I've just purchased a 2005 Chevrolet Corvette.  I went to a Chevy-Olds dealer and there was a new Corvette in their show room which I was interested in.  The only problem with the car was that it had scratches so I informed the dealer that I was no longer interested in that vehicle.  They said that the scratches were only in the clear coat.  I asked to speak to the body shop manager.  A guy appeared identifying himself as the body shop manager and informed me that these scratches are in the clear coat and will come out no problem and the vehicle will look brand new!

So... I ordered the vehicle and gave them two weeks to get it ready.  It turns out that the car clean-up crew were the ones who worked on my vehicle -- and not the body shop manager.  Two weeks later I return to pick up the vehicle.  The car looked fine but after washing it once, all the scratches I pointed out re-appeared.  They just camouflaged the problem so I would take the vehicle.

I had picked the car up on Saturday.  I called them on Tuesday (Monday being a holiday) and asked to talk to the body shop manager.  He informed me that he knew nothing about this car and that he never saw it in his shop?? ...and it wasn't him that I was initially speaking to.  I then called General Motors Customer Service since the dealer was not willing to do anything.

General Motors set-up an appointment for me to bring the vehicle into their body shop and see the manager.  The body shop manager looked at the car and indicated he did not want to touch the car since it was a Corvette.  He also pointed out a crack in the door (that I thought was a scratch!!).  The body shop manager then recommends this exotic car specialist to come and look at the vehicle to see if he could fix the paint.

A guy came over, looked at the vehicle and said, "no problem - I can fix it - I'm the best - that's why they call me" and he started to work on it right away in a dark part of the dealer's clean-up bay.  I left him to go and get breakfast and he called me since I forgot to leave the keyless fob and return noticing that he never washed the car prior to buffing!!!  He wet sanded the hood to remove a long scratch (about 2.5 feet long) and left grooves in the hood.  After returning from breakfast, I saw the grooves in the hood and told him to stop working on the car.

I returned to the dealer's sales and they informed me that this so-called expert damaged the car further - now the hood needs to be painted, he applied to buffer to the whole car (dirty) and now the entire vehicle is a mess! and the crack the he said was a scratch is still there and definitely is a crack.

I have been on the phone numerous times with General Motors Customer Service and it seems that their hands are tied and the dealership is the only one that can correct the problem.  This car only has 1,500 kms on it and is embarrassing to take out on a sunny day before he touched it...........  Now it sits in my garage with a cover over it!

I just received a call from General Motors Customer Service indicating that the Robinson Pontiac in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, is willing to try and help me since I have purchased four vehicles within the last two years from this dealership.  I commend Robinson Pontiac for trying to solve a problem that they did not create.

The other day a body shop visited my home to assess the damage to my vehicle and he indicated this vehicle would cost a substantial amount to make it right.  I called General Motors Customer Service and informed them what was said and the Customer Service Representative said that "We're only getting him to quote on the hood and the door and maybe you can work a deal out for the rest."  I was shocked that I would be responsible for the selling dealer's damaging my vehicle???  Customer Service told me in the beginning the only way we can resolve this problem is through the dealership that you purchased the vehicle.  I took their direction....now the car is worse off.......and I'm responsible to have the car restored to new????  I thought the vehicle was supposed to be new???

I know that once the paint is touched, there is a record kept.  If I ever want to re-sell this car it's going to show up as being re-painted and in turn I will lose a lot of money upon re-sale because of being misled right from day one.  This car has turned out to be a total nightmare.  All I wanted was to buy a sports car that I could be proud of instead of making up excuses for the appearance of my vehicle!

I purchased this car to keep until I am no longer around.  I think that General Motors should take this car back and let me order a brand new one from my dealer at Robinson Pontiac so I can be happy and get the vehicle that I was initially promised - not a defective one!

If this problem does not get solved, this will be the LAST GM product that I ever purchase.

Of all vehicles to screw me on..... its the one that I want to keep forever!
 
Gary Slemmonds, slemmonds@cogeco.ca