Freeway Chevrolet - Service Center

Freeway Chevrolet responded

Hello, Thank you for bringing this to my attention. We do offer a price match guarantee on all tires and on most services. We try to offer a competitive price but we normally do not stop and see if someone is cheaper on every repair or item. That is something that the customer normally does. The tire you needed was available and we quoted you a price of $190.00. WE DID do an online search after you requested it and did not find the tire at a lower price. Even though we did not find it lower, we gave you a small discount to try to make you happy, but it appears that we have failed to make you happy regardless. But again, if you find it lower, we will certainly honor the lower price. I am sorry that you needed a tire, but I am glad that we noticed it so that your vehicle is safe. Unexpected repairs are never good news. We do care about customer service and we try very hard to make our customers feel at home and we do a lot of research to make sure our prices are competitive with the competition. Thank you, Michael Cook

Freeway Chevrolet responded

Hello and Thank you for sharing your opinion. Vince is a great employee and he is going to a great job in sales. We do a full inspection and recommend repairs that you need now and will need in the future. As far as breaks go--- At the recommended replacement level, the brakes will still work, but they will not work as well as they should, and with something as important as brakes, we do not recommend taking chances. It is your vehicle and you can maintain it as little or as much as you like, but we are required to document anything that we see and most customers appreciate us letting them know. I apologize if our system is not working for you, but if you communicate with the service advisor he can just let you know quicklly and /or in writing and then you can decide at your leisure when or if you want to do recommended repairs. I apologize for the experience you had with Freeway Michael Cook

Freeway Chevrolet responded

Hello Mr. Long, Thank you for bringing your concerns to my attention. I understand that Rick, a new advisor, did not fully communicate the charges and for that we apologize. I have left a message for you and will do everything it takes to make you completely satisfied. We’d like to take care of the discrepancies today and refund you any difference owed. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you, Derek Haddad Service Director Freeway Chevrolet. DerekHaddad@freewaychevrolet.com

