BBB Auto Line Complaint (Consumer Beware)
11-14-2018, 08:21 PM
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BBB Auto Line Complaint (Consumer Beware)
First things first, I am a new Corvette owner and new to this forum. I have followed this forum the past year in order to stay current or to educate my self prior to making my first Corvette purchase. This website is a valuable tool that I have grown to appreciate. I do not typically post complaints or reviews but I felt the need to post this in the C7 Corvette forum to help other members. While doing some research about the BBB Auto Line, I noticed immediately that there was not a lot of correspondence from other Corvette owners about their experience. There was information about the BBB Auto Line on the web but it was very dated and did not help my situation any.
The intent of this post is to shed some light on what my experience has been thus far and I hope other new forum or old forum members do not have to experience what I have been through with a new Corvette purchase.
After working many long hours and saving my money to finally be able to pull the trigger on a new car without financing my life away, I purchased my brand new black corvette C7/1LT/M7 coupe on May 14, 2018. The same day I purchased a 2018 Equinox as a work car so that I could treat my new garage queen with the respect that I wanted her to have. The dealership (Lash Chevrolet-Ohio) drove my Equinox (Since I purchased two cars) and I was privileged and excited to drive my first Corvette home. My initial excitement was short lived after driving the car only 22 miles as I pulled in the driveway and the TPMS sensor light turned on with the error message stating “Tire Locations Not Known”. I didn’t think much of it at the time but should have had the representative from the dealership take the car back with them that same day. The TPMS sensor error would continue for several months after purchase where I noted that this error would only happen after driving the vehicle 20 or more miles or when it was 90+ degrees outside.
In the beginning, I was worried about safety but was ultimately concerned about issues happening this soon with my brand new Corvette. I called Lash Chevrolet where I purchased my car to see if they could help me find a resolution to this TPS sensor error on June 25 and July 6, 2018. Lash Chevy walked me through the process of how to reset the TPS sensor myself where I tried it twice with no success. After speaking back and forth with the sales representative who helped me, it was recommended that I bring the car into the dealership for service where my stint of repair orders begins.
On June 26, 2018, I brought the car into service (Lash Chevy) where an inspection was conducted and the TPMS sensors were re-programmed. I drove the car home and sure enough after 20 miles the TPMS sensor error displayed. A month passed between service orders because I was TDY at a military school where I dropped off my corvette again to a local dealership (Jeff Wyler) on July 30, 2018. Jeff Wyler Chevy was close to my home. The car was again inspected and the TPMS sensors were re-programmed. After driving 20 miles later the TPMS sensor error repeats shortly after pulling into my driveway. On August 4, 2018, I dropped the car off at Jeff Wyler where I was able to replicate the TPMS sensor error where another repair order was created. I did not drop the vehicle off at this time but proceeded to take it home because of a part (ECM) that was on national backorder. (Dealership recommended that I get this replaced). I get a phone call from Jeff Wyler around August 21, 2018, that the ECM part had come in where I worked out an arrangement to drop the Corvette off on August 22, 2018. The car would sit at Jeff Wyler Chevrolet in the dealership's possession until September 27, 2018, (36 days). During this trial and error period, the dealership racked up over 600 miles of driving on this car while trying to experiment with different methods of resolution to fix the TPMS sensor error. GM Engineers were involved where several modules, connectors, fuse box, ECM and TPMS sensors behind the rear bumper and tires were replaced. Also during this time, Jeff Wyler damaged my rear bumper by causing a golf size bulge due to a failed bumper installation attempt.
After being fed up with the many failed repair attempts and process in general, I filed a BBB Auto Line Claim by utilizing their website on August 29, 2018. For those that are wondering, I did file a GM Lemon Law Claim by utilizing their website and speaking to a senior GM customer service representative but felt that the process was not expeditious or that the customer service representative did not have my best interest in mind, so I proceeded with the BBB Auto Line Claim. Also during this time and fed up with the process, I hired an attorney on August 30, 2018, where I paid a flat rate and he still represents me currently during this process. The BBB Auto Line requires that forms be filled out and that all correspondence be emailed or submitted through the BBB Auto Line website. My attorney submitted the claim on my behalf where all receipts, service orders and correspondence was submitted on September 4, 2018. On October 4, 2018, GM submitted their response to the BBB Auto Line stating that since I had my exhaust replaced (Axel Back, Corsa Extreme) on June 29, 2018, this was the reason why I was getting a TPMS sensor error. (Note that it happened prior to exhaust installation). (Exhaust installed by Crucial Performance who is a reputable dealer). On October 5, 2018, I had a BBB Auto Line Inspection at a location that was 40 miles away where they did not even drive the car. They looked at it and the appointment was only 5 minutes. Fast forward to October 22, 2018, I received a BBB Auto Line Arbitrator Decision that was denied due to my claim not meeting Ohio Lemon Law criteria of the new vehicle being in the repair shop for 30 or more days or 3 attempts at a single problem. I later learned that the denial was due to the BBB Auto Line not receiving all of the documentation from the lawyer that I was CC on the original response and email. On October 25, 2018, my lawyer submitted a Modification and Clarification response to the BBB Auto Line Arbitrator where I am still waiting for a response which is now 3 weeks and counting.
