Cowboycoupe

Hard to believe a business that makes money by selling you a vehicle would do so much to drive you away! Seriously, if I buy the correct oil and the correct oil for the vehicle, are they going to say I didn't put it in the engine? While I have no doubt that tech2 has a good point, my problem is with the business ethics of a dealership that would deny warranty coverage because they did not believe the oil and filter were installed in the engine. I'd be all over GM on this situation. If no satisfaction, I'd buy a competitor's truck next time out,and be sure to drive it to the dealership that denied me warranty coverage, just to show them how stupid their position was.

tech2

if they tear down the engine and there is any sign of sludge...a dealer who has never seen you before won't want to warranty it without proof.
Seen it happen to a mechanic coworker with his new Subaru. New engine had a knock in it. oil was clean...they still wanted all his oil change info.


You realize, all warranty claims and high number of claims by any make of dealership is monitored by "the man". It is desirable to keep warranty repairs down in any manufacturers eyes. dealers will step for customer that buy from them...less so for people they never seen before. May not be fair, they will never admit that, but they will take care of their own first.

fishing nut

I do post my oil changes on the Chevy owners forum. Yes I know it does not guarantee that I did the oil change. And yes I am paranoid of some one screwing up the oil change. Wife's Equinox needed the fuel pump replaced on it. This required the dealership to have to change the oil. When I went to change the oil next time it was due the drain plug was rounded and over tightened. Another example a local trusted garage I go to was supposed to only rotate my tires. The new tech does not review work order and proceeds to drain fresh Mobil 1 out of the Suburban. Lucky I caught it and they refilled the truck with Mobil 1. So yes mistakes happen. I prefer to make the mistake if it's going to happen or not.

cleveland63b

Its not just a GM thing its all makes/brands/dealers across the board. GM/Chrysler/Ford/etc. checks on warranty claims and can call all the parts back that were replaced and inspect everything, if they don't agree that its a warranty issue then the dealer gets charged for it. Granted some dealers are more strict than others but that basically depends on the person sitting in the service manager/owner chair.


If warranty covered everything just from the customers word then there would be a lot of dealers/manufacturers shutting down, you wouldn't believe how many people try to push things through warranty after they knowingly voided it. Warranty is for manufacturer defect not operator inflicted issues. I've seen a lot of things covered that by the book shouldn't have, and in most cases if you're civil about it and have a reasonable case GM will help you out. I've done numerous major repairs that GM covered a percentage of the total cost or in some cases the whole repair.


I guess the way I see it having a reputable dealer/shop doing your oil changes is a nearly free insurance for human error, everyone makes mistakes but if they spill/leak/have an oops they should help you out in some form. Even accidentally double gasketing the filter on your own you have to buy more oil, the dealer would absorb the loss if they did it. Also a lot of people don't do anything past changing the oil and filter but you get an inspection at the dealer and its easy to miss things when you're laying on the floor compared to having a hoist. Just my thoughts...to each their own.

Cowboycoupe

For sure it is definitely not a matter of saving money doing your own oil changes. By the time you buy the oil and filter, figure out the cost of time and gas to do the shopping, the time to do the work, and the cost of the T-shirt you ruin, there's no real saving.

And unfortunately, there are people who do try to make fraudulent warranty claims, thereby making it tougher for the rest of us.

Now, what was this thread all about in the first place? Was it about "free" oil changes?

Cowpie

Yeah, by the time I shut down my business for the morning or afternoon, drive the 60 miles one way to my dealer, let's see..... a free oil change just cost me $1000. Compare that to the couple of minutes of time to call my oil supplier to put in an order, the free cost to me to have my oil order delivered, all while I am just doing my normal day to day business stuff, the cost of the old worn out shirt that I would have just thrown away had it not been useful for dirty jobs around the property.

Free takes on a whole new meaning when it costs more than doing the job yourself.

Cowboycoupe

The so-called "free" maintenance schemes should really be seen for what they are: a marketing strategy to get you into the dealership, where they have an opportunity to sell you something; and secondly, to do what they call "relationship building". Again, this is an attempt to create future sales.

Personally, I dislike this manipulation. Better to negotiate the price down when you buy the vehicle, and look after your own oil changes.

cleveland63b

Its not manipulation its business, no ones making you do it and there are tons of customers that use them up and never return - unless they have something they think is under warranty going wrong. I get not all dealers are pleasant or completely honest but I do get a kick out of how much some people preach to stay away. Probably the same people that never inspect or maintain anything and want everything warrantied when it explodes.


I've worked in multiple shops, dealers and independent and the dealer I'm at now hands down takes care of the customer more than anywhere else I've worked or been attached to.

Cowpie

One thing for certain, when it comes to general servicing of my vehicle, I know that it is done right by me. I know every grease point under my 2500 pickup and I do a full length underside inspection every 5000 miles. Even though I have TPMS, which I would rather not have, I physically check all my tire pressures on a weekly basis, along with engine oil level, windshield washer reservoir fill up, etc. My diffs, transfer, etc all got fluid changes at around 5000 miles getting the factory stuff out of there and new fluid. They will all get changed again at 50,000 mile intervals. I also know how to pack sealed hubs on my 2015 2500 which increases their life, something that just causes dealership shop personnel to look at me with a "do what?" confused look.

While a dealership may not have a bad shop, I have never been convinced that for general servicing they are as diligent and have the attention to detail that I do. I do all my own services from my lawn mower on up thru my class 8 semi truck. I know it is done right and I have not had any kind of a warranty repair issue since 1980, and that was a head gasket on a pickup, which had nothing to do with me servicing my own vehicles. And I caught it before it became a serious problem. Any shop work I do have done, is done by a couple of independent shops I know, and have known and trust, for several decades.

This is why a vehicle of mine has a high probability of never seeing a dealership shop again. Each person has to make up their own mind about such things. I am not a certified mechanic, never went to school for such things, and don't play one on TV. Just an old farm boy that grew up in a time where I was taught how to start working on stuff before I was out of the 1st grade in school.

cleveland63b

The kicker is that your general operator can't even pop their own hood. Male and female in every shop or parts store I've been at I've seen it. I like to help people that actually try so I do stuff like get on this forum once in a while but it drives me crazy when you tell people they need to do maintenance and they ignore you but then they want to fight and argue when they're facing a big repair bill. Comes with the territory but I can rant once in a while ha.