Freeway Chevrolet responded

Mr. Montano brought his vehicle in on 08/27/2013 stating that his sunroof shade was binding when opening. Upon inspection the technician found that the guide on the shade was warped and rubbing against the headliner. Mr. Montano was advised of the cost to replace the shade and he was unhappy that it was not covered under his GMPP service contract. Mr. Montano stated that he felt the sunroof shade was a defect and should be covered by GM no matter what. Upon submitting a goodwill/policy request to GM to have the sun visor replaced it was approved with a $100.00 deductable. Mr. Montano was unhappy with that answer and felt that it should be covered without any expense to him. Upon speaking to Roger Young Mr. Montano agreed to have the shade replaced and pay the $100.00 deductable. The vehicle was repaired and picked up on 08/30/2013. Mr. Montano’s wife brought the vehicle back in on 09/05/13 with the concern that the sunroof shade was binding and had a small hand print stain around the handle. We ordered a new sunroof shade and advised Mr. Montano’s wife that we would contact her when the shade arrived. During the time the new sunshade was ordered we had a very large rainstorm and Mr. Montano’s wife brought the vehicle back in stating the seat, carpet, and headliner were all wet due to a water leak. Mr. Montano’s wife was very concerned about standing water that was on the carpet prior to her arrival and that the carpet and seat were currently damp from the leak. Upon inspection it appeared that the sunroof drains were clogged with dirt/debris (see below) and not allowing the runoff water to properly drain. This condition can occur from debris gathering in drain over time and was not caused by the sunroof shade replacement. In the effort of customer satisfaction we agreed to replace Mr. Montano’s headliner, sunroof shade, and inspect all electrical components that could have been harmed by the water leak. Mr. Montano arrived the following day very upset that his vehicle was simply parked with the windows up waiting for the special order headliner to arrive. He expressed that the interior should have been disassembled and the carpet allowed to fully dry while the parts were on order. I apologized to Mr. Montano that the interior wasn’t taken apart yet however also explained that the extent of the leak wasn’t as significant as it appeared and the interior was about 95% dry at that time. I told Mr. Montano that I would have the headliner, the two front seats, and the front side of the carpet removed and inspected for damage/corrosion by the end of that day. Upon inspection I found the carpet to be 100% dry, the seat cushions to be 100% dry, no corrosion on any panel, and no moisture on any wiring harness (see photos). While we were waiting for the headliner to arrive Mr. Montano’s wife contacted her insurance company to inspect the vehicle for water damage. The adjuster arrived and performed a visual inspection. The adjuster did not provide us with a written inspection however verbalized that no damage was found. Mr. Montano and his wife picked up their vehicle on 09/18/2013. Prior to picking It up they thoroughly inspected the workmanship, verified the seat heaters were working and noted that the right front door sill entry plate did not fit correctly. Upon inspection it appeared that the sill plate tension clip was not fastening the plate down and needed to be replaced. I informed Mr. Montano and his wife that I would order that clip and call them when it arrived. They also noted that carpet around the left rear seat belt floor anchor was retracted too far back and wasn’t matching the right side. I inspected the carpet and asked them to allow me to retrieve a new Equinox to compare it to. Upon bringing a new like vehicle up to compare it was obvious that the carpet cut out was correct and designed to allow the floor anchor to move when the seat belt was engaged. We made Mr. Montano and his wife whole by repairing their sunroof shade, replacing the stained headliner, inspecting all components that were exposed to water, detailing the vehicle upon completion, replacing the damaged rear wiper arm (not damaged by Freeway Chevrolet), and offering to refund the $100.00 deductable that they paid. Mr. Montano’s vehicle is repaired and currently operating as designed. Nothing further is owed to him at this time. Mr. Montano states that he paid us and we did not fix his vehicle. As all can see, We reimbursed him the $100.00 deductable that he should have paid and then spent over $1000.00 to make him happy. So, in all actuality, he has paid us nothing and still complains. Derek Haddad Service Director Freeway Chevrolet.

jmontano2006 responded

Mr. Haddad is forgetting that I arrived 4 days later not the following and to find my vehicle just sitting there. I asked the technician to lift up the carpet on the drivers side and found that after 4 days the carpet was still damp? I am still waiting to here about the clips even though I was told that Monday they would be here and here we are on Wednesday still no call and no reimbursed deductible.