Overall, the BBB Auto Line process is a joke. I wanted my attorney to take this to court but the law states that it must flow through this BBB Auto Line process until a decision is made. The BBB Auto Line kindly explains that the process takes 6-8 weeks for resolution. I am still waiting for someone to explain to me why I have been waiting “Patiently” for 11 weeks/77 days for this process to still be ongoing with no resolution or response from the BBB explaining how much longer it is going to take. Time will tell if I purchase another GM product but I hope no one else gets to experience what I have gone through thus far.
The intent of this post is to shed some light on what my experience has been thus far and I hope other new forum or old forum members do not have to experience what I have been through with a new Corvette purchase.
After working many long hours and saving my money to finally be able to pull the trigger on a new car without financing my life away, I purchased my brand new black corvette C7/1LT/M7 coupe on May 14, 2018. The same day I purchased a 2018 Equinox as a work car so that I could treat my new garage queen with the respect that I wanted her to have. The dealership (Lash Chevrolet-Ohio) drove my Equinox (Since I purchased two cars) and I was privileged and excited to drive my first Corvette home. My initial excitement was short lived after driving the car only 22 miles as I pulled in the driveway and the TPMS sensor light turned on with the error message stating “Tire Locations Not Known”. I didn’t think much of it at the time but should have had the representative from the dealership take the car back with them that same day. The TPMS sensor error would continue for several months after purchase where I noted that this error would only happen after driving the vehicle 20 or more miles or when it was 90+ degrees outside.
In the beginning, I was worried about safety but was ultimately concerned about issues happening this soon with my brand new Corvette. I called Lash Chevrolet where I purchased my car to see if they could help me find a resolution to this TPS sensor error on June 25 and July 6, 2018. Lash Chevy walked me through the process of how to reset the TPS sensor myself where I tried it twice with no success. After speaking back and forth with the sales representative who helped me, it was recommended that I bring the car into the dealership for service where my stint of repair orders begins.
On June 26, 2018, I brought the car into service (Lash Chevy) where an inspection was conducted and the TPMS sensors were re-programmed. I drove the car home and sure enough after 20 miles the TPMS sensor error displayed. A month passed between service orders because I was TDY at a military school where I dropped off my corvette again to a local dealership (Jeff Wyler) on July 30, 2018. Jeff Wyler Chevy was close to my home. The car was again inspected and the TPMS sensors were re-programmed. After driving 20 miles later the TPMS sensor error repeats shortly after pulling into my driveway. On August 4, 2018, I dropped the car off at Jeff Wyler where I was able to replicate the TPMS sensor error where another repair order was created. I did not drop the vehicle off at this time but proceeded to take it home because of a part (ECM) that was on national backorder. (Dealership recommended that I get this replaced). I get a phone call from Jeff Wyler around August 21, 2018, that the ECM part had come in where I worked out an arrangement to drop the Corvette off on August 22, 2018. The car would sit at Jeff Wyler Chevrolet in the dealership's possession until September 27, 2018, (36 days). During this trial and error period, the dealership racked up over 600 miles of driving on this car while trying to experiment with different methods of resolution to fix the TPMS sensor error. GM Engineers were involved where several modules, connectors, fuse box, ECM and TPMS sensors behind the rear bumper and tires were replaced. Also during this time, Jeff Wyler damaged my rear bumper by causing a golf size bulge due to a failed bumper installation attempt.
After being fed up with the many failed repair attempts and process in general, I filed a BBB Auto Line Claim by utilizing their website on August 29, 2018. For those that are wondering, I did file a GM Lemon Law Claim by utilizing their website and speaking to a senior GM customer service representative but felt that the process was not expeditious or that the customer service representative did not have my best interest in mind, so I proceeded with the BBB Auto Line Claim. Also during this time and fed up with the process, I hired an attorney on August 30, 2018, where I paid a flat rate and he still represents me currently during this process. The BBB Auto Line requires that forms be filled out and that all correspondence be emailed or submitted through the BBB Auto Line website. My attorney submitted the claim on my behalf where all receipts, service orders and correspondence was submitted on September 4, 2018. On October 4, 2018, GM submitted their response to the BBB Auto Line stating that since I had my exhaust replaced (Axel Back, Corsa Extreme) on June 29, 2018, this was the reason why I was getting a TPMS sensor error. (Note that it happened prior to exhaust installation). (Exhaust installed by Crucial Performance who is a reputable dealer). On October 5, 2018, I had a BBB Auto Line Inspection at a location that was 40 miles away where they did not even drive the car. They looked at it and the appointment was only 5 minutes. Fast forward to October 22, 2018, I received a BBB Auto Line Arbitrator Decision that was denied due to my claim not meeting Ohio Lemon Law criteria of the new vehicle being in the repair shop for 30 or more days or 3 attempts at a single problem. I later learned that the denial was due to the BBB Auto Line not receiving all of the documentation from the lawyer that I was CC on the original response and email. On October 25, 2018, my lawyer submitted a Modification and Clarification response to the BBB Auto Line Arbitrator where I am still waiting for a response which is now 3 weeks and counting.
Overall, the BBB Auto Line process is a joke. I wanted my attorney to take this to court but the law states that it must flow through this BBB Auto Line process until a decision is made. The BBB Auto Line kindly explains that the process takes 6-8 weeks for resolution. I am still waiting for someone to explain to me why I have been waiting “Patiently” for 11 weeks/77 days for this process to still be ongoing with no resolution or response from the BBB explaining how much longer it is going to take. Time will tell if I purchase another GM product but I hope no one else gets to experience what I have gone through thus far.
