RIP 2012 ZL1 #1635

[Sven59]

He said, she said will get resolved by the parties. The OP is fellow ZL1 owner and deserves our support, no need for name calling or going overboard at the dealer. What is important is that our moral support helps the OP get a fair deal.

[Brian52682]

Originally Posted by PQ

That would be a travesty of justice.

Of course they owe him. But a brand new car should be their choice. Maybe they should have. But just because they didn't, and tried to start finding him a comparable replacement does not justify them getting this blasting that they have.

You obviously haven't been a part of many criminal neglect lawsuits. This is the epitome of neglect on the dealership, 80k is being NICE. If this goes to court he could get a lot of money... GM knows this though so they'll give him whatever he wants so it won't make it that far. The dealership will be burned if this goes to trial, trust me.

[RallySS]

Originally Posted by PQ

But as far as the dealer coming on here to 'Clear things up', that would be most unwise. And they know it. THis lynch mob has made up their minds.

I never mentioned coming on here, but even posting to their own site would be wise since they already decided to put something on there about it. Either way, to let public opinion fester is one thing and to add to it is another. The biggest reasons I believe one side over the other is (a.) I've worked for dealerships and have seen what goes on behind the curtain (b.) I've had more than one dealer in my life try to rip me off or deny service based on less than honest practices and (c.) The only things the dealer has come out and said are in line with what I have heard in both (a.) and (b.).

Could I be wrong? Absolutely. Why do I want the dealer to speak up? Because the ones who haven't in the past were usually hiding something and I would believe them more if they got their story out there, even if it were to post the Carfax of the possibly damaged ZL1 trade or anything else to help us believe them. Right now all we see is an upset customer who was done wrong and what appears to be a half ditched effort to clean it up on the cheap.

[PQ]

They'd be fools to come on here OR make any ongoing statements until it is resolved. They will solve the problem and then make a statement. That is it.

I used to love the fact that we had an avenue to get a ton of people to have your back in support. But not any more. This is just irrational bullying with very little info.

If it's on the internet it must be true.

[ramin1983]

I am so sorry for your loss man.
This is totally unacceptable! They should offer you a new ZL1 and fire that irresponsible employee!

[RallySS]

If you hear it directly from the person it happened to it must be a lie...

[GT500guy]

Originally Posted by cdjnight

I'd like to see them come on here...owning they're mistake of giving a parts guy access to 100's of thousands of dollars in not only their vehicles, but their customers vehicles too! And with owning their mistake what they are doing to make it right! And by making right I mean going above and beyond whatever the insurance companies settle on. The Hoopers may not have a certain law that requires the dealer to do so but I'm pretty confident that a lawsuit in civil court probably wouldn't pan out too well for the dealership and the managers that gave the parts boy access. It shows a severe lack of negligence and thank god nobody got killed in the car or on the street.

The "parts boy" you're referring to was a service writer that had access to the dealership so there's no "mistake" that was made by First State Chevrolet. The lawsuit you mentioned is no slam dunk by any stretch and could wind up costing the Hoopers more than the car is worth. This incident is rare, I know for a fact that nothing like this has ever happened to the Hansen's, not even remotely close.

I do know of a case where a salesman working at another dealership crashed a customers Porsche that was in for service, the owner of the 911 pushed for a replacement car which didn't happen, insurance company with help from the dealer, repaired the vehicle. Was that fair and just, who knows but that's how the industry works..

[S-eatin-grin]

Man what a mess...for GM, the dealer and most of all the OP. I've read a lot of the 1200+ posts but not all of them so forgive me for any re-hash but I just don't understand why this is so hard to resolve. Why are they (the dealer) not telling him to pick out the one he wants (within a given set of REASONABLE constraints) do a title and vehicle history search on it and ship it to the dealer. They cover the difference between the insurance check and the cost of the vehicle he picks...throw in some perks of some sort and that are transferrable to GM or some other entity (maybe a gas card) and agree to never speak to each other or about each other ever again. Like others have said...there must be more to the story cause it should not be that hard to resolve. Someone is being unreasonable. I feel for both parties ... but mostly the OP.

This is one of the reasons I didn't ever take my modded SS to the dealer and leave it there. The owners respect your car but you never know which dealership has a "kid" working there that would never have a chance to go WOT on something like this any other way at this time in their live.

[cant_get_rite]

Originally Posted by mrpyle

No idea ... but do you think they'll get a new one? Or have one pulled from another location with a few dings in it?

[GT500guy]

Originally Posted by Dupo24

Ive been following this as a fellow car lover (2006 Pontiac GTO with 42K) and I can say is this: they dont owe him a new ZL1 off the bat. They do owe him more than what the insurance offered. They owe it to step up a bit more and resolve the issue. This dealership did not. Now....they owe him a new ZL1 to make up for it. Good luck to you sir. You spent money for your dream car. Anything less than your dream car is unacceptable imo.

