Clutch randomly went out 100% with no warning
I just replied to the first gentlemen that I talked to this morning with the following....
Alex,
Thank you for taking time to look into this for me. When I was talking with you this morning you mentioned that Kevin at the Dealership said that everything was going to be covered under warranty due to the clutch being faulty and for me to not worry about anything, and I confirmed with you that it meant that I wouldn't owe a single penny for it and you said yes or correct or something in that matter. I am now getting calls stating that they are having to review the case even further, due to I guess the dealer possibly doesn't want to cover it under warranty now? I am just kinda confused how earlier this morning I was told everything was going to be taken care of, and now I'm kind of getting the run around. I have attached a picture of what was remaining of my clutch. You can clearly see in the picture that the fibers from the clutch clearly just fell apart. I have talked to many individuals and performance shops about the my clutch and the picture I have attached and they all tell me that it was clearly a defective clutch. I have also received a few calls from Max the Regional support manager but I have been unable to get in contact with him today due to playing phone tag, but he did inform me via voice mail that he would have me a answer by tomorrow at 3. My only concern is I was already given an answer and it was that everything was going to be covered. Just kind of confused about what is going on right now so if you could get back with me in the morning I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks,
Alex,
Thank you for taking time to look into this for me. When I was talking with you this morning you mentioned that Kevin at the Dealership said that everything was going to be covered under warranty due to the clutch being faulty and for me to not worry about anything, and I confirmed with you that it meant that I wouldn't owe a single penny for it and you said yes or correct or something in that matter. I am now getting calls stating that they are having to review the case even further, due to I guess the dealer possibly doesn't want to cover it under warranty now? I am just kinda confused how earlier this morning I was told everything was going to be taken care of, and now I'm kind of getting the run around. I have attached a picture of what was remaining of my clutch. You can clearly see in the picture that the fibers from the clutch clearly just fell apart. I have talked to many individuals and performance shops about the my clutch and the picture I have attached and they all tell me that it was clearly a defective clutch. I have also received a few calls from Max the Regional support manager but I have been unable to get in contact with him today due to playing phone tag, but he did inform me via voice mail that he would have me a answer by tomorrow at 3. My only concern is I was already given an answer and it was that everything was going to be covered. Just kind of confused about what is going on right now so if you could get back with me in the morning I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks,
GM Customer Enthusiasm is a new-ish program available to dealers to claim warranty on non-warranty items. I know that there's a good chance your clutch actually was defective, but it's just easier for everyone because when we claim customer enthusiasm the part doesn't have to be sent back to GM for review. That way there's no way they can be charged back for the warranty repair if GM thinks its due to neglect or abuse.
I've repaired a wheel and replaced a tire on a customer's car that they admitted they hit a curb a week after picking it up. The whole idea behind the program is to keep customer enthusiasm up and keep people buying GM vehicles...
I've repaired a wheel and replaced a tire on a customer's car that they admitted they hit a curb a week after picking it up. The whole idea behind the program is to keep customer enthusiasm up and keep people buying GM vehicles...
GM Customer Enthusiasm is a new-ish program available to dealers to claim warranty on non-warranty items. I know that there's a good chance your clutch actually was defective, but it's just easier for everyone because when we claim customer enthusiasm the part doesn't have to be sent back to GM for review. That way there's no way they can be charged back for the warranty repair if GM thinks its due to neglect or abuse.
I've repaired a wheel and replaced a tire on a customer's car that they admitted they hit a curb a week after picking it up. The whole idea behind the program is to keep customer enthusiasm up and keep people buying GM vehicles...
I've repaired a wheel and replaced a tire on a customer's car that they admitted they hit a curb a week after picking it up. The whole idea behind the program is to keep customer enthusiasm up and keep people buying GM vehicles...
Nice to hear GM has a program for that now.
The most understanding service manager in the world couldn't put through repairs that were obviously out of warranty when GM corporate has access to the VIN and all service records. And even if they did pull a fast one, corporate would require that the parts be send back, and then they would just backcharge the dealer for the cost of the parts and repair when they see that it was obviously not a warrantied problem.
"Good will" is different. A good will repair is still a warranty for manufacturer defects, just out of warranty terms. Customer enthusiasm is directly geared towards warranty of non-warranty issues. Good will warranty we still have to send the parts in to GM, customer enthusiasm we don't because they already know it's not their fault...
be careful make sure you get everything in writing before going ahead and letting them do the repairs some of these GM dealerships are shady i am done with them and would rather have a friend's shop work on my car and pay for stuff on my own
Just got off the phone with GM.... they are telling me that they talked to the dealer and the service manager told them that my clutch went out clearly because of abuse because its an SS. WTF.. I told them i wanted the original call pulled that I was told it was going to be covered and the call that was made to the dealership that confirmed everything was covered.. he told me the calls had no backing and the the people involved in those call would be reported.. WTF I told him to look at the picture I sent him and he was like sir this decision was made by a higher power than me. I asked to talk to this higher power and i was simply told that the higher power doesn't talk on the phone. I proceeded to tell him that it was BS that I can't express my concerns to the person making the decision on my car.....
well I guess i'm going to be getting a stage 4 and installing it myself now...
