Cadillac Owners Forum banner

District manager says THIS is performing as designed. Really?

4K views 32 replies 14 participants last post by  RocketDawg 
#1 ·
Listen for yourself. Why would anyone say that a car is designed to sound this poorly?

http://youtu.be/7poYQWJv-vE

District manager for Englewood Cliffs Cadillac in Northern New Jersey determined (remotely) that it is performing as designed. This person, who makes decisions that directly affect my customer satisfaction is dismissive, elusive, and in my opinion, unqualified to be making any major decisions. As a result, I've left Englewood Cliffs service department and will have it serviced elsewhere.
 
#11 ·
did you follow the steps outlined in the link posted above or do other things? I was thinking about tackling it myself but if its something that is best handled by the dealership i may have to take it in. My dealership is giving me the runaround lately though. I've had multiple issues with cue lately, i even showed them a video of cue acting erratically. and they said "thats just quirks of the system, deal with it" and printed me out something on "how to use cue correctly with pandora". When i asked if there was a software update, they said its all the way updated. (it isnt)
 
#6 ·
If a dealer lacks the desire or common sense to look up info as you did then why bother with them? I have no use for anyone who attempts to disguise their ignorance or laziness by saying "it's normal" or "performing as designed" when it clearly isn't.

Even if you help them out this time and they decide to fix it, it's likely to happen again with something else.

Bill
 
#12 ·
Thanks. Apparently, there was a service bulletin for this problem a while back when I first complained in November 2014. The dealer did some work to it: adding foam padding, etc. but I don't think they added glue to the J hooks. Anyway, the defect is back, worse than before. Dealer's (ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS CADILLAC) District Manager feels that since they've done work once, they're in the clear. Doesn't occur to them that it may need to be redone. No, of course not.

So, I'm giving it another try tomorrow with a different dealership: POTAMKIN in Manhattan. I'll be armed with pages 8 and 9 and ready for them to tackle this problem. I'll be sure to update.

And, you're right in that the takeaway message I've gotten is that they just don't care enough. Certainly not the right attitude if you're intention is to compete with true luxury brands. I, for one, feel that they've lost me as a repeat customer - therefore, will not be loyal to this brand.
 
#13 ·
This is funny.. The same rear speaker noise happens to me but its about 20th on the list of crap thats either wrong with the car or that the dealers just wont fix. You should be thankful that theres a TSB of sorts for the speaker issue b/c without a dummy-light code from the computer that tells them specifically what to fix they are about useless.
 
#14 ·
#16 ·
Well, Samantha, as I've said in the past, Cadillac/GM Corporate has had no shortage of kind words to extend to me, yet I am truly "stuck" in a lease with this car for two more years, so I'd much appreciate good service and a stop-at-nothing approach to address the issues, rather than a pat on the head and "sorry to see you go, but whatever" words of dubious comfort.

It's my hard-earned money that makes the lease payments every month. The car was not given to me. With every contract, there is reciprocity - a give and a take. I do my part every month by paying my bill. I think it's time GM owned up to the problems the car is experiencing. It's getting tiresome having to go from dealer to dealer trying to "find" a good match. I can think of a million other things I'd rather do with my free time.

Wouldn't you say that's a fair statement ? How would you feel if your car underperformed each time you relied on it?

All cars have their respective issues. But this attitude is new to me - as a former Audi loyalist, they stopped at nothing to resolve the issue. The keys were never placed in my hand unless everything was tip top perfect. I'm just not feeling like a valued customer, and with that, you are not living up to the expectation that was sold to me. That, my friend, is a breach of contract.
 
#17 ·
When I first watched/listened to your video I didn't know exactly what problem you were trying to point out. It sounded like an engine with a loping cam in it. :) And I wondered why you didn't turn the radio down so we could hear it better.

Then I figured out it was your subwoofer making that noise. For what it's worth, mine doesn't do that but you probably have yours at a higher volume than we do. My wife doesn't like loud music and it's her car. Is the paper cone on the sub still intact? Sounds like it's shredded.
 
#18 ·
Dealerships and customer service are everything in getting repeat customers. How can anyone in their right mind listen to that crappy speaker and say that's normal and performing as design? You'd have to be a tone deaf and oblivious to the world to make a statement like that. I'd get a hold of a district manager and tell them I'll be withholding payments in escrow, and releasing them only when the engineers can prove to me a buzzing speaker is performing "as designed." The guy who told you that should be at least suspended for incompetency. rant over......:rant2:
 
#21 ·
I have the same thing going on with mine. But I have an aftermarket sub that drowns it out. It's like this for me. I can't understand some things with Caddy. It baffles me like the rear defogger taken away. Now there is a fix and the only way I know is from a thread here? How the hell does this happen? And customer service finally comes in on that subject to say they will help whoever with this? No thank you I have been taking care of my own crap with this. They have never said anything about we are working on a fix or nothing. They never said we are sorry we had to disable this and we are working on a fix. Nothing has been said and now a fix is out and haven't been notified? We paid for this function. What the hell is wrong here.

