My complaint involves a replacement timing belt manufactured by General Motors Detroit and purchased on my behalf from the Parts Department of Steve Rayman Chevrolet on March 29, 2010 by Ken Black of Fairground Auto and Body Shop for installation on my 2004 Chevrolet Aveo. The replacement of the timing belt was routine maintenance and was intended to protect my auto from damage that might occur when a timing belt fails. At that time my car mileage was 69631. On October 1, 2010, this replacement timing belt failed after only 4327 miles and 6 months of service. A section of the teeth which engaged the timing belt separated from the body of the belt. The defective belt flew into my engine causing extensive damage. I had the vehicle towed to Fairground Auto where this damage was repaired at a cost to me of $2098.30. Mr. Ken Black advised me that since the belt was defective he believed that General Motors should reimburse me for the repair. He took the belt back to Steve Rayman Chevrolet where he showed it to the Parts Manager Mike Stewart who concurred that the belt definitely had a manufacturing defect and made attempts to get GM in Detroit to stand behind the part and take care of my damages. GM refused to do anything. These details can be verified with Ken Black of Fairground Auto at 770 429 8473 as well as Mike Stewart, Parts Manager at Steve Rayman Chevrolet, at 770 953 0100 Ext 3047.

After paying the repair bill of $2098.30, I filed a Better Business Bureau complaint against General Motors (case file 71-886754) which was processed by Constance Stevens at:
BBB of Detroit & Eastern Michigan
26777 Central Park Blvd, Ste. 100
Southfield, MI 48076-4163
Phone: (248)223-9400

In response to the BBB complaint, I was contacted by Sonia, a Customer Relationship Specialist at General Motors (phone 1-866-790-5700, ext 41480) who advised me that a casefile number had been assigned (casefile 71-886754121).

In response, I sent Sonia the following letter with documentation regarding my damages:


November 14, 2010

952 Villa Rica Road SW
Marietta, GA 30064

Dear Customer Relationship Specialist Sonia,

This letter and the supporting documents are in reference to my BBB complaint (case file 71-886754). Last week I received a phone call from you stating that I would have to take my Aveo and the defective belt to a GM dealership for evaluation. Since my car has been repaired, it would make no sense to have a diagnostic performed on it at this point. Furthermore, I do not feel the opinion offered by a GM dealership would be impartial. The parts manager at Steve Rayman Chevrolet in Smyrna did in fact examine the timing belt when the belt broke in early October. Mr. Kim Black, the owner of Fairground Automotive, took the belt to the dealership and the parts manager agreed that it was defective and offered a replacement belt but would not consider the damages to my car caused when the defective belt broke. I have emailed the parts manager several times this week for a statement but he does not respond.

I am enclosing the following:
1. a copy of invoice 557038 from Steve Rayman Chevrolet showing that a timing belt was purchased on March 29, 2010 by Fairground Auto and Body Shop;
2. a copy of repair order 0051577 showing that the timing belt was installed on my Aveo on March 30, 2010 and that the mileage on my Aveo at that time was 63961;
3. a statement by Mr. Kim Black on preliminary repair order 0054062 dated October 5, 2010. This repair order shows towing charge and diagnostic. Mr. Black’s statement relates his visit to Steve Rayman Chevrolet during which the Parts Manager agreed that the timing belt was defective. This document also shows the mileage on my Aveo on October 5, 2010 to be 73688. The timing belt had disintegrated after only 4327 miles.
4, a copy of the completed repair order 0054062 dated October 6, 2010 which shows the total amount paid to repair the damages caused by the broken timing belt to be $2098.30;
5. a photo of the defective belt clearly showing section where teeth separated from the body of the belt.

I believe this documentation is enough to show that GM produced a defective timing belt which caused damage to my car for which I should be reimbursed in the amount of $2098.30.

There is a principle of law which states “the thing speaks for itself”. The fact that teeth are missing from the body of the belt causing it to fly off and damage my engine is very clearly demonstrated by my evidence. A timing belt should certainly stand up to more than 4327 miles of service. A defect in the manufacturing caused the belt to fail and damage my vehicle. The thing speaks for itself.

I would like your written response in the form of a letter to my home address or email to [email protected]. I do not wish a phone call because it is so difficult to document a telephone conversation.

If we can not come to an agreement, I will certainly pursue filing a small claims suit against General Motors in Michigan’s 36th District Court. I have looked into the process for filing suit and since I have flight privileges with Delta Airlines, I would be willing to come to Detroit for a fair and impartial hearing.

I look forward to your response.


Sincerely,
Barry Hopkins


In response to my letter, Sonia called me again and requested that I once again take to timing belt into Steve Rayman Chevrolet and have the Parts Manager examine it. She told me that she would phone him after he looked at it and get his opinion. I did as she asked and took the belt into Mike Stewart, Parts Manager, again. He told me unequivocably that the belt was defective. He said that he would be happy to tell Sonia the same thing and that he hoped GM would do something to reimburse me for my damages. Sonia called me the following week and verified that she had indeed spoken to Mike Stewart and that he told her exactly what he had told me. Sonia said that she still could do nothing to reimburse me for my damages. She asked me to take the belt in again to Steve Rayman Chevrolet and this time I should show it to the Service Manager. I told her that I was not going to keep taking the belt in for different people to examine and that I felt she had sufficient documentation and an expert opinion from Mike Stewart. I am contemplating coming to Detroit to file a small claims suit against General Motors to recover my damages of $2098.30.

I own a 2005 Chevy Silverado. I bought it brand new and because it was an American made vehicle, made by an American Corporation. After 5 years with 70, 000 miles the temp. gauge kept reading hot and I brought the vehicle to a Chevy dealership to have it fixed.It was found to be a cracked cylinder head. I was told by the service manager that the 2005 models have a history with this problem and that it would be at least 6 days to get Original GM parts or he could get after market parts in 2 days, same warranty for both parts and service. After speaking with the chevy service manager we decided that the after market part would be as good if not better do to the problem that the 2005 Chevy Silverado's have been experiencing. I called the GMC Corporation to see if they could give some assistance to the problem since that it appears that the fault of the cylinder head cracking may be a defect in the engine part or engineering. I explained in detail to customer service rep. who sounded concerned for my problem an he stated that he would give me a ref # 71-900 926 350 and forward my concerns to the next level. This was my 3rd chevy truck that I owned. I also explained that I just bought a 2011 GMC Terrain (35, 000.00) 3 weeks before the major malfunction of the Chevy cylinder head. I always used GM service for my Silverado repairs and they did a good job, all I was asking for was some assistance with a problem I believe this GM product is experiencing due to a manufacturers defect not based on my knowledge but the knowledge of the Chevy service manager himself. I give GMC a lot of credit, within 24 hours a customer service representative got back to me and stated that since I ALREADY AUTHORIZED REPAIR AT ONE OF THIER GM SERVICE DEALERSHIPS and THAT THEY WOULD NOT HELP ME IN ANYWAY WITH THE REPAIR COST, BUT THEY WOULD GIVE ME $4, 000.00 TOWARD A NEW VEHICLE. What I found out about GMC is that they only stand by there dedicated customers if they are are buying new and not so much there product which they produce and service. I really don't no if I will continue buy from this American made company (GM) in the future but I still believe that you should buy made in USA and support the hard American working men and women. YOU CAN SEE WHY THE GOVERNMENT NEEDED TO BAIL THIS COMPAY OUT, GM STILL HASN'T LEARNED ANYTHING ABOUT PEOPLE OR BACKING THE PRODUCT THEY MAKE
ANTHONY 12/22/10 11:00AM