mldavis2
1000 Posts Club!
I tried to put this in the "Dealer Experience" section but it required a prefix and none of the prefixes available were appropriate, so I'll hide it here.
Dealers are supposed to send technicians to training on the Stinger. Usually these are a couple of the top technicians who have been around a while and are reliable. The problem arises when service scheduling puts an "un-Stinger-trained" technician on a job where some level of training is needed. Otherwise good mechanics have done some stupid things like switching the 19" wheels front to back and damaging the calipers, cracking the plastic cap on the cartridge oil filter with improper torque -- simple stuff that only requires some knowledge they don't have.
When I was a service manager, it was a constant juggling act to try and even out the work so everyone was busy doing what they were trained to do. We had journeymen on the lube rack (yeah, I know you don't lube anything any longer) changing oil, rotating tires and doing the cheap profitable stuff, and the good techs were fighting time-consuming and pay-eating diagnostic problems and didn't have time for the gravy jobs like brakes and tuneups. So it's easy for your Stinger to end up in the hands of an un-Stinger-trained mechanic.
What I try to do is find a technician who is Stinger-trained, visit with him (or her!) over lunch maybe some time (you buy the lunch) and then, if you feel comfortable with that tech, request that technician when you schedule your trip to the dealer. Works both ways. One -- you get the trained technician working on your ride. Two -- he gets some easy maintenance work by request. Three -- he knows that you know who is working on your car and he is less likely to try and sell you work that doesn't really need to be done.
Dealers are supposed to send technicians to training on the Stinger. Usually these are a couple of the top technicians who have been around a while and are reliable. The problem arises when service scheduling puts an "un-Stinger-trained" technician on a job where some level of training is needed. Otherwise good mechanics have done some stupid things like switching the 19" wheels front to back and damaging the calipers, cracking the plastic cap on the cartridge oil filter with improper torque -- simple stuff that only requires some knowledge they don't have.
When I was a service manager, it was a constant juggling act to try and even out the work so everyone was busy doing what they were trained to do. We had journeymen on the lube rack (yeah, I know you don't lube anything any longer) changing oil, rotating tires and doing the cheap profitable stuff, and the good techs were fighting time-consuming and pay-eating diagnostic problems and didn't have time for the gravy jobs like brakes and tuneups. So it's easy for your Stinger to end up in the hands of an un-Stinger-trained mechanic.
What I try to do is find a technician who is Stinger-trained, visit with him (or her!) over lunch maybe some time (you buy the lunch) and then, if you feel comfortable with that tech, request that technician when you schedule your trip to the dealer. Works both ways. One -- you get the trained technician working on your ride. Two -- he gets some easy maintenance work by request. Three -- he knows that you know who is working on your car and he is less likely to try and sell you work that doesn't really need to be done.
