Flooded Car

[tramtwo]

Service manager called today, they are back up and running post Hurricane Issac.

The car is going to the trim shop tomorrow for a new water management bag install. He hopes that it will only take a day. The car will then be returned to the dealership for the new carpet install. They hope to have the car back to me by Monday.

Absolutely nothing was said about the mold and mildew. I am not going to continue to plead my case to people who can do nothing. GM is going to call me tomorrow following up on my BBB claim with an "offer."

My dealer has had this car since the 7th of August and because it rained EVERYDAY in August it has been taking on water till the 25th when I discovered it being stored outside with standing water and growing mold and mildew. :(

EDIT: Notice the mold or is it mildew growing on the seat belt pad. Also there looks like rust on the dynamat.

[Storm T]

Is that Dynomat? What about it? They replacing it too?

[tramtwo]

Originally Posted by Storm T

Is that Dynomat? What about it? They replacing it too?

Dynamat.

[PIPE]

Dynamat is made with Aluminum backing so I doubt its rust. It could be small metal specs from the sheet metal of the car or welding slag that the water pooled together there in the lowest spot once dried turned into rust. Hard to tell on the seatbelt cover. However I'd bet my paycheck its got some sort of mold spores on/in it. Dont give up[on this. Trust me people die everyday from mold spores and infections. They will not get it properly cleaned. They cant just rip out the carpet and replace it without cleaning it first. Any mold spores left over after carpet removal will latch onto the new carpet and start eating and growing again. Especially if its damp, and in youre case down south with heat and humidity it will be damp

[strych9]

This whole situation sucks, but gawd damn is there a ton of misinformation in this thread, and it's the same misinformation that abounds in these forums. Let me clarify a few things here:

1. A dealership is a private business. The owners enter into a franchise agreement to sell cars, parts, and service for a particular make. The the corporate "franchiser" has no direct authority over a dealership's business practices.
2. If the dealer promised you that they would put the car indoors during a storm, then they made a verbal commitment to you. Pursue it.
3. Every dealer has a disclaimer: "Not responsible for..." covers just about anything bad that could happen. Theft, damage, whatever, the dealer accepts no responsibility for it.
4. File a claim with your insurance company. This can be fixed, and that's what you pay them for. Maybe your dealer would be willing to step up and help you with your deductible.

I have to laugh at the, "demand a new car" comments. I can't say I disagree, but my extensive dealership background and the realist in me knows that it's rarely going to happen. And in this case, it would have to be proven that a warrantable defect caused these issues. Sucks, but these are facts.

[tramtwo]

Originally Posted by strych9

This whole situation sucks, but gawd damn is there a ton of misinformation in this thread, and it's the same misinformation that abounds in these forums. Let me clarify a few things here:

1. A dealership is a private business. The owners enter into a franchise agreement to sell cars, parts, and service for a particular make. The the corporate "franchiser" has no direct authority over a dealership's business practices.
2. If the dealer promised you that they would put the car indoors during a storm, then they made a verbal commitment to you. Pursue it.
3. Every dealer has a disclaimer: "Not responsible for..." covers just about anything bad that could happen. Theft, damage, whatever, the dealer accepts no responsibility for it.
4. File a claim with your insurance company. This can be fixed, and that's what you pay them for. Maybe your dealer would be willing to step up and help you with your deductible.

I have to laugh at the, "demand a new car" comments. I can't say I disagree, but my extensive dealership background and the realist in me knows that it's rarely going to happen. And in this case, it would have to be proven that a warrantable defect caused these issues. Sucks, but these are facts.

I have no idea about the structure of GM and their sanctioned outlets.
I do know that this car has several problems and GM sends me to a place they authorize to have it taken car of. While at this place that I was directed to... my own mechanic can not perform warranty work... the car is damaged. The extent of which has yet to be determined.

These are the facts, and that I would have to get crunched between GM and a dealership and the BBB and the state's lemon laws is a most frustrating and very discouraging development.

I have not be negligent and have in good faith sought to maintain this car as directed by GM. As a result of this direction from GM my car has been at the dealer for over 45 days and had had several items serviced repeatedly.

