If it is not overnight service they don't have to give you a loaner. However, they can give you a loaner and it is covered by warranty. I just tell them I need to take the kids to daycare and I need a vehicle big enough to fit the seats and they give me a rental from Enterprise. They stopped giving actual dealer loaners out a few years ago.
Yes it does take 3-5 days to get a part in, most vehicles don't have normal wear items except for the obvious so it doesn't make sense to stock parts they may never use.
I don't know why the dealer close to your house can't service your car, unless it's some weird setup our dealer has 3 service centers and I can bring my Acadia to any of them.

 

My dealer doesn't give out loaners, they give a rental covered under warranty (if the repair is covered under warranty)to look at it, no rental. If they start on it and it won't be ready, then you get a rental. (that is what I have been told).

I purchased my GMC from a delaer 25 miles from me, and have it serviced at another GMC dealer 5 miles from me. I have never had a problem. They are GM service centers, the warranty is covering the repair, so you should be able to go to whichever dealer you want.

Parts may take some time to come in. My parents had to wait overnight for a battery, so I would imagine that Repair parts would be pretty readily available, but seems many people have talked about parts be on "national backorder" Not enough parts to meet repairs and new vehicle construction I guess. I can understand accessories taking sometime, but 3-5 days for a seal seems pretty silly.

 

Yeah, I used to have a Toyota, VW and Acura, I guess I am surprised because the service at these places was always very good and I rarely felt inconvenienced. I will push for the rental up front, I understand that parts are not always available however, it just seems like a long time - especially if the car was out of commission because of it.

You know, another funny thing - they had this survey it was labeled "Sample Survey", and all the boxes were checked Extremely Satisfied as the answer. They asked me to initial on the page, when I asked why he said because it was to verify that he explained to me that I might receive the survey and to understand that anything less than Extremely Satisfied was unacceptable. I thought that was weird.

 

It is a PITA when the dealer doesn't have parts stocked for a repair, but its not limited to GM dealers.

I've given the service manager a heads up call when it was a recall item like the sunroof drain hose thing to make sure they have the parts in before I'll schedule the appointment. It's also probably just a small town thing, but the sales manager will give me his demo vehicle so I don't have to sit around the dealer the whole day if the service is going to take awhile, but if it is something that will require them to keep the vehicle overnight they'll give me a car off the used car lot to drive until everything is done.

The Honda dealer we used when we had our Odyssey would provide shuttle service if it was something that would be done the same day (or I could sit in the customer lounge for hours) or send us to Enterprise for something like the transmission replacement that took them 2+ weeks to finish (they didn't have a spare tranny sitting around the dealership and the van was undriveable).

The Survey thing does sound a little strange though...

 

Some dealers give loaners, but most probably do not. GM warranty will cover either a rental, or overnight freight for a part on a car that is 'down'. In other words the vehicle cannot be driven for mechanical or safety reasons. If its something like a small leak, they consider the car drivable, and will not pay for rental or overnight expenses.

The amount of time it takes to get a part is dependant on where the nearest parts distribution center is (and if they have the part in stock). I'm in Oregon, and all of our parts come from the warehouse in Reno NV. So if the part is ordered today (tuesday) I arrives thursday morning. If the part has to come from somewhere else, like Lansing MI (which I have heard is nearly two million square feet of warehouse) it can take four or five days.

Now warranty will also reimburse a dealer if they buy the part out from another dealer. Lets say your GMC dealer doesn't have the seal, but the Chevrolet dealer across town does, GM will pay the GMC the difference to buy it out, so they can get your car back on the road, and most importantly make you happy. At least thats how its SUPPOSED to work.

Now...another point to think about is that most GM dealers are on a parts inventory system called RIM (Retail Inventory Management) it is based off the inventory system that Walmart developed. Basically it builds your stocking levels based on sales history. So it may take three or four sales on a single part number before its actually brought into stock. So the first few people that have the repair done, are going to have to wait for it to be special ordered.

 

All I can say is that service today, as you described, is better than it was 20, even 10 years ago. Much better.

I read the warrenty info on loaner cars. It states loaners are given only if service is expected to take more than 24 hours to complete. Some dealers don't follow this very well, either giving loaners immediately or waiting longer if not at all. I'd report the bad ones to GM, but not sure that'll make much difference.

I still think the dealerships are the thorn in American auto maker's side. While GM itself I think is quite good, as are their products, the end results in the dealerships suffers still.

 

I believe you have a lot of flexibility in choosing where to have your Acadia serviced.

You are not obligated to return to the selling dealership. You can select another GMC dealer, or perhaps even another GM brand.

My GMC dealership is 40 miles from home (but only 8 miles from where I work). We have a Chevy dealership 2 miles from home which I know very well, owning a 1992 Chevy pickup and a 1994 Suburban. The service manager there said they could do any and all service on the Acadia, whether covered by warranty or not.

So far, I have elected to use the selling dealer, mostly because I have it done during the work day and drop it off since I'll be near by anyway. If not for that, I think I would switch to my local Chevy guy.

Maybe you can find another dealer who will give you better service.

 

Every dealership is different, NuCar GMC in Newark, DE is absolutely great with my personal experience. Very attentive to my needs and great waiting room with WiFi.

Never had a problem with service being warranty work or otherwise.

 

The dealer I bought my Chevy from has much better service than the GMC dealer the Acadia came from. Now that they have the Traverse at the Chevy dealer they'll have most of the parts needed to service the Acadia in stock, so I'll probably start going there from here on out.

 

I can't stand the service company that I go to. However, it's right down the street from my office. I keep my cars for 10+ years, so I'm thinking of getting a BMW 5 series for my next vehicle. The kids will be older by then...so no need for a large crossover.

 

2ACADIA2...I know the dealership you are talking about. I live just to the south of them a couple of towns away. I can highly reccommend the GMC store where I bought my Acadia from. It is King Cadillac GMC in Putnam CT. They would be only a 20-25 minute drive from Auburn. They are a family run store whose employees have been there for many years. I bought my 2008 from them in Oct '07 and I can't say enough good things about them. They are well respected in the community and have a great reputation. If you are interested you can call their service manager, his name is Dave. They do have loaner cars too. Hope this helps you.

 

Thanks for all the input. Hopefully I just don't have that many problems! Heh.

 

Quebedeaux Pontiac-GMC in Tucson, AZ has been great with our Envoy and now Acadia. No problems to report and all the staff is friendly and experienced.

 

I couldn't ask for more from the GMC dealer I'm using for service .... they've been outstanding!

Thankfully all I've had done are routine maintenance & the May '08 transmission flash. For the routine maintenance, they ask me if I'm going to wait (I usually do - I have an AirCard for my laptop so I can work from anywhere), and if not, they'll give me a ride.

For the transmission flash, they offered me a loaner car immediately. Thankfully, it was unnecessary - my wife and I were headed out together.

Great service - can't ask for more. It doesn't hurt that the GMC dealer also does Cadillac, but I digress...

 

gmc service doesnt hinge on the name, but the dealership name. some good, some bad. some care about csi (not crime scene invest) and some do not for some odd reason.

 

I got forced into another dearlership for service because the selling dealer went out of business (owner retired before all the bad economic news). I'm kind of glad about that. The new dealer servicing the Acadia is closer to home, much cleaner, and more up to date than the other one.

Service is a tough business. One day I was talking to another customer and she said, "Idon't like anyone here - especially the man over there in the blue shirt." I looked over and all the service writers were in blue shirts! I said, "Yes Ma'am, I understand what you mean" and casually walked away.
:beer: