[cougsfan]

Have you noticed that some Chevy dealerships act as if Volts are nothing but a pain in their @$$? I went to my local dealership to look at a Volt. I generally would much prefer to buy local even if I have to pay a bit of a premium. They had one in stock, but the salesman was totally ignorant about it and couldn't even answer basic questions. So I came back later and talked to a different salesman. Same story. I decided to ignore all that and asked them to quote me a vehicle anyhow. They gave me a price without rebates so I asked about rebates.

The reply was they thought their might possibly be some rebates somewhere but it would be up to me to investigate and research them on my own.

It just so happens I was making a trip to the big city in a neighboring State right about then, and I took the time to stop at a Chevy dealer to look at a Volt. What I found: 1) They were knowledgeable about the Volt, how it works and what it will do. 2) Their price for a better equipped vehicle, before rebates, was a couple thousand below my local dealer. 3) They knew all about rebates, in fact they knew about a sales tax rebate that I never knew about in my own State (not even their State!) They walked me through all the rebate procedures. They also steered me to a $750 Costco gift card for buying through them on top of things.

In the end, not buying from the local dealer saved me about $5 grand (including cost of the plane ticket to go pick the car up), and was a lot less of a hassle and a much more pleasurable experience. I won't even take the car to the local dealer when service comes due. They are out of my people to consider doing business with. What a shame.

 

[obermd]

The reality is that some Chevy dealerships should be shuttered by mothership GM. The problem is the Auto Dealers Association is too strong in most states for GM to do this.

 

[simplex]

One delaer even tried to sell me a Cruze even if a clearly mentionned I wanted a Volt. An old salesman almost on his retirement.
I visited another dealer and they immediately anwered my questions and they got the sale.
It's a shame. And now I understand why Tesla do things differently.

 

[FI Spyder]

Each dealer is an independent businessman. They don't work for GM, they work for themselves. As such there isn't a lot of oversight on GM's part, their Chevy "advisors" are an attempt to mitigate that on a new technology vehicle, the Volt. Results vary widely. My next door neighbour has started his own company a few years back to get dealers to maximum profitability and a consistent high level of service. Just as customers expect a Big Mac in California to taste the same as a Big Mac in New York, they expect a Chevy dealer experience to be the same next door as the one in the next town over. While initially trying to convince people this was to their benefit, he now has a track record where they come to him. He currently has a contract with BMW to work his magic with dealers in Australia and other countries. Alas he is but one person and has several lifetimes of work ahead of him.

 

[Don M]

It's not just Volts and it's not just Chevy dealers - The OP could have written this same experience 10 or 20 years ago about most any model made by most any manufacturer. Dealers are only as good (or bad) as the guy at the top wants them to be. Every now and then, you find a really good one. We flew up and drove lour Volt home 1,000 miles across 6 states and had the best buying experience I've had in many years

Don

 

[Steverino]

Dealers are like the EPA MPG listed on cars they sell, your milage may vary.

 

[El Dobro]

Many car dealer employees are like nomads, where they're there for some time and then move on. It could be that the Volt/Bolt trainees have gone on to other dealerships.

 

[Raymondjram]

I bought my cars from two GM dealers in Puerto Rico, one near my home in Bayamon (Losada Auto) and one near my past home in Caguas (Benitez Auto) which had better deals and service but 17 miles away. The Bayamon dealer now sells only fleet trucks. My wife suspected that they were not that good after seeing the owner (Losada) driving a M-B instead of a Cadillac. After more than 33 years (and which was the largest GM dealer in Puerto Rico) they were about to close during the GM bankruptcy. I bought my 2009 Chevy Equinox there on a Sunday in Feb 2009, and it was the only sale of that day.

Now the GM dealership moved to Caribbean Auto. I have seen the showroom, but they did not get any Volts in the last eight years. I only visit them now when my Equinox needs servicing.

Benitez Auto, where I bought my 1995 Buick Regal (see my past posts here) now sells Volts and Bolt EVs. So one may have to search for the best GM dealer even if they are several miles away. There is a third dealer in the San Juan area (Alberic Colon) but they don't have Volts or Bolt EVs. I didn't like how their salespersons treated me when I was searching for a Buick Regal. This is why I had to go south to Benitez Auto. Maybe they are doing better now.

Here are the web links to these three dealers:
Bayamon/Toa Baja: Caribbean Auto (my present dealer): https://www.caribbeanautogm.com/
Caguas: Benitez Auto (Volt end Bolt EV): http://www.benitezauto.com/inicio
They still have one Chevy Bolt EV for sale: http://www.benitezauto.com/inventario/detalles/?chevrolet-bolt-ev-2017-185307
San Juan: Alberic Colon: https://www.albericgm.com/