GM Dealerships

I just had to bring my 2000 Z28 into the dealership this week because the security light on the dash came on.  I had one dealer check it out and they said that the problem could be one of 3 different things and that this shouldn't leave me stranded, and sent me on my way with some paperwork to find out on my own how to troubleshoot the problem.  Well, 2 weeks later, I had my oil changed and while getting ready to back it off of the ramps, I got power to everything in the car but it wouldn't allow me to start it.  So, I called a closer GM dealership and made an appointment and had it towed there.  Turns out it was a bad ignition cylinder and key.
My problem is this... the 1st dealership acted like they didn't want anything to do with the car, and told me that they'd be chasing wires and that it would cost loads to fix it.
The second dealership, while they fixed the problem left grease on the shifter and console and looks like someone backed the car into something, cracking the paint on the rear bumper and leaving visible damage.  I confronted what I think is the manager and showed him the damage.  While I acknowledged that the car had just had the rear bumper painted due to someone hitting me he said that the damage that was there has nothing to do with anyone there bumping the car and that it was a bad paint job.  Basically, he wouldn't own up to it.  I know for a fact that the car didn't look like that when I dropped it off.
What I want to know... if anyone here had to bring their car to a GM dealership for work that they didn't have the proper specialty tools to do the job, how were they and their vehicles treated?  It seems lately that these dealer's standards have been lowered.  I was actually thinking of purchasing a new Cobalt SS, but if this is how GM is treating their repeat, life long customers, I'm not even gonna consider buying or owning another GM ever as much as I love them.  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  

Well,,,let me see if I can help ease the pain.I worked at GM dealerships for about 12 years and during that time,I was fortunate enough to have worked at some decent places.But now,,,it has all gone to hell.The dealerships lowered their payscale so drastically that no reputable technician would work there.So,,,what did they do,,,they hired a bunch of hood-rats and gutter-punks that can't find their ass with both hands,and who suffers???you,,,the customer,,,and to top it all off,,,,GM doesn't give a *** the cars in,,,take the customers money,,,and send them down the road.Attitude in most of the places,,,well it ain't my car.I find myself wanting to appologize to you for having to put up with this,,,because it gives technicians like myself and others a bad rep,,,we are the old school,,we are the ones that would ,,,and still do,,,fix your car and not think about how much we are going to be paid because we take pride in what we do.We like working on cars and trucks,we thrive on the challenge of fixing them.But,,,like you have noticed,,,there aren't many of us left,,you're going to have to look to find someone who will take care of you and your ride,,honestly,,without ripping you.It will be a tough job,,,but they are out there.I now work at a Dodge dealership in Ga.and it's a good company,,,but when I get a GM product,,I'm forced to send it across the street to a Chevy dealership,,,and get ready for this,,I have reported them to the BBB for exactly what you just described because they're *** too.So,,all I can say is good luck with your search  and once again,,from all us old school dudes,,,sorry for your experience.  

Its to bad that every dealership seems to turning into a stealership. I know I would rather trust my mechanic over any guy at the dealership.  

Thank you all for the kind words.  I know that what you guys do is a hard and stressful job and I appreciate it when my ride is fixed and working properly.  I change my oil myself because I don't like other people touching my car unless it's necessary.  The mechanics I usually use couldn't do the job that needed to be done, that's the only reason I went to the dealership.  The dealership I decided to bring the Camaro to was the first time I'd ever been there, and the last time I'll be there.  But, they're quick enough after the fact to try to get me in there to buy a new vehicle from them.  Well, if they can't treat my baby properly what makes them think that I'm gonna buy and bring a new vehicle to them for repair.  I know the guys that do know what they're doing don't get the pay they deserve.  It's just a shame that the great technicians and the customers both pay the price for these dealerships being cheap.  You know, an I'm sorry from them would have went a long way.  

