[PeppaNoPig]

Hey All,

Looking for advice or similar stories. I bought my car from a used dealership 5 months ago. I love it. Last Friday 09/03/2021 I was driving it spiritly (Like I should), and I got the dreaded Check Engine Light.

The warning was "loss of power", "Oil pressure Low", "Stop Driving". I pulled over and checked the oil level (Only 1.4 quarts low) and proceeded to start the car. It did not crank and I had to tow it to the dealership.

Just got a call from the dealership and they sent diagnostics to GM. GM said the results showed the ECU was modified previously and stated that they would not cover the repairs under warranty and want to void any remaining manufacturer warranty.

My issue here is:
1) Upon buying the car, I had a PPI with the same dealership. They said everything was fine
2) The carfax I got from the dealership obviously showed no signs of the ECU being modified.
3) I bought an extended warranty on the vehicle, but the dealership says even if they ask the extended warranty to cover the repairs, they would void their warranty as well since the car's ecu was modified.

What are my options here? I honestly don't know what to do.

[willzilla]

No mods added since u purchased the car? U didn't tune it so the previous owner did so and the dealership either hid the fact or is trying to claim ignorance... Maybe call gm?

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

[PeppaNoPig]

Nope, haven't done anything to the car so the previous owners must've done something. I'll try to contact GM

[Scottyz]

Go talk to the dealership again and note on paper everything they tell you or notify them that the conversation is going to be recorded. Or if the paper notes have to be used then tell them you want a signature to ensure everything is correct. Then contact your lawyer.
I believe you should have been notified about the modifications done to the car or there would have been strong no to purchasing it

[Dabjbr]

Story makes me want to vomit! Sorry bud! I hope GM is able to check dates on the tune and honor the warranty.

If you bought from a Chevy dealer, I think there’s better chance than an independent used dealer. Maybe you lean on the warranty people as well.

Good luck!

[TheHurtinAlbertan]

Your only recourse is the dealership you bought the vehicle from. If the ECU has been overwritten GM has every right to put a warranty block on the vehicle regardless of who tuned the car. Call the dealership and contact a lawyer to lean on them to get you your $$ back.

Hurtin’

[PeppaNoPig]

Thanks for the heads up guys. This was my first American muscle car and I can honestly say it revived my passion for driving and cars. It sucks that this is happening. Any recommendations on a good automotive law lawyer?

[sandm]

making an assumption here that dealership where car is currently (gm) is NOT the same dealership you purchased car from.

what will be interesting are in the stack of ppwk you sign to buy the car, betting the selling dealership has an "as-is" clause in there stating any warranty is between you and GM. their butts will be covered as with a newer car, they might say they would not have any idea it had been flashed prior.

now if the car is at a gm dealer and same one you purchased from, that opens up a whole new can of ugly.

either way you will likely get much further initially trying to work out a resolution to this than walking in touting tape recorded conversations and lawyers. speak to all dealers involved and see if the current gm dealer can set up a meeting with the district service manager.
after that, then seek counsel.

[willzilla]

If dealer did a PPI, what does that entail? Do they give you some kind of print-out of items checked? Ie... ECU is good, brakes good, tires good, etc? Also, maybe have the GM tech check how many key turns there are registered? If like... 1000.. well, seems car was probably tuned like a year ago or more.. if 5.. well, probably tuned a few days ago.. etc.

Is the car stock? Can you show us a pic of the engine bay, under the car (stock exhaust? has all the cats?), etc? Could try to go to the dmv or whatever it is in Cali and tell them the dealer sold you an "illegally" tuned car (illegal to tune the ecu in Cali now). Maybe get some help from the usually useless state? Lol.

[Evansa22]

Originally Posted by willzilla

If dealer did a PPI, what does that entail? Do they give you some kind of print-out of items checked? Ie... ECU is good, brakes good, tires good, etc? Also, maybe have the GM tech check how many key turns there are registered? If like... 1000.. well, seems car was probably tuned like a year ago or more.. if 5.. well, probably tuned a few days ago.. etc.

Is the car stock? Can you show us a pic of the engine bay, under the car (stock exhaust? has all the cats?), etc? Could try to go to the dmv or whatever it is in Cali and tell them the dealer sold you an "illegally" tuned car (illegal to tune the ecu in Cali now). Maybe get some help from the usually useless state? Lol.

