AmosBaker

The dealership has had my Cobalt for seven days now due to a mechanical failure in the ignition switch. I was finally supposed to get it back on Friday (after being lied to the entire week) and when i went to pick it up I walked around the car before signing anything and found a huge dent (paint scrapped away down to bare metal) in the trunk and a chip out of the spoiler. They are going to 'fix' it but they have to send it away because that dearship does not have a body shop.

I want the entire trunk and spoiler replaced, not just fixed. Any ideas? Should I settle for a fix? Any legal grounds for making sure I get what I want done?

I am just glad I trusted this dealership so little that I looked at it before I signed anything. They would have let me drive off the lot with out saying a damn thing...

Any help or comments of pity would be greatly appriciated....

Arwes

Holy crap that is HORRIBLE. I'm thinking you need to get GM in on this. I'm going to check with a mechanic friend and see which service departments in my area have the best rep.

A friend of mine had a Jeep Wrangler and he had tranny problems. When they fixed that, the guy had wrapped the throttle cable for some reason around some part of the engine. He cranked it up and it wouldn't go, and when he punched the gas pedal the cable broke and took out a few belts and screwed up his radiator fan blade. Needless to say, he never went back there and I tell people to stay faaar away.

AmosBaker

I didn't want to go to this dealer but it was the closest one that I could get it towed to. I am trying to have them send the car to the dealer where I originally purchased it to get it fixed. I am going tomorrow before they cart the car away so that I can get some pictures incase things get legally messy down the road.

Maybe I will post them tomorrow afternoon sometime...

AmosBaker

I just went to the dealership to try to take pictures but found out that the car had already been towed to a repair shop in Johnstown, their co dealership. But when I talked to the manager he told me that they were considering saying that is was parking lot damage, 'same as if I was parked at the grocery store or Walmart' and not covering it. So no pictures and now it might not be covered...

Any advice with this would be greatly appriciated... are they legally liable? Do they have to cover it? Please tell me they do...

BlueVillain

Yes and no. They can do whatever they want, in theory. You can also make as big a deal out of this as you want to. Don't be afraid to talk to their boss, their boss's boss, etc.

Generally speaking, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. My one suggestion though, just don't be insulting... be constructive about it. Don't call them names, just tell them you're not leaving with the car until they fix it correctly.

-Villain

AmosBaker

I flipped when I originally found the damage on Friday but have calmed down slightly since then. Being the squeaky wheel was exactly what we, my father and I did, (I am currently a college student in a college town and I think that they thought they could take advantage of that) we called GM customer service and within minutes they were on the phone with the dealership. They are sending the car to the place where I want to get it fixed and covering it all. They backed down as soon as they received the call from customer service. So things are not starting to look up, maybe I will have my car back by the weekend.

Arwes

I figured the customer service folks might persuade them to change their tune. Glad to hear everything's going to be taken care of!

Vooduguru

Call your local TV news station to complain about their service. They'll get you fixed up right quick

ryantempone

amos,

if i were you i would make GM replace the trunk lid and spoiler, direct trade from another cobalt...i recently bought my brand new car and it has a scratch on the rim..i went in and got a brand new rim put on. you are the customer, make them replace it

ryan

JonyyB

I second that.
Good luck and I hope they don't screw you over.

AmosBaker

The car has now been at the dealership where I wanted it fixed for 3 days. I got the esimation on Monday and the grand total came to $901 including a new trunk lid and painting it and the spoiler. The problem is that the vehicle is so new that they are having a difficult time locating the new trunk. So I have 'owned' the car for 3 1/2 weeks and have not had it in my possession at all for the last week and a half (since Easter Sunday).

I know that this probably isnt the place to say it but I can never see myself spending any money on another Chevrolet product ever again (after this one is paid off). This whole experience has been terrible especially since it is my first new car purchase. This whole experience stems from the car breaking down in the first place so itis not just the faulty customer service that I have been dealing with.

Am I over reacting?

