Ok so my car f'ed up on me Friday the 1st of July, the ABS light came on, and it seemed like it was some kind of ABS pump by the fuse box, didn't want to shut off with the rest of the car. So it drained down the battery and I had to have it towed to the dealer where I bought it from. Technically the shopped opened Tuesday the 5th, I got a call from them saying they would order the part and it should be done no later than the following tuesday. Well got a call Tuesday, we can't find the part we need, and theres at least 25 Cobalts sitting in their lot...some BS, they could've told me a few days after not a week. I'm getting tired of this and want to know how much longer do I need to wait to get my full refund. I love the Cobalt SS to death, but 2 weeks to fix an ABS sensor, thats bull, and another week+ waiting..I just want to get a refund and take my business elsewhere to VW or Dodge.

 

get proof at how long your car is down out of commision and it will add 3 weeks to your warranty

 

........hes talking about refund..... ............u can try to ask them to replace a new one for u....

 

Tell them to give you a loner car.

Try to get an agreement in writing about when it will be fixed or some kind of deadline. If you have a job, or need to be actively moving around for a paycheck you could sue them for detrimental reliance, which means you suffered damage (loss of pay) because they did not honor an agreement.

 

thanks for the ideas, I will visit them tomorrow and see what thy are going to be willing to do for me..

 

I filed the Lemon Law paperwork on 8/1/05. In Florida the car has to have been in the shop 15 cumulative days. Then you can file the paperwork. But before the lemon law will be in effect the total amount of cumulative days must reach 30. I just got a flyer from the Atty General's office and it states that you can continue to try to get your car fixed before GM contacts you. Mine is going back in on Monday. That will start day 17 and will be the 8th time going to the shop. I only have 4000 miles on mine and 1/4 of those miles are probably going back and forth the the "service center" I, too, am fed up with the car. I'm hoping to get my money back and buy the Toyota that I had originally wanted. GM has not gotten back to me, yet, so I don't know what will happen but I'll keep you posted. When you purchased your car they should have given you a Lemon Law guide. If they didn't you can call 1-800-321-5366 and request one. That is the Florida # for the Dept of Agriculture, Consumer Services, Lemon Law Division. Good Luck

 

Is that the Suncoast dealer there in Sarasota? Have you talked to service manager? Call district manager. You should be able to drive car without abs working until the part comes in.

 

I spoke to my dealer and he said that the best thing I could do was file the lemon law. That was months ago. Speaking to the dealer will do you absolutely no good. Once the car is titled, you are stuck with it. Unless you are willing to take a $5000.00 or so loss. The dealer makes the profit, the manufacturer is the one who has to make it good. Speaking to your dealer is a total waste of time. You might as well talk to your walls. Its time to realize that you have to jump through the manufacturers hoops, file the lemon law and hope for the best.

 

I got my car back on Friday and they had it for 5 days but didn't fix anything. They claimed that they couldn't find anything wrong. So when I went to pick it up I showed him the problems. Even though I explained to him three times what the problem was so now it is due to go back in again on Monday!

Yesterday I had to take my Grandson back to the airport and the AC is leaking on the passenger side again! And there was so much condensation that it was pouring out of the vents and running down the dash!

Will it ever end? Probably not. Monday will make the 21st day in the shop. I can't wait for the day I can say "GOOD RIDDENCE!!!!"

 

and here is the big reason not to buy a car the first year its out


i know in cali , and i think most statesare similar , the car has to be in for service on the same thing minimum of 3 times


and having worked for a chevy and dodge dealer, its almost impossible to pull parts off a new car on the lot to fix yours , it might make sense to you , but for the dealer its not the way to fix things , and its hard to sell the other car when it isnt out on the front line


wish you luck man

 

In Florida its three times for the same problem or 15 cumulative days-then you can file but you have to have it out of service for 30 days for it to take effect. BUT, GM called today. I missed the call but they have me scheduled for Aug 23 for the final repair. I called her back and got her voice mail and told her that would be fine but its already in the shop so maybe they could try now. I'm a little hopeful because GM did not have to call me since I filed on cumulative days and as of today only have 21 days. But when I filed they ask for a brief description and I wrote....."My car only has 4100 miles and has been in the shop 7 times and due to go back for the 8th time on Monday. I think that says
enough" Maybe it did.

I'll keep y'all posted.

