Need the FOFC Collective Knowledge Here (Car Dealerships & their Service Departments)

[CarterNMA]

Does anybody here have any insight on the way car dealerships have changed the way their service departments operate over the last five years? And I use the term "service" loosely...

So my check-engine light came on last Wednesday and I called the Kia dealership to see what they could do/what they recommended. I wanted to bring it in on Thursday but they said they couldn't look at it until Tuesday. Well, I guess with the long weekend approaching, they are getting hammered so I said I'd come in then. Show up this morning and they were like, "Do you have an appointment." No. It's a check-engine light. "Well, you need an appointment. We are now booking two weeks out" It's a check-engine light. Can't somebody at some point today run out and check it? "No." It's under warranty still. "You still need an appointment."

I leave and call another Kia dealership. They can't look at the light today either. Best I can get is Friday morning.

So on my way to work, cuz, what choice do I have now...I begin wondering is it Kia, the dealership chain or just the industry? I decide I'll call a Volvo dealership, you know, a carmaker with generally higher clientele who expect more. Nope, they too would require an appointment.

What the hell have I missed? When I had Volkswagens in the late 90s, early 2000s and a Mazda in the mid- to late 2000s they could see me immediately or the next morning if the light come on in the evening. Is this the industry standard now?

And insight would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[JimboJ]

I don't know... I have always needed to make a service appointment, whether it's a dealer or an independent shop, unless it's something that can't wait, like a flat tire or dead battery. But then I would expect to wait. I would never expect them to stop what they are doing to look at my car, even for a check engine light.

[cartman]

Yeah, I have always had appointments for my cars as far as I remember. But I also do most of the maintenance myself, and leave the mechanics for bigger things like timing belt replacements or in-depth engine and transmission work.

For things like the check engine light, most auto parts stores will read the code for free. OBD2 scanners are less than $20 now, and are really handy to have around.

[CU Tiger]

Varies by location. More rural dealers, usually the service manager himself would walk out and scan a code. Get in a metro with a Sonic or similar dealership....good luck.

Go to Autozone or Advance Auto they will scan a code for free

[bhlloy]

Not my experience in LA by a long shot. Appointment or not it pretty much seems to be drive up and get in line from my experience, so that's odd. And you wouldn't have thought there are so many Kia's on the road that they can't handle the volume either.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Check-engine light has always been a same-day (or next morning if very late in the day) experience with dealers for me ... and I think we've had about 6 of 'em between three cars in the past year or so.

Even with quite a few models being only a single dealership for miles, that sorta shit for a warning light would get you on a shitlist really quick around here.

Now, routine maintenance type stuff? Yeah, 2-3 weeks ... which is why I know relatively few people who go near a dealer for that sort of thing unless they live the life of the idle rich.

[Ragone]

I stopped after reading it was a kia.. But thats the American Autoworker in me..

However,
I'd suggest taking it to a autozone or O'Reilly or whatever auto parts place you have in your area.. most of them will pull the code free of charge.. so at least you have some piece of mind of knowing what it is

[stevew]

A bluetooth car scanner is $15 or so. Worth it for he immediate peace of mind.