Lithia Chevrolet Buick GMC of Helena

Reviews 4

TA

Tanner Rasmussen

I brought my 2012 Chevy Silverado 1500 in to be serviced in January of 2017 because the check engine light had come on. I could tell the vehicle was misfiring by how it would shake when at a stop light. This is a common issue with the 5.3L engines with active fuel management as I found out online. As Im heading out the door to take the service department shuttle to work, the service department employee catches me to make it very clear my vehicles Certified Pre-Owned warranty was up. I was aware of this and thought that the issue may be covered by the 5 year/100,000 mile power train warranty that was still active. The man again made it very clear that hes sure its not going to be a power train issue. I needed the vehicle repaired so I just said to call when the problem was identified. I was contacted just after noon and was told its a known issue with these engines and that a new valve cover would do the trick. I gave the ok for the $500+ repair since I was assured it would fix the misfire problem. Now back to that service shuttle-if you work any M-F 8-5 job, dont bother. They shut that down at 4:30 pm, youre on the hook for the ride back to pick up your vehicle. After I pay the bill, I find my pickup parked in a snow bank with the inside of the windshield frosted over. After 20 minutes of letting the inside of the windows defrost I was able to drive away without any engine misfires......until 6 months later. I started to feel the same misfire about 2 weeks ago, and then 2 days ago the check engine light comes on. This time I looked further into this problem on line. It sounds like GM/GM dealers are well aware that this problem involves the oil blow by when cylinders are deactivated to increase fuel economy. With this system, something goes wrong and oil is burned fouling the spark plugs. This time I took it to a local mechanic who was able to tell me this is exactly what is going on with my vehicle. This shop was straight forward and described the problem exactly as I have read on line countless times at this point. The vehicle now has 2 months left of its power train warranty so its not worth going through the frequent oil consumption monitoring GM requires to properly fix the problem under the power train warranty. Lithia Chevrolet will provide half truths and vague diagnostics to avoid footing the bill for a known power train issue. Although, Im sure they have been coached on exactly how to run this racket from the top of GM. 2 stars because they replaced the part they said they were going to.

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AA

Aaron Gumpert

After having a bad experience at a previous Lithia dealership, my friend recommended me to this Dealership in Helena. Got in touch with a salesman named Travis, whom, throughout the sale and follow up has been an absolute help keeping in touch. When I arrived at the dealership at 8pm to close the deal, I trusted Chevrolet of Helena when asked what is wrong with the vehicle. I was straight forward with my trade in and expected equal from them. Upon getting the truck home and getting a check up at my service shop, Tire Rama in Great falls, I was told the upper and lower ball joints were going to need replacing as they were shot. So, I informed my salesman of the issue and coordinated to drop the truck off back at their dealership. The loaner vehicle given to me today (Nov 19th) was almost out of gas, so, there goes money out of pocket to fill it up (figured a higher level of service from this dealer since I just bought a vehicle through them a little over a week ago, but whatever). Got a call later today and was told not only are the control arms shot, the transmission lines are leaking as well. My tires are bald on the inside to the point I dont know how that even passed their safety tire inspection BEFORE I purchased the truck (noticed the tires were bad the morning after I purchased it since I couldnt see in the dark)...WHICH WAS NOT informed to me before time of sale. Also, the dealership mentioned they were only going to replace the upper ball joints since they said the lowers were within margin (my shop says otherwise). It pisses me off because for 21,000 (24,000 with all the back end products), the dealership sold me a truck that has more issues than good, should have been checked/repaired by service BEFORE being rolled out, and paying that much for a vehicle....I expect better quality. This is the second Lithia company Ive been screwed over on and if this keeps up, I do not mind passing my experiences on to others. I have a little girl who is 10 months old and if anything would have happened or I didnt get their warranty (which has been nothing but a pain in the a**), I would be putting her and myself in jeopardy if something would have malfunctioned ESPECIALLY WINTER TIME MONTANA.

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Kellyann Turman

I will NEVER purchase a vehicle from this company again. I was in contact with a sales person for weeks before I drove 2 hours away to buy a vehicle. I walked into the dealership with my own financing of $20,000.00 and knew already what vehicle I was ready to purchase. My husband and I spent hours, I believe it was close to 4, at the dealership, waiting for what I have no idea. I have purchased 4 other vehicles in my lifetime from other dealerships and it never took that long, and for the previous purchases it was from scratch, meaning we didnt provide our own financing like we did this time. Also, we had a trade in to go along with the purchase. The dealership low balled us on the trade-in and then didnt even send off full payment to the company in a timely matter, I bought the car 2 months ago and they just yesterday told me they were sending the rest of the money to the company. Apparently they didnt do their math right the first time. Yet they didnt waste any time selling the trade in of which they did a while ago, before they even paid it off. So after an already crappy experience the salesman tells us that the car only came with 1 key and that the dealership wasnt going to pay for another one, apparently they are too cheap which with customer service like this isnt surprising. Keys for my car are around $250. I have never had a dealership only give me 1 key with my purchase regardless of whether or not I bought a new or used car. I always received 2 keys standard. All in All this was my WORST buying experience!!! Buyer Beware!

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Amanda Schlieman

I have been shopping for a new truck or a car for about 8 months. I have been driving a 2005 GMC Sierra for 10 years. After pricing trucks I decided to keep my truck and purchase a car. I looked into the consumer reports and wanted to look at a Toyota Camry or a Honda Accord. I did stop at Power Chevrolet and was approached by Stephan Marcille. I asked him about the Chevy Cruz. We discussed this and he showed me a 2015 Malibu. I was so impressed by the Malibu and Stephans knowledge that I started to consider a Malibu. Stephan also showed me a Impala. Stephan was friendly, professional, and very accommodating. He did not pressure me and I told him I would think about it. I went home and immediately looked up the Malibu on the consumer reports. I also contacted Helena Motors to inquire about the Camrys. During the time I was trying to decide, Stephan only called me once to asked if I needed anymore information. He was not pushy or pesty like most car salesman. I did purchase a 2014 Malibu and I was very pleased with the price. I will recommend Stephan to others. You have a good guy there! If you would like to discuss my experience please call me. The National Association of Home Builders promote Chevrolet offering a $500 discount to members. I was able to use this and I will pass this information to others in our Association. Chevrolet of Helena should really consider joining the Helena Building Industry Association so we can promote the partnership between NAHB and Chevrolet of Helena.

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