No more Olds??

[Aurora40]

Ok, no kidding right? But I took my car to my usual dealer to have them look at the drivers window (grinds going down), and this horrible buzz/whine in the driveline that developed. It's a speed-related mechanical grind at about 30mph, and a buzz/whine at about 50+mph. I suspect it's a wheel bearing.

Anyway, the guy tells me that if they have to order parts, they can't do it. Anything they can fix today is fine, but that's it. The reason? This is their last week servicing GM cars as a GM service center. I guess GM picked the date because the guy said they only heard about it in the last week or so.

It was an Olds/Subaru place, no other GM franchise. So they won't be GM anymore and I'll have to find another place for warranty work. They were friendly, the mechanic did a good job and didn't mess the car all up, and they don't even have a wash facility to accidentally swirl up my car. Now I have to find another place... :-\

Hopefully my car will be all patched up today, though, and will run flawlessly for eternity after that.

[bufo]

Are you saying there are no other GM dealers in your area?!

I took our Aurora to a Buick dealer.

[Aurora40]

There's a Chevy/Olds dealer that is closer to me, but I never really cared for their service. I might start using the GMC/Buick/Pontiac dealer that I've taken the Regal to a few times. They seemed ok. The thing is I like this Subaru/Olds dealer I've been going to. Now I won't be able to go there anymore, at least not until my warranty runs out (if they keep an Olds tech on the staff).

[Wacko]

aurora40 said:

They were friendly, the mechanic did a good job and didn't mess the car all up, and they don't even have a wash facility to accidentally swirl up my car.

I always opt out of the courtesy scratch...er...wash.

[bld]

40, there is a very good chance that you have a bad wheel bearing.

Good luck on finding a GM shop.

I have a nightmare story on the local Chevy shop no one would believe.

Will be trying the Pontiac shop next time.

[Aurora40]

wacko said:

aurora40 said:

They were friendly, the mechanic did a good job and didn't mess the car all up, and they don't even have a wash facility to accidentally swirl up my car.

I always opt out of the courtesy scratch...er...wash.

Yeah, but a lot of times telling the service guy "don't wash my car" doesn't actually mean they won't wash it. Since it's not the service advisor who does it. So if the place can't even perform washings, all the better...

[oldsauroraman1]

Washing the car is related to the performance of the tech? Oh yeah, sure, I see, a very clear connection!

[Aurora40]

I have no idea what you are talking about oldsauroraman. I don't like my car washed by other people...

Anyway. So what a waste... I just got a call from the service advisor, he tells me they can't fix any of the stuff because it's all warranty concerns. He said they are wrapping up their warranty stuff with GM and they wouldn't get paid.

So what I wonder is why the heck did he have me bring the car in at all? I explained exactly what the problems were on the phone weeks ago, again on Friday when I made an appointment, and today when I dropped it off a second time...

Here's the timeline. A week or more ago, I call and say I need to bring the car in for emissions inspection and to address two warranty concerns. He asked what and I told him the window and the whine. He sets me up with an appointment last Friday.

I bring the car in Friday, he asks what the car needs, I tell him again. To this he says "we won't have time to do any work on the car, just the emissions inspection". He schedules me to come in today to address the other things, and I secretly wonder why he didn't tell me that on the phone, as I'd be glad to wait on the emissions test to save an extra trip to the dealer.

I come in today and again explain exactly what's wrong. He even mentions about the warranty thing, and I tell him again how the car is under warranty. Now they call me to tell me they won't do any warranty work. What the heck??? Way to waste my time!

[Marc]

According to www.oldsmobile.com/olds/vss/faq.html#warranty

"How will GM honor the warranty on my vehicle if there is no Oldsmobile dealership in my area?

Under the General Motors warranty, repairs may be performed at any GM dealership in an emergency situation. GM will assist you in making arrangements for customer service if necessary.

Contact us with your questions and concerns."


Let's see if GM makes good on that statement.

[kbpickle]

I've had generally good luck going to the Cadillac dealerships. They treat you like a Caddy owner, and you get to check out the XLRs.

[Aurora40]

Marc, yeah I'm sure a dealership will honor it. I'm annoyed to have wasted the time dropping my car off at this former one, though.

There's only one Caddy dealer around here, a big one. It's sort of far and I've heard a lot of complaints about their service department. The Pontiac dealer I take the Regal to is pretty nice, I'll try to make an appointment there for the 'roara.

[oldsauroraman1]

aurora40 said:

I have no idea what you are talking about oldsauroraman. I don't like my car washed by other people...

Anyway. So what a waste... I just got a call from the service advisor, he tells me they can't fix any of the stuff because it's all warranty concerns. He said they are wrapping up their warranty stuff with GM and they wouldn't get paid.

