How's this for a letter?
May 30, 2008
Letter of
Complaint to be attached to Automotive Complaint form for
(removed name and address)
2002 Buick Rendezvous CXL, 48,943 miles
On Monday, May 26th, I was out of town visiting
relatives and my car wouldn’t start. I had power to everything (windows, radio,
etc.) but the car would not turn over. I tried to jump the vehicle with another
car and with a jumper service from AAA but it still would not start. I had AAA tow it to the local Buick
dealership, Lunghamer Buick, and left it over night.
Tuesday, May 27th, Lunghamer Buick called and
told me that I had a faulty ignition switch. The cost to replace would be
$255.02. I authorized the repairs and picked the car up at 12:54pm that day.
I drove the car home (approximately 65 miles), without
problems, to Lansing and parked it
in my garage. At approximately 7pm I
drove out to get dinner (2 miles). After picking up dinner, however, the car
would not start again. I had the same issue as before. I had power to
everything (windows, radio, heater, etc.) but the car would not turn over.
I called Lunghamer Buick and they said to tow it to a local
dealer here in Lansing, have that
dealer call Lunghamer, and they would work out the repairs between them. So, I
called AAA and had the car towed to Glenn Buege Buick.
On Wednesday, May 28th, Glenn Buege Buick called
me and said that I needed the Body Control Module (BCM) replaced at a cost of
$510. They also said that they would not call Lunghamer Buick as it was a
problem between Lunghamer and myself. I questioned the reasoning behind the
first repair (the ignition switch) and the second repair (BCM) but both
dealerships stood by their diagnosis and refused to work out a solution. At
this point I did not authorize the replacement of the BCM.
I called Lunghamer Buick and Buege Buick several times
throughout Wednesday and Thursday to try to work something out and get my car
fixed. I had no luck. I asked for the Regional Managers name and phone number
and they refused to give it to me.
I called the GMC Customer
Service Center
and filed a service request (No. 71631208578). I requested an investigation and
reimbursement for the first repair and a discount on the second repair. My
claim was denied on the basis of the year and mileage of my vehicle. The
service representative said that their mechanics were technically trained to
diagnosis and fix problems and they stood by their diagnosis.
On Thursday, I decided to get a second opinion from an
independent mechanic to diagnose the problem. I paid Glenn Buege Buick $79 to
release my car and Shroyer Towing $79 to tow it to Frankie D’s.
On Friday, May 30,
2008, Frankie D’s called me and told me that their diagnosis was a
blown 10 amp fuse. They replaced the fuse and the car started. I also had them
test the initial “faulty” ignition switch that Lunghamer replaced to find out
if the part was bad. It was not. I paid Frankie D’s $160 for parts and labor.
I believe that Lunghamer Buick performed an unneeded repair
and that Buege Buick diagnosed and unneeded repair.
So far my out of pocket expenses are:
$255.02 to
Lunghamer Buick
$ 79.00 to Glenn Buege Buick
$ 79.00 to Shroyer Towing
$160.00 to
Frankdie D’s
$573.02
If the problem would have been diagnosed and fixed correctly
the first time, my out of pocket costs would have been approximately $80 for
parts and labor.
I believe a fair settlement would be a refund by GMC Buick
in the amount of $493.02 ($573.02 - $80.00).
Thank you for considering my automotive complaint. I have
attached all documents pertaining to this issue. I also have the initial part
which was replaced, if needed.
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