Dick Norris Buick GMC Palm Harbor

Reviews 3

ST

Steve

My service light flashed and I knew it was time for an oil change in my 2009 Toyota Camry Hybrid. So, I called Max at Dick Norris Palm Harbor. I have been dealing with Max for years and I generally like Dick Norris. The prices tend to be fair and the work is usually good even if your car is not one of the brands they sell. On a side note John Bruno is an excellent guy and sales rep, the kind you enjoy doing business with. This wasnt my best day there, my expectations of them was too high. Max said come right in and they would take care of me. I pulled in and one of the helpers came to my car, sat in it and looked puzzled. He didnt know how to start a push button Toyota Camry Hybrid. I went out and helped him. He got his info and left. Then another guy came and also had no idea how to start or drive this car, so I went back out and helped him so he could pull it forward. I started getting a little concerned that 2 guys had no clue how to start a push button car and that a hybrid makes little to no noise. Now a 3rd guy came out and was going to bring it to the mechanic and again he had no clue about a push button start nor a Camry hybrid. I also helped him and was now concerned. I expressed this to Max and he said "dont worry they should know how to start and run it." They finished it and a 4th helper was driving it back around to me and was also confused. I offered to help him, but he said he was learning. I bega to lose it and suggested "he learn on his own car or a company car!" I paid and started to leave wondering if perhaps I was expevting too much for Buick GMC dealer to know how to start, drive and do an oil change on a Toyota. The service light flashed, damn, they didnt reset the thingamabob. I pulled around and told Max. He got some guy to come out and while Max sat in my car this guy was reaching in through the drivers side window pussing my odometer button and telling Max what to do. After a few minutes they stopped and went inside. OCD was setting in and I wasnt happy at the learning to drive my car and now this unprofessional attempt to reset the computer. I went inside and asked if they knew how to reset it, as they had the last time and this obtuse tech pushed by me saying he just figured it out online. I asked him to stop, he kept going to my car and I said in a very stern voice to leave my car alone, dont touch it! He paused, Max asked me to please dont do this...what? I asked if they knew how to reset it or were they learning on my car? The tech said he knew how and then just got in my car and did it. He came back in and I tried to thank him and explain how OCD makes a person nervous, but he just interrupted me and said my car was ready. I tried again, but he just stood there holding the door open and repeated my car was ready. He was dismissing me! I was awestruck and inflamed that a business person felt they could "dismiss" a paying customer while they learned to repair a car. I am aware I ask a lot by bringing a toyota to a buick GMC dealer for an oil change, I thought I could give them the business and get a good job done at the same time. I set the bar in my mind too high for them! I dont like being dismissed or feeling unappreciated when I am giving my money to a business. This was not one of my better experiences there.

MI

Mike Wallingford

As parents of driving teenagers, and one already in college, we needed a fourth car. We knew that we either wanted a full-size SUV or another compact car because of rising gas prices. Needless to say we were undecided which way to go because price was definately a factor and time was of the essence. Dick Norris GMC located on HWY 19 and Bellaire Rd. is just minutes from our house so we felt very comfortable in the fact that this dealership is part of our community. This weighed heavily on our choice of who to go with. The first person to greet me, shake my hand, and look me in the eye was Sean Hamza. Sean knew exactly the questions to ask in order to facilitate our purchase. I was not surprised with his level of knowledge of the vehicles on his lot as well as the ones at the Palm Harbor location and the vehicles on the website. The first visit was basically just a fact-finding mission to see where we stood as far as what we could afford. Sean wasted no time leading us to vehicles to assist us in our efforts. Before leaving that very first visit, I had Seans business card and he requested that I use his personal cell number at any time if we had any questions at all day or night. The second visit Sean introduced us to the General Manager of the dealership, Doug Norris. Again, handshake, looked me in the eye, and made sure that we knew if there was anything we needed he would be available. Again, very important. Doug was very approachable and you could tell that his attitude and the way he carried himself meant that he was there for us and this behavior trickeled down to everyone that we encountered on every visit. By the third visit, we had narrowed our thinking down to a certain vehicle that we wanted to look at. Sean had other things in mind. He said, "Go ahead and look at that one, but before you decide, let me show you something." We looked at the vehicle we wanted for a little bit then he came and found us and showed us the vehicle that was exactly what we were looking for that had less mileage, same year, and more of the features we were looking for. We test drove it and the sale was made. If Sean did not anticipate that we would like this other vehicle, I doubt that we would ever have looked at it. Sean knew our needs and helped us do the right thing for us. The buying process involved several different people in the organization and it was very smooth. Seans handshake goodbye was also accompanied with the ability to call him no matter what if we had an issue. I consider them friends and members of my community and eagerly await the next opportunity to buy a vehicle from them. Thank you to everyone at Dick Norris Buick GMC. You have brought the community back into the car-buying business where a handshake means everything. Excellent job. Mike and Kim Wallingford

MA

Matthew Morris

My experience was absolutely horrible. The people I talked to in the pre-owned department obviously didnt know there rear end from a hole in the ground. They flat out avoided and blew off all of my questions and comments. They couldnt provide a carfax report because the service department was closed. Previous owner clearly smoked like a freight chain and the evidence was still in the ash trey and had burn marks and ashes in between the center console but they denied it and claimed it would be hard to smoke in the car because it was a manual. The door wouldnt even close all the way and it was claimed to be an alignment issue or because the weatherstrip had a split in it from getting in and out of the car. Yeah okay, like a piece of rubber that easily moves and is very flexible going to keep a door from closing even when you slam it. You can clearly hear the door hitting metal on metal. But anyhow, the fact is that the door wont shut properly and excuses aint going to make it close properly. All they wanted to do is show me the installation manuals of what was done to the car. The right exhaust tip stuck out the back of the car further than the left one but everything that had been done to the car was done "the right way." What a joke. The gas cap even looked like someone tried to pry it open for some reason. I discovered items left from the previous owner in between the seat so the car clearly wasnt cleaned in any kind of detail. Wax was all in the exterior cracks so a quality job was skipped on that too. Not impressed in the least bit. These people clearly just want your money, dont know anything about what there trying to sell, and have a lot of lame excuses. Unprofessional is an understatement.