Chevrolet is abandoning their customers....

[Jadedcarguy]

......that bought a truck 31 years ago. One of my co-workers on the douchebag counter(retail) relayed this little gem to me today. This is all paraphrased, of course.

From 72 to 81 Chevy sold the LUV truck, which was built by Isuzu and was the predecessor to the S10/S15 pickup. In some countries the LUV is or was until recently still sold as a rebadged Isuzu, but I digress. For the purposes of this story it's life ended in 81. Chevy has stopped supporting this truck, sometime in the mid-eighties I think. NO parts whatsoever are available for this truck from a GM dealer. None. Nada. Zero. From CW's description of this guy, he doesn't bathe regularly and could use some fresh clothes, hence his nickname DirtBag.


CW: CoWorker

DB: DirtBag


CW: Can I help you?

DB: I need the heater control for a 77 LUV pickup. I brought my VIN.

CW: I'm sorry, but Chevy no longer sells parts for the LUV. I would try Napa or AutoZone.

DB: That can't be. You see, I bought this truck here new. You have to help me.

CW: I truly wish I could. Catalogs for that truck no longer exist here, nor does Chevy make any of the parts anymore. I truly can't get anything for it.

DB: So you're abandoning me then? Is this some ploy to get me to buy a new truck?

CW: No sir. Parts are available for it from third party suppliers, which is why I suggested you try an independent parts house.

DB: <now yelling>THIS IS BULLSHIT! BULLSHIT, YOU HEAR? I WANT TO SPEAK TO MR<hasn't owned this dealer since the mid-eighties> RIGHT NOW!

CW: Sir, calm down. Mr<sold the dealership> sold this dealer over twenty years ago. If you'd like I'll get the manager.

DB: WHAT'S HE GOING TO DO? ABANDON ME LIKE YOU PEOPLE HAVE? I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! I'M A VETERAN!

CW: I'm sorry sir, I can't get parts for your truck any longer. I need you to calm down.

DB: <now heading out the door> I'M GOING TO TELL EVERYONE I KNOW ABOUT THIS!



Bloody hell. If you can't afford a new truck, or even a new-to-you truck, that's cool. But chewing out someone who has no control over parts availability is just over the line, especially when they gave you sources for parts other than us. Do these asses really think we truly don't want to sell to them? It's how we make a living for Christ Sake!

And this turd played the veteran card. I hate it more than the race card. Both of my grandfathers, my father, most of my uncles, my cousin, and my brother-in-law are veterans of combat. Please do not cheapen their service by using your status as a vet to try to get what you want. Dick.

[Spiffy McMoron]

And this turd played the veteran card. I hate it more than the race card. Both of my grandfathers, my father, most of my uncles, my cousin, and my brother-in-law are veterans of combat. Please do not cheapen their service by using your status as a vet to try to get what you want. Dick.

Two quick points:

1) My parent company does the same thing. I'm not going to tell you what company that was, but I'll give you a hint: in the 80's, we entered into a partnership with Mitsubishi. Depending on the vehicle, it's sometimes cheaper and quicker to go to a Mitsubishi dealership to get these parts--assuming we can even get them in the first place. And pricy! Holy crap, are they ever!

FYI: If you ever have a chance to buy one of our vehicles with a 3.0 liter V6 Mitsubishi-made engine, don't. There's a reason we call them "3 leaker" engines.

2) I've found that--as a general rule--the more somebody talks about their veteran status, or "the war", the less they did in said war.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

There's somebody in town driving around in an old Dodge D-50 pickup.

That thing has to be about 25 years old. Rusty as all hell but it still runs I guess.

[RichS]

FYI: If you ever have a chance to buy one of our vehicles with a 3.0 liter V6 Mitsubishi-made engine, don't. There's a reason we call them "3 leaker" engines.

I had a minivan with that engine, and I can vouch for at least the oil leaking part - although, I got over 200,000 miles out of it before it got wrecked.

Back to the OT, I think that the manufacturers only have to supply parts for 10 years after the last date of production, if I recall correctly.