well I guess i'm going to be getting a stage 4 and installing it myself now...
i knew it i dealt with the same thing gm said one thing the dealership said another thing and then all of a sudden gm would say they agree with the dealership, thats why i ask for everything in writing
Yeah.. they made the decision my car was abused..... the car hasn't been torn apart and even looked at yet.. the clutch material is laying in the bell housing and can be pulled out from next to the flywheel. The service manager made the comment that we have never put a clutch in a cobalt before, and its an SS so its clearly abuse.. this comment wasn't to me but to someone on the inside
Sucks man, but the service manager has a lot of pull. I would find myself a different dealership if I were you. And also request to speak with the district rep. Let him know that you will never buy a GM again because of the way they are treating you and that you did not abuse your car. Squeaky wheel gets the grease...just sayin...
...Just remember, we get a lot of customers that come in swearing up and down that they didn't do something they clearly did. It tends to make dealerships jaded. You really have to convince them that you're not one of the 100's of idiots that you read about on this very forum talking about how they blew their **** up and then just put it back to stock before bringing it in to the dealer.
I can't even count how many times my service manager has said right off the bat that he guarantees something is abuse on someone's vehicle before he even sees it, but depending on how that customer acts...that makes the difference if we cover something or not. Just go in to the dealership and have a sit-down with the service manager. Don't be hostile and argumentative, just explain to him from your perspective and see what he says. Don't do this if you can't keep your cool, but if you can control your temper and talk it out, you may be surprised at the outcome...
...Just remember, we get a lot of customers that come in swearing up and down that they didn't do something they clearly did. It tends to make dealerships jaded. You really have to convince them that you're not one of the 100's of idiots that you read about on this very forum talking about how they blew their **** up and then just put it back to stock before bringing it in to the dealer.
I can't even count how many times my service manager has said right off the bat that he guarantees something is abuse on someone's vehicle before he even sees it, but depending on how that customer acts...that makes the difference if we cover something or not. Just go in to the dealership and have a sit-down with the service manager. Don't be hostile and argumentative, just explain to him from your perspective and see what he says. Don't do this if you can't keep your cool, but if you can control your temper and talk it out, you may be surprised at the outcome...
Last edited by Edubs; Nov 23, 2011 at 10:46 AM.
Got a call from GM this morning and after reviewing my case he assured me that everything would be covered under the power train warranty and had already spoke to the dealership. I proceeded to let my buddy know that is working on my car at the dealer that I called GM and they are taking care of it under warranty, mainly just so he could make sure everything flowed smoothly. Apparently his boss at the dealership is saying its a normal wear and tear item still so it won't be covered under warranty. So I proceeded to call my contact back at GM and he then assured me that he would be in contact with the regional general manager and have this issue resolved for me and not to worry about a thing. 

Best,
Sarah
GM Customer Service
You need to elevate this...Find out who the regional rep is and talk to them...I used this tactic with my girlfriends Accord that the dealership was denying that the transmission was slipping on high rpm upshifts. I took the service manager for a ride and he denied that there was a problem. Had the regional rep show up, bitched at him, took him for a ride and he said "Yeah, this is definitely a problem and it will be replaced under warranty..." A lot of those service managers at the dealership level are pissed about something in their lives and take it out on customers with legitimate issues.
Edit - looks like you're already headed this route and I'm glad it's working out for you.
Edit - looks like you're already headed this route and I'm glad it's working out for you.
Yeah.. they made the decision my car was abused..... the car hasn't been torn apart and even looked at yet.. the clutch material is laying in the bell housing and can be pulled out from next to the flywheel. The service manager made the comment that we have never put a clutch in a cobalt before, and its an SS so its clearly abuse.. this comment wasn't to me but to someone on the inside
You need to elevate this...Find out who the regional rep is and talk to them...I used this tactic with my girlfriends Accord that the dealership was denying that the transmission was slipping on high rpm upshifts. I took the service manager for a ride and he denied that there was a problem. Had the regional rep show up, bitched at him, took him for a ride and he said "Yeah, this is definitely a problem and it will be replaced under warranty..." A lot of those service managers at the dealership level are pissed about something in their lives and take it out on customers with legitimate issues.
Edit - looks like you're already headed this route and I'm glad it's working out for you.
Edit - looks like you're already headed this route and I'm glad it's working out for you.
yeah i am fixing my car myself and documenting everything i got pissed when i was taking my car apart and realized that the dealership didn't even take the steps to look at the car oh gm is not gonna like me when i'm done with them
I don't think I'm getting anywhere with customer support. All I'm being told is that tier 1 and 2 have reviewed my case and that its not covered. So basically it sounds like all they did was call the service manager. I guarantee if they were to have the local gm show up at the shop the car won't be in the garage it will probably be outside still not even tore apart. And if that's the case how can you say it was abuse? It's clearly a case of well that's an SS so it was abused. So glad I bought one of there performance cars just to get treated worse than if I still had my LS.
GMs a joke, they emphasize customer service so much with these stupid satisfaction surveys after warranty work, calls, etc. but fail to realize they are very difficult and unfriendly, not to mention they rip you off for every little thing. I certainly will not be buying a GM for my next car



