Dealership service

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My wife and I bought a new 2014 GMC Terrain 3.6 AWD from a local dealership. This was the first new vehicle(and most expensive) thing she has ever bought. Since it was a new purchase, and the dealership has a extended powertrain warranty to 10 years(no extra cost) if serviced according to the maintenance schedule, we decided to have all service work done there.

I am fully capable of doing most repairs myself if needed, but I wanted to get a paper trail started with them. For the most part, it is just basic services, change oil/filter, checkover, semi-annual inspections, etc. We don't drive the vehicle much, we just ticked over 50,000km in 3 1/2 years, mostly highway travel, not severe service by any means.

The 50,000km service was, interesting. Oil/filter change, rotate tires, change air filter, semi-annual inspection, rotate tires, differential service(if equipped with limited slip), fuel/emission service. I asked about the fuel service as the vehicle as I have been experiencing some rough starts and idle when starting up while cold. Now I know that DI engines can suffer from carbon build up on the intake valves, so I asked about how they perform this service, my advisor was not sure exactly how it is done, but stated the solution is connected straight into the fuel rail. This will clean out the injectors, but won't touch the valves. About $225 for that. The differential service(if equipped with limited slip) got me going($225 for that). I asked why do I need that done, I don't have limited slip. He explained that I do have a transfer case and rear diff and that is why they do the service, but I don't have limited slip. To me, they are saying one thing and the book is telling me something else. We started to argue at this point. I chose not to get the fuel system and diff service done. He then threw the "if I don't follow the stated service schedule my extended warranty would be void".

By this point I wanted to talk to the service manager, but he was not in that early in the morning. I ended getting just the oil/filter change, as semi-annual was done at 45,000km, air filter at 40,000. When I got home that night, I started looking through the service schedule at upcoming services. This is the interesting part, at 55,000km, they list a 4x4 service, which includes front and rear diffs and transfer case. I sent an email to the service manager asking for a time to speak to him in person.

This service advisor was one that we have worked with since we got the vehicle and he has been good up until this point. When he threw that if I don't follow the service schedule my warranty would be void in my face that put me off. I will not pay for a service on something that I don't have. I once had a Ford dealer refund me GST on gas they put in my car because it was low, I authorized them to do this if needed, because they were going to charge me GST on the invoice for the $10 they put in. Gas at the pumps already has GST in it, I was not going to pay GST twice.

I have no problem getting the GMC serviced at the dealership, I have never used a dealer before for anything other then getting an OEM part or warranty. Like I said earlier, I want to have a paper trail and the extended warranty because it may pay off later. I have been following the service schedule to a tee up to this point. I may still get the fuel/emission service done, it may help the roughness, especially if they pump some of this stuff into the intake before the valves, but I need them to explain why I need a diff service done(if equipped with limited slip) and then 5000km later get it done again with the 4x4 service. By the way, the owners manual states the AWD system service at 156,000km.

I have read some horror stories on this by other users on this site, but I always try to work things out, usually I have been able to at least get a compromise out of the situation. As many people have stated here, having a good relationship and a good dealer help. The biggest thing I find with a dealer is we need to know more about the vehicle then they do, and you do need a paper trail to fall back on later on.

Pending how things go with me and the service manager(if he sets something up) will determine if I continue to use them or not.
 
Is the extended warranty through GovMo or the dealer? That’s a big difference.

I would check around for a good independent mechanic shop. If you have receipts then the warranty cannot be voided unless it stipulates that all service must happen at that dealership. Also Canadian laws may be different than US so I might be off base here.

For this and a number of reasons I have never gotten an extended warranty.
 
If you think it is running rough, get them to fix it under warranty instead of spending $225 on snake oil. You can see how far they will go to keep your business.

Alternatively, run a techron based cleaner in your fuel and go from there.

I understand why you want to build a rapport with the dealer in case you need to use their warranty, but it is always the same old song and dance from them. They hate to do warranty work and will make you jump through hoops to get work done. However, they love to upsell you on nonsense, including "extended warranties" that are usually a way to generate revenue for their service departments with needless maintenance procedures.
 
I'd forget about the most likely "free" dealership extended warranty as long as you do all the service we recommend.
 
In before CKN says "Weekly Dealer Bashing Thread".
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Bammer, sorry if I missed it, but is this maintenance schedule right out of your vehicle's owners manual or is this something the dealer gave you?
 
