Friday, May 31, 2024
After my vehicle had stalled, I was relieved when my husband was able to get in contact with a service department willing to service it so quickly; he was even nice enough to tell them it was most likely the alternator.... They disagreed. Now, after $512, my vehicle is once again sitting in a service center parking lot awaiting repair.
When I inquired about having my vehicle repaired, the service technician stated it will be $200 just for them to run a diagnostic test to see whats wrong, and they will then contact me once they know the issue for further instruction.
Wednesday, June 5, 2024
Steve text me, "Good morning, we started diagnosis yesterday afternoon. We found a bad cell in the battery. We also check ed the alternator and it test out great. At this time we are recommending a battery replacement. With diagnosis, to install a new battery the cost will be $477.57 plus tax. Please advised how we should proceed. Thank you, Steve," at 8:26am and again at 10:26am the same day - "my car was good to go and ready to be picked up. I live nearly 3 hours away from this shop, my husband was out of town for work, so I had to wait until that weekend to pick it up (which they were made aware of and no fuss).
Saturday, June 8, 2024
Vehicle picked up.
Monday, June 10, 2024
I head to work in the afternoon and 1 mile from my house, the dash message "Service Battery Charging System" and battery light come on. I stop, take a picture of the dash and send to my husband and the service technician I was in contact with. A few hours later, I get a reply from Steve asking when I could bring the vehicle back in (that means driving an unreliable vehicle 3 hours each way to get it looked at again)! I explain that as my husband is out of town, I wouldn't be able to bring it in u til the weekend....service tech transition.
Tuesday, June 11, 2024
Mic Bowers, Stew Hansen Buick GMC Service Manager texts me, "Hi Ashley, this is Mic Bowers, Service Manager at Stew Hansen Buick GMC. Thank You for allowing us to service your vehicle. How was your service experience? We strive for complete satisfaction, and you may be receiving an email survey from GM. It would mean a lot to me if you would complete this survey. Reply STOP to OptOut," to which I reply with, "Hi Mic - I wish I could say better, but my car is once again presenting the exact same issue after having spent over $500." Mic then proceeds to tell me that its just the battery and I must have a draw causing it to fail. When told the light and dash message appeared, he stated, "ok, looking at the history this is the story "VEHICLE STALLED AND WILL NOT RESTART. VEHICLE IS
COMPLETELY DEAD ON THE LOT WHEN TOWED IN. KEY IS STUCK IN
THE IGNITION. THE VEHICLE FOB AND OTHER KEYS ARE TAGGED AND
IN THE BOX." I dont see where there being a light on." The light and dash message were on per my husband and mother because that was the first sign my car showed before it completely died.
Again, I send the dash picture, this time to Mic, and he assures me, "Looks like there is definitely something causing a battery failure."
Wednesday, June 12, 2024
Local mechanic plugs Ole Ruby into a multimeter, and weirdly enough, he says it's definitely the alternator and it needs to be replaced. I text the number Mic and Steve text me from and inform them of the local mechanics findings...crickets. Later on that night, I text the same number asking for a detailed invoice...crickets.
So, here I sit on Thursday, June 13, 2024 without a car, $512 poorer, and still waiting ona reply from Mic or Steve about the detailed invoice. Thankfully, Lindsey emailed me an invoice the moment I asked for one after calling.
Morale of the story - the nearly $300 charge for a diagnostic test is bullshit, especially when your "trained and certified" staff can't be bothered to read it correctly and avoid the issue that the owner told you it was. A good multimeter can be bought for under $200 and I am sure it'll pay itself off in gold when you or your family/friends have a mechanical issues.
I, of course, mosied around a bit on my way out of the shop to see what they had on the lot... thinking, hmm... may be a good time to upgrade. Now, I can confidently say, without a doubt, Stew Hansen will not be on my list for anything -looking, nope; buying, nope; service, hell no.
Unless you enjoy throwing money away, Stew Hansen is one place I would avoid at all costs.
Stew Hansen Buick GMC slogan & core values:
Treat people R.I.G.H.T.
Respect
Integrity
Growth
Humility
Teamwork
As it seems profit is more important than customer care and satisfaction, and in this case, properly doing your job, the core values at Stew Hansen are laughable at best read more