Any car dealer owners or managers on here?

I appreciate your advice. It is a very clean 07 Grand Cherokee that actually just got highway all season tires put on it (AKA, the only time it has seen dirt is when I drove it into the yard to pull the mower out of the mud). It has the normal swirl marks that black paint gets, but other than that, no body damage. I am hoping when we actually get to speak to the service manager tomorrow that the conversation goes a bit better.

 

So the wife talked to the service manager this morning and it was the same response any advice on what to do next? Just start working up the management chain?

 

Go to the GM of the dealership.

 

At the dealer now

 

Kick Ass, Seabass!

 

So I completely bypassed the service department/manager and ended up talking to the sales manager and basically asked for whoever the service manager reports to after the question of may I speak to the GM was met with great hesitation and unease. The sales manager went through a locked door and emerged about 5 minutes later with someone that claimed to be some sort of manager. I showed him the car, gave him the rundown on events and details, and let him know that the only reason I asked to speak to him was every time we asked the service manager a question or made a comment, his immediate response was "we didn't do it," and he had not made any effort to resolve the situation. I also let him know that I had been in before with another car and had a wonderful experience, and thought that I could trust them more than the corner tire shop, which is why I came back. I summed it up by saying that I don't want to place blame, and I am not really that concerned about how it happened, I just want my car to be in the same condition it was in when we dropped it off. He said he would talk to everyone involved and give me a call by COB today. So now I wait... It did seem to go better than previous conversations, but perhaps he is just better at being diplomatic.

 

If the service manager said "we didn't do it" before even talking to his crew, I'd be suspect.

If that happens, I ALWAYS discuss with my techs.

You can't just blow people off whether you're right or wrong.

Don't threaten attorney until you have no other options.

Bringing that up will immediately end conversation.

 

I appreciate your input. I am very skeptical too. Especially since they say they didn't do a walkaround since it was first thing in the morning yet when we called at 2:00 PM yesterday they hadn't started it. Also, when I told whoever it was that I talked to this afternoon that I trusted them not to mess anything up more than I trust the corner tire shop, he pointed at it and said something like "stuff happens everywhere." So I am thinking he probably believes me. Not sure how much that is worth though. I wont bring up the L word or A word. The only time it will get to that is if the owner of the dealership says they won't fix it. Then I MAY say they will either be hearing from me or my representation to resolve the issue. Or they may just get a certified letter from my representation. However, if it gets to that, my BIL will be more than happy to persuade them to fix it.

 

So a bit of an update. I never got a call back from the manager I talked to. So I called yesterday and apparently it was his day off, and the person he reports to never returned my call (or never got the message to call me). So I tried again today, and he was at a different dealership, who conveniently didn't answer the phone. I am giving them until my wife and I get home from work today and can discuss the situation. If they haven't called to tell us the will fix it, we will most likely go with the easiest plan for us, which ironically will probably turn out to be the most painful for them. My wife called the insurance agent yesterday and they said it would be covered under comprehensive, so no deductible, it won't affect the rates, and we can take it to the body shop that we want to take it to. Also, if we believe that the damage was caused by the dealer (we do, and they have produced no evidence to the contrary), the insurance company would be more than happy to get their money back from the dealer. I tried to be reasonable, I guess they would rather deal with the insurance company's lawyers.