Complaint Review: Grindstaff Chevrolet - Johnson City Tennessee

My experience with them in the mid-90's was awful. Should have listened to others who kept telling me not to go there but I was young and didn't listen. Once I got out of that mess, I made a point of seeking out previous buyers of a dealership and asking what they thought of the company. It's easy, dealerships love to display their name plates on cars and people usually don't mind answering a simple question in passing in a grocery, or department store parking area. Also, check out the Better Business Bureau for complaints and their rating - it's free and easy to do. Would I recommend Grindstaff - NO. Surprised that they are still in business and that the State / City allows them to get away with what they do.

Derek has a reason to be mad I am currently an employee @ grindstaff and I can tell you first hand that some of the things they do here are shady to say the least. For one they can't keep sales people because they cant pay them. They say they give you 25% of front end profitt, but for some reason they always roll it to the back end or trade. When they do that you end up with 100.00 per vehicle. I sold about 8-10 cars a month and would only make 750.00-900.00 a month this is supposed to be a white collar job but with blue collar wages, whats up with that? I could make more money flipping burgers and this is supposed to be a professional job. As far as the things they do to customers, I wouldn't be surprised one bit if Dereks story isn't COMPLETELY true. I have seen some good people get ripped off. (why do you think they hardly get business anymore.) What amaze's me the most is that someone hasn't said anything before. Dereks has all rights to be pissed cause i've seen it with my own eyes....

Wendy, I understand I opened the door for everyone to see, and I am not saying you didn't have a right to say anything, I just didn't understand why you wanted to get involved in something you were not a part of, because you do not know both sides. And I appreciate the end of your last post, just being friendly is enough to make a customer feel a little better after a bad situation. The only reason why I will speak to the owner is just to let him know he needs to work on how "some" employees treat customers at his Johnson City dealership, I am not saying all are bad, but alot were a part in this very bad experience. Will it get me anything, I know it won't and that's not why I did it. The customer's are what make a business profitable. And when you (the customer) feel you have been treated unfairly, you should not just let that person (or people) walk all over you, considering your business is what gives them job security. I have said all I have to say, because everything that has happened to me is on paper above. No one has to believe me that reads it, its all up to them. And for the people who have lied to me and treated me unfairly you know who you are, and hopefully next time you will think about this situation before you do the same to another customer.

Now lets play nice, seeing you opened the door for all to see and this open to anyone with any information, that is where I felt I had every right to post any comments. Did you really think not one employee would see this and not say anything? You are right, and I did say that on my last post, I did not have the pleasure to have tried to help you with your service needs. But I do not have customers that behave this way, so I was a little shocked. I not only have a wonder rentention in Cadillac, but even bigger Chevy. So yes Derek I also work with some of the most loyal Chevy customer on the road today. The only reason I posted any comments is due to the info I do know. I have read the letter-seen the survery you posted on sales then hearing about this..but the main guestion I ask you did not answer. That was how you planned approach the "OWNER" when you meet him? As long as this goes on the worse it gets. So lets just try to get along. Good luck with your truck and I am really sincere when I say I hope you find a solution to your problem. I hope you have better days to follow.

