Serra Chevrolet, INC. — Local services in Birmingham

I will give them one star bc of the sales man and sales manager. The service department sucks and Tessa is the only one that has been the least bit helpful. I bought a 2017 Malibu from them and while I was pulling into the doctors office the transmission just quit at 17k ...and I say quit bc each time I say it went out they remind me it was a "glich" in the computer system. Now at 33k, after driving the car for an hour I went thru the drive thru and the car just quit and I had to be pushed out of the drive thru. The service mongers explanation for this "the battery had a dead cell". He didnt know I was just told that the computer system had to be updated and this would need to be done periodically for the life of the car and it will be done at the owners expense and it gives no warning it just dies and may or may not start again. I have to find my paper work bc I am almost positive they told me a 100k mile bumper to bumper warranty but for the first time today I was told 6 yr-60K MILE warranty. So when I ask to speak with the sales manager bc it was recorded of him telling me everything I was signing. I was told they dont do anything on demand...again by the service manager. I wasnt demanding, I was asking. So I ask for the name of the sales manager and again I was told any queations can be addressed to serra chevy bc I told him I was having an attorney to see how far back the lemon law can go considering the issues and even more so bc they are not extending the warranty. I feel like the warrannty on the computer should be extended bc that has been the issue both times. However, the service manager who says he doesnt have anyone else over him bc they do not have a general manager at the moment would not even give me the sales manager's name. So I will call tomorrow to get the his name and talk with him. If we cant come to an agreement then I will have my attorney deal with them from this point. I only bought this car bc the other Chevy I bought was junk so I was trying to get out from under it! I can't wait to be back in a Nissan! Oh and on top of buying a car that had 4 miles on it when I drove off the lot I had to fight with them to get a loaner car......and it's still under warranty. I dont know what happened with the general manager that was there but he was excellent and had excellent manners and skills. When I called the night the transmission "quit" he had a tow truck in route and had a loaner car waiting for me when I got there after 6 that night. Just for kicks, I could hear water rushing back under that hood and I figuresd it was some kind of reservoir but when they called me to tell me they couldn't find it I was told "we checked your doors and trunk and didn't see any water". Well at least I know the trunk and...

I’m only giving 1 star because my salesman was great to me! Tj was my salesman and he went above and beyond for me when he didn’t have to. Doing things that he doesn’t have to. Shout outs to Tj, great dude and did a great job even though things were difficult from the jump. However, the service department was horrible. The sales managers, even worse. I was sold a car that i was told was “ready to go” only to find out that i needed a new sensor put in, the wrong tires were on the car and the air was going in and out. When i brought these things up, i was sent to the service department (rightfully so) the guy in the service department had NO IDEA WHAT HE WAS DOING. I told him the issue with my air and he said “its running just fine right now so i can’t do anything about it) that’s brushing a customer off and hoping somebody else will deal with it. Nevertheless, my car was sent to the Kia store to have the new sensor reprogrammed. While at the Kia store, i had to tell them about the air myself. They told me my car was ready and i went to get it and the air was still out!! They had to then “figure out the problem” and order the parts to get the air fixed. This was almost a 2 week process with my car being at Kia. I only drove my car for 3 days after financing it before i ran into all of these issues. I went on vacation (without my car, in one of their other vehicles) and when i came back, my car was “ready” but Kia wanted to keep it for another day to make sure there were no more issues. This morning i was told my car could be picked up. After waiting all day, i finally went to Serra myself to see what was going on and the guy had just left to go get my car that was already ready the previous day. This was 4:30 PM!! You would think with all of the issues I’ve had, they would have prioritized getting my car to me ASAP! Then the manager, Vicki..was very rude to me when i went to see about MY CAR that I BOUGHT but HAVENT HAD IN WEEKS!! Mind you, my car payment is due NEXT WEEK and i had my car for 3 days! She was very rude and dismissive because i was not satisfied that i wasn’t being treated like a paying customer. She told me “I’m not going to help you if you’re going to be rude” as if I’m supposed to be pleased and happy about my experience when it was nothing but a headache for me. I say all of this to say, don’t go here!! Unless you absolutely have to and if you have to, ask for Tj, he’s the best thing about this place. I gave them opportunities to satisfy me after everything and all i received was attitudes and horrible customer service. Hopefully this was something that doesn’t normally happen. I wish the best of luck to everyone involved and good luck if you’re planning on dealing with Serra Chevrolet in...

Update related to the service department: I made an appointment online for a basic oil change and tire rotation. Since I purchased my vehicle here, and have a “lifetime” powertrain warranty through the dealership , they require that all service be performed at their shop. I arrived for my appointment, only to be told their was no record of it. Tessa, the service manager, states that she tells all of her regular customers to call into the service department and not to use the website or app for appointments. That’s great that they knew to do that, but my car is new and I don’t need service that regularly. Keep in mind that I had taken off work in order to have this done. I ask when the next available appointment was, and she says in about two weeks or so due to workers being out with Covid. I leave and call back the next week. No one answers after several attempts. I call the main number and get them to transfer me to the service department and no one picks up. At this point, I decide to schedule an appointment with Edwards, who was able to schedule my appointment within a few days, which was my next off day. About a week or so later, Serra sends a message stating I missed a service appointment with them. I don’t know what type of games they are playing, but it’s bad business. I’m sure they are going to try to say that my lifetime warranty is now void since I went to another dealership but I tried my best to schedule service through them. Hopefully I will never need to use the extended warranty in the first place.

Update: In early April, I upgraded my 2016 Equinox to a 2020 Equinox. Christie Taylor was my sales consultant. She was professional, quick and friendly. Between her and Brendan, they worked out a deal for me that paid off my old vehicle completely with no negative equity transferred to the new vehicle and with no money down. I couldn’t have asked for a better deal! I am very happy with my new car, and highly recommend Christie Taylor at Serra Chevrolet for your car buying needs. This is my 2nd vehicle purchase from Serra.

My 2007 Impala was deemed a total loss after a minor accident. Since I knew I wanted another Chevrolet, I decided to check out Serra Chevrolet. My sales consultant, Lloyd Shaw, was very friendly, patient, and was able to help me get into my new Equinox within a few hours. From start to finish, the transaction was very smooth and stress-free overall considering what I have been through in the past with other dealerships. I'm pleased with my car buying experience and highly recommend Lloyd Shaw at...