LOVE the truck, but GM is letting me down...

[Duvel]

Hi All,

 

As the title states, I feel that GM is letting me and my family down. I just wanted to share my story for those that may be interested. The story does not yet have an ending, but I will post updates as more information becomes available.

 

A quick background. I am 32 years old and every vehicle I have ever owned since I could drive is a GM product. My father and grandfather have been nothing but dedicated Chevrolet owners. My grandmother retired from the truck plant in Flint, MI. My fathers company has a little over 200 Chevrolet trucks in its fleet. Hopefully this shows how much my family has invested into GM products and how much they have been a part of our lives. I also cannot express how happy I have been with my experience Ive had with GM products and Chevrolet trucks in particular.

 

Last year my wife and I decided we needed to upgrade from our 2011 2500HD extended cab to a crew cab truck since our daughter was one year old and it is amazing how much room a small child can take up in a vehicle. We saved up our pennies and special ordered a truck that met our needs exactly. A 2016 3500HD LT crew cab 4wd Duramax. It arrived in December of 2015 and we LOVED this truck. A few weeks after owning it, my wife noticed what appeared to be a particle stuck in the clear coat on the hood. I noticed it as well, but I didnt think it was worth worrying too much about. As time went on, I noticed what appeared to be rock chips but they were in spots that one wouldnt expect there to be rock chips. In March of 2016 I finally contacted my dealer of an issue when I noticed a large piece of paint hanging from the fender which was caused by the headlight bezel resting tightly against the fender. Its hard to explain, but the paint along the edge of the fender that rested against the bezel just came off in one long strip. I contacted GM and they told me take it into the dealer for their evaluation. The dealer agreed that it was a defect and that the fender would have to be repainted to fix. I also mentioned the dust particle on the hood and strange rock chip looking spots. After a much closer inspection of the truck, we both noticed that the paint was full of defects. Dust particles and bubbles were in the paint everywhere and in some places there was even hair and lint in the paint. This was in every body panel all over the truck. The dealer said the entire truck would have to be repainted to resolve the issue. Keep in mind at this time the truck had 5,000 miles on it and had only been on pavement or in my garage. We had not pulled any trailers or even hauled a cardboard box in the bed. The dealer told me they would contact GM of their findings and get back with me for a date to bring the truck in for repair. At this point I was fine with this decision.

 

Now the wait begins. There was apparently some kind of disconnect between the dealership, GM, and I. After a month of waiting to hear something back, I started emailing and calling both the dealer and GM to get a status update. It seemed at this point neither one of them were on the same page. One more month goes by and the dealer finally informs me that GM is only going to pay for 50% of the repair cost and that I am responsible for the other 50%. Let me reiterate, GM is holding ME responsible for 50% of the repair cost. The reasoning is because the spots that looked like rock chips are apparently deemed to be my fault. I tried to explain to them that the bubbles in the paint were flaking off every time I washed the truck. I also wanted them to explain how I got rock chips on the tailgate and on rear cab corners beside the rear window. Lucky for me, the dealer said they would renegotiate with GM for me. Finally on June 21st, I got a call that I needed to drop my truck off as soon as I had the chance so they get it fixed. I dropped it off on June 22nd with 8,055 miles on the odometer. After a week, I emailed the dealer for and ET on when the truck would be done. They replied that the work hasnt started because GM put it on hold so they could send a field service engineer to look at the truck. I asked when that would take place, but they said GM wasnt sure when since the service engineer for their area had quit. I also called GM and they couldnt tell me when a service engineer would be there. 3 weeks went by and a field service engineer still hadnt showed up. I finally requested to get my truck back since I was leaving for a business trip and I wanted my wife to have a second vehicle available to her. I cannot tell you how frustrated I was at this point.

 

I spent the next month calling GM and the dealer to see what was going to be done and when. GMs standard reply was, We are still reviewing the case with the dealer. The dealers standard reply was, We are waiting on GM right now. I was livid. The condition of my paint kept deteriorating and I just wanted the truck fixed. The stress and anxiety of stringing this issue out this long had been too much at this point. The dealer finally informed me that they are going to try and order me a new truck just like the one I have. I said as long as my payments are the same I would be willing to do that. I talked to GM who also said that getting a replacement truck would be a good course of action to follow. Another argument that pushed me towards this course of action was when the dealer mentioned that if I had the truck repainted, the repair would show up on the Carfax and hurt the value in that manner as well. I made it explicitly clear to both parties that I would only be willing to get a new truck if my payments were the same. To my dismay, they were no longer accepting orders for 2016s so I would have to wait an order a 2017.

