1,000 miles out of warranty, what can I do?

Question

I bought a 2006 Chevy Trailblazer with 8,000 miles on it from a dealer (a rental vehicle or something) and that they considered it new, not used and that it came with a full new warranty. My vehicle just broke down about 550 miles from where I live, they said the differential was out of fluid and it caused damage to transfer case and other things (total cost of $3,000). I thought the full new warranty meant it was 8,000 + 36,000 miles as the car salesman told me but the paperwork didn't say that so I guess i am screwed on the warranty issue (i had 37,100 miles). I had an oil change and safety inspection before I went on my trip and they said I had a differential leak and said to get it fixed when i could and the safety inspection guarantees they refill those fluids. So i figured I could fix this when i got back from my trip. I heard GM can sometimes help when it is just outside warranty? I am extremely upset for dealership about warranty and not alerting me to severity of leak....

Answer 1

You will have to deal with the factory rep, and possibly a lawyer. It is going to be hard to force them to fix it, especially since they told you there was a problem and you didn't have it fixed before you left.

Good luck. Factory reps won't be easy to convince, since their job is to save the factory money, not give it away freely.

Answer 2

Call the gm customer service and ask. You might have a problem since you were advised about the problem before your trip. good luck. The factory warranty is for 36,000 miles but sometimes with certified vehicles they have a extended one. Should have verified it when you bought the car. NEVER ASSUME

Answer 3

There is not alot you can do under the circumstances except hope that the dealer shows you some good will for your business down the road. He really is not obligated to though. I would contact the factory rep's as well as the service advisor at the dealership. You may ask them to contact the dealership closest to you and see if your home dealership will contact them and work out a lower price for you. Some sort of a compromise. Whenever you buy an American vehicle and its under factory warranty that is usually the same amount of mileage that it would have expired under if you purchased it new. Also you may have had a smaller leak of a seal when you left and they may have added the right amount of fluid. Over the 500 miles you drove it the seal was probably under added stress which led to the more severe leak. You don't have anything to be upset with the dealership about they told you about the leak and you chose not to have it fixed at that time. It is what it is.

Answer 4

Call customer service and explain all that happened. The Service Manager has the power up to 10,000 miles out of warranty to help. ( called good will ). Granted they didn't tell you the savarity of the leak but you should of checked it during your trip. And what you bought was a demo and since you got a discounted price and not the full 36,000 miles. Good luck with it.