[Cheburashka]

I'm leasing, and I figured I'd have the dealership do the maintenance just to make sure that Chevrolet had a record of it. I set up the appointment three weeks in advance. I teach, so I had lots of homework to grade in the waiting room. 90 minutes in, I'm told that they don't have the right oil filter, and need to get it from another in-town supplier. Two hours in, I'm told that the one they ordered isn't the right one, and they need to order another one. Three hours later, the tech tells me I'm done, and they're waiving the charge because it took them three hours. Overall, I guess I'm happy with that. Still, I'd think that if you're getting a car into the shop that you've never worked on before, you'd make sure that you had the right parts before it came in.

 

[Rickoshay]

I'm leasing, and I figured I'd have the dealership do the maintenance just to make sure that Chevrolet had a record of it. I set up the appointment three weeks in advance. I teach, so I had lots of homework to grade in the waiting room. 90 minutes in, I'm told that they don't have the right oil filter, and need to get it from another in-town supplier. Two hours in, I'm told that the one they ordered isn't the right one, and they need to order another one. Three hours later, the tech tells me I'm done, and they're waiving the charge because it took them three hours. Overall, I guess I'm happy with that. Still, I'd think that if you're getting a car into the shop that you've never worked on before, you'd make sure that you had the right parts before it came in.

So a Chevrolet Dealership did not have the correct oil filter for a Chevrolet Volt? I do realize that our Volts don't require the same oil change intervals as "regular" cars but I seriously wonder about this dealership.

2014 Volt Premium - Safety pkg 1 and 2, Navigation

 

[Cheburashka]

We're a relatively small city. I had to drive 275 miles to buy my Volt, since the dealership here didn't see any point in stocking them.

 

[canehdian]

We're a relatively small city. I had to drive 275 miles to buy my Volt, since the dealership here didn't see any point in stocking them.

AFAIK there's nothing special about the volt filter, it's shared with millions of other cars with the 1.4L/1.5L (depending on year) engine. No reason they shouldn't have had one in stock.

 

[kdbvolt]

AFAIK there's nothing special about the volt filter, it's shared with millions of other cars with the 1.4L/1.5L (depending on year) engine. No reason they shouldn't have had one in stock.

Actually - The filter for the 2011-2015 Volt (PF65) is only for the Volt and Cadillac ELR (2014-2016) It is not the same as the other 1.4L GM products. That changed with the 2016 Volt 1.5L which is more broadly used.

 

[canehdian]

Interesting.
Do you know what's different about it?

 

[Steverino]

The take away here is, before having your local dealer tear apart your car for any future repairs, ask them to make sure they have the parts in stock. If not, have them call you when the parts arrive. I did this when the struts on the hatch were replaced under a recall/customer service campaign. When the struts arrived, I made the appointment, took the car in and was out again within an hour.

 

[DonC]

Seems like this worked out. You were more or less forced to work on your grading and you got an oil change for free. Likely not something you'd willingly sign up for but not a terrible end result this time.

The take away here is, before having your local dealer tear apart your car for any future repairs, ask them to make sure they have the parts in stock. If not, have them call you when the parts arrive. I did this when the struts on the hatch were replaced under a recall/customer service campaign. When the struts arrived, I made the appointment, took the car in and was out again within an hour.

The dealer I go to proactively checks on the parts status before setting the appointment if it's something like a recall or customer satisfaction procedure. In these cases it knows what parts are needed. Seems like the computer system prompts for the check since the person making the appointment doesn't seem to have any technical background.

But neither the computer system nor the person making the appointment would think to do that with something as simple as an oil filter change. It wouldn't occur to me that the dealer wouldn't have an oil filter. And of course it's impossible if the cause of the issue is unknown.