This
Its on the selling party to provide a smog legal vehicle. Under new rules ecu tunes make the car "illegal" in the state, so I would hope you have some legal recourse with them

[BlaqWhole]

Unfortunately both sides are right to protect their money/investment.

On your side you claim that the car was not modded by you and you bought it in what you thought was stock condition. The dealership could very well be lying. They could have misled you or withheld info. So I can see things from your POV.

On the other hand you could have bought the car and then modded it within those 5 months of ownership. You could have had mechanical failure and then returned it to stock and tried to hide it. So I can see things from GM's POV.

Then there's the possibility that the car was modded and the dealership knew about it and informed you. You had an issue and they presented it to GM for warranty repair. GM sends out an investigator to look it over, finds out that the car was previously modded, and denies the warranty claim.

Unless you have something in writing then I don't see any way GM is gonna pay. Sure you told a good story and I'm not saying you're lying or anything, but any good swindler would be just as convincing. All you have to back you up is whatever is in writing. And unfortunately in writing it explicitly says that any modification of the vehicle will result in a void of the warranty. It even more so explains that any unlocking of the ECU and altering of the tune will result in a voided warranty.

Now if the dealership gave you a dealership warranty then that is between you and the dealership. GM would have nothing to do with that. But the manufacturer warranty is pretty much toast at this point.

The only things you could do are try to find out if the reports show the date/time or mileage when the ECU was unlocked. If so and if the date/time and/or mileage stamp is prior to your signing for the car, then you could make a claim that you were unaware of the mods. However you still signed for the car and regardless of when you bought it, the warranty is voided.

Or you could try to reason with GM and see if there is something they could do to help you. Maybe they'll have some sympathy and help you out. Or see if the dealership will help you out. But unfortunately I do not think you have a good hand at this point.

Always go over these higher trim cars with a fine-toothed comb before buying them. Most times dealerships will take a trade in sight unseen. So they might not even have seen the car before they accepted it. And even afterwards I doubt they sent someone to scan the ECU. If they did then they were probably soo eager to make a sale that they just didn't care if the car was tuned or modded or not. And then they sell it to someone and it's out of their hair. This happens a lot. Which is why you really gotta inspect these cars and get shit in writing.

[BlaqWhole]

Interesting story. I just leased a Ram truck this past weekend. At the dealership there was a TRX by the mechanic bay. The owner apparently bought it, modded it, beat the shit out of it, and then the engine blew. So he returned it to stock and brought it in. The dealership and FCA found out it was modded, voided his warranty, and denied his claim. So he has been fighting with FCA for months now trying to get them to cover it. But he is pretty much SOL. This stuff happens all the time.

[Wuiquen]

Originally Posted by Evansa22

This
Its on the selling party to provide a smog legal vehicle. Under new rules ecu tunes make the car "illegal" in the state, so I would hope you have some legal recourse with them

Not too add more fuel here but yes even if you fix your car, when time comes to smog since you are in CA, you will fail due to the modified ECU. Did you buy the car from a CA dealer?

I also agree to try to get to terms via Conversations first before you try the lawyer and recording conversations. You can document their promises and obligations but threatening the dealer or GM might not work well..

I would really investigate the idea of having the dealer responsible for selling you a car that you will never be able to smog in CA. I am going to assume they gave you temp plates so they did the DMV paperwork too. Hence, they need to make sure the car will pass smog.

[PeppaNoPig]

Originally Posted by Wuiquen

Not too add more fuel here but yes even if you fix your car, when time comes to smog since you are in CA, you will fail due to the modified ECU. Did you buy the car from a CA dealer?

I also agree to try to get to terms via Conversations first before you try the lawyer and recording conversations. You can document their promises and obligations but threatening the dealer or GM might not work well..

I would really investigate the idea of having the dealer responsible for selling you a car that you will never be able to smog in CA. I am going to assume they gave you temp plates so they did the DMV paperwork too. Hence, they need to make sure the car will pass smog.

I did buy the car from a CA dealership, I don't want to name dealers just yet so I can give them a chance to fix their reputation.

I've read all the comments and I know this stuff happens all the time, but ya boi is just trying to pay off the car first before even modifying it LOL. I had no money/time to even do this because I've been working so hard to have money to pay the principal and set some aside for any normal wear and tear.

I assume the Chevy dealership pulled data from the ECU and if there are timestamps those should definitely show when the ECU was modified. I'll keep this forum updated about the progress.

As of now, I have put both dealerships in contact with each other. The dealership I bought from is requesting the diagnostics from Chevy- 9/8/2021