GM cant provide part for repair

[fillmore]

What is the name of your state? IL

my 2005 pontiac gto was rear-ended in a hit and run on 11/12/05 as it sat at my residence. it only took about 4 days for me to gather the necessary evidence to prove who it was. the police ended up getting a full confession and the good news is he was properly insured.

i figured it was over and my car would be back in 2-3 weeks. turns out GM doesnt make the rear floor pan section damaged, and they have no idea when they plan to or even if they will any time soon. the problem now is, i have no car and insurance wont total it because the dealership says they can fix it fine they just cant get the part, and insurance wont total an almost new car with only $7200 worth of damage.

i am now stuck with no car and i cant even get a rental because i would have to pay the ridiculous rental fee out of pocket for who knows how long until the issue is completely resolved and the at fault insurance decides to issue reimbursement. to make matters worse, i may be moving from IL to seattle for a job in the near future and then would be 2200 miles from where my car now sits. its pretty much panic mode now.

GM and their customer service are pretty much worthless and could care less about the problem theyre helping to cause and just push it off as an insurance problem. who is more responsible here, the person thats at fault and started the problem or GM for being unable to repair a car with only 6600 miles? do i have any options available to me via the insurance channel? ive contacted the BBB and checked out lemon laws and it looks like neither can do much for me.

 

[mometal77]

gm sucks

wash state.. i had a faulty seat belt from gm and went into get another new one cause all i could find in the wreckers around here where stuck seatbelts wouldnt uncoil.. i was litterally laughted at and could over hear the service desk talk about it before closing the door behind me like i was an idiot for even asking for a free replacement over honda does it. Now with the honda i had a 87 lxi they replaced not just one seatbelt but both free of cost.. makes you wonder..

 

[racer72]

makes you wonder..

Makes me wonder why you are wasting valuable space posting stuff that helps absolutely no one.

 

[Happy Trails]

What is the name of your state? IL

who is more responsible here, the person thats at fault and started the problem or GM for being unable to repair a car with only 6600 miles? do i have any options available to me via the insurance channel? ive contacted the BBB and checked out lemon laws and it looks like neither can do much for me.

This doesn't fall under the lemon law, as you found out.

This is a problem, because the vehicle you bought is so relatively new. There hasn't been an after market part or not enough of those vehicles have gotten into an accident where the part could be salvaged from a salvage yard.

Is GM responsible for not having that part available? IMO, no, it's not like they go into production making just certain types of parts. After all, how high of a demand is there for that part.

Keep after the insurance company, it is their job to get you back into the position you were in prior to the accident.

Good luck!

 

[msiron]

Contact the zone rep. He can get one from the plant right off the assembly line. It is done in situations like this. GM usually likes to keep their higher end dollar car buyers happy.

 

[fillmore]

ive had the dealership service manager hounding the parts rep about this. they already let slip out to me that they can pull the part from the assembly line to take care of it. the 06 model is identical and under production now, the only problem is theyre made in australia so it seems like GM just doesnt want to deal with the hassle of shipping it that far.

i have met at least one other person online with this identical problem and his car was hit within a week of mine. also have found a salvage yard in ohio with 10 of these cars already sitting there. the problem isnt impossible to solve, they just dont feel like dealing with it.

 

[justalayman]

Well I would guess that it comes down to this

If you cannot get the part to repair the car and it HAS to be replaced, then $7200 is NOT an accurate estimate.

If the only option is to replace the entire car to be able to provide this part, then that is what the estimate of repair should be.

It's kind of like saying The value of a part for a 1934 Bendix is worth $299. Well if you cannot get that part then you cannot put a value on it as a replacement part. It then would fall to how you would replace the part. In the case of the Bendix part you would have to actually manufacture the part and the cost of the part would include those expenses.

In the case of your car, if the part is not available then the entire car would have to be replaced to make you whole.

Your actual damages, if the part cannot be located, would be the replacement value of the car.

 

[xylene]

?

Why are you hounding anyone?

Hound your insurance company.

Having been in your shoes, with a hit and run rear ender. Except the culprit was never found. So you are way up on me.

My car was with a Saab, which almost no one works on. So I can relate.

Get on that phone and find the proper person to berate.

Don't take any crap. Make the hit and run guy pay for your rental car.

He did commit a felony.

As far as the part- well you can choose another place to get in repaired. Having a new expensive rare car I can see how you might want to preserve the exact intergirty of the original construction- but I would think a skilled body shop would be able to do a better job than the dealership. It is possible they could even fabricate a suitable floorpan.