Checking and topping up fluids is part of the capped price service offering and should be performed.
Last week I took my GEN-F2 GTS in for a 15,000km service (had only done <9,000km but the 9 months since purchase were up). My instructions and the results were as follows:
1. When I booked for in the service (online) I specified "No test drive and and the vehicle was not to leave the premises". I have no reason to believe this was not followed.
2. When I took the car in (7:30am), I said to the service person that I didn't want the wheels to be rotated. Normally, service rotation involves moving the front wheels to the rear and vice versa. Because the GTS wheels are a different size front and back, rotation involves moving left wheels to the right and vice versa - I wasn't keen on this happening, and also because of the risk that the tyre pressure sensors wouldn't be updated correctly. The comment on the service invoice "Could not find lock nut key in vehicle so could not pull wheels off in service" indicates that my instruction didn't get through to the mechanics.
3. I also told the service person that I wanted the Mylink software updated because I wasn't seeing the speed camera alerts on the menu. The answer was along the lines "Oh no, that function hasn't been available for years", which is the same comment I received during the 1,000km inspection. Based on the posts in this forum on MyLink/Maps/Alerts etc. I said to him "That's not true" and left it at that. About an hour later I received a telephone call to say that "Yes, we can do that, but because it's classified as an upgrade and not warranty, you will have to pay $70 to have this done". I told him "No thanks". Thinking about this later, I would have thought that the labour time saved through not taking the car for a test drive, and not having to rotate the wheels, would have saved them at least $70, but I didn't think about that at the time.
4. I told the service person that I would wait for my car to be completed and went out to find breakfast. I had forgotten to confirm that I didn't want the HSV recommended Mobil 1 to be used for the oil change. Firstly, it was only an HSV recommendation (due to sponsorship no doubt). Secondly, the engine itself is pure GM, with no HSV added-value components and therefore the standard GM mandated Dexos1 (all synthetic) oil should have been more than adequate. Thirdly, since I intended to change the oil at 5000km/6 monthly intervals, it was another reason why the Dexos1 oil should have been more than adequate. However, when I had a look at the invoice after arriving home, I found that the oil used was Mobil Formula S, which is NOT Dexos1 certified (and costed at $87 within the capped price!!!).
The next day, I had a call from a lady, whose job was reviewing whether customers were happy their service the previous day (which I think was a good initiative by the dealership to get feedback from its customers). I explained the problems mentioned above, and she offered to replace the oil if I returned the car to the dealership. I didn't accept this kind offer (in fact I was surprised that she was able to offer it at all on the spot). I'll be draining the oil myself and replacing it with a Dexos1 certified oil this weekend. Once trust is lost, it's hard to get it back.