 

When the order books finally came open for the 2017s in September, my dealer called me in to place the order. I told them that I would not sign anything until I had it in writing that my payment would be the same. They danced around the subject for a while and said that it shouldnt be a problem at all but they cannot guarantee it since the pricing hasnt been announced yet. The dealer did say that GM has agreed to some trade in assistance. After some bickering back and forth with the salesman, a manager came out and told me flat-out that he doesnt see how it would be possible for me to get the same exact payment, even with the trade-in assistance. He estimated that my payment would be $130 more a month that it currently is because my current truck is only worth $40,000. Hard to swallow when it was $61,000 new and I only have 10,000 miles on it. After many calls to GM, they cannot guarantee anything either. Their response to me last week when I asked them what they are going to do to help resolve the issue with my truck was, I am not saying we will help you and I am not saying we wont. So now what am I supposed to do?

 

As of this writing, I am 7 months into trying to get this issue resolved. My family is also watching my issue very closely and my father, who apparently has more money than I thought, is going to swap his entire fleet over to Ford if GM doesnt make this right for me. He is taking this very personal. Some may blame the dealer, but the dealer didnt put the bad paint job on the truck and start this whole issue to begin with. I am also hoping that someone within GM who TRULY cares will read this and get this information to someone who can help for real. I truly love GM trucks and would love to continue being a proud owner and supporter of GM products. I will keep updating this thread as more information becomes available to me and hopefully it turns out to be a happy ending. I just want the product I paid for, thats all. It's more than just selling a product we love, it's following through with good customer service.

[O_J_Simpson]

Cliff notes: You are not satisfied with your paint job?

 

Sorry but not msany people here are..Paint jobs are cheap now. accept it or move on.

[RyanbabZ71]

Sounds like you have everything well documented and legal help may be your only option.

 

 

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[matt123]

Sorry you're having to deal with that. All my experience with dealerships suck. I worked for a Chrysler dealer and I can tell you they are just as bad.

I paid $56k for my duramax in February and put 15,000 miles on it. I'm thinking of downsizing to a Colorado so I got a trade in estimate from the dealer and they told me $53k and that I could possibly negotiate more. So if they are telling you that your truck is only worth $40k then they are just trying to bend you over.

 

If it were me I would go to the dealer one more time, talk to the top dog and tell him to find you a equivalent truck to replace this one and that if they cant produce results within 7 days you will be talking to an attorney.

 

It may be to late to order a 2016 but dealerships still have plenty of stock on hand and shouldn't have much problem finding you a very closely matched replacement and with promotions getting better as the end of the year nears they should be able to work something out to keep your payments the same.

 

Completely unacceptable that they kept your truck for weeks and didn't fix it.

[Duvel]

Cliff notes: You are not satisfied with your paint job?

 

Sorry but not msany people here are..Paint jobs are cheap now. accept it or move on.

To say that I am not satisfied with my paint job is exactly right. I've inspected 3 other HD's at dealerships with the same color paint(deep ocean blue). One of those trucks had 1 dust particle in the paint on the tailgate, and the other two had a couple of dust particles in the paint. I would be willing to accept such a condition. But when the paint is falling off of my truck and I have hundreds of defects throughout, I am unwilling to accept that. This will give us a chance to see if accountability is truly one of GM's core values. I appreciate your input.

[diyer2]

Sorry to hear about this, GOOD LUCK.

My 2 Cents.

Different GM dealer than the one your father deals with? Might have been worth it to buy from the same dealer.

You and the wife have to decide if $130 a month more is worth it.

Your father switching to Ford, waste of money IMO. He would just be putting money in someone else's pocket and putting a hole in his. He could have more problems than he wants to deal with.

 

Any major purchase should be an enjoyable experience but that is not true some times. We recently bought our dream house in the mountains of Colorado and I don't want to go there.

 

 

['01LS1]

You should post up some photos of the bubbles & chips.

 

Also you should most definitely hold your dealer accountable for the $130 increase. They are setting your trade in value, not GM. They are setting your retail value in accordance to the discounts they may receive via GM. So yes, they are responsible in that regard.

[Nathan79]

Start contacting lemon law lawyer. Don't pay a penny to these clowns.

