People wonder why I bought a truck so far away.

Couple years ago, I bought a used GMC Sierra 1500 2014 from Markquart Motors in Chippewa Falls WI.
It’s 1 hour 15 minutes from my house but they have a reputation and I didn’t care for my “internet” experience with a couple other car dealers online.
Bottom line is the truck was bought and I’m happy with it.

Fast forward to about a week ago and I realized the air conditioner wasn’t working. It needed an oil change, so I made an appointment for service at a local Chev dealer. Once in the shop, they found a (known) problem with the radiator leaking due to a thermostat sticking. Sounds like there was a defect in the thermostat and it created too much pressure. I didn’t pay too much attention to detail since the radiator and stat would be replaced at no charge as long as it was done before 100k.

They did find a leak in the condenser. Estimated cost of repair? $1500.00!

When he indicated it would take close to two days to make the repairs, I started asking questions about the labor time. Since the condenser is right next to the radiator, why would it take so long? Everything that needed to be removed for the condenser needed to be removed for the radiator. He said true, but there would be a couple hours to charge the system with refrigerant. (?)
He did say he wasn’t a technician…and by the end of the call is was showing. I told him to call me back with a price where he wasn’t charging GMC for warranty work and then charging me for the same labor. He agreed. A couple hours later I had a return call with a price of $800.00.

That was better but I did my own research on YouTube and it sure looked like that condenser and system recharge could be done by an amature in about a hour. Something didn’t add up. In talking with a couple folk that enjoy wrenching on cars, we agreed I should be looking somewhere else for repairs.

Side note: I expect to pay more from a dealer. Parts cost more, labor rate is higher…that’s just a given. With that being said, I expect them to take care of me when needed as well.

I explained my situation over the phone to Kelly Mueller the service manager at Markquart Motors. If everything I told her was true, my cost would be $600.00 + tax. Well the FW had the day off today and arrived at 7:30 this morning to drop off the truck. They gave her a loaner and told her it should be done around 3-3:30.

She was out the door at 3:30.
They replace the
Thermostat
Radiator
Condenser
Filled with refrigerant
Replaced a front axle seal
Filled the differential
Washed my truck

Charge? ZERO

I haven’t called them to find out why there wasn’t a charge to fix the air. Frankly I’m a little afraid to.

Every darn time I’ve had dealings with the folks at Markquart Motors, they’ve won my “next time” business.

PS the slow leak in the trucks one tire? It was a nail. I guess that still happens. LOL!

Moral of the story: Give the folks at Markquart Motors a chance to win your business.

At 63 years of age and counting, I too have found that once you find a dealership that is fair and willing goes above board at times, it is just good business to stay with them. Markquart Motors in Chippewa Falls WI is just a bit far to be my dealer, I have one locally too. In the last 43 years I’ve bought all but one vehicle that we have owned from my local Markquart dealership.

We find that there can be sooo much service after the sale if one stays true as a customer when you find a dealer that goes above and beyond.

Well said Denny!

PS you’re counting??

A experience like needs to be told,nothing beats great service !

Doesn’t take long to find a shop thinking “long term” vs “short term”.

Once you get the explanation ask them to put it in writing and send it to you. Then drop it in the mail to the dealer who quoted you $800.00

Very interesting story. I will be buying a very slightly used GMC Sierra in the next week or two (hopefully). Chippewa Falls is a little out of my distance, anyone willing to share some shops they trust around the Twin cities area, specifically St. Paul?

I thought Chippewa Falls would be too far too.

After being run around trying to buy the truck I wanted I called Markquart Motors to see what they could do. Bryan Ankeny stayed late on a friday night to finish the paperwork. They delivered the truck to me the following Tuesday.

They had the truck I wanted and wouldn’t let me leave until I was happy with “the deal”.

I doubt these people are perfect, but I seriously recommend at least calling them to see if they can win you over.

My buying experience:

I used carguru to help me locate what I was looking for. After 4 weeks of looking I found what I wanted and talked to the sales person via email.
I didn’t like the fact that the fine print said the advertise price included a trade in of a 2009 or newer, with less then x amount of miles on it. They gave a $1,000. discount.

The only reason they did this was to be lower in listed price then the competition. But I still talked to the salesman.

It was a Thursday night and after seeing the CarFax, I wanted to buy it. Emailed the sales person I was coming for a test drive and asked if there would be someone there for the paper work after closing because I would only have 45 minutes before they closed. The sales person said they close at 6… firm.
THEN he said they hadn’t put new shocks and tires on it anyway…
I was dealing on this truck for far too long for him to tell me this that late in the game. The salesperson said “most people don’t complain about getting new shocks and tires”.

I was done with him.

Then Friday morning I thought of Dave Marquart in Chippawa Falls. I text message Dave and asked for his used truck salesman to call me. I wanted to buy a used truck that night if they had what I wanted. That was at 11 am.
Buy 2 pm, arrangements were made to go over and take a look at a truck that was 2 years newer then what I first looked at.

The staff stayed over an hour past closing to complete the paper work. I had them add a bug deflector. That held me up from taking it home that day.

The following Tuesday, they DELIVERED my new to me truck to my home.

Sure it’s a drive if I want service from them, but I don’t have to go there if I chose not to. In fact, when I sent a picture of my new truck in a email to the first sales person, he responded by saying I could have my truck service at their facility. (yeah right)

I’ve had good service from Corey Waller at Hastings Ford, but I have never had service like this before. My only regret is that I didn’t start there. I could have saved a ton of time!

Sales 715-575-3336 ask for Brian…but any of their people will take care of you.

I just drove my old man from Hudson to Eau Claire to pick up his 7th vehicle from Chilson motors. There were a dozen identical vehicles at twin cities dealerships. When you find a dealer who takes care of you it’s priceless.

One of the bad things about living in this area is if you are a Chevy/GMC guy, I think you have less leverage over the other brands. GM rules the roost in the truck market here and the dealers know that people will buy them regardless of the circumstances. The dealers have no incentive to do well on price or provide great service.

When I lived in the DC area, I got a killer deal on a used truck there because they were not in favor there. The opposite is probably true here where I bet you can get a better price on Toyota, Nissan, and Dodge trucks here.

I purchased a used Toyota Camry from Markquart Toyota while I was working in Eau Claire. I was very happy with the service there as well.

I have learned first hand how important the service is during the sale and after the sale. Service after the sale can be even more important. We purchased a brand new Honda CRV from one of the big name dealers in the cities. After less than a year and 10,000 miles the heat was not working properly. They refused to do any work and kept telling me nothing is wrong. I had to tell them to replace the thermostat and flush the heater core. I payed for the flush out of my pocket. This fixed the problem and I was refunded my money after submitting complaints about their lack of service. After this I will never go back there and I learned how important service is after the sale.

Brian Klawitter wrote:

Brian Do they sell Fords ??

Now why would they want to ruin their reputation like that!

I bought my Dodge Ram off of Craigslist, and the no need for service has been great! (couldn’t find the stir the pot emoji…)

What’s a Dodge Ram?

Brian Klawitter wrote:

What’s a Dodge Ram?

Not sure, but Joe Dirte’ says it’s gots a hemi, so that’s cool I guess.