Cadillac STS-V Series ForumForum specifically for Cadillac STS-V series discussions. With 469 horsepower, this is the most powerful production Cadillac ever made.
Well, I was going to wait until it is fully played out to post, but since you asked, Kadonny, here's the scoop:
Since my car originated at Sewell Cadillac in Dallas, and they had the original wheels chromed before the car was sold, Sewell said will warranty the chrome wheel since the car is still under warranty even though I am the second owner (first owner only drove it 1800 miles). Sewell has these wheels in stock, so they should be shipping one out today or tomorrow.
Sewell said that as long as my local dealer, Hendrick Cadillac, will order a factory replacement wheel and send it to Sewell, Sewell will consider it a wash. Sewell is shipping the chrome wheel to Hendrick at no charge in exchange for the normal factory one.
Hendrick said this was no problem and ordered the factory replacement wheel. In fact, the guys at Sewell know some of the guys at Hendrick, so Sewell went ahead and pre-shipped the chromed wheel to get it to me sooner. In both cases, the guys I am dealing with are really top notch nice guys and I must say I am extremely happy with their level of service thus far.
Of course, I will reserve my final judgement until it has all played out, but I must say that I am VERY impressed at how well I have been treated by Sewell and Hendrick so far. Seriously, it is this kind of service that makes me glad I own a Cadillac and make me want to be an owner for life.
In my opinion, you are very lucky. As others have said, most dealers will kiss you goodbye for cracked wheels.
I suspect your attitude helped a great deal when dealing with your dealers. "Asking for their help rather than blaming GM for the problem frequently results in some goodwill from GM.
You're exactly right, z06bigbird. Attitude will get you a long way. As they say "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." I discovered that truth years ago. It's all in how you ask, your tone of voice, demeanor, as well as going in with realistic expectations and laying out your case logically and without getting emotional.
I fully expected them to tell me to piss off and had prepared myself for that possibility, but I am very happy how they responded. I'm still waiting for the wheel to come in, though, so the jury is still out. I called the dealer this morning and they are checking to see if the wheel is there. My regular service advisor is out on vacation, so another guy is checking for me. I would think it would have arrived by now.
It was really bad timing, but I had an unexpected family emergency with grandmother's health in western NC Friday (about 130 miles from Raleigh), so I have been here since then taking care of family matters while she is in the hospital. I didn't want to drive the car as much as I have had to because of the crack, but I had no choice. The crack has now spread to another spoke so for safety reasons I have parked the car at my mother's house and am driving her Nissan Sentra (argh!!!) and my sister-in-law's old Dodge Stratus (yuck!). At some point, I am going to have to take that wheel off the V, take it to Raleigh in another car, get the tire mounted on the new rim and put it back on the car up here. There is no way I'm driving the car another foot if the crack is spreading. The last thing I need with everything else going on is to wreck the car because the wheel disintegrates.
End of story: I jacked the car up this morning, took the wheel and tire off, drove it down to Hendrick Cadillac (130 miles away from where I am current). They put the tire on the new rim today and balanced the wheel. I put it back on the car this evening, and it's just like new.
I couldn't ask for better service than I received from Sewell Cadillac and Hendrick Cadillac to resolve this issue. Outstanding.
