OT: My New Car Lasted 1 Week!
I graduated college in May 2009 and was fortunate to get a financial job right out of college. I saved up my money to buy a new car that I purchased on Saturday March 20th. I am someone who buys American every chance I get. I was looking at a Ford, but my father allowed me to use his GM points towards a new car purchase. The amount of money towards a GM car was significant enough for me to purchase a new 2010 Chevy Malibu.
I used the car for exactly one week and had a tire issue with 382 miles on the vehicle. I cannot recall an incident where my tire went flat. I noticed the meter saying the tire was low and heard the tire having issues so I pulled into the nearest restaurant. There are alot of potholes in NJ,PA due to the weather. I had to call onstar on Saturday night while I was driving my friends to go out. They put the donut on the car and I drove home.
Monday I drove the car back to the dealership after hours for repair. Today I called the dealership and the technician said it would be $385 to fix the rim and tire. I was stunned. He said it was not under warranty. Warranty or no warranty does anyone else think the dealership should fix my issue free of charge or am I nuts?
Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should do? My father is off work today and visited the dealership but they would not budge. They said $385 was at cost. My Dad balked and took the car to a repair shop. The dealership said they would pay for the difference if it’s cheaper. I will be going as calmly as possible after work but I cannot believe that this is deemed acceptable customer service. At the very least they should fix my tire and apologize for the inconvenience. If anyone has any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.
Buy a Toyota. You've heard that new Toyota ad, right? It's pretty reassuring: http://www.fretsetguitar.com/sommy/toyotaad.mp3
In all seriousness, a Toyota is a far better buy than any American car, period. The value is simply incomparable. The only reason anyone buys American is because either (a) they're from metro Detroit, or (b) they've had family/friends who've worked for one of the big three.
If you like getting ripped off, by all means, buy American. If you believe in the free market, buy the best value, and stay the hell away from all American cars.
The last three cars I've owned have all been fords (A Taurus, a Fusion (leased) and then another Taurus), My dad has had a Taurus and now a Fusion, and mom has had Fords since her Aerostar, which is something like 10 cars now.
Total outright vehicle failures = 0
Total necessary repairs exceeding $500 at a time = 0 (bodywork excepted)
Total times the dealership refused to do a free evaluation and match the best quoted price on work = 0
Total accidents resulting in injury (for 3 people over approximately 30 man-years of driving) = 0
Total vehicles with usable life less than 200K miles = 0 (leases excepted)
Total vehicles without at least 50% purchase price resale value after 5 years hard driving = 0 (leases excepted)
I'll stick with my Ford, thanks.
March 31st, 2010 at 11:35 AM ^
I disagree with everything that you said. I think every bit of that is based on a thought that is 5-10 years old and is no longer valid.
I take it back. I agree with one thing that you said. If you believe in the free market, buy the best value. However, that means test driving the cars yourself and realizing that a decked out Fusion beats the shit out of a decked out Camry (personal experience).
This is not a big deal. $400 payments are routine when you own your own car. Roads are rough, shit happens, cars are expensive, get a helmet.
Hey, I work at GM at am extremely frustrated at your story. Send me an email at [email protected] and I can see what I can do to help.
Way to try to be part of the solution. +1
Win or lose - it is a Michigan tradition.
My hats off to you.
ps - absolutely love the Corvette Z06 - can't wait to try the ZR!.
March 31st, 2010 at 11:30 AM ^
Paul I sent you my story. I really appreciate you reaching out to me.
FWIW I own a 2000 VW Passat with 182K miles that runs like new. Gets 35 MPG on the highway using non-premium fuel. Great car. Anyway, if I was in your shoes I would go ape-shit if the dealer doesn't pick up the tab.
accident. With lower profile tires being the rage, the blow of a pothole (etc) is more likely to damage a rim.
It has happened to me several times (living in Michigan - home of the Grand Canyon'esc pot holes).
Neither GM or Chrysler warranties the wheels. Dealerships sell insurance for this, don't know what it costs.
Try a Corvette Z06 OEM rim at about $495 new!!!
Sucks to be us.
March 30th, 2010 at 11:28 PM ^
I think it's entirely unreasonable to expect the dealer to pay for this. You got a flat, didn't notice it, drove on it long enough to warp the shitty alloy rim, and now you need a new tire and rim.
On a side note, it's awesome to read this thread and tell exactly who either:
A) Works for Ford, GM, or other
B) Works for a Ford, GM, or other supplier
C) Dad/mom/uncle/grandpa works for Ford, GM, supplier, or other.
Finally, -1234124124 for not being able to change your own tire. That shit's just weak.
Edit: Holy shit dude you should delete your old blog. Odds you've ever touched a boob = 0.001%
Shock: actually, I think his red-flag requirements are quite reasonable. Don't date princesses, just don't do it - it's not worth it! Better to be celibate and wait for better options (while pumping up your own value, of course).
March 31st, 2010 at 12:38 AM ^
They have their own warranty. Look at the info that came with the car and you should have the warranty info on the tires. If you can prove the tire was defective, you'll be ok and you might be able to get the tire company to cover the cost of the rim. But that is if you can prove that the tire was defective and that it didn't flatten due to debris, nail, etc. Warranties do not cover for those things.
Here's a suggestion: don't buy American cars.
