How long before i can rip them a new one?
after an accident i brought my car to the dealership which has abody shop , the damage wasn't too extensive. they said it would be ready in a few weeks. the body work was done in about 3 weeks(looks mint). but after that it sat outside the garage for a week, so i decided to give them a call. they said they were just waiting on some parts for the suspension. understandable, they said it should be ready in a few days. the suspension i was told, they were replacing stearing pinion gear, tie rod, control arm front,
control arm rear, suspension subframe, and wheel hub bearing.
so i call them back, i gave them about a week, they said they are still working on the suspension, give them a couple days. so i drive by the dealership to check, and my car hasn't moved from outside.
why bullshit me?
anyway i give them till the end of the week, check my car, still same spot. so i call customer service and ask whats up. i say i don't mind if it takes longer than expected but quit telling me a couple of days when it's obvious it isn't going to be a couple of days.
she talks to the body shop manager and he says they are still waiting on the subframe so even if it gets in that week, it won't be ready untill next week.
so fine, finnally a straight answer.
they don't give me a call untill the week after it was to be ready, and ask where my wheel lock key is. they say they got the sub frame in, but they are still waiting on a control arm, but it should be ready in a couple of days, haha ya right. i drive by the next day, they have my front suspension apart. but its on jacks in the parking lot where it has stayed for the last week, no more progress. wtf.
i phone them last friday, no answer so i left a message telling them that insurance will no longer pay for my rental car can they give me a loaner.
well its tuesday, my car is in the same spot and no call back about a loaner.
i'm ready to snap, am i justified?
i've dealt with this dealership before and they were always good, their work is good. i don't want to keep bothering these guys, i understand if they are busy. but come on quit telling me a few days already.
i have a feeling my car is stuck out in the lot while they make quick money on oil changes and small repairs. what should i do, any suggestions?
how long is a reasonable amount of time for repairs?
it is getting close to two months and i have been told any day now for atleast the last 3 to 4 weeks.

I think you've been more than patient with them. I wouldn't go off on anyone, just drop by an ask the same questions you are asking here. It is possible they had a supplier issue on the parts, unseen damage that needed insurance approval prior to purchase of new parts and so on. Be firm, but also understand that you car is sitting in the lot with the suspension torn apart - you really have no option but to let them finish at this point. You can also report the service incident to GM and/or Cadillac (I think there is a toll free number in the owner's manual).

I'd also be pi$$ed about the fact that the car has been sitting outside all this time and that all the work appears to be going on in the parking lot. Doesn't seem like a very professional image for a Cadillac dealership.

i just got off the phone with them(i had to phone them), apparently they keep getting the wrong steering rack, so who knows. i'm more pissed that the tell me a couple of days rather then explain the real problem. it's like i get part of the answer some of the time, then brushed off with it will be a couple of days the rest of the time.
they aren't doing the repair in the lot, thats just where they put it when its not going to be worked on. they are passing the buck onto their part supplier, but damn i know i could have ordered the parts myself and got them in a week and a half, and i have way less resources then they should have.

they are giving me a courtesy rental car, but not untill thursday. i feel sorry for that rental car.

I work in a GM delaership and I can assure you that there is no money to be made on oil changes and small repairs..........your job is worth much more to them guaranteed. If they can't source the parts or are sent the wrong parts its not their fault.....unless they are ordering the wrong parts:banghead:. I understand your frustration but I assume you want it fixed right and with the correct parts. Be patient and let them do their thing. They are giving you a loaner so let them work their magic. No excuse for feeding you the BS other than they are afraid if they tell you the truth you will be mad. That didn't work because by lying to you...........they made you mad.:bomb: I'd have a chat with the body shop manager and share your concerns. I'm sure they will make it right.
Are you dealing with McNaught or Gauthier Cadillac?

mcnaught. like i said they have always treated me good and done top notch work. talking with the body shop manager seems to give me more straight answers than the other body shop guys i seem to talk to, i know who the manager is. it is the other people that seem to give me the next day or two answers.
yes correct parts and a good job is what i care about. they could keep it two more months if thats what it takes, but it's when they keep telling me a couple more days and it a couple more weeks before anything new is done that i get frustrated.

I'd definately speak to the body shop manager and the dealership general manager with your concerns. I have found that the general manager seems to get alot done with these types of issues since he wants you back as a repeat (repeat purchasing) customer in the future. For some reason it seems that the Cadillac dealerships in my area are the only ones who actually care about repeat customers and treat you with the respect you deserve.

