Yeah…this is long…but I have to vent!!!!!
A few weeks ago I opened two posts discussing an issue I was having with my driver’s seat on my 08 CTS4 DI. The seat was loose and it would creak and rattle whenever I drove the car, so I decided I had had enough and I took it to my local Cadillac dealership…Werner Cadillac, Manchester, New Hampshire. I probably should have lived with the bad seat, because what has transpired since my original visit to the local dealership (I will name them after my issue is resolved!) has permanently soured me from ever owning another Cadillac!
On the day I took my car to the dealership, I was told that they would have to evaluate the seat to determine what was wrong with it. OK…no problem at all. They gave me a rental to drive and later that afternoon they called to tell me that the seat frame needed to be replaced. Once again, OK…they are going to take care of the problem. Since they had to order the seat frame, I picked up my car that afternoon and waited for them to call. Three days later they called and said the seat frame was in. I made an appointment to have the seat frame replaced.
I arrived at the dealership in the morning and was told that the repair would take “about 3 hours”. Once again, they provided a rental car and I left for work. Late in the afternoon I received a call and was told that the repair was “taking longer than expected” but not to worry…I could have the rental for as long as the repair took. Three days later the dealership called and said that my car was ready. That afternoon I arrived at the dealership and was told that the seat was “as good as new”. Not quite. 
I got into my car and the seat felt great! No more looseness or rattles! Unfortunately, none of the seat electrics worked. The seat would not move at all when I pressed any of the adjustment buttons. The seat memory buttons didn’t work and the heating and cooling features didn’t work either. To top it off, the door jamb paint was scratched in about 10 places…down to the bare metal! Needless to say, I was FURIOUS, so I went back into the delaership to tell them about the seat. The service manager had already left for the day so I was told to “bring the car back tomorrow” to have him look at it!
I arrived at 8AM the next morning and I met with the service manager. He asked me if I could wait to have the technicians look at the car. I told him that I could wait no longer than an hour. About 45 minutes later the service manager came out to the waiting room and said, “We found out what’s wrong with the seat. The module that controls all of the seat functions is broken.” So I asked, “How did that happen?”, to which he replied, “I have no idea, but we’ll have to order a new module for you.” I was not happy, but the seat needed to be fixed. I was also “assured” that the paint damage would be fixed by the body shop and that I “wouldn’t be able to tell that it had been damaged”.
So…5 days later I get a call from the dealership and I’m told that the seat module has arrived. I scheduled a service appointment for the next morning. I was provided a rental car to drive and was told that the repair would be completed by the end of the day. Once again…not quite. Later that afternoon the service manager called and said that the repair was taking longer then expected…keep the rental as long as you need it.
Two days later I get a call saying my car is fixed. I arrive at the dealership in the late afternoon and as I walk into the service area, I meet the service manager who is on his way out of the building. As he passes me, he says, “You’re car is all set and the paint looks OK.” OK? WTF does OK mean? He literally ran out the door! I got my paperwork and went to my car. Was it fixed? NOT QUITE!!!
I opened the door and looked at the door jamb. It looked like a 3rd grader had used a crayon to fix the damaged paint! Then…I sat in the car and guess what? NOTHING electrical worked! It was exactly the way it was when I dropped the car off two days earlier! I stormed back into the service area and demanded to speak with the service manager. He was gone and wasn’t answering his cell phone. I stormed out of the service area and drove home. As soon as I got home, I called Cadillac and filed a complaint against the delaership. I was “assured” that the service manager would call me the following day…but he didn’t. I had to call Cadillac again and explain that I had not heard from the service manager. To his credit, the call agent at Cadillac put me on hold and he called the dealership. We were put into a conference call. I explained my situation to the service manager and then I asked this very simple question, “Did anyone check the operation of the seat?” His sheepish response..”No”. Not only did they not check the operation of the seat, they didn’t replace the seat module! Of course the damned thing didn’t work! So, after SCREAMING at the service manager, I told the call agent that I wanted Cadillac to make an appointment at another Cadillac dealership (MacMulkin Cadillac in Nashua, NH). I should have taken my car there in the first place, but it’s 25 miles from my house. Live and learn!
So…to make a VERY long story short, my car is now being repaired and I received a call from MacMulkin’s serive manager yesterday. He told me that three seat wires had been cut and that another one is shorted out. The seat control module is also not functioning. At least they gave me a Cadillac to drive! Oh yeah, and they will fix the paint on the door jamb!
The Cadillac rep is supposed to call me this afternoon and offer “compensation” for my troubles. I’m wondering what the “compensation” will be????? OK…I’m done ranting!
James W. Westgate