New member from Vegas....

[ultima_chi]

Hey guys, I just bought me a 2001 Grand Am GT last August. I used to own a BMW, but have since sold it. The Grand AM is a great car, but has been giving me problems since day one. First I noticed I was losing coolant every other week or so, and this happened right after I bought the car. The dealership I bought it from (Volkswagen) said that it was the fan sensor. Now during this time it was under warranty for 2 months. But it took them about 1 1/2 months to finally pop in the new fan sensor, as they kept saying they were too busy.

So the when I went to pick up my car from the dealership, I noticed that the "Service Vehicle Soon" light was on after turning on the ignition. So, when I turned off the vehicle the door locks had about a 20 second delay before they unlocked automatically. So I stormed back in the dealership asking what the hell did they do to my car! They told me that the computer needed time to reset.....they told me to bring it back in a week if it persisted.

A week later I'm still losing coolant, so I take it to a jiffy lube, and the service guy instantly pointed out that the intake gasket needed to be replaced as these vehicles are notorious for this problem. I call up the dealership and ask why can a jiffy lube tech find the problem but your professional techs can't......the manager says.....we're volkswagen techs, not pontiac techs. Your warranty is expired and we can't do anything for you. And as far as the door locks go, you're screwed too! Now I'm extremely pissed.

So I take it to a reputable mechanic around here and he replaces the gasket last week. He also tells me the "service vehicle soon" light is indicating a fan sensor problem (the part the dealership "replaced"). He said it looks like they rigged it. There was a wire running from the fan sensor into the computer box so that the fans stay on constantly. He said the dealership did either A) wired the old sensor so that it would stay on constantly, or B) got the wrong part and rigged it so that it would work. Either way they did a hack job on your vehicle.

Now this is a big dealership (Desert Volkswagen) and not some mom and pop shop. What can I do? This was supposed to be covered and they intentionally waited until the warranty was over so they didn't have to deal with the problem. Does this need to be taken to a higher authority?

[MT-2500]

Does you state have a small claims court?
If not find a good lawyer to help you.
If so that would be a good place to start.
But remeber if you go to court you need paper documentation to back up your claims.
Got any paper work or work orders where you took it back to them and what they did or not do? And save your paper work at juffie lube and the place that fixed the intake for you.
Good luck

[ultima_chi]

I'll look into the small claims court for it. As for paperwork, I've got that. But is it really worth it? I'm just thinking about reporting them to the BBB and call it a day. Unless going through this will get me extra cash and maybe a new car.

[GTP Dad]

I don't know if small claims court will help very much but it is worth a try. I would certainly call the better business bureau and the attorney generals office in your state. This dealership is engaging in deceptive business practices and they have no intention in honoring the warranties they are issuing on used vehicles. I think the Attorney Generals office would be quite interested in this. Also if you have a TV station that has an on you side or Action reporter they may also be helpful. As you can tell I really don't like dealerships especially the ones that treat customers like crap.

The way I figure it if you can bring this to everyone's attention then their business may suffer to the point you at least get your revenge!

Good Luck!

[MT-2500]

Originally Posted by ultima_chi

I'll look into the small claims court for it. As for paperwork, I've got that. But is it really worth it? I'm just thinking about reporting them to the BBB and call it a day. Unless going through this will get me extra cash and maybe a new car.

Well getting a new car is may not be in the picture.
But small claims court can sometimes help get the money back for your repairs if you case is good.
But you have to ask yourself if it is worth the hassel.
And there is no way of knowing which way small claime court will go.
And Like GTP dad says report it to the BBB. It may help some one else on down the line.
Also let all friends and family and co workers and any body else know how they done you.
Word of mouth is mighty strong tool or sweet revenge .
Good Luck MT.

[ultima_chi]

Originally Posted by GTP Dad

I don't know if small claims court will help very much but it is worth a try. I would certainly call the better business bureau and the attorney generals office in your state. This dealership is engaging in deceptive business practices and they have no intention in honoring the warranties they are issuing on used vehicles. I think the Attorney Generals office would be quite interested in this. Also if you have a TV station that has an on you side or Action reporter they may also be helpful. As you can tell I really don't like dealerships especially the ones that treat customers like crap.

The way I figure it if you can bring this to everyone's attention then their business may suffer to the point you at least get your revenge!

Good Luck!

Yeah, I figured it's not even worth the hassle of going to court. But I'm definitely going to let the BBB and Attorney General know! THanks for the advice guys.