I had an accident back in June. Front end, about $10k in damage and i didnt have my baby back for 3 months. Needless to say i was pissed. But believe me, bitching will get you know where. I learned the hard way. Just let them do what they have to do.

i know i am at their mercy so i have been polite. it's too bad that this dealership has one or two dumbasses working for them. If they would have explained to me from the start what is going on i would have understood. nothing i hate more than getting lied to. i think they have been telling me they are waiting on various parts(every time i call it is a different one) when i think it is only one part being wrongly ordered or wrongly sent.
it has almost soured me on ever going back, and thats too bad because i like this dealership.
it has a cafeteria where you can order food, a gym you can use, laptop computers with internet, a tv room, hell i think it has a video game system for the kids play area that i have been tempted to use. all nice things when you are waiting on an oil change.

a gym? Vidoe game room? At th dealership??????? Where is this place?

yup only in canada haha.
http://www.mcnaught.com/tour.html

My car has been in the shop for almost 3 months now getting rear quarters stitched in from a rear-end accident. I have been polite but asked for consistent updates. I did a few random drop-ins as well. Spoke only with the general manager. The car has been there much longer than the original estimate but I know the quality of the shops work and I do not want to rush them. My car is sitting in a bay next to a F430 and so no matter how much I become frustrated or miss my V I know the work is being done right.

Around here, work doesn't start until all parts are received and accounted for. Beware of body shops surrounded by wrecked cars. The first class places get the cars in, get them repaired, and get them back to the owner. Look inside the shop. If it looks like a bomb went off inside go elsewhere. A first class place will be neat without junk laying around getting mixed in with parts from your car. If there are wrecks all over the place it's obvious that delays mean nothing to them and all excuses are well used and well rehearsed.

Well i get my car back tomorrow finally, can't wait. it looks good, and my new rims look good. i will post pics very soon.
but i was scoping out the dearlership today where i brought my car to be fixed, it's close by and i spy on the progress of my car from time to time. well when i went there i couldn't find my car, so i cruised the lot, and on my way out i see my car pull up with three young employees in it, when they get out they are toting mcdonalds. i got the attention of one of them before they entered the building and said, "hows it ride" he looked all puzzled and said "good" and i said " ya thats my car".
he told me that it just got a wheel alignment done and there was no knocks or bumps in the ride. i dunno if they where test driving it for me, or they where just three kids cruising to mickey dees in my car? i didn't like the looks of it thats foresure.
i phoned the shop awhile later because it looked to me that it must be finnished, well apparently i can't get it back because they still got paperwork to do and they need to clean it. all i know is they better get alll the french fry grease stains out of it by tommorow.

I don't let my own grandchildren in my car with McDonalds, Arby's maybe. I'd have gone home, got my .458Win. Mag., and aired the place out. I would definitely let them know that they didn't get away with using my car for a parts and gedunk runner.

Tommy... THAT SUCKS! I would be so pissed by now. How have you remained so patient? I don't care what excuses they are using or have used - AT THIS POINT I WOULD BE WRITING LETTERS AND SENDING EMAILS TO ANY AND ALL HIGHER UPS. TIME TO GO OVER THEIR HEADS ON THIS ONE!!!

i am waiting to get my ride back in one piece, believe me i am far from patient. i'm gonna speak my mind, some free services sould be offered i think.

Free services hell! Somebody ought to get jail time.

the thing is i can't say for certain it wasn't just getting test driven, mind you them holding a bag of food and drinks should give me enough to complain to management.

this is the letter i plan on sending, that way i don't forget anything and i don't lose my cool. i pretty much just pieced together what i have said here.

To McNaught Pontiac customer service.

I bring my Cadillac CTS to your dealership regularly for oil changes, and have had my car serviced from a minor
collision once before, i have always had good service and the work was always done in a timely professional manner.

I brought my car to your bodyshop on October 9th of this year due to collision repair needed. I was told it would
be a few weeks, something to the effect of 3 to 4 weeks.The body work was done in about 3 weeks, but after that it sat
outside the garage for a week. So I decided to give the bodyshop a call. they said they were just waiting on some parts
for the suspension. Understandable, they said it should be ready in a few days. I gave them about a week then gave another
call, they said they are still working on the suspension, give them a couple days.I live close by to your location so I
drive by the lot to check on the progress from time to time, and my car had not moved from outside. Anyway, I give them
untill the end of the week, check my car, still same spot.so I call customer service and ask what is going on. I don't
mind if it takes longer than expected but why tell me a couple of days when it's obvious it isn't going to be a couple
of days?
The customer service lady talks to the body shop manager and he says they are still waiting on the subframe so even if it
gets in that week,it won't be ready untill next week.
So fine, finally a straight answer.
The bodyshop did not give me a call untill the week after it was supposed to be ready, and ask where my wheel lock key is.
They say they got the sub frame in, but they are still waiting on a control arm, but it should be ready in a couple of days.
I drove by the next day, they have my front suspension apart. but its on jacks in the parking lot where it had stayed for
atleast a week, no more progress. I phoned them back, no answer so I left a message telling them that insurance will no
longer pay for my rental car can they give me a loaner. Well I called on a Friday and still had not heard back from them by
Tuesday, my car is in the same spot, and no call back about a loaner.
I called again and talked to the Bodyshop manager and get some more straight forward answers, apparently they keep getting
the wrong steering rack, and he offers me a courtesy car.
I'm more frustrated that they tell me a couple of days rather then explain the real problem. It's like I got part of the
answer some of the time, then brushed off with it will be a couple of days the rest of the time.
I have dealt with your dealership before and you were always good, your work is good, so I did not want to keep bothering the
bodyshop. I understand if they are busy, wrong parts are ordered, or parts are back ordered. But quit telling me a few days
already. After two months and I had been told any day now for atleast 3 to 4 weeks, and every time I called I was told it
was a different part that was being waited for.