So what I wonder is why the heck did he have me bring the car in at all? I explained exactly what the problems were on the phone weeks ago, again on Friday when I made an appointment, and today when I dropped it off a second time...

Here's the timeline. A week or more ago, I call and say I need to bring the car in for emissions inspection and to address two warranty concerns. He asked what and I told him the window and the whine. He sets me up with an appointment last Friday.

I bring the car in Friday, he asks what the car needs, I tell him again. To this he says "we won't have time to do any work on the car, just the emissions inspection". He schedules me to come in today to address the other things, and I secretly wonder why he didn't tell me that on the phone, as I'd be glad to wait on the emissions test to save an extra trip to the dealer.

I come in today and again explain exactly what's wrong. He even mentions about the warranty thing, and I tell him again how the car is under warranty. Now they call me to tell me they won't do any warranty work. What the heck??? Way to waste my time!

Well, if you don't want them to wash it, say so, simple enough.

If the dealership will not proceed with your warranty, they you call your GM Phone Number listed with your warranty information and complain to them. They will do something about it. We can't.

[skexius]

marc said:

According to www.oldsmobile.com/olds/vss/faq.html#warranty

"How will GM honor the warranty on my vehicle if there is no Oldsmobile dealership in my area?

Under the General Motors warranty, repairs may be performed at any GM dealership in an emergency situation. GM will assist you in making arrangements for customer service if necessary.

Contact us with your questions and concerns."


Let's see if GM makes good on that statement.

Perhaps I can offer another perspective on this situation.

I bought my Final 500 new at an OLDS dealer in another city from the one I live in. When it was time for me to have some warranty work done, I initially took my car to the local Cadillac dealer thinking that I would get good treatment from them and also to establish a new customer relationship with them because I might upgrade to a Cadillac as my next car. I like Cadillacs. I even went so far as to go and speak to the service manager in person before I took my car there to make sure that they could and would service my Aurora, since it is an OLDS after all and not a Caddy. He assured me that they would be glad to service it.

I took the car to them one morning on the way to work and left it for them to fix the things I wanted fixed. He called me that afternoon and told me that he had been on the phone with GM all day and their Regional GM Service Representative strongly suggested that I take it to the local GMC dealer that used to be the local OLDS dealer before they took the GM buyout in 2001. They were authorized to be still be an OLDS servicing dealer and still had all the repair tools for Oldsmobiles. They even called the GMC dealer to make sure.

I was very disappointed and upset that the Cadillac dealer didn't want to fight for my business as a new customer. Also, I had put unnecessary miles on my car to take it to them and then not get anything out of it except a ride to work. They couldn't come pick me up from work. What I really wanted was to get good treatment from a dealer because I had just bought a new car and I thought that the GMC dealer would treat me terribly because I had bought an Oldsmobile and not a vehicle from them. However, I was actually a longtime customer of theirs because I have taken my Touring Sedan for servicing for many years and it has NOT been warranty work.

So, I took my new car to them for the warranty repairs and they saw that I have a Final 500. I let them know that I DO NOT want my car damaged in any way by them in doing the work. Surprisingly, they have tried very hard to please me and take care of me and my car since I have been going to them. I am pretty happy with them in the end.

So, the moral of this long story is that GM will honor their promise. You should be able to take your car to any GM dealer, if there is not a servicing OLDS dealer in your area, and get your car repaired just fine.
-----------------------------------
Aurora40,

I am sorry that your dealer treated you like that and wasted your time. I'd suggest that you take the car to the Buick dealer that you take the Regal to and let them service it. You already have a good relationship with them already, so they should be more than happy to take care of you.

Just my own experiences and my $.02 worth. Hope it helps.....

skexius

[20inchaurora]

figured i would put in my 2 cents as well. been taking my car to a nearby buick dealership for the few warranty repairs that i've needed done, and i had nothing but an excellent experience with them. i know it doesnt speak for ALL buick dealerships...but i was pleasantly surprized

[Aurora40]

oldsauroraman1 said:

Well, if you don't want them to wash it, say so, simple enough.

aurora40 said:

Yeah, but a lot of times telling the service guy "don't wash my car" doesn't actually mean they won't wash it. Since it's not the service advisor who does it. So if the place can't even perform washings, all the better...

oldsauroraman1 said:

If the dealership will not proceed with your warranty, they you call your GM Phone Number listed with your warranty information and complain to them. They will do something about it. We can't.

I guess I missed the part where I asked you to do something about it.

