Yeah the little port under the dash of my 94, I could take a paperclip to, I think (don't hold me to this I sold the truck and don't remember too well), to the 7 and 8 pins, turn the switch on, and the engine light would flash once, pause, two times, pause, and repeat that two more times (this means 12) then there would be a long pause, then any code that would come up it would flash it 3 times. For instance, the egr code, 32, would flash like this: three flashes-pause-2 flashes- then repeat two more times. When all codes were displayed three times, the 12 would flash three more times to let you know that was it. This trick was used so much that parts houses sold a little key that would fit several different trucks along with a book that told you what to do and listed all the codes that would come up.
Are all Dealerships Getting this Bad?
- Thread starter rkhodges21
- Start date
Yeah the little port under the dash of my 94, I could take a paperclip to, I think (don't hold me to this I sold the truck and don't remember too well), to the 7 and 8 pins, turn the switch on, and the engine light would flash once, pause, two times, pause, and repeat that two more times (this means 12) then there would be a long pause, then any code that would come up it would flash it 3 times. For instance, the egr code, 32, would flash like this: three flashes-pause-2 flashes- then repeat two more times. When all codes were displayed three times, the 12 would flash three more times to let you know that was it. This trick was used so much that parts houses sold a little key that would fit several different trucks along with a book that told you what to do and listed all the codes that would come up.
You could do that on GM fuel injected vehicles with OBDI only, which ended around 1996 when OBDII started. From then on you needed a handheld code reader.
Sounds like a lot of you are dealing with the people up front behind a desk. At my dealership the service writers are idiots. They think they know everything when they don't. I overheard one telling a customer the reason their car crowhops in 4x4 while cornering is because the u-joints can't handle the steering angle and bind up and cause the driveshaft to slow down the car.... Same with the parts department. My shop has the experience parts people in the back while they have the amatures that play on Facebook sitting up front.
If you need questions answered I feel the best bet is to talk to one of the techs. And hopefully its not one of those straight out of Wyotech kids either. We have three of those here as well and its pathetic.
So, now that I look at it, strike my dealership up as another one that is failing horribly.
I know there are good writers out there. Hence why I mentioned just my shop. My buddy is a damn good writer at GMC/Buick. He could sell milk to a cow haha.
Haha, yeah, but there's a lot of writers that can sell well but still aren't that technically inclined and vice versa. There's a diffrence between a good salesman and a good writer. One of my co-workers who is also the highest grossing writer in the shop doesn't wouldn't know the diffrence between a driveshaft and a tie rod. A lot of the time it's guys like that that end up pissing customers off in the end.
It really is surprising the number of calls I get from people telling me what the dealer said was wrong with their truck and how much it will cost. Or how many call saying the dealer doesnt know. Their prices of what they want to do is ridiculous. Its to the point now that if you have an old LB7 they basically scam you into trading it if your headgaskets or injectors go out because its not worth a $5,000-$6,000 bill.
The worst is when people call after they have taken it to the dealership. Then you tell them the headgasket parts are $600 and they dont take it lightly.
Ive been in a lot of trucks after dealerships techs and their work can be just a shotty as anybodys, loose injector wires, loose or missing bolts, overtorque and stripped return line bolts broke o-rings, gasket maker slopped everywhere from installing valvecovers. I dont know any of these mechanics, I know the one at the dealer I go to does do a good job, and considering he only really knows what GM tells him, he is probably the more knowledgeable diesel tech at a GM dealer around here.
Enough dealers just end up having the guy who hates diesels the least work on them, or the new kid out of school and thats really backwards to me. Parts for the Duramax cost more than parts for a vette (analogy, dont know if its true, Pat or Kat could confirm) and at that price they cant afford to be screwing up so much.
On the flip side, it equals a lot more work/side jobs for the rest of us.
A good service writer is invaluable. They dont even have to be really all that smart, just enough of a stand-up person to say "I dont know" and then offer to have a technician explain it.
A lot of the good service writers are retired senior techs. Basically got to the age where they didnt want the wear and tear on their bodies anymore and moved to the counter. Sadly many places dont do this anymore though.
The worst is when people call after they have taken it to the dealership. Then you tell them the headgasket parts are $600 and they dont take it lightly.
Ive been in a lot of trucks after dealerships techs and their work can be just a shotty as anybodys, loose injector wires, loose or missing bolts, overtorque and stripped return line bolts broke o-rings, gasket maker slopped everywhere from installing valvecovers. I dont know any of these mechanics, I know the one at the dealer I go to does do a good job, and considering he only really knows what GM tells him, he is probably the more knowledgeable diesel tech at a GM dealer around here.
Enough dealers just end up having the guy who hates diesels the least work on them, or the new kid out of school and thats really backwards to me. Parts for the Duramax cost more than parts for a vette (analogy, dont know if its true, Pat or Kat could confirm) and at that price they cant afford to be screwing up so much.
On the flip side, it equals a lot more work/side jobs for the rest of us.
A good service writer is invaluable. They dont even have to be really all that smart, just enough of a stand-up person to say "I dont know" and then offer to have a technician explain it.
A lot of the good service writers are retired senior techs. Basically got to the age where they didnt want the wear and tear on their bodies anymore and moved to the counter. Sadly many places dont do this anymore though.
One liikes to think that the dealership that specializes in your favorite brand of vehicle should be able to fix stuff right the first time. Mostly they do, but damn does it come at a pretty penny! I always like the look I get when I order a part to install myself. If looks could kill...
Amen brother. I really want to get to the point that I can work on my truck myself because I love the duramax so much and am so interested by it. I just don't really have the money for a Tech II and all the other tools I need to get the job done right just yet. Like I would be really scared to do an HG job on my truck because I have never done one before.
