:: Intrepid Spaniel ::

About 1.5 years ago, I bought a used 1996 GMC Sierra pickup truck from Courtesy Ford in Pocatello. That transaction went fine, and I felt like I was treated fairly and got a good deal, they even threw in a free first oil change. That was uneventful. Since I bought the vehicle cheaply, I did compromise on knowing the full service history of the vehicle so I wanted to have it looked at to see what recommended service should be done. I even budgeted a little extra into the loan to take care of some service so I thought I’d see how the local GMC dealer was for service. Sounds reasonable, right? Read on to see how they did.

Let’s just say I’m not very impressed. I’ve gone back twice now, and each time I get confusing recommendations, and it’s not entirely clear they are being honest with me. Both times when performing their recommended maintenance, additional parts have been “broken” by their technicians. Well, it has 140,000 miles, some things are going to be wearing out, right? Maybe so, but it worked fine before I had them do what they recommended so the least they could do was cut me some slack and sell me parts at cost or give some discount on the repairs, but no, it is just time to open up the wallet and donate to their profit margin.

After my last oil change, they recommended changing the serpentine belt. I looked at it and there were some small cracks along the edge, so I said that sounds reasonable, go ahead. When the tech took it off, a tensioner broke and by the way, that is another $70. $70 for a tensioner? Wow.. Well, after my $200 oil change I get the impression that they are more worried about maximizing profit on each service call than taking care of their customers. I don’t think I’ll be going back or shopping with them when I look for a new vehicle. In contrast, Lithia Honda is expensive, but they have treated us very well so far.