Toyota has had its problems lately. But before that? Their record was nearly flawless; their cars are still worth buying. Hondas (and Acuras) are a definite yes; I put 50,000+ miles on one in school (in Ann Arbor) without a hitch. Audi is also good option; I've never owned one, but everyone I know that has one is happy with it. BMWs are okay, if you can handle expensive repairs; I drove a one-year-old 5 Series for 9 months before running into serious transmission problems that threatened to bankrupt me (not really, but they were expensive). Stay away from Mercedes-Benz's--nothing but trouble in my personal experience...
If you are insistent on buying American, go for a Ford.
I wouldn't buy Ford if I were you. American cars are garbage, period. Something like a Toyota is a way better buy.
655,471 miles. Some cars you luck out on...some you dont.
That great. Would love it if you posted a photo. Original engine?
This is completely ignorant in the face of actual new quality results showing Ford is just as good as Toyota and Honda. Ford made a conscientious decision to improve quality and followed through, while Toyota decided to let it slip.
I'm a fan of my 0 problem, Japanese car built in Flat Rock, Michigan, thank you very much.
While you are hiring an expert, be sure to read up on the relevant case law:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumho_Tire_Co._v._Carmichael
It would suck to get your witness tossed. And watch that scene in My Cousin Vinny where the prosecutor voir dires Marissa Tomei about the engine timing. No joke, that's how it's done in court to vet expert witnesses (although they wouldn't do it in front of the jury, nor curse as much).
Sorry about your car.
OK, so the OP has a problem with his car. The bulk of suggestions here involve "don't buy American" or "don't buy GM."
How is this supposed to help him with his problem? Is his car a DeLorean he can use to go back in time and buy a different car?
OP - IANAL but unfortunately it doesn't sound like this is a warranteeable issue. Warranties in general cover manufacturing defects, not use failures, and an early failure is not by itself evidence of a defect. Without evidence of a defect, the dealership need not cover the parts nor the labor. It's not really a customer service issue, it's a matter of what they are obligated to cover and what is considered an unfortunate accident that happened ridiculously early.
I suppose you think that "buy American" is a good suggestion?
"I suppose you think that "buy American" is a good suggestion?"
Did anybody read the original post? He already bought the car. Advice about what car to buy is pointless - all you are doing is piling on an unfortunate situation.
"It's not really a customer service issue, it's a matter of what they are obligated to cover and what is considered an unfortunate accident that happened ridiculously early."
But it is a customer service issue, especially with a failing company in a failing industry. All the dealers and manufacturers are competing for a much smaller market (about 1/4 smaller than a few years ago).
A wise dealer would have said, "This isn't covered, but we'll cover it for (insert small $$ here)" As I said earlier, I worked at a dealership a long time ago and know that if the price they are quoting him is $385, their cost is between $150 and $200.
Had the dealer told him $75 and explained that it isn't covered under warranty they would only be out about $100, we wouldn't be having this discussion, and he wouldn't hesitate to do business with them again. Instead they've turned a potential positive into a negative which is par for the course with many businesses anymore.
March 31st, 2010 at 11:32 AM ^
You can't really fix a warped rim, you need a new one. If the $385 is for a new rim and tire, that's probably at cost.
The wise dealer did offer to fix it at cost.
Cost in the service dept is like sticker price in the showroom. There is a ton of built in markup that comes back to the dealer from the manufacturer just like "holdback".
A good rule of thumb is that the "cost" on most items is marked up 100% from the actual cost of the item. On paper the dealer does pay the "cost" price, but they also get about half of that money back in subsidies in the form of a monthly or quarterly check from the manufacturer. If they didn't there wouldn't be any warranty work getting done at most shops.
This is why I used the price quotes of what it actually cost the dealer to fix the situation.
not the dealer. The manufacturer clearly states in the warranty they do not cover road hazards, such as pot holes. What you need to do is get ahold of the D.O.T. in the state that this occured in and explain that you hit a pot hole and ruined your tire and rim and that you would like for them to replace it. You may have to be persistant with this but they have been known to pay for this if you you are. Good Luck !
March 31st, 2010 at 12:48 PM ^
Asking the DOT for money is like writing Donald Trump to ask him to replace the time you wasted watching his crappy show.
are the best cars ever made. WHY'D THEY STOP MAKING IT????
The rim was barely damaged and the repair shop I went to ordered a new tire and fixed the rim for $174. Hopefully that's good enough. The dealership never offered to fix the rim and wanted more than $174 for the tire alone. So this was not "at cost". Not that it probably matters on here but don't shop at Elkins Chevrolet. I appreciate everyones suggestions and opinions, whether you agree with me or not. Hopefully some of the emails at GM will yield some results because the customer service lines did not.
Many years ago, my uncle spent an entire summer rebuilding a Trans-Am in my parent's garage. He stripped it to the frame and took apart and rebuilt everything. He finally got it all done, took it out one evening for the first drive, and promptly got nailed at an intersection by a drunk driver doing about 70.
De-stroyed. He got to drive it three miles.
Well that certainly makes my issue seem trite. Hope he was alright, but thats a harsh harsh fate for something you put all your time into.
you graduated from the u of m. you got a JOB right away. daddy gave you points for a price break on a NICE freaking car. you hit a pot hole.
Now you are in here crying about it? wtf?
you seem to have been very fortunate in life. stfuagbtw