Update 2-5-12
I am at 35,600 miles and will need to fix lower control arm issue & typical transmission flare at 2/3 gear.
My car is located in Norwalk CT.
What dealer do you suggest I take my car for this repair? (Dealer that already did this work for you and is familiar with this issue)
I took my car for service to Minchin in Stamford, but they gave me the impression that since they do not work on many G8, they do not want to do any transmission work. This is good dealer, but for some reason they were not interested in doing this work.
I am thinking about H&L in Darien or G&J in Fairfield. Should I use one of them?
PM me with some contact info if you know any service writers/dealer that are good, or just respond to this post.
Thanks.
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Old post - 2009



Who would be the best dealer to use for service/repairs in Fairfield county CT or Westchester NY? I will keep my car stock, and just for future reference I would like to know where I should go for service or any unexpected repairs.( or where I should get my car towed - I have AAA with 100 mile towing allowance).

Just in case I want to be prepared.

Please list only dealers that will stay in business.
Thanks,

good question, my favorite dealer closed already....

Anyone??

I don't know about any major repairs but i bought my car at G & J Pontiac-Buick in Fairfield, CT ( I live in Stamford) at the Scap auto Group. You can bring the car there or any other one of their locations in fairfield. They are really friendly and gave me a steal on my car. I've yet to try them out for any major repairs though. They changed my key fob issue without a hitch. I'm not sure how they would be on any major repairs but if the G8 runs into any they better get up to speed and quick. They have about 6 G8's on their lot!

I can recommend Minchin Buick-GMC-Pontiac in Stamford, CT. Although my opinion is a little biased as Dad is the General Sales Manager. But the business has been in the Minchin family for a few generations now and the newest generation is already working there.

I agree with GXP4PRO.
G&J Pontiac has a good service dept for Pontiac. They always had. Not sure if GM is cutting them. But they are good people down there. Been around for a long time purchased my first pontiac from them.
Also id Daddario Pontiac Buick GMC in Shelton CT. They have a great service dept also. G&J is much closer if you live in SW CT or NY.

Thanks

I dropped my car off at Minchin this morning for some service (new front right tire because it has a leak, balance, allignment, recalibrate TPMS sensors and THEN try to cure the dreaded steering shake @ 65 mph). I'll let everyone know how my service experience goes.

I have used Meadowland in Carmel NY, just north of the westchester boarder. Bought my G8GT there and as well as my Wifes Caravan . They are a combined Chrysler and GM Dealer (GMC and used to be Pontiac as well). They have been really really good to me so I have no issues with them and actually will go there first when it is time to replaced her Grand Caravan. My car is bone stock so no issues with any warranty stuff.

Got a call from the dealer that my car was "ready". The mechanic and service manager both took the car out and couldn't detect any wheel shake. They said they couldn't change the tire because they didn't have it in stock (even though when I made the appointment last week I told them I needed a new tire). I don't know if they bothered doing the alignment like I asked or to look at the rotors on the car even though I mentioned my pulsating issues when I spoke with them last week as there was no mention of it when I spoke with the service guy? All in all, I spent a 1/2 hour bringing the car to them, $13 on a train ticket from their location to my office which I normally wouldn't spend, luckily had my father pick up the car as he was in that location with a friend of his today anyway, and got absolutely NOTHING done. I'm not sure if they bothered to recalibrate the TMPS sensors? I'll have to look when I get home. I hope the fellas had fun driving my car at least.

Are the folks there nice? Yeah. Would I bother bringing my car there again? Not a chance.

I have used Meadowland in Carmel NY, just north of the westchester boarder. Bought my G8GT there and as well as my Wifes Caravan . They are a combined Chrysler and GM Dealer (GMC and used to be Pontiac as well). They have been really really good to me so I have no issues with them and actually will go there first when it is time to replaced her Grand Caravan. My car is bone stock so no issues with any warranty stuff.
That is where I bought my car.
The most pleasant sales experience that I ever had.
If their service is as good as their sales, then I would go there, if I lived in the area.
However driving 3 hours to get my oil changed is not really something I plan on doing.

I hear ya. I only live 10 minutes away so I am in a way lucky. I have heard mega dealer complaints and so far in over 10 Plus years using them, I have not been let down. Rare find.

Im happy with Meadowlands as well, in Westchester try Vail Pontiac Buick in Mt Kisco .
Ive heard that they are pretty good as well.Privately owned small dealer and they have been there a long time.