 

Well, its been a while. General Motores finally bought my car back!!!!! So I am not a lemon owner anymore. I just bought a Toyota Corolla and I LOVE IT!!! I would not recommend a General Motors product to my worst enemy. For any of you out there going through the lemon law process. DO NOT trust the "final repair attempt". The GM rep came for my final repair attempt and he couldn't find anything wrong with my car. Their recommendation was "you just have to realize you can't run your AC on high". WHAT???? I looked at the guy and said "This is bullshit and you know its bullshit". I decided that I wasn't accepting that so I took it to the reputable dealership where I purchased it. Amazingly, they found everything that was wrong with it. I would have taken it to them earlier but they are 70 miles away. So, after the BBB stepped in, they told me that GM was not prepared to offer me anything at that time. But they will have an independant mechanic come check out the car. I said "great". Then I told him about the GM rep checking it out and not finding anything but when I took it to the different dealership and they found everything. It wasn't an hour later the BBB was back on the line w/a conference call w/GM. NOW they were prepared to offer me a new car and it would only cost me an additional 1700.00. I told her that I was not going to give GM another dime. Finally they offered me my money back. Bottom line I lost 1200.00. But I got rid of the car and am loving my Corolla.

 

Lemon owner, which dealer did you get your car serviced at, Rathmann or Palm Bay Chevy? Also where did you buy it?

 

Corolla.......


Peace

 

I bought the car from Coggins Chevrolet in Kissimmee. They have been GREAT! I can't say anything bad about them. They even tried to help me find a Toyota. I would recommend Coggins to anyone who is looking for a Chevy. They are honest, helpful and gave me a great deal on the Cobalt and felt horrible about the way Rathmans and GM treated me.

I was having it "serviced" at Rathman's. They are the biggest crooks around and they have the WORST reputation that I have ever heard. Had I realized that that is where I would have to take my car, I probably wouldn't have bought it in the first place. But I never imagined that I would have all the problems so why would I worry about the local dealership.

 

[QUOTE=Asstyme]Corolla.......


Yes! A Corolla. It beats the Cobalt a million times over! I've had it for three days with no problems which is a hell of a lot more than I can say for the Cobalt. I sold my '88 Corolla when I bought the Cobalt and it is still tooling around town with no problems. My Corolla will blow any Cobalt out of the water!!!!

 

Kind of a moot point now I guess, but you may have been better off to make the drive to Palm Bay. A guy I know in Sebastian has had his truck and car serviced there and never had problems. Sorry to hear about your experience!

Say hi to the Indian River for me... I miss it!!

 

[QUOTE=Lemon owner]
No... Sorry but you were just very unlucky and I can't say that I blame you one bit for being pissed. I love my SS SC, one of the best cars I've ever owned so far and I've had many (I'm 40 years old).

All manufactures have their lemons.

Enjoy your rice

Peace

 

From what I understand, Palm Bay is owned by the same people as Rathman's. I've heard horror stories about them, too. I have no personal experience with Palm Bay.

Yes, I would miss the Indian River, too. I live in a little cottage on the river and enjoy waking up in the morning w/my coffee and looking out over the river. It is heaven. I was born and raised in Florida and have moved away several times but I always end up coming home. And at 47 I don't plan on moving away ever again.

 

I apologize for jumping on you that way. I am 47 yrs old and have also had many cars. Of the three American made cars I've owned....they were all lacking! Off all the rice burning cars I've had, I have always been very happy with them. Sad but true.

I realize that all manufacturers have their lemons. But I just couldn't stand the thought of paying them an additional $1700.00 for a new one. The woman at GM kept saying "but you are getting a brand new car!" I told her "Lady, I already bought a brand new car! It shouldn't cost me another dime!" As it is I lost about $1200.00 on the deal.

Life is full of experiences and I thank God this one is over!

 

I wasn't aware of Palm Bay being owned by the same crooks as Rathman; I'll have to look into that before I do any business with them...

I've spent a good bit of time in the Sebastian/Melbourne area, mostly in Indian River County, and I'd LOVE to live there someday. I was actually planning on moving there earlier this year but things didn't go according to plan. With any luck it might still happen one day; I hate PA and its nasty climate. We get about 3-4 months of "nice" weather and the rest is pure ****. Heck, it's only October and we've ALREADY had snow this year! I think I'd rather deal with the *possibility* of hurricanes/tropical storms than the *certainty* of cold/snow/ice/bad roads every damn winter. The only sticking point right now (other than finances) is the fact that I just finally got a decent job, so I'm afraid I might be stuck here for a while...

Never know what the future may bring though.