This is a story from many years back (2006) when I owned a Pontiac Montana which really was a lemon. Everything went wrong, and luckily it had an extended warranty. This problem was actually due to a mechanic’s mistake.
This past weekend, I ran into a problem with my van. Thanks to the engine not being put back completely correctly (at least this is my impression of things) a part of the Starter Relay was left unattached, and it became entangled in my belts. The problem of course wasn’t noticed until I tried to START the van again. Needless to say nothing happened, and I was stranded 200 km from home, with a group of girls going to a basketball tournament, with a dead van. I ended up having to rent another van to get the girls home, and because all of this happened on a SUNDAY the van was only repaired late Monday.
I went back to my dealership (name not disclosed for now), and I showed them the part that I had noticed was dangling in the engine compartment, and that was replaced in Montreal, and I pointed out that I had paid over $140 for a rental. They were sympathetic and offered me a free oil change, while initially that seemed ok, afterwards I was not satisfied, so I have now lodged a complaint with the GM’s Management Service site. I have outlined in as much detail as possible things, and we shall see whether I am compensated any more than a free oil change.
I supposed I could go to small claims court, but that is a bit of a pain, so we shall hope that this line of attack if successful.
Stand up for your rights as a consumer, if you feel you have been wronged, complain, in writing.
Epilogue: I did complain via email to GM Canada and got a very quick response!