Vooduguru

Nope, not at all. Some of the things that I've seen at many different brands of vehicle dealers makes me sick. Now I will say this, it's not any one brand, Dodge Ford GM, Chevrolet etc. It boils down to the franchise. So don't knock Chevy completely out of the picture, just visit some competing dealers and see which one treats you right.

rxxxryan

I hope your not paying the $900...my brother had a similar problem after getting into an accident one month after buying a new ford focus. At the time the focus had just come out and Ford was designating all parts for assembly and none for service he ended waiting over two months before getting his car back...I guess its all a learning experience of buying a new model car

cctemecula

voodoo has it. my chevy dealer here i have been dealing with for 3 years and dont have one gripe. I guess just some try harder than others.

Vooduguru

Exactly. There are numeorous dealers that actually give a crap about their customers. The sad thing is they're dwindling

AmosBaker

I'm not paying the $900 the dealership that damaged my car is paying for it. what is killing me now is having to wait for my car. I just want it back... and I really hope that it does not take two months.

I did get it taken to the dealership that I wanted because they will do a better job of repairing it for me. For now it is just a waiting game until I get my car back. Which really sucks...

I am going to call the customer service again, talk to the same people that helped me out before and see if they can give me some insight as to how long it might take to get the trunk lid that I need.

Vooduguru

They can get the parts ordered, delivered and painted while you still drive the car. Then all they have to do is install which takes but an hour or 2 at the most.

zinner

You can't drive the car while they are waiting for the parts to arrive?

You will get a survey since your under the 3/36 and you can hammer them on it. Also you can hammer them on the new Vehicle survery. Just make sure your hammering the right dealership/person. Chevy is very serious about their customer satisfaction. If someone is giving you a hard time at the dealer chances are they don't even value their job. The surveys directly reflect on them and affect their pay/bonuses.

Archplsm

Amos, your issue is defiantly a franchise issue, not a manuf. issue. Just to give you some insight on other Chevy dealers...... My dealer has one of the best repair shops in the region. They have cars coming to Lawrenceburg Indiana (just outside Cincinnati) from all over (up to 1 hour away) These people come for anything, oil change, repair, and so on. I have even heard of a Corvette owner coming from Indianapolis (2 hours away) to get works done. The sales department is also very good, no hustle on price just $49 over invoice that's it. For these reasons GM took a Pontiac, GMC, and Buick dealer away from another franchise and gave it to them. BUT, I also have a Chevy dealer less than a block from my office and I will never deal with any part of them, multiple bad experiences. Its just about finding a good dealer that wants to take care of you during and after the sale of the car.

All this being good and all, I do have 1 issue that I have had over 3 Chevy cars. On my second car Chevy lost the train car it was coming on in St. Louis. This added 4 weeks to delivery on my car. Other than that my dealer has ALWAYS!!! Taken very good care of my cars and me. Just dealing with the dealer that treats you the best.

AmosBaker

The problem with that is the car was taken to Johnstown PA wich is where the body shop. I am currently attending school in Huntingdon PA, about 70 miles away. I was originally told that it would be fixed by now and that is why I let it be towed before the parts had arrived.

I understand that the majority of the problems that I have been facing have been due to to specific dealer that the vehicle was originally towed to but I can't shake the thoughts that none of this ever would have happened in the first place if the car didn't break down at all. I guess only time will tell, if the car starts acting better than I might consider another Chevrolet...

djdnz

I'd just like to throw in the fact that this is the first year of production for the car, so its typical to have these sorts of bugs.

If I were you, I'd ask to get a trunk from a base cobalt thats the same colour. Looks a lot better than that huge thing GM puts on the SS's, and you probably wouldnt have to wait very long for one either.

AmosBaker

I'M BACK!!! The dealership ordered the wrong parts to fix my car.... surprise surprise. Now instead of tomorrow I am looking at Monday at the earliest. That would make it exacly 4 weeks that I have owned the car and 2 weeks that it has been in the shop!

mken

I kinda thought about that, myself. Watching that thing bounce up and down with the wind in my rear view makes me wonder how much it adds to the road noise (not to mention how much gas mileage it might eat up).

Z06Kat

AmosBaker doesnt have an SS S/C. right?

AmosBaker

Nope it is a Coupe LS.