RV repair gone wrong

[RobertAH57]

About 6 5 weeks ago, I took my 2019 class C lRV to a local Chevy dealer for a Chevy computer module (Chevy chassis abs problem) 6 weeks before a planned vacation. I have a very good local RV repair shop I usually use who verified the wheel sensors were not the problem and sent me to Chevy dealership to complete the work. It took 3 weeks to diagnose the computer problem. During this time, our dash radio/monitor was stolen while on the lot. They will reimburse for a replacement which I purchased. A week later, while pulling into a service bay, they ripped the awing from the body. Almost hard to believe! Very poor communication on their part, failing to return calls made to service advisors and managers. They are offering to have their body shop replace the awning and fix damages. 2 week trip to Oregon had to be cancelled with lost deposits and I worry about the quality of the repairs. Any advise from those of you that have been down this road before? Thanks for your advice! Safe travels!

[Ray,IN]

I would maintain a detalled list of events and expenditures since in their possession, including lost deposits encumbered by their negligence. That dealer is not the last resort, however IMO they deserve the first chance to make you whole again.
Keep in mind harsh treatment usually is responded to in kind, keep it on a business level.

[Jandcinok]

We just went through a similar experience, our coach was in the shop over 60 days. We would politely ask fo updates every couple of weeks. A week prior to pickup (which was over a week late from prvious information) they called and asked if we had a key fob remote. Our answer was yes, response, hmmm we’ll see if we can find it. When we finally were called for pickup for sure, they were a little surprised when I told them I wanted to inspect the repairs. 2 items on the list still didnt work, they swore they did the day before. Yeah, right. And the key fob? They found it, it had been disassembled at some point and they had lost the affixed key ring. Their repair mgr. is quite good with the smiles and excuses.

In short, verify everything, dont think “oh, they wouldnt do that” they will. I hope your experience is better than ours. Surely there are repair shops with some modicum of integrity left.

[ROUGHRIDER3]

Hardly anyone wants to take responsibility for any thing any more. Just weak individuals with no back bone to admit they made a mistake.

[RobertAH57]

Thanks all for your thoughts on the subject. Emailing the service GM seemed to elicit an immediate positive response towards getting repairs completed, recovering lost RV park deposits, etc. Crickets since then.

[sibe]

I run a small auto business, and a part time powersports gig.. similar businesses , different mindset in customer base but both demand attention to the customer....
Pictures, Pictures they dont lie.. covers shop and customer.. Pictures of all 4 corners and inside shot or two depending on work.. We Pre Scan computers system.. , then post scan after.. This is for mechanical repairs as well as collision..
Customer is alerted and copied on all scans.. Parts are saved , photos of any repairs that are questioned or problematic..
IT IS A ROYAL PIA to do this..
We have insurance and warranty companys that require it.. This practice all but eliminates the "ever since you fixed" syndrome..and perpetual care...
It also makes our techs better and even myself and business partner, you dont cheat, sure we forget or make an oops.. Follow the work order, problem, inform office and customer, then proceed.. It does add TIME to the repair, but at same time it can speed repair by not having BS in the mix.. Here is issue, in color on your phone , what do you want done... Blah Blah.
I am not being a demanding shop owner but an informative and honest one to give the best service/repair we can for an honest profit..

Now what I find in the powersports side is a divide, the hardcore guy, ATV,UTV,farm,cycle guy or the hobbist, casaul customer... Necessity of use vs hobby or for fun plays big with disposable income.. . The RV MArket is similar, the casual camper or the full time or serious traveler..
ALL this plays into how the shop deals with the customer.. Still being up front, cover bases...

I have been on both sides, helping a customer that got the short deal and been i court myself .... Since 1980 only a handful of issues, early on but documentation has helped and lack of hurt on all sides when issues arrise..

I know some shops have some slick managers that make them money but at times hurt longterm retension of customer. Many larger, busy shops run the numbers and if you the customer does not come back, they are fine as customers are plenty..

I get run away thoughts, sorry

As for the OP here, photo, docuement, press manager , press owner.. maybe hange out and easily ask questions when other customers are around,, not confront or flip out but raise eyebrows if the office is not responding..
In my Shop if we miss something or screw it up, we drop other stuff, stay late, fix it, get customer in rental or what ever.. We dont give customer a chance to take advantage of us, or vice versa.. Yes tempers get tasked but it was not intended, so all need to be reasonable..

