On January 6 I purchased a new GMC Sonoma Pickup from Peoria Pontiac GMC.
A few days after taking delivery of the vehicle, I returned it to the service department for a misaligned headlight and a left door speaker that was not functioning properly. These problems were immediately fixed and the causes were determined to be a broken headlight mount and a blown speaker.
On February 2, while working underneath the truck, I discovered some damage to the undercarriage of the vehicle. The following is the damage I discovered.
-The frame was scratched and dented completely along the bottom of the vehicle.
-The Skid Plate beneath the transfer case was completely full of rocks and dirt.
-There was a paint chip located behind the left front tire.
Upon discovery of this damage, I immediately contacted my salesperson, Dirk Henderson, and wrote a letter to the owner and general manager of the dealership requesting resolution to this problem. I never received a response. I contacted the general manager, Steve Moore, and made an appointment to have the truck inspected.
Steve inspected the damage and stated that he would find and fire the S.O.B. That did this and that he would not tolerate this from the employees at his dealership. Steve had the truck cleaned while I waited in the dealership's lounge area. I told Steve that having the undercarriage cleaned was a good but I was not completely satisfied. He asked me what else I wanted and if it was monetary. I told him that I had paid for a NEW vehicle and had not received a NEW vehicle. Considering that I did not know what conditions the truck had been driven under before I purchased it, I told him that I would settle for an extended warranty.
He said he would speak to the owner about a resolution. Steve never contacted me.
After numerous attempts to contact Steve, I contacted the GMC Customer Assistance Program. They helped solicit a response from the dealership, but not a resolution. After Customer Assistance contacted Steve, he offered me an extended warranty at Dealer cost. I did not feel this was fair, since I did not cause the damage.
I also contacted the Better Business Bureau who sent my case to the Automotive Consumer Action Program. The Better Business Bureau closed the case as Unresolved based on the response by Peoria Pontiac GMC.in this response the general manager, Steve Moore, has changed his story since our initial discussion that it was an employee problem to there is no proof that the damage occurred prior to purchase. He also states that I had put over 1,000 thousand miles on the vehicle before bringing the problem to his attention.
While this is true, I immediately contacted the dealership upon discovery of the damage. Since it is not common for most people to examine the undercarriage of their vehicles, I don't think it is unusual to have discovered the damage a month (and 1,000 miles) after purchase.
I filed a complaint with the Attorney General's office. They do not have the resources at this time to fully investigate the complaint, but will keep the case on file for future inquiries.
Since discovering the initial damage, I've discovered some additional damage. I've found paint chips and scratches on the hood of the vehicle that had been touched up prior to my purchase of the vehicle.
I was told by both the salesperson and the General Manager that the vehicle was immediately put into the Showroom. Both questioned how the vehicle could have accumulated 31 miles prior to the purchase, especially when other vehicles that had been test driven had less miles than that. I think that supports my case.
I have never taken the vehicle off-road. It is my belief that the vehicle was taken off-road by an employee of the dealership prior to my purchase. There is a dry riverbed next to the dealership where the vehicle could have gotten this damage and accumulated the 31 miles on the odometer at the time of purchase.
Brian
Avondale, Arizona
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