Freeway Chevrolet responded

5/20/2013 To whom it may concern, This customer had 2 vehicles that he was attempting to trade in as part of a purchase of a 2010 Chevrolet Traverse in May of 2010. He had a substantial amount of negative equity and he wasn’t planning to put any money down. He was also very specific about the rate he expected. Mr. O’Dell came into purchase on 5/20/2010. His loan was approved but he had to provide some stipulations to the bank such as proof of income. He then decided to bring us a check and we received the check from him on 6/18/2010 and I still have a copy of his check for proof. I am not sure where he gets 3 months from but I am sure people will see a pattern of his false statements. At this point if it was not going to be a deal, Mr. O’Dell could have brought our vehicle back regardless of the miles and we would have given him back his two vehicles. Mr. O’Dell states that we had sold his trade-in vehicles before his deal was complete but that was definitely not the case. The 2004 Tracker that he traded in was not a vehicle we would consider selling to a customer and we sold it at a wholesale auction a month after his deal was completed and the 2008 Tahoe was in stock for 69 days before we sold it. So this is another one of many false statements this customer is utilizing to make Freeway look bad. We offer ALL of our customers the first oil change for free and every oil change after that is half price for life as long as the customer owns the vehicle. This is a Freeway only program that we offer as a courtesy and benefit to our customers. This has been a huge and very popular program since we put it in place. On the back of the card that details the program, it also states that Freeway can cancel or adjust the program at ANY time with or without reason. Mr. O’Dell purchased his vehicle on May 20, 2010. His vehicle had 24 miles at the time of delivery. We never saw him in service until Sept. 2011 when his vehicle had 10,683 miles on it. He had a small warranty issue and he took advantage of his first free oil change here at Freeway. Everything went smooth and we never got any complaints from him. The VERY NEXT time we see Mr. O’Dell was last week on May 13, 2013 and he had 18,579 miles on it and he had another warranty issue and asked for another oil change and a tire rotation. My service advisor Craig let him know the diagnosis of the vehicle and let him know that the repairs were covered other than the oil change and tire rotation but let him know that the oil change was half price. Craig stated to me that the customer became upset and mentioned legal action. He says the free oil changes just stopped… They did not just stop; he gets what every other Freeway customer gets. One free oil change and half price after that. I had Mr. Greg Black in my office going over some dealership business, upon leaving my office he ran into Mr. O’Dell whom he did not know. He asked Mr. O’Dell if he could help him, Mr. O’Dell raised his voice and barged past him stating, “No, I need to talk to him!” and he barges in my office as he is pointing at me. I say “How are you? He says, “Not very good since you are breaking your word to me!” I say have a seat, which he disregards and stands at the corner of my desk. At this point he starts going over the experience he had 3 years ago. He goes into detail, as he does above in his complaint about how much we screwed up and he stated that during the recession he considered us fortunate that he kept the deal together, etc. He never once introduced himself or sat down and talked to me in a civil manner. I figured out who he was because of the conversation I had with the service people earlier. I did not interrupt him, but when he was done talking about how horrible Freeway was 3 years ago during his sale, I said I apologize for the experience again, and I explained to him that we offer financing as a convenience to our customers and that sometimes it does not go through as planned. I also told him that his was an unfortunate experience that is not a normal occurrence. I remained calm the whole time and never once did I raise my voice. He proceeded to tell me that I promised him lifetime oil changes and maintenance. I explained to him that I did not remember him or the conversation from 3 years ago nor did I have anything in writing, but if he would provide it to me I would CERTAINLY honor it. I never ONCE said I WOULD NOT honor this agreement. He took a deep breath and placed his hands on my desk like he was trying to maintain his composure and through gritted teeth he stated “I definitely DO NOT have anything in writing with me.” I stated then “That is not a problem, we are going to fix your car and you can bring it back with you when you pick the car up or you can fax it to me.” He then takes another deep breath and says what is your fax number? I give him my card and showed him that my fax number and all other contact info is on the card. Another deep breath by him and He then states that he cannot believe that I will not honor our agreement. I told him that I am NOT saying that, but I would LIKE to see it in WRITING as it is highly unusual for me to offer something like that and in our business we keep records of everything. I started asking him if he is confused about the program that we offer our customers as he obviously does not come in very often and maybe he is confused because the oil change he got 2 years prior was free.. He snapped and said I know all about that program but mine is different. I then stated- “Well, like I said if you can show me in writing I will honor it, but if not you can utilize the program that all of our other customers use. He takes another deep breath and insists that he should not have to… I tell him that again.. This is where we are at and I do not appreciate the way he is acting in my office and that the conversation is over for now and I will look forward to his fax. He stands there staring at me; at this point he is making me very uncomfortable. I tell him that he needs to leave my office and we will resolve it when he picks up the vehicle. He hesitates to leave and I ask him if I will need to call the police to oversee this situation as I felt very uncomfortable with his behavior and I told him had he come in and acted civil then we would not be in this situation. He then proceeded to call Chevrolet and complained to them that we refused to fix his vehicle which was 100% false. We were in the process of repairing his vehicle and were waiting on parts as he was complaining to Chevrolet. We went ahead and fixed his vehicle to the best of our ability and made sure it was washed and ready for pick-up before he arrived. We politely decline to do business with Mr. O’Dell in the future and wish him the best of luck. For the record, we did not charge him one cent for the latest repair, and we treated him courteously when he picked up his vehicle. Michael Cook