CmplXty

So I'm having a problem with the dealership I bought my car from. I bought the car 1 month and 2 days ago, I brought the car in to the dealership closer to me (yesterday) (not the one I bought it from) for a faulty fuel gauge which is covered under warranty. They ordered the part thats all fine and done (waiting for the part to come in.) I am very satisfied with both dealerships, minus this mishap.

They then proceeded to tell me that my rear brakes on my 2010 Cobalt SS with 30,0329 (I have only put 1,500~ miles on the car since I bought it, I bought it was 28.8 or so miles) miles were so bad that they will very soon throw a sensor off and need to be replaced asap. I said ok fine, is that covered under warranty? No its not and it will cost me 550$ (roughly) to fix it. I do NOT think what so ever that I need to pay for rear brakes to be put on my car when I haven't even had the car much longer than 2 months!

My question is, is it possible to scan the computer (ECM?) on the car to prove to them that I drive the car like a damn old man most of the time? That way they can't say I abused the car and beat the **** out of the brakes when I sure as hell did NOT! What are my options here?

I called GM Customer Service and the woman, Rachel, that I am dealing with is doing a very good job, but I feel absolutely no obligation to pay for brand new brakes on this car when it was sold to me as a "GM Certified Used Car" and should have had brakes that should last a lot longer than how long I've been driving it. According to Rachel, they told me it had more than 50% wear on the brake when they inspected the car but I really find that hard to believe!

Sorry for the lengthy post, but I'm not very happy about paying for brakes this soon! Any help/comments are appreciated, thanks!

BozickA

iTrader: (2)

Just take it where you bought it they should give you rear brakes no questions asked especially being a certified used car. Unless the rep you are talking to will just have the dealer closer to you do it. They cant prove you drive like a old man either.

emiller

Brakes are a wear item and not covered under warranty. Also you don't know what someone else did to the car for 30k miles. They could have babied it or beat the **** out of it.

Basically why didn't you bother to check the car out before you bought it? Seriously you took the person selling the cars word? The better they can make the car look the more they can sell it for.

nhanson

iTrader: (1)

have them check the rears for the lube problem on the brakes.

CmplXty

I'm not a mechanic, or had one on hand to help me out when I went to look at the car/buy it. So unfortunately, I was trusting the dealership because its a massive dealership near my house with a supposed "outstanding" reputation. And shouldn't "GM Certified Used Car" mean something like there should be nothing wrong with this vehicle? :/

emiller

You don't need to be a mechanic. Common sense goes a long way. Beyond that paying one a few $ to inspect it is nothing compared to the price of a car.

Bad brakes can make noise, pull, shake, etc. They might even be bad enough to have grooves that you can easily see.

CmplXty

I'm gonna go check to see if I can see these grooves. A friend of mine told me about them tonight so I'm gonna take a look in a minute. The only thing that I can notice with the brakes is that my stopping ability is reduced a good amount, like I have to press on the brake pretty firmly to slow the car more than a bit. Plus when they're wet, my braking is reduced a LOT its pretty scary.

I'll mention the lube problem to them.

emiller

Just an FYI the brakes need some hard use once in awhile. Keeps them from getting pad material and stuff built up on them.

By reduced braking to you mean just the initial bite or it just never improves even after the water has been pushed off? Open wheel designs (like most cars these days) have more room to get water on the rotor surface than the old steel wheels. That might be a big cause of the initial bite issue that seems to come up a lot in the rain. Maybe someone else with more wheel experience can agree or disagree with that one.

nhanson

iTrader: (1)

ride the brakes to dry them off...or next rotor change get some slots

CmplXty

I will do that once I get these fixed.

I took some pictures of the brakes, I will upload them tomorrow when I get the time. I was only able to take pictures from the outside, not the underside of the car since I don't know where to point the camera to do that / I don't currently have a working car jack to do the job quickly at 10:50pm lol

Thanks for the replies guys. By all means keep em' coming if you have some knowledge on this subject.

TommyP

iTrader: (2)

unfortunatley, all GM certification really means is that they cleaned the car, replaced the wiper blades, checked all the fluid, and made sure there were no check engine lights. You wouldn't believe how many GM certifications are just a signed paper and a jump in price. It's all bullshit and I see it every day working at a dealership. Unfortunately, brakes are a wear item so they aren't really covered, just like tires, and the clutch, so they aren't covered.

Chevrolet Cust Svc

Glad to hear that you’re getting the help you need from Rachel and that things are going well there. I’m sorry for this situation with your vehicle and the frustration that this is causing you. If there’s anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me via pm. I’ll be following the thread for updates!

Best,
Sarah
GM Customer Service

CmplXty

The situation got resolved. Turns out that the dealership where I brought my car to get it looked at (not purchased) was giving me the run around about my brakes and they weren't bad at all. The lowest they got was 3 mm of pad left. Never going to those crooks at the damn dealership I used very often before, gonna have to find another one now.

The dealership I bought my car at fixed my brakes for free and put brand new pads and calipers on them. Really love the service I got from them

Chevrolet Cust Svc

I’m so glad to hear that things got resolved for you, and that the dealership where you purchased the car took good care of you. Thank you for posting this update!

Best,
Sarah
GM Customer Service