Sorry off subject guys but this $hit is starting to piss me off. Do I need to be in the secret service to be notified about changes in my car or fixes? Like the OP said we pay our bills and fund this crap. Can we get some respect and not told this works as designed? Really because there is a fix for that as well. Isn't it bad enough listening to TRUMP lately now it works as designed? Bout to buy a 1989 escort and call it a day.
 
#27 ·
I am hoping there will be no more recalls and any more work in the future can be done when I bring the car in for an oil change. Think its funny I got a letter in mail for recall on the defroster but no letter for the "fix". I just want to be left alone to enjoy the car. Maybe your right and I should go back to my 85 mercury topaz from back in the day with no power steering. Didn't have much to it but it always started even if it was -30 outside and ran like a top with just a crappy FM radio and a good heater.
 
#22 ·
Neither GM or GM Financial or anybody else can tell a dealer how to run his business. Doing something on principle is not a good excuse for doing something stupid like risking repossession and credit rating. Englewood Cliffs is across the Hudson from NYC and is where the OP is going to take the car to. He's not letting him off the hook, he's taking his business elsewhere which is the sensible thing to do.

Bill
 
#28 · (Edited)
GM financial is an owned subsidiary of GM who adhere to the code of business conduct that is also shared between dealers and customers. They specifically have dealer relationship managers who worked directly and indirectly with dealerships as a liaisons; part of their function which is to aid in customer dissatisfaction. They can't tell a dealer how to run a business, but they can identify and resolve dealer issues that may affect them. Telling them you'll withhold payments and actually doing it are two different things. I've threatened actions through my entire life to get desired results without actually having to resort to them; however, at times it was necessary for me to see these things through....it's a question of balance.

As the OP stated: "It's getting tiresome having to go from dealer to dealer trying to "find" a good match. I can think of a million other things I'd rather do with my free time. " I agree 100%. It's time to put these dealerships " on notice" regardless of whether you have to move onto the next. By the way, if he encounters the same problem with his next dealership experience, should he just move yet again onto another, Ad nauseam; perhaps out of state?
 
#24 ·
OK why is this SOP? I call it DAH. Dumb as hell if you want to keep paying customers. There is no way they would just fix something unless I said there was a fix. If I don't know and the dealer doesn't they come up with it works as designed. My check book works as designed if I let it. Sorry but I'm old school and this doesn't fly with me. My company does this type of thing but they pay me so I shut my mouth. But if they need to get payed then do the right thing and inform your customers or they move on. If that isn't normal then I have been taught wrong by many people along the way.

Being truthful goes along way in earning people trust. That seems to be out the window and we will just buy the car anyway. No I'll pedal a bigwheel with a hand brake or a skateboard.
 
#25 · (Edited)
SOP.... Deny it till you can't and then fix it only if asked or your forced to. The terms "this is normal" or "working as designed" are just stall tactics.

I went thru this with brakes on my RV. I id the problem as it was the same issue I had back in the 70's with a Dodge van. It took 6. years before they actually fixed it. It cost Bosch 250,000 new calilpers plus installation.

I even had a GM rep tell me that my 8.1 would use quart oil to a tank of gas...RV has a 75 gal tank. 6 to 8 mpg.. Do the math.
 
#26 ·
SOP.... Deny it till you can't and the fix it only if asked or your forced to. The terms "this is normal" or "working as designed" are just stall tactics.

I went thru this with brakes on my RV. I id the problem as it was the same issue I had back in the 70's with a Dodge van. It took 6. years before they a actually fixed it. It cost Bosch 250,000 new calilpers plus installation.

I even had a GM rep tell me that my 8.1 would use quart oil to a tank of gas...RV has a 75 gal tank. 6 to 8 mpg.. Do the math.
Yeah the politics of this game is crazy. I remember that story about the brakes. I also have been through a little myself. But enough is enough and get back to the basics and they will get more return customers.
 
#29 ·
There will always be recalls, mechanical failures, electronic glitches, dealer issues, poor techs etc as it is the nature of the beast. The more options you have the more chance of a failure. The real issue is how the "supplier" handles it. It took years for the car dealers to figure out that if they took care of the customer "AFTER" the sale their profits went up. My dealer does really try to fix it right the FIRST time. For me the dealer options are limited... 24 miles to my dealer or go 85 miles south or 40 miles north.

To the OP... stay the course and stand your ground.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Good advice. If I don't see results, I'll take to social media to get the results I think I am entitled to. While I'm sure withholding payments may be an effective way to get attention, it's not something I will do. The negative effects of bad credit will run longer than the time left on the lease of this car, so the net benefit doesn't seem justified.

It's currently at POTAMKIN Cadillac and so far, the service manager seems to be willing to devote resources to get the job done properly. I previously posted information to tweet Darryl Dion, district manager for aftersales in the NYC /LI area. When I contacted him via Twitter, he denied being the rep for the NJ-based dealership where I leased the car. Well, I found out today that he is, in fact, the DM for where my car is currently being serviced, so hopefully the games will stop. If they don't, I have no problem escalating my concerns.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top