[rdslon01]

Now that many StingRays have been out for about a year, I am sure some members have personal experiences with service departments in our area, and other members are surely looking for a great place to take their cars for service. I understand that many may choose to go to the same dealership where they purchased their car, but, with the StingRay, that may not be practical since many people bought from an out-of-state dealership (or the local dealership may have an excellent sales department, but a lackluster service department).

So, I hope members can help each other out in this thread to give their experiences. If you have had your StingRay serviced for any reason by a service department in Northern California, please share your experiences, regardless of if your experience was good or bad. Also, the more detailed you make your post, with specific examples of what was good or bad, the better informed other members can be when making their own decisions.

Let's try to keep this thread on topic and as objective as possible.

Thank you!

 

[rdslon01]

I knew I had seen a glowing review from Ken (smokey12) on a service visit he had for cleaning oil out of his air intake. It is here in post #152: http://www.stingrayforums.com/forum/rx-performance-products/2893-c7-oil-ingestion-issues-direct-injection-16.html

 

[rdslon01]

In addition to Ken, I found another local member, Art, also takes his C7 to Able Chevrolet in Rio Vista (see post #229): http://www.stingrayforums.com/forum/western-stingray-owners/1799-san-francisco-bay-area-owners-23.html

However, Able does not have a wheel alignment machine (post #244): http://www.stingrayforums.com/forum/western-stingray-owners/1799-san-francisco-bay-area-owners-25.html so, for wheel alignment he went to Courtesy in San Jose (post #312): http://www.stingrayforums.com/forum/western-stingray-owners/1799-san-francisco-bay-area-owners-32.html but was disappointed when he left from Courtesy because his car still drifted right (although not as badly as before). However, after 500 more miles, his tires wore to the point his car tracked straight, finally.

 

[tmcternan]

I knew I had seen a glowing review from Ken (smokey12) on a service visit he had for cleaning oil out of his air intake. It is here in post #152: http://www.stingrayforums.com/forum/rx-performance-products/2893-c7-oil-ingestion-issues-direct-injection-16.html

Rodney, but Smokey12 didn't indicate who the dealership was or where it was.....

 

[rdslon01]

Rodney, but Smokey12 didn't indicate who the dealership was or where it was.....

He did. You just have to search other threads to find out. It was Able Chevrolet in Rio Vista.

 

[rdslon01]

This thread also has service information: http://www.stingrayforums.com/forum/groups/northern-california-members-group-d23-local-service-dept.html

 

[rdslon01]

Suzy Cruisy says she asked "Roger (harvey925) about Concord and he raved." harvey925, would you like to rave here about the wonderful service from Dwayne at Concord Chevrolet, and give us details? Thanks!

 

[rdslon01]

thedemoman goes to Smith Chevrolet in Turlock, CA and said he was pleased with their service. thedemoman, would you like to give us some details about the service you receive from Smith Chevrolet? Thanks!

 

[rdslon01]

BLURAY_Z51 goes to Boardwalk Chevrolet in Redwood City. BLURAY_Z51, would you like to give us more details about you experiences beyond what you wrote in the other thread? You wrote, "Service was quick. Waited an hour for the car. The only thing is that they forgot to close the Windshield fluid cap when they topped off the fluids." Thank you!

 

[rdslon01]

Okay neighbors, this is all I could find. If I have missed your previous post of a service review in a NorCal service department, I apologize; but, please, do help us and post it here! Also, for those of you who have posted before, please feel free to post again with more details, and also post yet again after your second (or subsequent) service visit(s) to keep the information fresh. All your experiences and information will be extremely helpful to others here in the area looking for great service (and looking to avoid not-so-good service).

Thank you for your time and input!

 

[thedemoman]

Thank you Rodney for this thread. Is always good to know which dealership we can trust just in case we are not able to go to our preferred one.
Recently I took my car in because the front passenger side air bag panel had a little cut on it. They had a new previously shipped but before taking the
car apart they notice another small blemish so we had to reschedule the appointment. By one hand was a drag because I already drove there
but i cant complaining too much since when they finally got a panel without blemish the all thing was no charge.
I don't know how the panel got damage but for sure wasn't there when i took delivery of the car back at the dealer in San Diego where i purchase the car.
Was just a cosmetic problem so they could easily charge me for part and labor.
In the same time I have them install the OEM carbon fiber dash trim since my car came without, and one of my mods is the carbon fiber center console
that match the dash trim. I paid for the extra work that was done very professionally. Also for the routine maintenance I`m extremely satisfied with their service department, they always treat me with respect and they address all my question and concern regarding my car. I`m not having them wash the car since I am very "particular" about it and I rather doing it myself, but they always offer to.
I believe that they have at least 2 technician that are GM train to work on Corvettes.
I`m hoping this is what your looking for this thread.
Regards Giuseppe

 

[rdslon01]

Thanks, Giuseppe! It is great to know how pleased you are with your service department at Smith Chevrolet in Turlock, CA! Thank you for your review!

