I am going to repeat several things about this dealership that are worth repeating.
It has some of the best customer service people that I have come across. The next paragraph is
about John the service manager Of
Dudley Martin Chevrolet.
I consulted with him when I wanted to
make sure that the 6-speed I had installed in the 85 Corvette at Rileys was performing OK. I
had no experiential base to determine an answer to this question
and I tend to check things like this two or three times.
I wanted a second opinion about the Richmond trans. Actually, John gave me a third
opinion after I went to a local trans shop that gave me a bunch of double talk and really had no
experience with Richmonds.
"I went to see John the service manager at Dudley Martin Chevrolet. He is a
straight shooter and very helpful. Asked him to take a ride and talk to me
about the trans noises. He was familiar with the Corvette 89-96 Richmond
trans which is similar to my Richmond 6-speed. He explained, since it was a
heavy duty racing trans the whining sounds that I was hearing were normal for
a wide ratio with big gears and everything sounded as it should. Couple of
years ago, I called Chevy and asked which dealers specialized in Corvette
repairs for the Northern Virginia area. I was given a list of dealers and
Dudly Martin was on this list. While I was in John's shop I looked (no
drooled) over a red 2005 Covette convertible that was on a lift. In an
earlier visit with John, I also remember talking to him about a pinging issue
and cars in general. Being a company man, he said I should look at the new
Cobolt and its performance specs. Sorry, I am an old school baby boomer and
not a "Fast and Furious" kind of guy - but nice try though. I'll wait to see
how the new Camaro shakes out - mechanically and price wise. This reminds me.
About five years earlier, John's Chevrolet shop had installed a rebuilt
tranmission in my daughter's black 94 Camaro for a fairly reasonable price
and excellent service. After John and I talked and he gave his opinions on the
6-speed, he said to come back with some mechanical business next time - I
said I would. This is the kind of company man that will cause potential
customers to consider Chevy products and come back for service issues. He
has caused me to hope even more that the new Camaro will be something that I
would consider as a retirement gift to myself. I also hope it will have an
inexpensive HiPO big block option - like the late 60's Camaro."
I have also had excellent help from Andy, Paul and Dennis who are in the Parts Department. Having
working in Auto Parts and Service for 5 years, I understand and see when people go out of their way.
These guys did and do. When ordering a parts from the warehouse they get on it right away by calling
and letting me know its availability, then when I order they call me when the part has arrived.
Also when Chevrolet discontinues a part, Dudley Parts personnel
recommend Chevy partner companies and tell you what questions to ask and who to contact.
Another time, one of Dudley's service guys, Bill, got the body shop glue a piece of 85 Vette interior
for me. The interior man took
his time to explain what he was doing as he was doing it. They gave the part back and said to come
back with some real business when I needed to have something done. This kind of good will goes far
for me personally.
Now, if Chevy corporate were will build a less expensive Corvette with a big block and/or a new Camaro
with a big block and stock it at dealerships like this, they may be able to capture more market shares.
Years ago, I remember Dudley Martin's 55 Chevy drag car. Among us ole timers they have the reputation.
Maybe if Dudley were to have one or two of these new monsters, they could drop by the local drag strip
to show it off (at dealership level) - but not by racing it - but to just letting ole drag racers sit
in it and kick the tires.
Let's say once a month during racing season. Maybe some of these ole timers might just drop by the show
room the next day? I know I would and I am looking for something good out of corporate soon - not a
beamer look-a-like nor luxury sedan ... the masses are looking for something a little more exciting
than this or a Cad. Something that will sell itself ... :)
Background music on this page is "Louie Louie" by Kingston Trio (a public domain
synthesized version) ~Bob
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