Like I said you have always treated me good and done top notch work, so this lack of customer relations, due to multiple
false promise delivery dates is most troublesome. Talking with the body shop manager seems to give me more
straight answers than the other bodyshop guys I seem to talk to. It is the other people in the bodyshop that seem to give me
the next day or two answers. Correct parts and a good job is what I care about.You could keep my car two more months if thats
what it takes, but it's when they keep telling me a couple more days and it is a couple more weeks before anything new is done
that i get frustrated. If they would have explained to me from the start what is going on I would have understood. Nothing I
hate more than getting lied to. I also think they have been telling me they are waiting on various parts, when I think it is
only one part being wrongly ordered or wrongly sent.
The last week or so I have now been told that my car is done but they are waiting on a wheel to come in, but hat sounds untrue.
They told me over a month ago they had my rims in. I think the shop damaged one my rims putting the tires on, no big deal if
that was the case, it happens.

I drove by your shop just yesturday to see if my car was being prepped for pick up because i had driven by on Monday and
noticed my rim was on. Well when I went there I couldn't find my car, so I cruised the lot, and on my way out I see my car
pull up with three young employees in it, when they get out they are toting Mcdonalds. I got the attention of one of them
before they entered the building.
He told me that it just got a wheel alignment done and there was no knocks or bumps in the ride. I don't if they where test
driving it for me, or they where just three kids cruising to Mickey Dees in my car? I didn't like the looks of it thats
foresure.
I phoned the shop awhile later because it looked to me that it must be finnished, well apparently I can't get it back because
they still got paperwork to do and they need to clean it. All I know is they better have all the french fry grease stains out
of it. To me it looks very unprofessional, and looks like your employees are joy riding in my car.
IT is now december 19th and I finally got my car back after 2 1/2 months. The body work does look good, but the whole customer
service aspect has really soured me. It would have been nice to have been updated on my car on a more regular basis instead of
me having to call myself every time.
This whole unpleasant experience has soured me on ever going back, and thats too bad because I like this dealership.

I would like a response to this email and deal with you foremost before I forward this to the GM customer service department.

I'd boil down all the delays to a description of the time delay as promised vs. actual time delay. It gets kind of tedious to read. I'd put them on the defensive about the McDonalds run. There should only have been one guy in the car. It's pretty obvious that the alignment story was contrived. Otherwise it's pretty straightforward.

Ditto that.

So did you get the CTS back yet? I have seen it sitting there. It is nice.

yup i just got it back today and thanks. but i got to take it back, they must have forgot to hook up my trunk release button on my door when they replaced the skin, and i'm getting some clunking on the front passanger side when i go over bumps.

This is not an unusual body shop problem. Body shop repairman gets paid a good chunk of what he has done prior to job being completed. He kind of abandons the finishing of the job. He then immediately undertakes a high paying body repair job on a second vehicle. Someone (or two) there pretend(s) that parts are still on back order. Truth is that first body guy is probably overextended financially. He is eager to capture larger chunks of money, and tends to ignore the smaller parts of some jobs. My 2 cents. Mgmt needs to intervene.

I don't let my own grandchildren in my car with McDonalds, Arby's maybe. I'd have gone home, got my .458Win. Mag., and aired the place out. I would definitely let them know that they didn't get away with using my car for a parts and gedunk runner.

I thought your name was Koz, not Pinochio!!

LOL

Well i get my car back tomorrow finally, can't wait. it looks good, and my new rims look good. i will post pics very soon.
but i was scoping out the dearlership today where i brought my car to be fixed, it's close by and i spy on the progress of my car from time to time. well when i went there i couldn't find my car, so i cruised the lot, and on my way out i see my car pull up with three young employees in it, when they get out they are toting mcdonalds. i got the attention of one of them before they entered the building and said, "hows it ride" he looked all puzzled and said "good" and i said " ya thats my car".
he told me that it just got a wheel alignment done and there was no knocks or bumps in the ride. i dunno if they where test driving it for me, or they where just three kids cruising to mickey dees in my car? i didn't like the looks of it thats foresure.
i phoned the shop awhile later because it looked to me that it must be finnished, well apparently i can't get it back because they still got paperwork to do and they need to clean it. all i know is they better get alll the french fry grease stains out of it by tommorow.


By the way, when you dropped off your car, you signed a document that says:

1. Your authorize dealership employees to drive your vehicle.
2. You and your insurance are responsible for physical damage that occurs with/to car while it was there.

It is in the fine print.

hmmm i don't remember signing anything, even if i authorized their employees to drive my car i don't think driving to mickey dees was what they had in mind...... or was it?. i'm gonna wait untill i get my remaining problems fixed before i send my letter.

i guess mcnaught hires and same kids as gautier, the ones that spray your car with water and move the dirt around and leave scratches in the clear....once they got your money they dont care.

I thought your name was Koz, not Pinochio!!

LOL
It's pistachio.

don't you belong in the deville forum with the other old geezers?

:haha: