In Dec. I bought a 2006 brand new black Silverado 2wd, 6cyl, 5spd from Greystoke Chevrolet (now called Grindstaff). This is now the third time I have brought this vehicle in for service for the same major problem. When I bought the vehicle I did not even get to test drive it, or see the vehicle because the finance individual rushed me through the deal.
This was the first problem I had. I told him I wanted to drive it first and also I did not want a standard transmission, but he told me that it is a great truck and if I did not like it after I bought it I could come back and he would rip up the deal and I wouldn't have to keep it (My girlfriend was there as a witness, plus they had the conversation recorded).
Well I brought the truck home and after about 800 miles, 2nd gear began to grind in the vehicle when it was cold. I brought the truck in the next week with around 1000 miles on it for the service department to fix the vehicle. The first day they said nothing was wrong with the truck and that they could not get the vehicle to grind, but I could leave it over night and they could check again the next morning (I was not offered a rental car, and had been late to work already once because of not having my truck).
The next day I was told by April in service that they did find something wrong with the transmission, it did not grind, but the technician could not get it into first gear. They told me it was the clutch master cylinder and it would take until the next day to have the part and put it in. I had asked Jim Combs and April about putting Synthetic Fluid in the transmission because this can help the transmission in cold weather They said they would get back to me and I never heard another word about it.
I picked up the truck and nothing was said about doing anything to fix what damage has happened to the internals of the transmission after it had been grinding (which should have been addressed). About 4 days later the vehicle started grinding in 2nd gear again. I immediately called April on Thursday the 12th of January and told her how upset I was about this problem and explained what was going on with the truck. She told me to bring it in Monday and she would reserve a rental car.
The next day the vehicle was still grinding in 2nd when cold and sometimes now third, also the clutch has become stiffer to get all the way to the floor and sometimes the vehicle will not go into reverse or first gear. I called the service manager Tony and told him about my problem and the only solution he could give me was to just bring the car in Monday when my appointment is scheduled. I asked him about the vehicle breaking down over the weekend if I get stranded, he only suggested GM's roadside assistance and did not offer to give me a rental car for the weekend for safety measures (he told me if it was a major problem the truck would have already broken down).
After this call I was even more upset and called Jim Combs and told him that this situation is ridiculous and I would hope this does not come down to me consulting a lawyer. Jim said he will be there Monday to take care of the situation. I came in that Monday and spoke with the sales manager Judy Cantwell, I told her I wanted to exchange the truck because I was disgusted with it and get an automatic (the finance manager said I could bring it back if I was disgusted with it) She said she would check the finance tape and get back to me.
I had to call her back and she said there was a misunderstanding, that the finance manager meant that night of the day after (well he never said that) so I called the general Manager Adam and he was very rude and told me I took to much time to return it, because other paperwork had gone through and he said I didnt even want to test drive it (which was a lie, because I said I wanted to drive it on the finance tape).
After this I told him I wanted a copy of the finance tape to use in court and he refused to give me a copy. So I went in and drove the vehicle with the shop foreman to duplicate the noise the day after and was able to get it to just clunk in 2nd and he said it was normal, but I could come back in the morning and try again. I did, and was able to get it to grind in 3rd gear nice and lound, the shop foreman had the nerve to lie to me and the service lady and say it was a transmission whine, I have worked as a mechanic and know the difference!
They finally offered to put synthetic fluid in the trnas and it was fine for about 4 days, and its now back to same problems, and now it is grinding in 2nd downhill when the vehicle is warm. This has been a nightmare experience and I would like to take the dealership to court, but I do not have enough funds to do so because I just moved here. It is a shame you can not trust a large dealership anymore, and you always have to be worried about getting ripped off.
I called GM and they gave me an extended warranty on the Transmission, but what good does a warranty do if the dealership refuses to fix the problem. Hopefully tomorrow I will have better luck with a different dealership I am bringing the truck to.
Derek
Johnson City, Tennessee
U.S.A.
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