Wendy you work in Cadillac service, so I am not sure why you even bothered to post here, but I guess that entire dealership feels the need to get involved in covering all this up. This is quite pathetic and I hope every person which reads all this can see that. First wendy, I was not given a rental car for the first visit(I was allowed a loaner when I finally complained to sales manager) this was on the first visit, and I was only given the loaner for the last day it was in the shop. No one offered me a rental car for satisfaction that visit. On my second visit I called before hand very upset the problem still existed (so april said she would get me a rental car). April is the only one who actually attempted to make my experience any better. Unlike Sales, who I have yet to hear back from with an apology since all this happened. Also Wendy, the reason why I got out of the dealership world is because I learned how dishonest the sales departments can be, and how the service departments normally follow in their footsteps. And do not try to tell me I am making this up. I haved worked in three different dealerships and they have all been the same. When considering a case like this when I was a tech, I would never ever try to tell the customer the PROBLEM DOES NOT EXIST...nor would I tell them something is normal, when it is not. No tech should, Neither should a tech lie to a customer which happened to me. You say I have been treated with respect, then why do I have a girlfriend (that was there when I bought it) wanting to also speak with the owner about how I was treated. She knows that Russ lied on the above post, he should have thought about the fact I had another person with me before he came back with lies in order to cover the dealership's butt. She also constantly hears the gears grinding when she is riding in the truck. And about the synthetic fluid, I had asked about that the first visit and no one ever got back to me about it. It took another visit for the problem to get the synthetic fluid put in, and that was only after I got the vehicle to grind in third while driving with the shop foreman in the vehicle. I could go on for hours about this experience, but frankly I am just tired of dealing with each person getting involved in the dealership. Wendy you had nothing to do with this and you should not try to defend everyone else considering you were not there for the whole situation. I WAS remember. And in customer service the customer "is always right" but considering I have had to fight with everyone at this dealership about my problems, I guess in your dealership the customer is "always wrong". When speaking of buyers remorse, I will not lie I wish I never bought from your dealership. But I will say this again, I AM NOT LOOKING TO GET RID OF MY TRUCK, I wanted to when this problem first started happening, and I should have been allowed to if the General Manager stuck to the finance manager's deal about me being disgusted with the truck. But he didn't. I have now brought the vehicle in 2 times to the same dealership and the problem still exists. It is funny how everyone in GM says it is normal to clunk, whine, grind, etc for their transmissions. Why do I think someone is trying to cover themselves from having the lemon law enforced? hmmmm I wonder

I have been employeed by this dealership for 6 years as a service consultant, and am very proud to be associated with each employee. We strive to make each experience if in sales or service a pleasant one. "COMPLETELY SATISFIED". The service visit starts off on a bad note to begin with so we have to find a way to make the customer happy at any rate. Derek I was not the consultant you dealt with but I do work side by side with the consultant that did have the pleasure to try to make good of a very bad situation. Not only where you provided with a veh. to drive for 3 days but we did at your request change out the transmission fluid with a synthetic fluid. When you picked up your veh. as when you brought it in our shop foreman drove with you, a great deal of time was spent with you, as I heard April try to explain with alot of detail about this normal condition. I would like to know when during your days of a "GM tech", what did you do with normal conditions when you would try to diag. a problem that is not an actual problem, and also why are you not in the business anymore? If you did if fact you should know GM guide lines on repairs. On techs behalf all the time driving-diag. GM only pays .3 of an hr. for a no problem found, but we still gave attention to your veh as if it had this problem. As for you threating to meet with the "OWNER" I hope you get your meeting as our "OWNER" meets with anyone that wishes to meet with him, but I would like to know how you plan to approach him. With the "OWNER" knowing how you have completly thrashed his dealership-management-sales force, finance dept, last but not least the service department. I have heard of "BUYERS REMORSE" but have never really seen a situation it fits until this situation. Derek, I hope you find a way to deal with your new veh and as it has been said-enjoy it. I know there will be another dealer to have to deal with your insults but it is still hard to deal with the insults you have give us, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt from start to finish you were treated with nothing but respect for you problem

First of all, I called russ the sales manager to talk about his post a few posts above....and guess what he never called me back. I also called GM about this so called "trade in assist program" russ spoke of, they told me they have never heard of such a thing. Go figure Now on to tony post: First I am not trying to just get rid of my truck, I am just sick of it grinding and being told it is normal, and I want it fixed Second, so your telling me when you put your silverado into gear it goes "CRUNCH", it might not have done the problem for you tony when you drove it, but I got it to grind with the technician in the vehicle and he tried to tell me this was a whine, how does a crunch sound like a whine, and also why would my tranny whine while shifting into second, it shouldnt even do that. I went to the ASAP program for GM and also worked in a GM dealership tony as a mechanic, I know the difference so stop trying to act like I do not know anything. The funny thing is I still have not received an apology from anyone except April in service for the way I have been treated, real good customer service!

