Confirmed Service Customer
I bought a GMC Terrain from the dealership less than a year ago, and it began having issues two weeks after we took it to the dealership for a service and paid for the fuel pump to be replaced. One day it just didn't start. Then it was jumped off, and it started, but the sound didn't work. It was still under warranty, so we took it to the dealership for service on Saturday. We didn't have an appointment, so we dropped it off, but no one told us they would be closed the following day. Monday comes around and my wife has to call several times to be told there is no update. Tuesday and they still have not updated us until I call three times. They say it is a bad battery and that it needs to be replaced, so I say okay. A battery check only takes a few seconds, I have had many replaced in the past, so it can be assumed that it wasn't looked at until I called in. I'm still assuming this is under warranty. I was not quoted a price. Then they called back, saying the battery was replaced and I would need to come and pay just under $400. I had signed nothing agreeing to the price, and AutoZone sells and installs batteries for just over $100, so I said they could pull it out and I would get it changed there. Well, if I don't pay for the new battery, they say they are going to charge me a $170 service fee. This is two weeks after having it serviced at their service department and paying $600 for a fuel pump that was also not covered under the warranty. Apparently, they only checked one part at a time with their $170 diagnostic test since they didn't register the battery was coming to the "end of its life" two weeks prior. OR they did something incorrectly during the first service two weeks ago that killed the battery and that is why it took days to come up with it only needing a new battery. The service manager, Andrew, said the only thing odd about my experience was that I did not receive a quote for the battery price, so apparently, this is the standard practice with their service department. They do give a 10% military discount, so I will get a slight margin knocked off of a relatively large expense that I was not aware of. The vehicle warranty you pay for apparently covers very little because I have had to pay for a fuel pump and now a battery at 400% markup from this dealership less than one year after purchasing the vehicle. Needless to say, I would recommend purchasing and having your car serviced elsewhere. I thought I liked the dealership and service department before this experience, even though they charged more than local mechanics, but apparently, I was wrong. If they rectify the situation, I will change or delete this review, but if it is still up, they have not. I spoke to the service manager, Andrew, at 5 PM and told him I would be there in 45 minutes to pay them and pick up my vehicle. When I arrived at exactly 545 PM, Andrew had already gone home and locked up my keys in the service center. I had to talk to the sales team and wait for half an hour before someone could return my keys. Next day, I got a call from an automated machine saying it was ready for pickup, so they didn't even log correctly. Update after response: I had spoken to the service tech and told him that the vehicle should be under warranty. They told me, "We will just put in a new battery, and then it will be good to go." I was not quoted a price; I was just told that they would put in a new battery. Into a car that I had bought off of their lot less than a year ago. This was not just a misunderstanding but a lie of omission. I would have had the battery pulled back out if they weren't going to charge me $170 for doing absolutely nothing. I literally paid $600 less than a month ago, and all diagnostics should have been run then. No accountability, no transparency, and no honesty. This has been no better than a robbery on the part of this business.
Ryan C.
CHATTANOOGA,
TN
Business Response
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