Warranty issue!
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 437
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From: King George Virginia
Warranty issue!
Ok, took my Z in the other day for a check engine light which called out a cooling fan relay according to diagnostics. Anyway, they call and say that one of the fans was bad and fuse was blown and need to order fan and replace it so I say ok, go for it it's under warranty still. Yesterday i get another call saying that the reason the fan failed was because there was a plastic bad wrapped around it and that's what caused it to fail so it's not going to be covered!!
How they came to that conclusion I have no idea, i sure didn't see it when I first got the light and inspected the fan area when I got home. So the car is ready and will pick it up this afternoon, of course I will be sure and dispute the coverage issue with the service manager when I get there and raise hell if needed because I don't see how they can confirm that is what caused the failure. What do you all think, am I going to be fighting a losing battle here?
How they came to that conclusion I have no idea, i sure didn't see it when I first got the light and inspected the fan area when I got home. So the car is ready and will pick it up this afternoon, of course I will be sure and dispute the coverage issue with the service manager when I get there and raise hell if needed because I don't see how they can confirm that is what caused the failure. What do you all think, am I going to be fighting a losing battle here?
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Good luck. Hope you can get them to change their mind. I would think it would be hard to miss a plastic bag wrapped in that area.
Le Mans Master
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From: Zephyrhills, Florida
St. Jude Donor '06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13
Even if it was a plastic bag, the dealer doesn't NEED to disclose that to gm. Seems to me that they could work with you on that being as they get paid under warranty if the fan is shot. Just my take on it..........
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2005
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From: The Corner of No and Where Arkansas
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'10
Originally Posted by mrm1149
Even if it was a plastic bag, the dealer doesn't NEED to disclose that to gm. Seems to me that they could work with you on that being as they get paid under warranty if the fan is shot. Just my take on it..........
The Service Manager has a lot to do with this along with the General Manager of the Dealership. Talk to them. Don't go in yelling and threatening. They will only dig their feet in deeper. Just what you and I would do in that case. Good Luck to you.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2004
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From: King George Virginia
Well as expected it didn't go well! General Manager wasn't around so ended up speaking with Service Manager and got nowhere, they just assumed the plastic bag caused the motor to go bad and I disagreed. Bottom line is they wouldn't budge so told them to put the old motor back in and I"ll replace myself. $60 for the motor and over $200 for labor is what they wanted me to pay! Even offered to pay for the part but not the labor but he wouldn't even consider it. Oh well, last time they will see me there.
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Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 437
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From: King George Virginia
Originally Posted by mrm1149
Even if it was a plastic bag, the dealer doesn't NEED to disclose that to gm. Seems to me that they could work with you on that being as they get paid under warranty if the fan is shot. Just my take on it..........
Exactly, tried that approach as well. When i told him to put the original one back in he said he had to see if he still had it and I had to remind him he just told me that he had to send the part to GM for warranty purposes and that is why he couldn't warranty the item because it had plastic wrapped around the shaft of the motor! He even showed it to me afterwards and I was able to spin the shaft but he said it was supposed to spin more freely!! Whatever, it damn sure wasn't locked up! $379 for a $60 part, I don't think so!!
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2003
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From: DFW Texas
See what I do get either is, was it your fault a bag went up there? Did GM use something to prevent litter from going into that area? Did you modify that area?
This service manager is giving you the run around. I would contact GM directly about this. You bought a damn 50K car from them not a f'n cobalt.
This service manager is giving you the run around. I would contact GM directly about this. You bought a damn 50K car from them not a f'n cobalt.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 1,133
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From: Cumming, GA
Originally Posted by NAVY8N
Exactly, tried that approach as well. When i told him to put the original one back in he said he had to see if he still had it and I had to remind him he just told me that he had to send the part to GM for warranty purposes and that is why he couldn't warranty the item because it had plastic wrapped around the shaft of the motor! He even showed it to me afterwards and I was able to spin the shaft but he said it was supposed to spin more freely!! Whatever, it damn sure wasn't locked up! $379 for a $60 part, I don't think so!!
This seems like a stretch... The bag would have to make its way past the air dam and make a vertical climb into the fans. The gap between the fan shroud and the cross member is about 3". In that gap is a wire bundle.
