I bought my car from Ingersoll Chevrolet of Danbury a few years ago and had a fine experience,…read moreditto a couple routine maintenance visits. As a result, I figured I'd keep going to this dealership despite it being about an hour away.
The ordeal I just went through for parts servicing however has caused my impression to pull a complete 180, and now not only will I never return, I strongly urge everybody else to steer clear.
If you must work with their service department, insist on getting everything in writing each step of the way.
I brought the car (a 2018 Chevy Volt) in for an inspection of several issues on September 23rd: heating, tire pressure sensors, and a radio malfunction. It took a while for me to hear back, allegedly because despite not having a pure EV only one of the dealership's EV techs could assess my car.
On the afternoon of the 25th, I was quoted roughly $3,700 for all repairs. Money being tight, I opted to skip the radio replacement, expecting total costs around $2,500 and asked for the other repairs to go ahead, although I would have to take the car back to attend to obligations I'd already scheduled for the next several days, including a wedding in New Jersey.
On the 26th I made the trip back to Danbury, paid $530, and discovered that this was not covering the $500 tire pressure sensor replacements (which had not been performed despite ample time) but rather the inspection fee.
As a result I drove to New Jersey and back without that safety feature functioning.
I promptly returned the car on Monday the 5th of October, and was told that the repair to the heater in the car was a "6 hour job" but that it'd probably be ready the next day.
I didn't hear anything that day. When I reached out for an update on Wednesday the 7th, I learned that the $530 inspection had failed to reveal that a pump related to the heater was also in need of replacement and that replacing that part was going to cost an extra $1000 above the quoted price.
I had to crunch numbers on this, and after speaking to the shop foreman I demanded that the cost of the inspection be refunded. He agreed to knock off the price of the pressure sensors, and I asked for them to email me what the final price would be. I was subsequently emailed an estimate for $2500.
I received that estimate, and approved the work on the morning of the 8th. The new part would need to be overnighted, but I was assured that this would be relatively quick work. Even allowing that work couldn't start until the 9th, I was given to understand the car was "in the bay" and would be ready soon.
I was wrong.
Come the 12th, I asked for an update with my point of contact via text. After pestering for a response, I was told it would be ready the following day.
Instead, on the 13th my contact failed to respond to any of my texts. I had to call the front desk of the dealership to learn he was off (and had given me no indication that this would happen even though we had discussed that I might need a loaner the next day if it wasn't ready) and I wound up speaking with the shop foreman who let me know that they had managed to order the wrong replacement part.
Apparently the right part was overnighted just in time because my car WAS ready finally on the 14th, and I was even informed of the good news that the right part was actually $300-$400 cheaper than expected.
Somehow that meant my final bill was north of $3000.
I will admit that it's possible some confusion occurred, figures were discussed over the phone, but I presented the email to my contact and the shop foreman, and they both denied having sent me the email even after I presented them with it sitting in my inbox alongside a hardcopy. Why they would lie about that instead of admitting to sending the incorrect amount or failing to clarify what that amount was for, I don't know, but the lack of organization was plain.
Needing my car back, after it had been in the shop for a "6 hour job" for 15 of the past 21 days with multiple delays entirely of their doing I bit the bullet and paid what I felt was an unfair price.
Perhaps, if the service at Ingersoll were fast and efficient maybe I'd feel better about the prices. Conversely, if these costs weren't obviously inflated to either give wiggle room in negotiations or just gouge the customer, I'd put up with sloppy communications. But never again will I put up with a place that hits me with both. At the very least, not at this dealership.