First of all, I called russ the sales manager to talk about his post a few posts above....and guess what he never called me back. I also called GM about this so called "trade in assist program" russ spoke of, they told me they have never heard of such a thing. Go figure Now on to tony post: First I am not trying to just get rid of my truck, I am just sick of it grinding and being told it is normal, and I want it fixed Second, so your telling me when you put your silverado into gear it goes "CRUNCH", it might not have done the problem for you tony when you drove it, but I got it to grind with the technician in the vehicle and he tried to tell me this was a whine, how does a crunch sound like a whine, and also why would my tranny whine while shifting into second, it shouldnt even do that. I went to the ASAP program for GM and also worked in a GM dealership tony as a mechanic, I know the difference so stop trying to act like I do not know anything. The funny thing is I still have not received an apology from anyone except April in service for the way I have been treated, real good customer service!

First of all, I called russ the sales manager to talk about his post a few posts above....and guess what he never called me back. I also called GM about this so called "trade in assist program" russ spoke of, they told me they have never heard of such a thing. Go figure Now on to tony post: First I am not trying to just get rid of my truck, I am just sick of it grinding and being told it is normal, and I want it fixed Second, so your telling me when you put your silverado into gear it goes "CRUNCH", it might not have done the problem for you tony when you drove it, but I got it to grind with the technician in the vehicle and he tried to tell me this was a whine, how does a crunch sound like a whine, and also why would my tranny whine while shifting into second, it shouldnt even do that. I went to the ASAP program for GM and also worked in a GM dealership tony as a mechanic, I know the difference so stop trying to act like I do not know anything. The funny thing is I still have not received an apology from anyone except April in service for the way I have been treated, real good customer service!

Tony, You ask why a dealer would not take care of warranty work. I can give you a couple of answers. 1. The dealer does not make as much money off of the warranty work as they do off of a paying cuatomer (it is not even close.) So if you can make more money somewhere else you would do that first. 2. If the warranty is close to being up, you know that and therefore the dealer puts things off and then can say it is not their problem (I know this from experience) after the warranty has expired. Then the dealer can make more money as it is not warranty work. Derek, This part is for you. I would say no matter what test drive a vehicle. And as far as the ripping up of the contract, if you do not have it in writing you do not have a foot to stand on unless you recorded the conversation. What you need to do is pay a mechanic to look at it that is not associated with any dealership (someone you trust) and expalin the problems you are having (do not tell them about the dealer looking at it and what they say) and see if they say you have a problem. IF THEY SAY YOU DO HAVE A PROBLEM GET AN ESTIMTE OF HOW MUCH IT IS TO FIX THE PROBLEM and take that to the dealer as you will have proff of what the problem is and the dealer can check it out. If you would ever have to go to court over it you would also have proof from someone else that you did have a problem before the warranty expired (even after the warranty expires). If you don't do this you do will be stuck as two different dealeships have said that this was normal. Matt

this is tony the service manager at grindstaff of johnson city and i was involved with derek on his truck and i actually drove his truck - there is anothing wrong with the transmission in his truck - what he is feeling is a normal condiction not a grind - i myself own a 05 silverado with a manual transmission and i know what he is talking about - you can fell it going into the gear - this is not a grinding into gear and if two different service depts tell you that this is normal why would you not believe them ? also why would we not fix it ? gm will pay us for any repair we do to it so why would we turn away money for repair - i feel like derek is just trying to get out of his truck and is using any excuse he can to do this - why can't people just go and enjoy there new vehicles ? - i know i really enjoy mine.