[Jadedcarguy]

1) My parent company does the same thing. I'm not going to tell you what company that was, but I'll give you a hint: in the 80's, we entered into a partnership with Mitsubishi. Depending on the vehicle, it's sometimes cheaper and quicker to go to a Mitsubishi dealership to get these parts--assuming we can even get them in the first place. And pricy! Holy crap, are they ever!

Chevy also had the Geo line as well which are either Suzukis or Toyotas. The price for some parts for those things is sickening, and you can get them for about half if you have a part number and go to either a Suzuki dealer or Toyota, depending on which car you have. Ridiculous.

2) I've found that--as a general rule--the more somebody talks about their veteran status, or "the war", the less they did in said war.

You ain't kidding. My brother in law was a sniper in Iraq, and I still can't get him to talk about it. I'm sure he has some interesting stories, but I don't want to push him. He tried to play Call of Duty 4, and he started shaking. I think I'll leave him be until he's ready.

[marasbaras]

Grr, the veteran card. My grandfather was a vet, friends of mine from high school are vets ... I guess it just proves that vets are just like the rest of the population and that some are douchebags.

[marasbaras]

He tried to play Call of Duty 4, and he started shaking. I think I'll leave him be until he's ready.

Sorry to hear that. My grandfather would cry when talking about WW2. So, I wouldn't expect your brother to talk anytime soon.

[protege]

Grandpa fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He never said much about the war. He talked mainly about target practice in boot camp. I didn't find out some of the things he did (crossing the Rhine, blowing up bridges, etc.) until after he died.

Getting back on topic...I thought the OP was hilarious. Why? Well, I have a 1969 MGB GT. There are no dealers to complain to--British Leyland (MG's parent company) sold their last cars here in 1980, and then left the US market! Out of the half-million MGBs made from 1962 to 1980, plenty are still around. Because of that, plenty of clubs offer assistance, and nearly everything I need is available within 2 days. Compare that with 28 years ago when we got it. Absolutely *nothing* was available, except from scrapyards. If you really wanted to, you could buy a complete bodyshell, and build a 'B' from scratch!

Er, let me get back on topic *again* Very few main dealers have parts for cars that old. They tend to clear out old stock every so often when the cars change. Also, some only stock 'service items' (hoses, belts, brake parts, etc.) rather than body panels.

[ShinyGreenApple]

You know, I can't ever recall my Dad ever whipping out the "I'm a veteran!" card either. He was usually given the job of maintaining the planes/choppers that brought the bodies home.

Back on topic, however, the truck is how old? Good grief, it's an antique! That'd be a bit like me strutting into the local Ford dealership demanding parts for my 68 Mustang. Which is sadly, still unfinished. But anywho, they do have special places for these things -- oh wait, that would make sense, wouldn't it?

[Pagan]

I've got a weird combo on that. My grandfather was a WW2 vet, but....he never left the country. The way he and my grandmother would go on though, I thought he had been in the European theatre.

[Jadedcarguy]

I've got a weird combo on that. My grandfather was a WW2 vet, but....he never left the country. The way he and my grandmother would go on though, I thought he had been in the European theatre.

My dad is a 'Nam vet, but he never left the country either. He was stationed in San Francisco with the Navy. He doesn't play the vet card either.

[Gurndigarn]

Back to the OT, I think that the manufacturers only have to supply parts for 10 years after the last date of production, if I recall correctly.

I don't think they're required to do anything beyond whatever warranty period they contracted with the customer. But common sense says that you provide parts so long as it is profitable. When people stop buying parts, you stop stocking them.

[crazylegs]

My great uncle was at Dunkirk, yet I didn't find out *anything* until after he died, those who have given everything very often don't want to dredge up the memories, let alone cheapen them by banding them around every time something doesn't go their way.

[Javarod]

The LUV truck like the Dodge D50 isn't likely to be supported at the dealer this far out simply because its not theirs. It'd really surprise me ifn Chevy continued to stock Isuzu parts (assuming Isuzu still makes them), whereas ifn he had a real Chevy like a C or K series, I'd be surprised ifn you didn't stock them.

[protege]

At least he wasn't at a Chrysler dealer...bitching about how he couldn't get parts for a Renault Alliance or Medallion


*For those who don't know, some dealers stocked parts for Renaults...mainly because that company had bought most of American Motors...which was later merged into Chrysler.