I am at almost 36,000 miles - look at my updated post # 1.
Thanks

Just a FYI G&J Pontia Buick in Fairfield can no longer do any GM warranty work. I was told last week that GM finally pulled the plug on them towards the end of December. My car is currently at Minchin in Stamford. It's getting new Cam and lifter. As of today the engine is almost back together and i was told It will be ready tomorrow. I'll let you know how it runs when i get it back. So far so good though and i have my fingers crossed that everything goes smooth.

I am at almost 36,000 miles - look at my updated post # 1.
Thanks

Do you have an auto or stick GXP?

Are there any Caddy dealers in the area?


If it's an auto, any GMC/Chevy dealer should be able to take care of it since it's the same basic transmission that the trucks have.

If it's a stick, any Chevy/Caddy dealer can take care of it because that's the same transmission that the Corvette/Camaro/CTS-V has.

Just a FYI G&J Pontia Buick in Fairfield can no longer do any GM warranty work. I was told last week that GM finally pulled the plug on them towards the end of December. My car is currently at Minchin in Stamford. It's getting new Cam and lifter. As of today the engine is almost back together and i was told It will be ready tomorrow. I'll let you know how it runs when i get it back. So far so good though and i have my fingers crossed that everything goes smooth.

Thanks for the update on G&J.
Did you ever have any work done on front control arms or transmission flare? If you did was it at Minchin?
Thanks

Do you have an auto or stick GXP?

Are there any Caddy dealers in the area?


If it's an auto, any GMC/Chevy dealer should be able to take care of it since it's the same basic transmission that the trucks have.

If it's a stick, any Chevy/Caddy dealer can take care of it because that's the same transmission that the Corvette/Camaro/CTS-V has.

It is automatic.
I know that any chevy/caddy dealer is authorised to do this work, but I am looking for the dealer that did this work on other cars. And they know what to look for.
I do not want to hear that they could not duplicate the problem.

Just a FYI G&J Pontia Buick in Fairfield can no longer do any GM warranty work. I was told last week that GM finally pulled the plug on them towards the end of December. My car is currently at Minchin in Stamford. It's getting new Cam and lifter. As of today the engine is almost back together and i was told It will be ready tomorrow. I'll let you know how it runs when i get it back. So far so good though and i have my fingers crossed that everything goes smooth.


I hope it all works out for you. Cannot wait to see how you made out with the G8. Good luck!
I'm still really peed off about GJ not being able to work on our rides anymore.
I no longer have any dealer now beside Mario Daddario which so far I'm hesitant with them because they lied to me twice now.

Thanks for the update on G&J.
Did you ever have any work done on front control arms or transmission flare? If you did was it at Minchin?
Thanks

This is the first time i've ever taken my car to Minchin. All other work was done by G&J in fairfield where i bought the car. G&J changed out my Control arms, Sway bushings, Pulley idler, Balancer pulley and some other random stuff all under warranty. Not to mention they installed my 2 way GM aftermarket remote start unit. No problems with them at all. I'll see how Minchin works out, hopefully i get my car back today.

I hope it all works out for you. Cannot wait to see how you made out with the G8. Good luck!
I'm still really peed off about GJ not being able to work on our rides anymore.
I no longer have any dealer now beside Mario Daddario which so far I'm hesitant with them because they lied to me twice now.

I'll keep you posted on it. Hopefully all goes well and the car gets bolted back the way i left it. Well with new cam and lifters of course. :wink2:

mongos talk to service rep at G&J, he actually recommended Daddario since he used to work there. Maybe he can give you a name to talk to directly!

I decided to take my car to H&L in Darien, will see how this will work out.

I decided to take my car to H&L in Darien, will see how this will work out.


I am happy to report that H&L Chevy dealer in Darien did a good job on my car.

They replaced 4 lower control arms as per bulletin.

They perform TSB and reprogram TCM as per bulletin (I know I have GXP, but as per their GM system there was an update to GXP TCM & ECM so they had to do it first). They let me know if this does not repair my flare issue to bring it back so they will look into other TSB for this issue. (They have to follow GM procedures and do software update first before they can look into transmission)

They did some other small issues that I had.

I will definitely bring my car to them again.

They noted all my concerns & explenation and the whole experience was very good.
Thanks,

Well TCM update did not solve my issues with the transmission and it looks like this dealer might give me a run around what my issue is.
My car is at the dealer now.

The dealer is nice and all, but I keep teling them one thing and they just keep bringing explanation that is not a solution to my issue. And that my car operates as designed.


Will keep you updated. Maybe everything works out...

How did things go? I too fear my Tranny is crapping the bed! I think dealers just want nothing to do with a car that isn't build anymore. I have some other issues with the dealer i recently visited but will hold further judgement untill after my next visit. Still have a few outstanding issues that needs to be fixed. If they don't get it right i'll post about it.