Automobile Magazine’s Cadillac Dealer Experience Sheds Light On A Big Issue

[Bruce Nunnally]

They consulted Cadillac engineers about the rough idle, who told them a calibration issue has affected a small amount of cars. The fix includes revised engine mounts and a software update, which should be available for six-cylinder cars later this year. The power-steering light was most likely an over-sensitive sensor.

Read more: http://gmauthority.com/blog/2014/02/automobiles-cadillac-dealer-experience-sheds-light-on-a-big-issue/#ixzz2tjscRc81

[Cadillac Jim]

Over the years I can compare Chevrolet and Cadillac dealers because I've had extensive dealings with these two makes over the years in different areas of the country. I will say that a good Chevrolet dealer is a treasure, and that a bad Cadillac dealer is a rarity.

I will say one thing that applies to all makes, imports and domestics alike: they are dependent on the techs for the quality of their service, and the culture in the shop is pretty independent of the culture in the rest of the dealership. GM does a better job of dealing with this than most with its Goodwrench program but there is room for improvement.

One area that domestics as a whole and GM in particular could improve is their attitude toward older cars. This goes very deep, with roots in the Depression, when, according to what may be urban legend, GM and others had their dealers buy up used cars to improve the market for new cars. When I was talking to GM Customer Relations about a digital cell phone upgrade and continued OnStar service for my 1997 ETC in 2006, I was told that they weren't going to "support those old cars." After my car passed 100,000 miles and I refused to be persuaded to trade, the dealer that I was going to for service gradually went to war with my car and me. The two times I took it there in the last several years I had the car resulted in phone calls from the tech sternly dictating to me that my car was done and I must get a new one. That last one was by a tech that could not fix an electrical problem with my EBTCM connector, and he wrote a tirade on the invoice for me to read when I picked up the car. The invoice:
This hurts resale value and cuts into customer loyalty and morale, and reduces repeat sales. FWIW, I took my car and its electrical problem to another Cadillac dealer that fixed it the same day using the Goodwrench procedures in the FSM: use a digital multimeter on the connector terminals (he found two bad grounds and fixed them) and check its integrity (the big pink wire, with ignition switched power, pulled right out of the connector, and he fixed that).

You don't need a corporate culture change to fix that, although it would help. All you really need is to include a better attitude toward older cars in a training item for service managers regarding keeping owners of older cars, that is the majority of Cadillac owners, happy. I have found that any Cadillac dealer parts department will do anything within their power to get you any part for ANY Cadillac of any age or mileage; the only resistance I found was in Service.

Note that Toyota and some other makes have a dedicated department in their parts organization for support of older cars and classic models.

Cadillacs, unlike some other premium cars, particularly imports, can be driven economically for as long as you maintain them well and can obtain parts and service. Cadillac would do well to support brand prestige, image, and loyalty by better service support for these cars.

[rcirobin]

Jim, well said...I couldn't agree with you more....Thank you