Originally Posted By: bammer5609
The biggest thing I find with a dealer is we need to know more about the vehicle then they do


IMHO, this is your pull quote. Other than the obvious (read the owner's manual) do you have any links or favorite sources of information to do this?

Regarding your situation, if I were in it, I would take your owner's manual to discuss things with the service manager and ask him to read it to you out loud and then explain it.
 
Originally Posted By: bammer5609
The biggest thing I find with a dealer is we need to know more about the vehicle then they do


This

You always want to be an "informed and educated" customer.
 
Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
In before CKN says "Weekly Dealer Bashing Thread".
laugh.gif



Nah too busy trolling tire threads.
 
The extended warranty is called "Auto 4 life", which basically says if I follow the recommended service schedule booklet they will extend the powertrain warranty to 10 years/160,000km vs 5 yr/160/000. This is a service schedule made up by the dealer. There is no upfront cost to getting it, as long as they do the work. If we are on a road trip in year 6 and can't get back to our home dealership, they will reimburse us the cost of the repair(if it is a powertrain warranty issue) as long as it is repaired at another GM dealership and is warranty.

We are at 50,000km in 3 1/2 years. The service intervals for some of it are done more often then what the owners manual states but replacing a air filter more often to save costs on engine problems down the road may work to my favour. It is a song and dance that is usually in favour of the dealer, but I am hoping that things will work out. I have never owned one vehicle that has left me [censored] at a dealer for a major repair and out lots of cash, as I said, I can repair pretty much all of the common issues found on vehicles today, so if I have to do it, I will.
 
Oh no! I wish you could have posted this story 3 days ago before I got the bumper to bumper 160K Km warranty, which includes roadside assistance for flat tires etc, accommodation, meals, rental vehicle and repairs.

Nothing stated in the agreement about the regular maintenance must be done at that or any other dealership.

I like to drain the factory fill engine oil after a week, or around 1000 kms, the diffs at 20k kms to 80w140, the transfer case after every winter, the Allison 1000 transmission external filter at the 10k km mark and trans fluid to a TES 295 at 50k km.

A schedule like this would cost a fortune at a dealership, but I'm looking past the 160k km mark life expectancy.

My 3rd Duramax, this one for my daughter, 2018 3500 High Country 153" crew cab, graphite metallic.
 
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Add up the estimated cost for future services and see if it is worthwhile to continue. My guess is you can bank that money and self insure plus have the satisfaction of doing the maintenance yourself.
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: bammer5609
The biggest thing I find with a dealer is we need to know more about the vehicle then they do


This

You always want to be an "informed and educated" customer.


I agree that being informed is extremely important, but even if you know more about the car than the dealer does, that won't cause them to believe any differently.
 
Sounds like a “pay me later” type of warranty plan. They include services not really needed or raise the prices on some.

If you are comfortable with the reliability of the vehicle as it is and for the foreseeable future then I would consider bagging the warranty. No money lost as you stated there was no payment upfront. Use the dealer for scheduled maintenance per the manual and or perform your own or with another mechanic.
 
Sounds like you have already gone very far down that rabbit hole of a quasi scam of that dealer provided warranty. They are basically making their money upfront for covering the back end when and if you have a problem. Then most times, they will find some fine print detail or a missed insignificant service to deny a warranty claim.

Honestly, I would recommend you just abandon that scam and take control of your maintenance and follow the manufacturer recommend schedule and not that money making dealership schedule.
 
I didn't read everyone's responses, but a general rule I think about this stuff is that you pay a ton of money to get this "free" warranty (and still run the risk of them being weasels). I'd do the maintenance myself and if something comes up, fix it. You're probably going to know if this vehicle is going to be in need of frequent repairs after the first few years.
 
When you figure that GM states the AWD gets serviced at 156,000km and the dealer wants to do every 50,000 at $225 a shot, thats $708.00 by the time I hit 156,000km. So far the Terrain has been trouble free, and I can do pretty much all the services myself. Just wanted to get a good relationship and trust with a dealership in case I needed something repaired I can't do. Ill see how things go after I meet with one of the service managers. This might be the last service there.

Nope, there will be one more. I got a coupon for a free oil change at 55,000 for following their service schedule.
 
Some great stories and good reasons to avoid many stealerships.

My MIL once called me from her Nissan dealer with a HUGE laundry list of services they wanted to perform on her 350Z. After a check against the owners manual more than 2/3 of them were "dealer recommended" and did not appear on the factory service schedule. Saved her 600 bucks or so.
 
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