[Adamrg]

I paid $56k for my duramax in February and put 15,000 miles on it. I'm thinking of downsizing to a Colorado so I got a trade in estimate from the dealer and they told me $53k and that I could possibly negotiate more. So if they are telling you that your truck is only worth $40k then they are just trying to bend you over.

It could also depend on the trim, configuration and options. If I recall, You have a high country?

I have a dbl cab slt and got offered 48k on my 65k sticker 10mo old duramax. When I was purchasing they already were a bit apprehensive to order in case I wouldn't take it, they said double cabs don't sell for them. So it really didn't surprise me that they lowballed the trade and didn't want to work with me.

[Duvel]

Sorry to hear about this, GOOD LUCK.

My 2 Cents.

Different GM dealer than the one your father deals with? Might have been worth it to buy from the same dealer.

You and the wife have to decide if $130 a month more is worth it.

Your father switching to Ford, waste of money IMO. He would just be putting money in someone else's pocket and putting a hole in his. He could have more problems than he wants to deal with.

 

Any major purchase should be an enjoyable experience but that is not true some times. We recently bought our dream house in the mountains of Colorado and I don't want to go there.

 

My father's dealer is several hundred miles away from me. It was a bumpy road when I bought this truck from the dealership and I expressed my concern of this to GM when I first made my complaint of paint issues. I told GM to recommend a trustworthy dealership and they chose the same dealership and assured me they would be working with them every step of the way to ensure my problems were resolved properly and to my liking. I think I'm going to contact another local dealer and see if they would be willing to do the transaction.

[Duvel]

Sorry you're having to deal with that. All my experience with dealerships suck. I worked for a Chrysler dealer and I can tell you they are just as bad.

I paid $56k for my duramax in February and put 15,000 miles on it. I'm thinking of downsizing to a Colorado so I got a trade in estimate from the dealer and they told me $53k and that I could possibly negotiate more. So if they are telling you that your truck is only worth $40k then they are just trying to bend you over.

 

If it were me I would go to the dealer one more time, talk to the top dog and tell him to find you a equivalent truck to replace this one and that if they cant produce results within 7 days you will be talking to an attorney.

 

It may be to late to order a 2016 but dealerships still have plenty of stock on hand and shouldn't have much problem finding you a very closely matched replacement and with promotions getting better as the end of the year nears they should be able to work something out to keep your payments the same.

 

Completely unacceptable that they kept your truck for weeks and didn't fix it.

I've found two trucks that suited my fancy and submitted them to my dealer. They couldn't get one of them because they are not a GMC dealer. The other truck was a Chevy and two weeks later they are telling me they are still working on it. "Waiting in the general manager to work up a deal". I will probably see if another dealer can get me the GMC since I liked it much more anyways.

[Colossus]

Loyalty means nothing to the automakers, it never has- and it never will. Why? Because there are millions of other potential customers out there. Oh sure you get $2000 off loyalty incentives if you trade in a GM vehicle for another, but that's nothing big to them. Sadly, we are all just simple little ants in a huge ant farm. The loss of a hundred or thousand or even million won't mean anything. Why? Because there are millions more who will do the job.

[Duvel]

Loyalty means nothing to the automakers, it never has- and it never will. Why? Because there are millions of other potential customers out there. Oh sure you get $2000 off loyalty incentives if you trade in a GM vehicle for another, but that's nothing big to them. Sadly, we are all just simple little ants in a huge ant farm. The loss of a hundred or thousand or even million won't mean anything. Why? Because there are millions more who will do the job.

 

Sadly, your saying exactly what I was already thinking. At least now I can find out for myself, we'll see. I'm giving GM and it's affiliates(delarships) the benefit of the doubt. Integrity is a trait that is rarely found anymore. It's a crying shame if America's companies cannot value that trait. While I have family lawyers at my disposal to handle this for me, I absolutely despise how "sue happy" society has become. I will give GM and whichever dealership I end up with the chance to come through for me. I want nothing more than a positive outcome from this and to continue being a GM customer.

[Duvel]

I've asked the dealer to request a buyback. Doubtful that will happen, but it would be the easiest route right now.

[vertigo]

Cliff notes: You are not satisfied with your paint job?

 

Sorry but not msany people here are..Paint jobs are cheap now. accept it or move on.

Total BS.

People aren't happy with the vibration issue, which apparently isn't a safety issue. Should they also accept it and move on?

Does your preferred vehicle Mfg and color help in your making a vehicle purchase?

Why should the OP take such a hard depreciation hit because of a shoddy job by GM? Not to mention the resale hit he will take due to the Carfax report.