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Old 04-25-2018, 08:45 PM   #1
jmackisback
 
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Exclamation GM/Dealership Complaint (tires/alignment)

I would like preface what I am about to say by telling everyone that I have been a diehard GM guy through and through essentially ever since I got my license many years ago. I have owned at least 10 GM vehicles over the years, including 5 Camaros. Now on to my issue.

My 2017 Camaro SS came from the Barnes Wheaton in North Surrey, BC, Canada. I bought it new with 53kms on it in May of 2017 and it cost approximately $57,000 taxes in. I thought to myself wow, this car is amazing, GM knocked it out of the park in nearly every aspect. Now under one year later I am seriously doubting my choice. While this car has been amazing, a recent problem has turned into a nightmare.

At the very beginning of April I was driving to work, when coincidentally a co-worker of mine ended up behind me. When I got to work and parked, he came up to me and said "man, your back tires are so worn on the inside they're down to the cords on one side". I was shocked and said that can't be. Upon a quick inspection I realized he was right! How could this be? I have only driven the car for a total of 5 months (stored for winter) and put 8900 km (5560 miles) on it. My daily driving consists of about 50km total to and from work, including both city and highway kms. I have also gone a couple short weekend trips a couple hundred kms away.

While I understand tires are typically considered a wear item and don't fall under warranty, I want to make this next part very, very clear - -I baby this car. Not once have I done a burnout, peeled out, abused the car in any way,shape, or form. The key thing to note in my case is that the tire wear is only on the insides of the back tires, a section on both of about 3 inches. The remaining 3/4+ of each tire had reasonable tread left.

Anyone who knows cars, knows that tire abuse is usually indicated by evenly worn tires all across. Obviously my car had/has an alignment/toe issue of some sort to cause the very irregular wear pattern. At this point I decided to schedule an appointment at the North Surrey Barnes Wheaton GM dealership. I also decided to get my first oil change done at the same time.

I brought my car into the dealership on April 3rd, 2018. I explained the problem and left to go grab some food while they checked things out. About 45 minutes later I returned and asked them the status. As I asked them,my car rolled out of the service bay. The guy at the desk had the report on his screen and told me "after inspection, our tech noted that there was a strange wear pattern on both the back AND the front tires. They are recommending an alignment and replacing of all 4 tires". Keep in mind these tires are over $500 (cdn) each. I then asked if an alignment is done prior to people purchasing a new car, as my car had a dealer installed GM lowering kit installed. I was told no, it is not required by law during the PDI.
I thought, this has to be covered. I was basically just told it was irregular and that an alignment was needed. When I asked if it was covered under warranty I was told to have a seat in the waiting room while they called GM Canada to see. Five minutes later the guy came out and told me they would not be able to cover it. I question if a call was made. Of course irritated, I asked how I could escalate matters and they gave me the customer service number for GM Canada. I returned to the front desk to get my print out for the service and noticed something very peculiar. The work order suspiciously omitted important info that I was told.
There was no mention of what their tech found in regards to the tires, or about any recommendations. I questioned why that was and was given a bewildered look and told that it was still on the file and not to worry. I am kicking myself now for not getting his name or having him reprint the work order with the results and recommendations.

Several hundred km's later and I can no longer even drive the car as it has become an extreme safety hazard to both me and others around me due to the bizarre extreme wear only on small sections of the tires. The wear is so bad now that I have to keep the car parked.

After I called GM Canada I was given the typical scripted answers and told they would open a file and get back to me later that week. They never did. So I called early the next week and they said oops, we had you in the 'overflow' section and that they had assigned me a customer care person, Jason. I was told I would receive a call back by the end of the week, unfortunately after receiving no phone call yet again I had to leave several messages asking for an update. I finally got a message left for me today, the 18th, to call them back because they had reached a decision.

I called them and was given another scripted response about how sorry they were only to then be told that they would not help me in any way as they had spoken with the "certified GM technician" who is the service manager at North Surrey Barnes Wheaton. He has somehow deemed that the strange tire wear is due to my "driving habits". ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!? It is clear as day that there is an alignment/toe issue, hell...I was even told that point blank at the dealership. Nobody involved in this case even asked for photos or any further info from me. How was he able to determine negligence on my behalf? I don't think he even saw my vehicle in person.
Couple that with the fact that I have always babied my car it simply doesn't make sense. They should be able to clearly see that I was sold a car with 53 kms that had/has an issue with alignment/camber/toe. Glenn is the name of the service manager who is blaming me for the faulty car. No way should anyone have to buy $2500 (cdn) worth of new tires after 5 months of driving a car like a granny.

A faulty $57,000 (cdn) purchase should not be treated this way and I am not happy. I am ready to go to any lengths to try and open the eyes of this dealership and GM Canada. I'm not one to bitch and moan so this is rather out of character for me, but I've supported you guys for many years and this is the result? Come on now. I almost upgraded to a ZL1 a couple of months ago, phew!