You have no idea what First State offered, none but keep thinking what you want..

[RallySS]

Recently 1st State Chevrolet had an employee enter the dealership on Sunday December 15th and take a customer’s Camaro without authorization and subsequently totaled the customer’s car in an accident. Our business is closed on Sundays and was locked as is usual procedure. The employee acted on his own in this unfortunate event. This is an awful situation for both the customer and the dealership to deal with. We have been in contact with the customer and apologized for this situation at length. Both parties’ insurance companies are working to handle this claim in a satisfactory manner. Hopefully this situation will be settled in the very near future.


-Robert L. Hansen

President 1st State Chevrolet

When you see a company come out and play entirely on the defensive side rather than own up to something, it tends to rub the general public in the wrong way. In this case, instead of publicly apologizing for the damages and saying they will make sure to make things as right and fair as possible, they said it is basically just as awful for the dealership and that the insurance company is handling it while trying hard to distance themselves from their former employee. Now that is service I want if my car is destroyed!

This sounds more like a statement for insurance purposes making sure their dealership is not held liable for anything, not an apology of any sort or an owning up to a problem that obviously happened. This alone shot red flags all over the place and made the op's account more believable.

[Sharkonwheels]

Originally Posted by PQ

I do not believe they were told it's not their problem. As unlikely as it is that they'd say that I'll ask you the same as everyone else. Why do you believe that he dealer told them that?



There was no 'Take it or leave it' offer. Why do you believe that?

But as far as the dealer coming on here to 'Clear things up', that would be most unwise. And they know it. THis lynch mob has made up their minds.

I advised Bob Hansen NOT to come on here, as the ball is still in play.
Seen that before, it did NOT go well.

My advice, was solve the problem ASAP, let it rest for a week or two, then if you INSIST, go ahead and speak your peace.

He told me, as well, that he had NO idea the car had a carfax history, as they were trying to move so fast to please the Hoopers, that they kinda' cut corners, and said it bit them i the arse. He told me he couldn't believe it - it was like throwing gasoline on a fire, and all they were trying to do was solve the problem. He mentioned the car optioned as it is was about $1300 higher MSRP when new, and was throwing the $4K on top of the deal.

I think everyone needs to take a deep breath, and think about this logically.

If YOU were caught in a situation even REMOTELY similar, would you appreciate the internet hanging you out to dry with only one side of the information?

People have called for the executioner, when the case hasn't even been started!

And I'm not on a high horse preaching down - I'm JUST as guilty, tweeting and facebooking my ass off to no end.

[cdjnight]

Bob Hansen, co-owner of First State Chevrolet, said Peterson also would be charged with unauthorized use. A magistrate judge told Hansen that Peterson could not be charged with theft because he was a dealership employee with a key, Hansen said. Peterson no longer works at the dealership, he said.
“He's going to be charged with as much as we could charge him with,” Hansen said

If Mister Hansen would have convinced the judge to charge Eric with theft then Mr. Hansen and his dealership would be off the hook! Duh? this ain't rocket science. The Hoopers know it, the dealer knows it and so does social media. Pay up Mr. Hansen with that 2013 Vert you got left over on your lot! And the Taxes! and then lick your wounds.

[PQ]

Originally Posted by RallySS

If you hear it directly from the person it happened to it must be a lie...

Doesn't make it either. Problem I have is everyone is so sure that it's the accurate story that they are willing to ruin a business. Which is ludicrous to me.

Originally Posted by RallySS

Recently 1st State Chevrolet had an employee enter the dealership on Sunday December 15th and take a customer’s Camaro without authorization and subsequently totaled the customer’s car in an accident. Our business is closed on Sundays and was locked as is usual procedure. The employee acted on his own in this unfortunate event. This is an awful situation for both the customer and the dealership to deal with. We have been in contact with the customer and apologized for this situation at length. Both parties’ insurance companies are working to handle this claim in a satisfactory manner. Hopefully this situation will be settled in the very near future.


-Robert L. Hansen

President 1st State Chevrolet

When you see a company come out and play entirely on the defensive side rather than own up to something, it tends to rub the general public in the wrong way. In this case, instead of publicly apologizing for the damages and saying they will make sure to make things as right and fair as possible, they said it is basically just as awful for the dealership and that the insurance company is handling it while trying hard to distance themselves from their former employee. Now that is service I want if my car is destroyed!

This sounds more like a statement for insurance purposes making sure their dealership is not held liable for anything, not an apology of any sort or an owning up to a problem that obviously happened. This alone shot red flags all over the place and made the op's account more believable.

What you are forgetting, or did not realize, is that statement is in DIRECT response to the public bashing began on the net. They have to explain what happened since the story everyone is hearing is not accurate.

Again, it is HIGHLY unlikely that this Mr. Hansen told Hooper that it's not their problem.