If you were driving down the road this seems virtually impossible based on design and aerodynamics.
Unless you were eating a Subway sandwich and left the bag under the hood their claim seems lame.
I would contact your regional GM rep and voice your concerns. Next, go for the AG.
If they told you the work was covered, performed the work and then told you it isn't covered, they dropped the ball somewhere. They should have visibly inspected the vehicle prior to touching it. If a bag was wrapped around the base/motor they should have seen it while on the lift.
Run it up the tree and don't let them
you.As always, JMHO.
Good luck!
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 437
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From: King George Virginia
Originally Posted by CoolShoesWalkin
See what I do get either is, was it your fault a bag went up there? Did GM use something to prevent litter from going into that area? Did you modify that area?
This service manager is giving you the run around. I would contact GM directly about this. You bought a damn 50K car from them not a f'n cobalt.
This service manager is giving you the run around. I would contact GM directly about this. You bought a damn 50K car from them not a f'n cobalt.
Cool, I went that route as well!!! As he tried to justify his position I added since it was no fault of my own it must be a design flaw for allowing that to happen!! We just went round and round and of course I wound up on the losing end. Even asked him to provide me a form or a number so I could dispute it and of course he said he didn't have any such form or contact other than their own internal means, like that's going to do me allot of good!
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 437
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From: King George Virginia
Originally Posted by Mickbee
Did they actually show you the fan with the bag in it?
This seems like a stretch... The bag would have to make its way past the air dam and make a vertical climb into the fans. The gap between the fan shroud and the cross member is about 3". In that gap is a wire bundle.
If you were driving down the road this seems virtually impossible based on design and aerodynamics.
Unless you were eating a Subway sandwich and left the bag under the hood their claim seems lame.
I would contact your regional GM rep and voice your concerns. Next, go for the AG.
If they told you the work was covered, performed the work and then told you it isn't covered, they dropped the ball somewhere. They should have visibly inspected the vehicle prior to touching it. If a bag was wrapped around the base/motor they should have seen it while on the lift.
Run it up the tree and don't let them you.
As always, JMHO.
Good luck!
This seems like a stretch... The bag would have to make its way past the air dam and make a vertical climb into the fans. The gap between the fan shroud and the cross member is about 3". In that gap is a wire bundle.
If you were driving down the road this seems virtually impossible based on design and aerodynamics.
Unless you were eating a Subway sandwich and left the bag under the hood their claim seems lame.
I would contact your regional GM rep and voice your concerns. Next, go for the AG.
If they told you the work was covered, performed the work and then told you it isn't covered, they dropped the ball somewhere. They should have visibly inspected the vehicle prior to touching it. If a bag was wrapped around the base/motor they should have seen it while on the lift.
Run it up the tree and don't let them
you.As always, JMHO.
Good luck!
Trust me they havn't heard the last of it! I just want my car back right now! Yes, he did show me the motor and it did have plastic wrapped around the shaft but it still turned. My initial call from them was that it was shorted out, wasn't till the following day they call me and say it failed because of the plastic bag wrapped around the shaft. That was when it was deemed not warranty covered.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 437
Likes: 0
From: King George Virginia
Originally Posted by TJ VETT
Please identify the dealer, so we all know who not to go to.
Virginia dealer, Radley Chevrolet. Should have known better to even go there in the first place after reading this! http://gene.godin.net/default.htm
Last edited by NAVY8N; Aug 19, 2005 at 07:34 AM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 3,123
Likes: 3
From: Orland Park Illinois
St. Jude Donor '06-'07
Originally Posted by NAVY8N
he had to send the part to GM for warranty purposes and that is why he couldn't warranty the item
. If GM service managers were required to send defective warranty parts to GM, can you imagine the size of the warehouse(s) plus the additional GM personnel required to manage this kind of a "defective parts " depot??? There is no way GM is going to require a service manager to send them a defective fan for analysis. 
Don't forget----having the customer pay for the repairs, brings more money into the dealership than doing warranty work. It's all about money and this service manager is being a complete a$$hole. He could have/should have repaired this problem under warranty and that would have been the end of it. Find another dealer and give him your business....Good luck..