This is for Russ, the sales manager, I was going to let all of this go until the dealership had to come back with a bunch of lies yet again. Lets start with you acting like you were there when I bought the truck, you weren't, you were downstairs and you have no idea what I talked about with the salesman, unless he lied to you also. But lets start with the fact I did not refuse to drive anything, the salesman Jim combs wanted to have me checked in the finance room before I did drive anything, I SPECIFICALLY TOLD THE FINANCE MANAGER THAT I WANTED TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE...THE ONLY REASON WHY I ENDED UP NOT WAS BECAUSE HE TOLD ME HE WOULD RIP UP THE DEAL IF I WAS DISGUISTED WITH THE TRUCK (DID NOT GIVE ANY TIME PERIOD, DID NOT SAY WITHIN A CERTAIN MILEAGE)now back to your lies, I NEVER EVER TEST DROVE THE VEHICLE LIKE YOU SAID ABOVE, AGAIN LIES, I LEFT THAT NIGHT WITH THE VEHICLE AROUND 10PM, NEVER TEST DRIVING IT! DO NOT LIE IT DOES NOT HELP YOUR SO CALLED INTEGRITY AND HONESTY, WHAT A BUNCH OF BULLS#%T. NEXT TIME WHEN YOU WANT TO HELP A CUSTOMER JUST BE HONEST UNLIKE EVERYONE HAS BEEN TO ME AT YOUR DEALERSHIP. And if your customer service department will not tell the truth that the vehicle is grinding when cold, how are they supposed to fix it? I got the vehicle to grind for the technician and he said it wasn't a grind! I have worked for Chevrolet in the past as a mechanic and also in Chrysler as a mechanic. I know what a grind is thank you very much!And I have brought it to another dealership and they tried to tell me grinding in second is normal and even refused to give me a shuttle ride home from Bristol to Johnson city, the customer service seems like it has gone down the tubes for GM! You had to reopen this wound of mine, and now I am going to talk with the owner, which buy the way is friends with my employer, who said if I had any more problems like this he will contact him. On another note about GM, everyone should look at the brake recall that was in the news the other day, GM is refusing to fix people's brakes if they do not live in a certain region, so they have to take out the fuse to disable their anti-lock brakes in order for their brakes to stop correctly (this is all supposed to be under warranty).....another reason why GM is going out of business.

Now is the time to hear the other side of this customer's rather long, not factual claim that he wrote on Greystoke. Mr Troccia in fact did come to our dealership to purchase a vehicle. When he came in, he refused to allow us to show him a vehicle. His only concern was if we could get him approved on a vehicle. He had been at another dealership and spent 2 days trying to get approved and was not able to. We informed Mr. Troccia that he needed to pick out a vehicle so we could get everything in line for the financial institution. He refused to drive or do anything with the vehicle because he didn't want to get his hopes up and not get approved. Mr. Troccia had a trade in that he was tired of. To make a long story short we worked on this deal for him and we got him approved. He still didn't want to do anyhting until he found out what the payments were. We sent him to the finance manager upon his request, and had all the details worked out to his satisfaction. Then after Mr. Troccia had all the details worked out to his satisfaction he wanted to drive the vehicle. He then test drove the vehicle and returned to finish the paperwork. I understand that consumers need a place to vent and get satisfaction, but only telling one side of the story which had all the factual details left out, and not telling all of the step by step factual details that lead to the purchase of this vehicle are a shame. Yes, the whole process in the finance department is videotaped and voice recorded. We have pulled the tapes and transferred them to CD's. This customer was not ripped off nor was he lied to or treated with anything but respect during his vehicle purchase. I have been in this business since the mid 80's and my integrity and honesty and repeat business speak for themselves. Also please don't stereotype people in the automobile business. We work long hard hours just like you, have families just like you, and take pride in our profession. As for problems with the vehicle that you purchased, we strive to make our customers competely satisfied and hope to repair any mechanical problems that they might encounter. The steps that have been taken by the service department are done based on what General Motors tells us to do. I hope either we can fix it or another seervice department can. I f it is a problem that continues GM will not leave you hanging. They do have a trade assist program to help in cases like this. Thank You