[oldsauroraman1]

No one can here, that's the point

[Wacko]

Aurora40, regarding your experience with your dealer over the past weeks, I am interested if GM has a ratings system in place like other makes to measure and reinforce quality service. For instance, BMW USA has a system where you rate every aspect of the dealer service (they don't actually use the word dealer; it's called your BMW Center.) You get a phone call from a someone in NJ about a week after the service asking for specific feedback. Anyway, this feedback directly impacts their bottom line in the form of discounts, preferencial treatment, and other incentives from the manufacturer to the dealer. Once a dealer gets a taste of the good life, they bend over backwards for the customer to keep its stellar reputation with the corporate office.

It works quite well. One customer's bad experience without such a system means little. With this system however, one bad experience means trouble for the dealer and more likely, trouble for the individual employee of the dealership.

If GM employed this, you would know quickly which dealers don't care about their reputation and which truly want your business.

[oldsauroraman1]

GM has done this for years. Unfortunately, most folks are not aware of it. GM gives awards placards to dealerships that have great customer satisfaction, sales, service etc. If your dealership does not have these placards on display - time to go elsewhere.

[95rora]

40, is there a smaller locally owned GM dealer in your area? It seems as though, atleast in my experience, that the bigger ones dont really care about customer service because they dont have to. The smaller ones that thrive on local business and not large volume sales generally have better customer service values. Ive given up on Caddy dealerships, and the big ones look at me like im some sort of moron. Hope that you can find a good one. I know I probably wasnt much help, but wanted to offer anything that I could.

[Aurora40]

The car is at the local Buick/Pontiac/GMC dealer as we speak. We'll see how it goes.

[95rora]

Thats who I use, Buick/GMC. Hope theres a pattern of good trust and service.

[Marc]

If my 2001 ever needs some work that I can't take care of myself, I have the choice of either a Buick dealer or a
Cadillac dealer, both close to where I live.

[Wacko]

How far in the future can we expect to have parts for the 1st and 2nd gen Auroras? Have they already begun to stop?

[Aurora40]

They are keeping the car overnight. I didn't get a chance to talk to my service manager as I was busy in training today (this week). But I talked to a different one who told me they were going to keep the car a day, and that it was inside on a lift. He also said "it looks like it must be someone's baby", referring to the condition.

So hopefully I'll be punching the gas and hearing that song again soon. I've been easy on it with that driveline noise.

[Letitroll98]

Yeah, great, maybe they'll wash it for you. ;D

And you guys wonder why people of means buy Lexus, Infinity, and BMW. They are tired of the bull huey service at some GM dealers. Or Ford or Chrysler for that matter. Mercedes loses customers because of the "If you can't afford the repair you shouldn't drive a Mercedes" attitude. Why can a few marks get it right and the others have no clue?

[95rora]

wacko said:

How far in the future can we expect to have parts for the 1st and 2nd gen Auroras? Have they already begun to stop?

So far I havent had any trouble getting parts and according to the parts guy at the dealer I go to they will be able to get them for some time. I would hope that as long as they are on the road AC Delco and GM will continue to make parts. Of course everything I need has be ordered but I think that comes with the territory.

[Aurora40]

letitroll98 said:

Yeah, great, maybe they'll wash it for you. ;D

LOL, I let them know not to wash it. They replaced a hub bearing and lubed the ISS. They had to wait on a window regulator to fix that, and my car should be ready today. Hopefully these won't be regular replacement items every 30k!

[BNICOV]

GM undertook to make and stock parts for Oldsmobiles for 15 years. Otherwise, who in their right mind would buy a brand new car (in 2002-2003) and not be able to purchase parts for it. As a further incentive, Oldsmobiles in 2003 received a special extended Powertrain Warranty to 100,000kms or 60,000 miles. As for service, I take mine to the Chev dealer down the road from the office for service. They have been ok so far, the only issue I had was their failure to find the correct cause of the coolant leak which ended up being the water pump.

[95rora]

The one time I went to a different dealer who was actually an Olds dealer proved very disheartening. The idling problem I had which turned out to be bad EGR and PCM they said they couldnt find. The manager said it was probably a stuck fuel injector and charged me 100 bucks to look at it.

[Aurora40]

With regard to parts, fortunately many are shared with other cars like the Bonnie and LeSabre. Engine/tranny parts to a degree are shared with the Northstars too. I wouldn't be that worried about parts. However, they stock them up, and when they run out, generally they run out. So if they didn't anticipate on some common failure, those parts might dry up, who knows.

There are a surprising number of parts GM doesn't make for my Corvette anymore, some ZR-1's are only 10 years old. Windshields are a prominent example. The UV coating delaminates inside the glass a lot. All the existing ones are old stock, many of which are delaminating too, and they run in the $2,000 range and up.