Regards,

A potential ex-customer.
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Old 04-25-2018, 09:07 PM   #2
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Sorry for your troubles. Maybe worth it to pay out of pocket for a local shop to attempt to correct the issue. My local dealerships also employee only chimpanzees.
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Old 04-26-2018, 08:44 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by Gunmetalmissle View Post
Sorry for your troubles. Maybe worth it to pay out of pocket for a local shop to attempt to correct the issue. My local dealerships also employee only chimpanzees.
I'm sticking to my guns for now. Next stop is better business bureau, several forms of social media, and a couple other avenues.
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Old 04-26-2018, 08:47 AM   #4
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GM will be no help whatsoever, take the issue to the general manager of the dealership, not the service manager, or the service advisor, but the general manager.... He can make goodwill policy decisions those other guys can't. Don't phone or email, stand outside his door in person…
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Old 04-26-2018, 09:20 AM   #5
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GM will be no help whatsoever, take the issue to the general manager of the dealership, not the service manager, or the service advisor, but the general manager.... He can make goodwill policy decisions those other guys can't. Don't phone or email, stand outside his door in person…
Actually, we in service make those calls most of the time.

Personally, I would warranty since it's still under 7,500 miles and customer enthusiasm goodwill warranty the tires just to make the customer happy. I do those all the times with customer on their new cars with low miles and they pop a tire.
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Old 04-26-2018, 09:37 AM   #6
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I can't believe an alignment isn't part of the normal setup for a new car... Especially one that had a lowering kit put on.
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Old 04-26-2018, 09:44 AM   #7
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An alignment is done at the factory, no need for the dealer to do one during a PDI. But was this lowering kit done at the dealer? If so then they MUST do an alignment following installation. If it was not done or done incorrectly then you'd have the exact camber wear that you have which is common on lowered cars.
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Old 04-26-2018, 11:57 AM   #8
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Yep, stick to your guns.. they owe you new tires and an alignment. A fair compromise may be some proration of cost ( after all, you do have 5K on the clock)... Although, your time and aggravation is worth something too.

If they didn't align it, they're idiots. Do you have your receipt for the lowering kit work?
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Old 04-26-2018, 01:56 PM   #9
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Whomever put the lowering kit on, should have done an alignment. You should find out who installed it, most likely dealer.
From the picture that appears to be an issue with the camber.
An idea might be to take the vehicle to an independent shop and have them do a write up stating an issue with the alignment. That way you have some independent proof supporting your side.
It's unfortunate that service can affect your appreciation for the car, don't. And fight them tooth and nail, good luck.
Edit:
Sorry, just reread and noticed dealer installed. Anytime you do something to the suspension you should have an alignment. The instructions for the GM lowering kit even states that an alignment is necessary after install.
You may san to try calling corporate GM, I think the phone# is (866)790-5600
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Old 04-26-2018, 02:13 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DWR View Post
I can't believe an alignment isn't part of the normal setup for a new car... Especially one that had a lowering kit put on.
That blows my mind, a lowering kit was put on and they didn't do an alignment afterwards? Shouldn't you always do an alignment after changing the suspension?

Wow, I hope this gets resolved for you OP. That really sucks.
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Old 04-26-2018, 02:57 PM   #11
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Did I miss something? Where did OP say there was a lowering kit installed? If so, why would a dealer install a lowering kit on a new in stock car?
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Old 04-26-2018, 03:33 PM   #12
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Did I miss something? Where did OP say there was a lowering kit installed? If so, why would a dealer install a lowering kit on a new in stock car?
Right here

Quote:
Originally Posted by jmackisback View Post
I brought my car into the dealership on April 3rd, 2018. I explained the problem and left to go grab some food while they checked things out. About 45 minutes later I returned and asked them the status. As I asked them,my car rolled out of the service bay. The guy at the desk had the report on his screen and told me "after inspection, our tech noted that there was a strange wear pattern on both the back AND the front tires. They are recommending an alignment and replacing of all 4 tires". Keep in mind these tires are over $500 (cdn) each. I then asked if an alignment is done prior to people purchasing a new car, as my car had a dealer installed GM lowering kit installed. I was told no, it is not required by law during the PDI.
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Old 04-26-2018, 04:10 PM   #13
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welcome to the disfunctional GM family! Corporate will not help you at all! I had an issue with alignment on my camaro and luckily it was covered up 7000 miles under warranty. I have also been told that the inside wear is normal during mild driving and that if you want even wear you should drive the canyons! lol oh and the beauty of dealing with corporate as i found out with my case is that once they have a resolution, right or not there is no appeal! lol
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Old 04-26-2018, 09:01 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by DWR View Post
I can't believe an alignment isn't part of the normal setup for a new car... Especially one that had a lowering kit put on.
Why would a brand new car need an alignment? They are aligned at the factory.

The only thing in the OP's situation that changes that is he had the vehicle lowered after purchase. The dealer who installed the lowering springs should have done an alignment at that point.

The wear on the tires is from the lowering springs, so this is not a GM issue. It is an installing dealer issue. The dealer who installed the lowering springs is the one the OP should be talking to at this point.
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