I took my truck in to have recalls done and to have a slow refueling issue addressed under warranty service. After nearly two weeks of my truck being at the dealership, I finally lost my patience. Here's the note I sent to the dealership:
"
Phone, text or email response - any will do.
I took my truck in on 12/7/19 to have several recalls done (which were completed the same day) and to have a warranty issue taken care of. Without going into long drawn out details, suffice to say that the truck would not allow sufficient fuel flow at the inlet when refueling the truck. Eventually, this was diagnosed as a faulty charcoal canister, which is now waiting to be corrected. The purpose of this note is two-fold.
First is the timing of this warranty service. As mentioned, I dropped the truck off on 12/7/19. Today is 12/17/19. Ten days (eight working days) has elapsed without a resolution to the relatively simple problem with my truck. Much of this time has been spent with the truck sitting without any work being performed. I called on Monday 12/9 and again on Tuesday 12/10 to find out the status of the vehicle. On that Monday, nothing had been done. The next day, Tuesday, the only work that had been performed was a technician taking my truck to the gas station to determine whether or not there was an actual problem and that I somehow over the course of the last year had forgotten how to put gas in my truck. The tech verified a problem, but the diagnosis of the symptom did not start (as near as I can tell) until the following Friday. The part was supposed to be ordered on Friday, 12/13. I seriously doubt that this took place, because today the part has still not arrived, therefore the truck will sit for at least one more day until the part hopefully arrives and someone gets around to installing it on my truck. So my first complaint is, seriously? More than a week and a half? It is patently obvious that my vehicle has been ignored and just worked in when I complain to my service advisor.
Second problem - getting hold of someone who can give me an honest update on what's happening with my vehicle. Getting the service advisor to call back is only possible when I call the service manager, even when I have been promised a call at a certain time. This is not an acceptable way to conduct business. By the way, the service manager hides behind voice mail and has STILL not actually returned my calls. How difficult is it to give a 2 minute update on what's going on? Meantime, my truck still languishes in the parking lot, while I am made to sit and wonder.
In the last couple of years, I have purchased two vehicles at your Lithia dealership. Between lifetime oil changes for both and an extended warranty for one of the vehicles, I have spent at least 70-80k. Next time I am in the market, I will have second thoughts about whether I should be giving you my hard earned dollars.
So I'm asking nicely, please get my truck finished. Second, answer my calls. Third, return calls when promised.
Thank you,"
This note was sent yesterday. This morning, the GM called me from the dealership here in Spokane. He apologized, gave me his cell phone number and told me to call him if there was anything he could do moving forward. He also told me that the part that was needed to fix my truck was arriving today and that my truck would be finished today. It was nice to hear from him and welcome news..
So, this afternoon, I got a call from the service department that says that the part that they needed finally arrived today, but that they would not be able to get to my truck until tomorrow. So much for promises . . .
So to the original poster - unless my truck literally falls apart, I will NOT use a DEALER for ANYTHING EVER AGAIN!
Oh and by the way, this is Lithia in Spokane, WA.