Personally I had to play the Jerk card at a dealership as my car sat 9 weeks , and was told story after story, BUT I would have done fix myself , I did not have security sofware to flash PCM.. Dealer ruined 2 PCM, another PCM from a used lot car and Told me I need to buy an updated PCM..
A $160 flash was over 4K in parts now.. that I was not paying.. I got a new PCM and the service bulletin and the flash needed on a usb drive.. Explained it to the Tech, Manager, Gen Manager and Owner in show room full of customers on a friday nite.. More than half of the people walked out, telling me go get em.... LOL
I left and said fix it or let me use the nissan scanner and passcodes..
Monday at 8am, I got a call, the tech said , hey your car is ready, there is still a ground issue and light for that.. I said thanks I wll be down.
He saw me walk in, gave me the keys, the bad parts, the flash drive and bulletin,. He said no charge, go before the boss comes in.. He said he came in on sunday, read the bulliten and relized he used the wrong version update, loaded the flash and it took, Car ran perfect... He said he took the managers word that the update was proper,, once he researched and used my docuement he knew what to do..

ANY way.. long story, boring I know..

FIND a NEW SHOP after you get this overwith.. That is tough to find good shops..

41 years I have been wrenching, spraying, hitting keyboards etc.for a living. I learn something new every few days.... Some owners or techs get frustrated with all this and get sloppy , make dumb mistakes..
I still have brain farts more than I should, my younger guys tell me get away your too old .go in office, pay bills ..... LOL...
I also have had tech who dont get it,,, make mistakes.. and you hate to fire them.. the hassle etc...

OK GOODLUCK, GOOD NITE...

[Sam 3]

Friend of mine was having work done at Dealer(possibly warranty). Dealer called up and said his truck was ready for pick up. He had crawled under his truck and labeled the part so he would know it really got changed out. Told them this. Got a phone call that truck wasn't ready and they needed one more day. Had lied about changing the part out. DH took his truck for rear end engine noise. They ripped the engine apart and quoted thousands for the repair. DH told them to put it back together. Stated they couldn't. Yes,you can. Took it to a speciality shop where the repair was only $400.00 dollars. Hate Dealers. Hate lying dealers. Truck had a carberator that was problimatic. Had dealer change it out because they were giving life time warranties. Kept the truck so long the dealer had to give DH a $900.00 carb. Kept saying $900.00. Told him i heard him the first time. Then he shut up. Took my car to PEP BOYS for some work(can't remember what). Paid my bill and it died in the middle of the road. Walked back and had the manager refund my $. Told her I wouldn't blow them into NYS. Had another garage do readings and fixed the car correctly. Pep Boys shortly there after was out of business. Have had two wonderful mechanics since. One retired.

[RealNiceTent]

I spent most of my working life in Automotive Service, I've managed fleets, driven tow truck, run shops, been a parts counterman and am a bumper to bumper mechanic. I hate dealers, most dealer service departments are ripoff factories and hate that they become a necessary evil sometimes. In the OP's case it was for a warrentee issue for safety system. It does not surprise me it took so long to diagnose the computer/module problem GM's flowchart diagnostics system is a time consuming multiple dead end pain in the a$$, one of my apprentices can tell you in 15 minutes if the problem is in the module or an external system (ie. wheel speed sensors). Most dealers are not set up to handle an RV at all, if you have to go to a dealer for a recall, warrentee, or campaign try to go to the nearest dealer that has a shop for medium duty trucks, at least this way they have people used to driving and working with RV sized vehicles. The same skills to back a 28 foot box truck into a bay, back a 34 foot motor home in a bay without tearing parts off. If your coach is on a Ford or GM/ Workhorse chassis it is a medium duty truck chassis technically meaning the shop should already have the necessary tooling and support access to service your coach.

Stay away from the car dealer if you can, with any vehicle, and remember certifications are paper, anyone can print one.

[Fiesta48]

And another reason I don't take my vehicles to anyone to fix one thing and destroy something else.
OR Stay with it, watch it while they work on it.

[US1]

Originally Posted by Fiesta48

And another reason I don't take my vehicles to anyone to fix one thing and destroy something else.
OR Stay with it, watch it while they work on it.

Pretty much the same here.
I bought the current RV this spring with the ABS light on. The last service record by the Ford dealership that installed new brakes just months earlier noted the ABS module was bad. Being a 2006 model, that module is NLA and finding a used one would require it to be married to the ECM. A $50 OBDII adapter, old laptop and a free download of Forscan code reader program showed the problem to be with the LF ABS sensor. Apparently when the dealership replaced the rotors, they bent the ABS ring making the ABS to error. I used my indicator and bent the ring back in shape and all is good.