elsewhere. And again these vague threats of "places you wouldn't want to take your car"... trying to scare potential buyers.
If you don't do those things, this shouldn't have an affect on you.
I explained several reasons why this makes sense. Others have said it's a bad business practice. I further indicated that this dealer principal is an outstanding example of how to run a dealership and is doing a great job of taking care of his technicians and other employees. Also, this is a business decision of a person who owns a business, not a manager at Best Buy who is simply running the show.
I would emplore you to consider the roughly $200,000 (and counting) invested in each trained technician before automatically assuming the customer comes first in EVERY situation. That assumption hasn't worked for the particular CEO, and he made a decision - I'd make the same decision in his shoes.
This dealership can't do warranty work on ANY GM vehicle, only Chevrolet, by the way - the statement seems flawed.
I used them as a reference for discussion, period, and wouldn't have done it if I didn't know these people and know how strong their customer and employee relationships are - if anyone takes the time to "stir the pot" by harrassing the dealership with unneeded phone calls, well, you should be ashamed of yourself.
We need to rest this subject - it's all just semantics at this point.
Then you're proven wrong about that dealer and attack the individual. Why wouldn't the dealer just politely state their policy that you state?
Enough said.....
Just curious!
Let's start with a whole new question and drop this one unless brand spankin' new information is available.
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