hello. you are hearing from people who have either thrown in the towel, or couldnt handle working with the knew technology. i have worked as a service tech for over 15 years, and first of all, i am sorry for the treatment you have recieved in the past at other dealers. i have been in the buisness a long time. i can honestly say i make alot of money doing what i do, and i do take an extreme amount of care and pride in every car i work on. i am inhvac, drivability, and heavy line. what im tired of reading in blogs, articles, and tv is the bashing of individual techs,and dealers.  we bust our ass for the customer. when you bring in your 2008 lifted, banks powered duramax that has clearly been altered by aftermarket hacks, and now it smokes, or the suspension squeaks because the drive angles have completley changed from how it was originally designed to handle, we have to warranty that!!! and yes, to make you happy-the customer, and all we ask is that you give us a 100% satisfied on the survey, and of couse that never happens,  even though its aftermarket, and guess what-warranty labor time is pennys-we loose our asses on those things because we need to keep the customer-who is most of the time ungratefull any ways,  that is lame. what do i tell my wife and kids when i dont have a check because i spent 3 days tracing down a short on a z06 that was caused by an aftermarket alarm-does that sound fair to you? or look at it this way-speaking from multiple examples, you bring you car in to just brakes for a brake squeak-they tell you, you need new calipers, rotors, and pads because they are tryin to rob you blind to fix the problem. your vehichle has 28 thousand miles on it so you come to the dealer mad as hell thinking the brake system has suffered a complete brake failure on your low mileage truck, even though it still stops fine, but now its our fault, we have to explain to you,"they are tryin to rip you off because you dont know any better, and still we machine the rotors to stop the noise-even though it comes and goes do to dry and humid conditions, or excessive hard braking-not GMs or our fault. still, we cut the rotors in hopes that customer will return loyaly to us-but sadly, they do not. oh well, i gave it my best, and it cost me some of my paycheck.   or look at it this way. you show up to a dealer youve never been to, you have a 2000 venture van.  you have 156000k on it. it has a hard start. you get the estimate to repair it, because it needs a fuel pump because you never changed the fuel filter. again, not our fault.  then you go to the managers office and whine about the price, so he good wills it-you pay nothing on the hopes youll return in the future. well again the tech is taking a job he thought he was going to make money on and is now doing it under warranty-hooray, another paycheck down the drain, oh yeah guess what, that customer never came back for any service work!!!   so before people generalize all sevice techs, or your not totally happy with the work preformed, remember to take the time to listen to what the advisor is saying to you, remember you have a 50k vehichle loaded with modules and wires and technology. sometime it take a couple of times to get it right-its not 1965 malibu, its technology-you paid for it, now be patient with the techs and management, ive never worked for a shop that didnt go 110% for the customer, no matter what. we wan to keep you happy and comming back.  remember, saying youll never buy from GM agin is a death warrant for all of us,  then youll be subject to buying from the foreign market who will have almost no competition, and now they wont need to go above and beyond for you because they know you have no one else to buy from.   we are not putting legos together for you, this is the car you have purchased and will hopefully keep for a long time, sometimes all you need is patients and understanding.  and for the guy who said they hire gutter punks, i have tattoos from my neck down, im a team leader in my shop and have a reputable background in the automotive industry, including awards  from  GM. never judge a book by its cover.
 good luck to you  

I gotta go with Anvil206. More then once I have gone to get my car, jeep ,etc fixed and ended up at the dealership 'cause they are the one's who could figure it out and fix it.However  there are bums in every profession.like the old saying goes, Fool me once shame on you ,fool me twice shame on me.Find a good mechanic and stick with them.They are out there. And it does suck  working for almost free over something you have no control over.My 2 cents  

Thanks for your 2 cents lumberman.  

I have been trying to save money so I can purchase a WS6 T/A and keep operating my daily driver (2003 Civic - yay mpg!). I have been thinking lately about meeting in the middle and instead of getting a non-family friendly vehicle like the T/A and upgrading my daily driver to a G8 GT. I've had two Camaros and an 1989 T/A GTA, but I must say my Honda is awesome. I have always wanted to come back to GM and I think the G8 GT is the route to salvation that I am seeking. So I went to a dealership near where I live, Lynch Pontiac in Manchester, CT. I didn't want to run in there and show how enthusiastic I was so I parked in front of the showroom and walked to where they had the G8s parked. I stood looking at the cars for a good ten minutes before I gave up and walked into the showroom. When I walked in there I didn't see one customer. I saw about three salesman sitting in an office talking and a fourth just standing in the showroom playing with his phone. I approached him and asked if I could get some literature for the G8 (I didn't need any, I did all my research already, I was just initating the sale). The salesman grabs a brochure from the back for me and I stand in the showroom for a few moments scanning through it waiting for him to start some sort of salesman banter. Nothing. He's once again playing with his phone. I ask him if I could take a look at a G8 GT. He responds that he'll get the keys but appears to be very uninterested in helping me. We walk out to the lot, in which he doesn't say one word to me (no intro, no inquiries). He opens up the door on a beautiful GT with leather. I sit in it for a few moments until I say, "Can I start it up?" He hits the button for the remote start and the car fires up. Knowing that nothing else will work in the car I start to fiddle around with buttons. His response is "That won't work unless you have the key." I respond as if I didn't know but that possibly I would be interested in getting the keys. He sort of looks at me with a "What do you want now?" face. At this point his phone rings and the comment "I'm with a customer" is made. Then a five minute phone conversation ensues and I ask him for his card (mostly so I have a record of dealing with the worst salesman ever) and leave the dealership disgusted. Am I wrong in thinking that this is a small dealership with no customers in the showroom so perhaps a little enthusiasm could have been shown in helping me? Also we are supposedly in a bad economy and The Big Three are hurting for a gov't bailout. I've heard a no pressure sales when it comes to cars but the tactic of repulsion is new to me. I would love to contact the sales manager and complain about this interaction but I'm put off by the whole dealership at this point. It's not worth getting this guy in trouble for just being bad at his job. I know the G8s are hot but they cannot literally sell themselves. Am I wrong wanting some actual interaction with a salesperson? Especially an enthusiastic one?