Oh we understand livid, but we also understand it takes time to research your issue and evaluate on its merits, so Jonathan can get back to you.

 

Hi there,

We've just received your private message and will be responding shortly. We appreciate your patience, and look forward to speaking with you further.

Amber N.
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

Good luck, Alan. Curious to see how this turns out both in terms of how GM handles it and how helpful CCS's assistance is in the process.....

 

GM isn't covering my repair. I was told 25% is all they are willing to do, still leaving me with a $5800.00 repair bill.

I was given a song and dance about "not being the original owner" and "buying it from a non-Chevrolet dealership". Oh and apparently my exhaust system might have had something to do with it despite not throwing a single code.

To me, I think the dealership is lying to me and they just don't feel like going through the red tape to get this done. And why not, right? They stand to gain a lot of money on this repair. So why not go the easy route and lie to me, trying to get me to sign on the dotted line? Even if I DO get the repair I only get a 12 month/12000 mile warranty which is as good as having none at all with how I drive.

So, let's see this dealer dance. I would rather skin my knuckles and do it myself.

 

It is unfortunate that you're having major engine issues at 58k miles. But, the fact is, the car is 6 plus years old. GM offering to help you any with a car out of warranty, well at least it's something.
If the car was 10 years old with the same mileage, would you still expect them to help you? Point being, they can't warranty them forever, regardless of the low mileage.
Not so many years ago. 3 years, 36k miles was the warranty on a new car.
Modern day warranties are so much better than the past.

Like I said before, unfortunate. Many GM cars live long lives without any major problems. Sorry, but you just happened to get one of the few with issues.

 

Remember when Chrysler broke new ground with the 5yr/50,000 mile warranty in the 60's?

 

Remember those little gold "Pentastars" on the lower right front fender that they put on when the 5/50 warranty was something to really crow about?

I can sympathize with how you're feeling AJL, but considering the circumstances, GM is doing more than I realistically expected.

The only thing that you might also be able to do, is have your dealer's Service Manager run your HHR's VIN to see if there were coolant loss issues noted by the first owner, and whether repairs were made and by whom.

 

"I only get a 12 month/12000 mile warranty which is as good as having none at all with how I drive" kinda says a lot to me.

 

What I mean by this is that I drive a lot, so paying THAT much money for basically a garbage warranty would get me through the next 6 months. And for what? To start biting my nails again afterwards because now I have no faith in this car?

Warranty be damned, there is NO engine that should do that and GM should take care of it. They got the money once for the car and I will certainly not even THINK of giving them money a SECOND time for an engine.

The ONLY way I would pay thousands for a repair is if my warranty on the engine was RENEWED (as in another 5/100,000).

 

Well you do have other options, like a good used engine, or a remanufactured unit. Being that you're the second owner, you have no idea of how roughly your HHR may have been treated when new.

On the whole, these are very dependable vehicles, and even though you're not thrilled with GM's offer, when a vehicle is out of warranty they can refuse to do anything.

If I were in your shoes, my next step would be a search for a used/remanufactured engine, then approaching GM again to see if they would cover the labor to swap engines.

As an example, Jasper Engines offers remanufactured Ecotec engines starting at $3,500 with a 3 year/100,000 mile parts & labor warrenty.

http://www.jasperengines.com/index.php