My truck's FICM harness messed up on me, so my dad got one of his rollbacks from work and came and got it to have his "mechanic" look at it. After about 1.5 hours they decided that they didn't know what it was, so they took it to a dealer. The dealer fixed it, and my dad was just as happy as he could be about the service but it was a $600 repair I paid for. You guys might be able to tell me if that is high or not, but the point I am making in a round about way is I feel that now that I have gotten into all the forums in a big way, I probably could have done this one myself, saved a few bucks, and filed that one away in my experience account.
If you all want the best possible shot at knowing if your diesel mechanic is going to be a good tech or not ask to speak wit him. Then you can at least get some insight into the guy doing the job. Imo if the tech is willing to spend some time with you then he is going to do the same with your truck. If the tech gives you 30 seconds and blows you off then you wont get much more then that when it comes to the repair. In those cases the tech's value the money more then the quality of there work. In my case, I love to educate customers on the ins and outs of there vehicles because it makes them more comfortable when they get a bill, they kinda of understand why it took x time and y dollars to fix this. The best recipe for happy customers (which hurts the dealers bottom end) is to make sure they dont have to come back. I hate comebacks, even if they are completely coincidental. I lose more dam money everyday by putting my pride ahead of my wallet its not even funny. Its easy to shotgun parts, but more often then not The repairs dont even require parts.
If you walked into a dealership with a duramax that wasnt running and left for under $1,000 you did pretty good.
Remember the dealership tech never did HGs before either, only advantage he had was more access to GM tools and the dealership to hide under if he screwed up. They arent bad to do.
Most people put a lot of trust in the dealers.But they are loosing it and as people start loosing the truck and going to independent shops, OEMs are locking up service information so that only dealers can view it. Like I said, the auto industry needs a reality check. They need to look at the Ag, Construction and Commercial Truck industrys and take some lessons.
Prices are still through the roof for any of those though. We own a Volvo wheel loader and if you think you poop your pants buying Dmax parts walk into the Volvo construction equipment place and start price parts. You cant possibly spend less than $100 on anything more than a bolt or nut. But then again, we never have to buy parts because it never breaks.
I like talking with the techs at dealerships, I respect the ones that just simply dont know and are upfront and honest and wanting to learn (whether I know any better than them or not). When it takes dealer x 6 hours to do the same job that dealer z takes two days to do but hasnt done it before and they are polite and honest about it, I'm willing to give them their time. im glad the first time they do it they take their time and do it right. Then there's the "wyotech kids". I remember getting a price estimate for $2,200 for our 06 TDI Jetta because it had an exhaust leak and was low on power down low. They said they were going to replace the turbo, egr cooler, and all associated gaskets. I asked why? I said it sounded like they were just covering all bases and why not find the exact problem. So I talked to the techs, they said they smoked the motor and found it leaking from the firewall side (well no chit thats where everything is on a TDI) and since they were going to be in there they might as well replace the turbo and such. I laughed and walked away. You dont just replace a $1,500 part "while your in there". Especially when it only takes a couple hours to replace it in the first place. I ended up getting online looking around and found the leak, the fix and had it done for around $400 myself.
But the VW dealership always gives free car washes everytime its in there. I think they should skip that and lower their ridiculous labor rate.
Remember the dealership tech never did HGs before either, only advantage he had was more access to GM tools and the dealership to hide under if he screwed up. They arent bad to do.
Most people put a lot of trust in the dealers.But they are loosing it and as people start loosing the truck and going to independent shops, OEMs are locking up service information so that only dealers can view it. Like I said, the auto industry needs a reality check. They need to look at the Ag, Construction and Commercial Truck industrys and take some lessons.
Prices are still through the roof for any of those though. We own a Volvo wheel loader and if you think you poop your pants buying Dmax parts walk into the Volvo construction equipment place and start price parts. You cant possibly spend less than $100 on anything more than a bolt or nut. But then again, we never have to buy parts because it never breaks.
I like talking with the techs at dealerships, I respect the ones that just simply dont know and are upfront and honest and wanting to learn (whether I know any better than them or not). When it takes dealer x 6 hours to do the same job that dealer z takes two days to do but hasnt done it before and they are polite and honest about it, I'm willing to give them their time. im glad the first time they do it they take their time and do it right. Then there's the "wyotech kids". I remember getting a price estimate for $2,200 for our 06 TDI Jetta because it had an exhaust leak and was low on power down low. They said they were going to replace the turbo, egr cooler, and all associated gaskets. I asked why? I said it sounded like they were just covering all bases and why not find the exact problem. So I talked to the techs, they said they smoked the motor and found it leaking from the firewall side (well no chit thats where everything is on a TDI) and since they were going to be in there they might as well replace the turbo and such. I laughed and walked away. You dont just replace a $1,500 part "while your in there". Especially when it only takes a couple hours to replace it in the first place. I ended up getting online looking around and found the leak, the fix and had it done for around $400 myself.
But the VW dealership always gives free car washes everytime its in there. I think they should skip that and lower their ridiculous labor rate.
Guarnantee whats that:roflmao:? I was straight flat rate when i was in the dealer, I made an ok living, there just wasnt much work around here. Flatrate can make a good tech good money, if said tech is skilled, and the work is there, just my opinion. I got lucky and got a job at the local refinery, making 2X the money and benefits way better than the dealer. Now I still do plenty on the side at home, but the biggest perk is I can pick and choose what I work on.
I was straight flat rate too at first. I left for a while and they asked me to come back. i declined so they said name your price. I told them it was $XX an hour, guaranteed 40 hours pay a week and commission paid for everything turned past 40. That last for a year then i got tired of the bitching when there wasn't any work so i bailed out again lol.