Now is the time to hear the other side of this customer's rather long, not factual claim that he wrote on Greystoke. Mr Troccia in fact did come to our dealership to purchase a vehicle. When he came in, he refused to allow us to show him a vehicle. His only concern was if we could get him approved on a vehicle. He had been at another dealership and spent 2 days trying to get approved and was not able to. We informed Mr. Troccia that he needed to pick out a vehicle so we could get everything in line for the financial institution. He refused to drive or do anything with the vehicle because he didn't want to get his hopes up and not get approved. Mr. Troccia had a trade in that he was tired of. To make a long story short we worked on this deal for him and we got him approved. He still didn't want to do anyhting until he found out what the payments were. We sent him to the finance manager upon his request, and had all the details worked out to his satisfaction. Then after Mr. Troccia had all the details worked out to his satisfaction he wanted to drive the vehicle. He then test drove the vehicle and returned to finish the paperwork. I understand that consumers need a place to vent and get satisfaction, but only telling one side of the story which had all the factual details left out, and not telling all of the step by step factual details that lead to the purchase of this vehicle are a shame. Yes, the whole process in the finance department is videotaped and voice recorded. We have pulled the tapes and transferred them to CD's. This customer was not ripped off nor was he lied to or treated with anything but respect during his vehicle purchase. I have been in this business since the mid 80's and my integrity and honesty and repeat business speak for themselves. Also please don't stereotype people in the automobile business. We work long hard hours just like you, have families just like you, and take pride in our profession. As for problems with the vehicle that you purchased, we strive to make our customers competely satisfied and hope to repair any mechanical problems that they might encounter. The steps that have been taken by the service department are done based on what General Motors tells us to do. I hope either we can fix it or another seervice department can. I f it is a problem that continues GM will not leave you hanging. They do have a trade assist program to help in cases like this. Thank You

This is to the person who wrote the text saying it was my fault. Yes, I should have been more stern in my buying decision, but when the finance manager says he will rip up a deal if I am unsatisfied, and I have a witness, I assumed that if I was unsatisfied, then he would do just that. It is not at all my fault that he went back on his word, and how is it my fault the truck is malfunctioning and the dealership will not honor the warranty??????? what is wrong with you, how can you sit there and say this is my fault, I bet you are a car salesman and are defending your kind. I have tried two different chevy dealerships now and one (Bill Gatton Chevrolet) I wouldn't even leave my truck with because they refused to give me a rental car (or even a shuttle ride), they expected me to walk home from Bristol, TN to Johnson city in the rain, thats probably a 3-4 hour walk, also they tried to tell me a grind in 2nd is normal, how is this normal??? that is a defect and chevy dealerships are refusing to fix the problem. This is why chevy is going bankrupt. That was a very uncalled for message you left and I hope that YOU learned a valuable lesson on not being an a*s.

Derek: Sometimes I need to shake my head and wonder about some of you who buy cars! Derek, no matter how much you try to blame them, the problem started at the VERY START because YOU allowed them to treat you like a doormat! What a line..."they rushed me thru the deal". "I didn't even get to test drive"! Derek, what caliber of gun did they use? Which side of your head did they point it at? You agreed to be treated like a chump, doormat and sucker. They fully agreed with you! Now where are we? Now that I have angered you, maybe you'll remember the lessons learned. I'm not going to tell you what you want to hear to "make you feel good". 1. YOU are in charge of the deal. YOU are too valuable to go in leading with your chin and acting like a doormat! 2. YOU have no obligation to this dealer or any other. When the slime of the business sense they are dealing with a doormat, they will rush him thru the deal and scam them as much as they can. When the dealer treats you poorly, WALK OUT. 3. When they treat you poorly and/or try to scam you, and you stay and take it, you've just confirmed to them you are a doormat. Derek, never let this happen to you again.

Is your car under a manufacturer's warranty? If it is brand new and has a manufacturer's warranty, take it to another dealership and see what their service department says. If you still can't get satisfaction contact the Chevy Zone office for your area to send out a service manager to see what the problem is. Then, start saying the words "Lemon Law" every time you talk to someone.

Is your car under a manufacturer's warranty? If it is brand new and has a manufacturer's warranty, take it to another dealership and see what their service department says. If you still can't get satisfaction contact the Chevy Zone office for your area to send out a service manager to see what the problem is. Then, start saying the words "Lemon Law" every time you talk to someone.

Is your car under a manufacturer's warranty? If it is brand new and has a manufacturer's warranty, take it to another dealership and see what their service department says. If you still can't get satisfaction contact the Chevy Zone office for your area to send out a service manager to see what the problem is. Then, start saying the words "Lemon Law" every time you talk to someone.

Is your car under a manufacturer's warranty? If it is brand new and has a manufacturer's warranty, take it to another dealership and see what their service department says. If you still can't get satisfaction contact the Chevy Zone office for your area to send out a service manager to see what the problem is. Then, start saying the words "Lemon Law" every time you talk to someone.