Davis Gainesville Automotive- Service Center

Service Manager Rick Davis Sr. is out of control I visited Palm Chevrolet in Gainesville, Florida on 2/16/2015 for some scheduled warranty work (drivers seat repair). I arrived at the appointment ti I visited Palm Chevrolet in Gainesville, Florida on 2/16/2015 for some scheduled warranty work (drivers seat repair). I arrived at the appointment time of 0900 and was asked by “Brad” when I needed it back. I said “By 4pm would be great”. When I returned at 4pm the truck was not done and the seat wasn’t even in the truck. I asked what happened and “Brad” told me that some others came in that weren’t as labor intensive so they moved them ahead of my vehicle. When asked when my truck would be done he said that he would check. 5 minutes later he came back and said “It shouldn’t be much longer.”. The truck was back up front at 4:40. This is not the first time this mismanagement of time has happened to me at this dealership. I digress. While on my way home I noticed that there were scratches on the drivers door panel and on the “B pillar” from getting the drivers seat in or out of the vehicle. I called back the next morning and spoke with “Brad” the service writer again. He said that I would have to bring the vehicle back so the service manager could look at it to see if the scratches were actually caused by someone in the service department. I called back and spoke to Tammy White in customer relations. She gave me her cellular number and asked me to send her a few pictures of the scratches. I did, gladly. She said not to worry that they would take care of it for me and have a vehicle for me to drive while the work was being done. I went in on 2/23/2015 to get the repairs taken care of only to find out that the parts were not there, nor was there ever to be a vehicle for me to drive. I asked to speak with Tammy White and “Brad” said “She doesn’t know anything” so he then pointed me to Rick Davis Sr. (this was our first meeting). Mr. Davis Sr. and I spoke outside of the service area and he said that he was well aware that I lived nearly 50 miles away and that I had been taking time off of work to come in for warranty work and scheduled maintenance. After some brief conversation and my mentioning that I felt like I had been getting “the runaround” Mr. Davis Sr, mentioned that he wouldn’t mind giving me a tank of fuel for my travels and a full detail for the time that has been wasted. I thanked him for that, we shook hands, and I was on my way glad that at least I would be compensated somewhat for my time, effort, and troubles. I went in yesterday at 0930 as instructed for the necessary repairs to the drivers door panel and “B pillar” but when I arrived the service writer “Jeff” told me that Mr. Davis Sr. said that I could have "either/or" meaning the detail OR a tank of fuel. Since my last visit “Brad” has been moved to another location. When I asked to speak with Mr. Davis Sr. to remind him of our previous discussion and subsequent gentlemen’s agreement “Jeff” called him and Mr. Davis Sr. came right over. Again we spoke outside of the main service area so as not to draw attention to the conversation. I mentioned our previous conversation on Presidents day and he asserted that I was told "either/or" on that day, which is not true. When I debated his statement he became irate and said "Well now the deal is off the table so you'll get nothing". He then walked inside and told “Jeff” that they were to “repair the 2 pieces and nothing else” then walked out of the service area and back to his area. After some time I attempted to converse with Mr. Davis Sr. regarding the matter but after my second attempt he told me that my truck should be done by now and that I should "get the xxxx out of his area". When questioned about his comment he said “You’ve got a lot of warranty left on your truck so I’m sure we’ll have to work together again so it’s probably best if you leave now before it gets worse.”. As this was only my second meeting with Mr. Davis Sr. I will not pass judgment on him or his actions yesterday. However, I can pass along that I will not stand for this treatment from someone who is supposed to be there to help me. I have not invested my time and money into this company only to be talked to as if I were a child by someone who does not know me or my situation. In closing I would like to add that Mr. Davis Sr.’s antics in and around the service area were embarrassing and demeaning to me and I would like to request resolve in the matter. I await swift your reply. Steven L. Ashe More

Incorrect diagnosis led to replacing wrong part. My son is a senior Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Florida. During his most recent finals, the digital temperature gage in the da My son is a senior Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Florida. During his most recent finals, the digital temperature gage in the dash of his Chevrolet Cobalt began to read all dashes. He looked up "no temperature gauge reading" on the Cobalt website and the listed fix was to replace the temperature sensor. He told the service writer the temp sensor was bad according to the website. The first entry on service invoice #CVCS389325 was " Customer states engine temp reading blank". Gainesville Chevrolet Cadillac incorrectly diagnosed the problem and replaced the thermostat which is not responsible for the coolant temp reading out in the dash. The temp gage would still read whatever temperature the engine was experiencing if the sensor was functioning. He left to come home the next day. The Code PO 128 relates to coolant temperature out of normal engine operating range and suggests diagnosing the temperature sensor, thermostat and the PCU. It does not say "replace thermostat" as this dealer did. They came away from reading code PO128 with the faulty assumption the thermostat needed replacing. Several times the coolant temperature reading would go blank in the couple of weeks at home and then there was no temp reading at all. He took the vehicle to the local dealer who diagnosed the temperature sensor to have an intermittent short and replaced it. My son has been to Gainesville and back home three times since the correct repair and the temperature reads out in the dash consistently. The sensor should have been diagnosed initially for the $125 diagnostic fee. I asked the Gainesville Chevrolet service manager to adjust the bill to remove the diagnostic fee since it was originally incorrectly diagnosed. He said no way! This was even though another dealer had to correctly diagnose the problem and correct it by replacing the coolant sensor. Apparently the Gainesville Chevrolet service manager and the operations manager think this is a good way to do business. I can't believe a GM dealer has so little regard for the customer after having done a sub-standard service job. More

The service department wasn't nice from service manager to the mechanics. I was trying to let them address my transmission concern of my chevy car which was still under B2B warranty. This was my second vis to the mechanics. I was trying to let them address my transmission concern of my chevy car which was still under B2B warranty. This was my second visit because the transmission problem became more serious since last visit. I talked to the service manager, he even did not pay attention to me and walked away. Finally, I requested the test drive but the mechanics was also rude. He didn't want to test drive further on the concern. He directly told me that he will not get pay from the test drive and time, so was trying to do is driving out of dealer and driving back. After I showed my anger, then finished the road test with me. More