My dad has a GM car, and he gets those mailers offering services, like $1xx for pads only GM Professional, etc.etc. So he goes in with a coupon for $69.95, and he says the SA looks at him like he has 3 heads. This is a $149.95 job, I don't know why you were mailed something that would be $80 off, I can't do that, we'll do something, maybe $20 off. So my dad says I'll just take it elsewhere....he said he was going to show them the mailer, and the SA goes oh I know it's from us, it has our name on it right here, but I can't give you this price without talking to a manager.

What gives? I'm pretty certain that a % of folks just say ok, I'm already here, $129.95 is ok. I bought my used Lexus from a Buick GMC dealer and I've had some lengthy conversations with the service manager as they had to fix a couple of items and included them with the sale, and in passing I could tell they have to do business with some old methods....imho? Not good.

 

Go somewhere else.

 

Always read the fine print and disclaimers on any of those mail-coupons. In the vast majority of cases, I can guarantee you that it is there.

 

in a 6 pt font that nobody can read...."If service advisor says the $69.95 coupon is essentially for a $149.95 job, then customer must meet the dealership in the middle at $129.95." btw they did do the work for $69.95 but why even put my dad through that?

lol I just feel that walking into a GMC dealership is like time traveling back to the 1980's. Although at least the facades are uniform, what do they represent, a piston or something, right? I think they rolled them out after the bankruptcy...I remember the guy who drove the courtesy shuttle said to me you ought to see how pissed people are when their $80k brand-new Yukon has issues [wind noise?])

 

Do car dealers still use bait/switch? Let me check. [looks outside] Yep, sky is still blue.

 

As much as I don't like BMW dealers (the free loaners is what makes them tolerable), I've never had a bait/switch. I used to go to Bloomfield NJ before I DIY'd the oil. They had $69.95, and then $54.95 coupons for oil (Greenwich CT was around $130 at the time). Never once did they say they would have to change the price of the coupon. But one SA was honest, he said when you roll in for a $54.95 oil change, I'm not making any money, I'm trying to get all your services including repeat (he called back that day and said I needed 4 tires @ $2,100 and then the alignment isn't included say what? lol). I got my BMW battery installed at $250--now before anyone jumps on me people in VA were paying $550? So again I thought their discounts were straightforward, no change the price upon arrival. Same way way back when with Nissan. But I hear you....

 

based on your sample size of 1 SA at 1 dealer i'm sure it's valid to trash all gmc dealerships.

plus you said they honored it anyway... so that SA didn't know about the promo which isn't good but did you talk to the service mgr or did the SA?

 

I'll have you know I've been offered a job at CR.....

In the last 3 years? I've been to 5 GMC dealerships personally, and they were all the same. I actually can't say what was in common about the SAs except they were all male, due to political correctness. If you include Chevy because I used to do the $50 test drive offers, that's 5 more dealers on the sales side. They all seem to have a certain 1980's theme running imho!

edit I asked my dad if he could scan the thing that he rec'd, and he said well the coupon is gone and it's actually 8 pages, so he provided a link which is almost the same, just that these services all have rebates

http://www.buick.com/certified-servi...ues-deals.html

edit just came across a misleading teaser: Make a qualifying deposit or transfer ...of at least $10,000 Receive as much as... $1,500

You have to deposit 1/2 mil. or more for the $1,500. That's not very good, I got $400 from Key Bank for opening a free checking, I deposited $100 because it was a round number, but I could have done $1. But in the end they win because I have direct deposit diverted to them $500x2 per month, and have not canceled it.

 

i think that's meant as a joke but if not, best of luck to you.

wouldn't political correctness expect both genders?

this is hardly unique to gmc or even the car business... ever see ads on tv saying "there is no better cleaner" or "nothing works better", etc.? it's meant to make you think the product's the best when that's not what it's saying, it's saying there's no proof anything else works better than they do.

not unusual that checking gives money to get the direct deposits because they win big time over time since most people, like you, never switch after it's setup.

 

I've not run into any bait and switch for service at my Lexus dealerships. New cars sales, yes, all the time. But not at the service department. The coupons I use are pretty clear, even in the medium sized print right below the sale offer. The closest one I've come across are the brake jobs, which advertise a pretty good deal. But in the lingo below, state, "per axle." I'm guessing this might get a few people who don't bother to read the whole thing.

 

I really wouldn't think so, because Lexus tends to care a lot about customer service, and charge for it.

If you see a coupon for a service, and brakes could be an exception because rotors are needed in many cases, there shouldn't be any pushback by the service advisor at all not to honor the price. Who cares if it says $69.95, but it's a $149.95 job? The decision to send a mailer to customers across the nation with the dealer name on it based on location, was not up to you. DO YOUR JOB comes to mind.

The time I had my Lexus serviced at the dealer (the only time) all the prices were lower than what they told me over the phone. Again, $59.99 for a brake fluid flush really is what I'd expect at a muffler shop, not a Lexus dealership. They also charged me $129 for a coolant drain/fill when I was told $179 on the phone. In the cases where it works in the customers' favor I don't feel upset. It's the other way around that is not cool.

 

not sure what was more painful: trying to read thru the obviously buzzed TS' sloppily worded disjointed posts, or bitkahuna attempting to dissect the sloppily worded disjointed posts to try to make sense of it all

i need to go lie down now