Dealership topped dexcool with green, what to do..

[B25urgandy]

So I'm in the process of looking at cars for the BIL, we found a 2011 Cruze Eco, while looking around the car I noticed the coolant was low (common problem GM said is due to air being trapped in the system from the factory and burping out later). So I brought it to their attention so we hop in and they drive it into the service bay. I watched a service guy put in napa green coolant as i watched in horror, as i've read on here green and Dexcool DO NOT MIX! I drive a GM car so I knew that from prior research.

So this is where we stand, he really likes it and is in the process of buying it, how can I bring it up with them at the signing time that I watched them put incompatible coolant and they should replace it before the deal is final? I think they will just brush it off and try to tell us that it's fine and it's compatible. Any advice? It's in the 30's here and I don't want to do it myself in this cold and don't want to pay a GM dealership >$100 on a coolant change already.

 

[nwjones18]

If it was one of the universal green coolants that "mixes with all colors" I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[demarpaint]

The time to bring up any concerns is before signing time, not after.

 

[Tdbo]

Make an offer contingent on coolant flush and the proper GM spec'd coolant installed.
Get this in writing from them in the form of a "We owe you" signed by the sales manager.

 

[69GTX]

I'd worry about it....and ensure it gets changed. Or split the difference for a cooling flush with the dealership. I didn't think anything was compatible with DexCool except water. I wouldn't necessarily trust them putting anything in writing.

 

[bullwinkle]

Get it out of there-it'll jell up & clog the heater core if it was NAPA conventional green. This is why I try not to let the dealership get near anything I own, too many underpaid idiots there.

 

[mrsilv04]

Tell them exactly what you saw, and tell them that you want a complete flush and fill with DexCool before delivery.

Is it possible that it was some sort of a DexCool compatible "all makes, all models" green coolant formula?

And also have it documented on the bill of sale, just in case it becomes a future issue.

 

[rslifkin]

If it's one of the "all makes, all models" light green coolants, most of them are basically dexcool and it's probably fine. If it was anything else (including the darker green old-school stuff), flush the system thoroughly to avoid the stuff gelling up in there.

 

[lubricatosaurus]

For example, Prestone universal green stuff has Prestone insisting its just ethylene glycol (in common with DexCool and others) and a group of non-clashing chemicals, hence 'universal'. I'd assume they are correct. Don't let this worry you a bit.
http://s7d9.scene7.com/is/content/GenuinePartsCompany/1499976pdf?$PDF$ might be the 'universal' one, and the chemists have declared it non-clashing.

 

[B25urgandy]

To all:

This was the coolant: http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Catalo...1GAL_0006411522

I knew they would top it up as it was too low to take for a test drive safely or I would have not told them and put my own 50/50 in it at home if we were to buy it.
I gave the jug a close look as he was pouring to see what it was. and it was full strength "green" Napa branded coolant as shown above. I'll let my BIL know to tell them they should do that before he buys, or split it 50/50 and get done at a GM dealership.
This is a Chrysler dealership we are buying from.

As he was pouring I was shocked and didn't have time to question why green and not the correct coolant. They did have other GM vehicles in the service bay as well as Chrysler. So I wonder if they also put that coolant in any car that comes in, even Chryslers their home manufacturer..

 

[michaelluscher]

If it needed topping up, perhaps it is leaking?

Early Cruzes were known for water pump issues

Insist on a flush and swap with the proper Dexcool

 

[B25urgandy]

Yeah I researched that and GM had a bulletin saying to bring it in and they will top it up, their excuse was air trapped in high points in the cooling system.
We are going to bring it into a GM dealership for pre-purchase inspection, so they might be able to catch something that will be fixed within the 30 day warranty. The dealership we will bring it to has free inspections if you get the work done at their dealership, so essentially if anything is found we won't pay for a thing.
We'll have them look at the turbo for possible turbo line oil leaks which are also common, and the waterpump leak which is common as well.

 

[lubricatosaurus]

OK it was the old-style green, not the universal type.
Still, topping off shouldn't create chemical problems, too little involved. Its still 95% dexCool.

 

[B25urgandy]

Also it's a 2011, so it's about 5 years old (introduced in 2010), so maybe if it's time for a coolant change anyway, maybe that as well as telling them I watched the wrong coolant get put in will put it over the tipping point for them to change it?

 

[Fortecarbon]

I would find another car and another dealership or suffer the consequences... but don't say we didn't warn you.

Good luck

 

[B25urgandy]

It;s a fairly nice Cruze in great condition and the dealership is a good one from reviews. I think it's just since it's a used car they are skating by by doing the cheapest they can. No oil leaks nothing.
But getting a used car check seams like a good idea and I'm not to worried for him.

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: Fortecarbon
I would find another car and another dealership or suffer the consequences... but don't say we didn't warn you.

Good luck


Seriously! Used Cruzes are a dime a dozen; keep looking....

 

[aquariuscsm]

Could also be what I have seen all shops do. They keep an old empty jug,fill it with bulk fluid from a tank,and top off cars with it.

 

[oilmutt]

STOP....do not buy this car! This happened to a friend and it cost him hundreds to get the radiator,hoses,heater core and freeze plugs replaced.

 

[B25urgandy]

Well his budget was $10K. This car was listed at $12K, they are bringing the car down to $10,500 before his trade in. After trade in it's $10K before taxes which is what he wanted.

Finding a Cruze in my area has been a battle since we started. We keep finding rentals/fleet cars, his requirements are: non-rental/fleet, under 70K miles. So far we've looked at several, 3 others meet his criteria, one had a bad turbo (you couldn't feel any boost from it) this one we are talking about you can definitely feel the boost from the turbo, service history (DIYer who used synthetic) it's a really well kept car. the other cruze wasn't nice at all, and was a smoker.

The only negative so far that we've found in or out is this one instance where they topped up the reservoir with green. IF we get it flushed it'll be as fine as wine. It got driven twice with the green coolant in it for less than 10 miles, it's been sitting with a sold tag ever since our first test drive.

walking away from this car/deal over a less than 5% of the coolant being green is overreaction. I think we'll ask the dealer to change it all to dexcool and if they don't budge to go 50/50 with us.