 

[Ret9580]

I know who NOT to go to in So. Cal.........LOL

 

[rdslon01]

I know who NOT to go to in So. Cal.........LOL

Ret9580, now you have your own SoCal thread to post about your experiences: http://www.stingrayforums.com/forum/western-stingray-owners/15639-southern-california-service-departments-experiences-both-good-bad-details.html#post205863 .

Hopefully you can add to that thread about the place(s) where you now go where you have found excellent service, so you can help out your SoCal neighbors.

 

[elegant]

Highly recommend Abel Chevrolet in Rio Vista. Their Service Manager, Rich Willhoff, owns a 2015 Z06, races his C6 Z06 (California auto cross champ), loves and knows Corvettes. If you visit their service department, you will see that they service many, many Corvettes daily, e.g. a strong local Corvette reputation for service.

Whenever I need technical knowledge and help, I reach out to Rich. He was invaluable on this forum with his advice on many technical areas, and you may remember his specific input/info on the PDR thread TSB's

If I lived within a couple of miles of this place, would take my C7 there, and his info in in our travel file in case we would need Corvette help while traveling anywhere near there.

 

[rdslon01]

Highly recommend Abel Chevrolet in Rio Vista. Their Service Manager, Rich Willhoff, owns a 2015 Z06, races his C6 Z06 (California auto cross champ), loves and knows Corvettes. If you visit their service department, you will see that they service many, many Corvettes daily, e.g. a strong local Corvette reputation for service.

Whenever I need technical knowledge and help, I reach out to Rich. He was invaluable on this forum with his advice on many technical areas, and you may remember his specific input/info on the PDR thread TSB's

If I lived within a couple of miles of this place, would take my C7 there, and his info in in our travel file in case we would need Corvette help while traveling anywhere near there.

Thank you, John. I have heard only great reports from many, many people who go to Abel Chevrolet in Rio Vista! They have a top-notch reputation!

 

[grilloz]

I'm about 45 miles from Abel and they are the only place that will touch my car excellent service

 

[rdslon01]

I'm about 45 miles from Abel and they are the only place that will touch my car excellent service

You know, in the long-run, it is better/easier to drive an extra 100 miles and get great service, with things done right the FIRST time, than to stop short, and cause days and days of struggles trying to get things sorted out because some less-than-stellar dealer caused more harm than good.

I have heard of many local people driving those extra miles to Rio Vista just for this reason.

 

[rdslon01]

I found the following posts about Shellworth Chevrolet in NorCal: http://www.stingrayforums.com/forum/stingray-corvette-problems-issues/15182-burning-smell-after-oil-change.html#post214492. The dealer overfilled the oil, and now the forum member has a burnt oil smell.

After taking the car back, the "Dealer admitted oil level was to high" and found "oil in the intake but did not change the air filter or check the MAF for oil. To cap all of this off, once I made it back home with the Vette I waited 3-5 minutes and oil level was still on the very top level of the marked area." See this post on the http://www.stingrayforums.com/forum/stingray-corvette-problems-issues/15182-burning-smell-after-oil-change-2.html#post215300 thread.

As a final word, see http://www.stingrayforums.com/forum/stingray-owners-logbook/16375-first-oil-change.html#post216150 and http://www.stingrayforums.com/forum/corvette-z06-maintenance/11359-800-miles-possibly-before-first-oil-change.html#post148965 which imply that dealership neither knew the correct volume of oil to put into the car, nor that the car was to have its first oil change at 500 miles.

 

[browndo]

Took my car to Able Chevrolet on Thursday 3-17-16 to have my oil level confirmed for GM. My car was serviced by Shellworth twice, the initial oil change is when the burnt oil smell first became noticeable. Returned the car dealer confirmed oil was over the max level. When I got home I rechecked the oil and the level was at the max level. I personally removed about 12 ounces with a transfer pump. I complained to GM and we agreed to have the car checked at Able Chevrolet, who confirmed my oil level was correct. They also confirmed I have no leaks. The smell is still present if I do some spirited acceleration and come to a stop and the vents are on.