I continue to work within the system, the service tech told me to call GM and GM told me they deal with the BBB.

Man all I did was lay down 50 large for my dream car and all this "stuff" should be settled between GM and their authorized dealership.

Ya know in the face of love it or return it all i can do is...

[oyealiz]

Originally Posted by tramtwo

The car's top has a leak and it was stored outside by the dealer while waiting on parts for three weeks now. Can there be mold in the AC system?

They knew it had a leak and "stored" it outside? I would be beyond angry.

[sstnt]

This is big money...you've got to go to a Lawyer to determine your rights. There are so many permutations here that all us jailhouse lawyers are just going to confuse you.

Go to a Lawyer that specializes in Civil liability cases. Lay it out for him, along with any and all paperwork. Write down everything you remember (names, dates, times, what people said, what you did). Let him look at it and see what your rights are.

[hightower]

This sucks man. I wish the best of luck to you. I've seen your 'vert on the forum a lot, beautiful camaro, I hope it's restored to it's former glory, OR you get it bought back and have an opportunity to buy another camaro!

Either way, best of luck to you!

[Wantconvertible]

[Steve Dallas]

So, it was at the dealer. What caused the water damage...I don't mean "water". I mean...was it weather related, or did they put it through a car wash with the windows open.

[Bodih]

Originally Posted by sstnt

This is big money...you've got to go to a Lawyer to determine your rights. There are so many permutations here that all us jailhouse lawyers are just going to confuse you.

Go to a Lawyer that specializes in Civil liability cases. Lay it out for him, along with any and all paperwork. Write down everything you remember (names, dates, times, what people said, what you did). Let him look at it and see what your rights are.

^^This!

Lawyer up. It's the only way you're going to know what you have legal claim to, and get them to repsond legitimately. Otherwise, they're all just going to keep pointing at each other and providing lip service, hoping you'll finally give up. Best of luck to you. Hate to see this happen to such a devoted vert lover!

[tramtwo]

Dropped in on the trim shop. The dealer had removed the wet dank carpet. The trim shop does not believe the original bag had any problems. In fact he stated that they never touched the original bag at all to put on the new top. I got a chance to look at the old bag and the "split drain tub" explanation from the service department does not hold water.

The car is currently in limbo because the new bag has an additional set of drain tubes that no one knows where or how to route.

The foul smell inside the car is gone. Not sure how that was done.

And another wrinkle to this top story is that I have figured that about 80 miles have been put on the car in the last month that the dealer has had it. It is about 10 miles between the dealership and the trim shop. No one told me the car was going to driven between the locations.

Can these dealerships do what they want how they want for as long as they want without reprisal?! Is this what GM wants associated with its brand?

[owensmat]

Thought I'd share my story with ya, based on things you've said in your thread. Different circumstances, but hopefully you'll find it helpful? Like you, I bought my car to keep and love. I've had all kinds of nice cars and I love this SS vert! Had an accident in May that was not my fault. Happened just after I got it exactly where I wanted it with a drop kit, tint, stripes, headers, tune, CAI, debadged, blacked out, new grill, etc. Car was gone for three months for repair. The accident was devastating to me. In short, they stripped it back to the firewall. I thought I'd never think of it the same way, that it would never be the same again, and that I'd want to dump it afterward. I picked a good shop and rode them throughout the repair. I've had it back a month now and I can honestly tell you that I love it still. It drives like new and has no issues whatsoever. I even had them throw a ZL1 front bumper on. So, in spite of bad circumstances, sometimes things workout well. I hope the same goes for you too! Good luck!

Originally Posted by tramtwo

Dropped in on the trim shop. The dealer had removed the wet dank carpet. The trim shop does not believe the original bag had any problems. In fact he stated that they never touched the original bag at all to put on the new top. I got a chance to look at the old bag and the "split drain tub" explanation from the service department does not hold water.

The car is currently in limbo because the new bag has an additional set of drain tubes that no one knows where or how to route.

The foul smell inside the car is gone. Not sure how that was done.