Jill Kelly
500 Main Street
West Lafayette, IN 47906

July 29, 2011

Daniel F. Akerson, CEO
General Motors
P.O. Box 33170
Detroit, MI 48232-5170

CC:
Alan S. Batey, Vice President of Sales and Service
Steve Hill, General Manager of Customer Care and Aftersales
James M. Hresko, Vice President of Powertrain Engineering
Anne T. Larin, Corporate Secretary

Dear Mr. Akerson:

This letter is a formal complaint regarding the quality of my GM vehicle and your company’s poor customer service. After a series of defects, my 2004 Chevy Cavalier suffered catastrophic engine failure at 74,000 miles. I am a sixty-year-old disabled diabetic, and your company’s response to this issue has adversely affected my life, both financially and personally.

On March 30, 2004, I purchased a new Arrival Blue 4-door Chevrolet Cavalier for me and my son from Roger Dean Chevrolet in West Palm Beach, FL. My ex-husband, a former mechanic, had always touted GM vehicles as the only reliable American-made cars, and after many negative experiences with Ford, I was convinced that this Chevy Cavalier would last well over 100,000 miles.

My son, Mike, has cared for the car meticulously since its purchase. He changed the oil; replaced the spark plugs, wires, air and fuel filters on time; and even conducted a weekly “walk-around” of the vehicle to check for any problems out of concern for my safety. These service records can be provided upon request. Despite this attention to detail, the car’s history has proved it be an inferior product:

At 10,211 miles (8/31/2004) the water pump failed; this was covered under warranty and the pump, along with several seals and gaskets, were replaced.
At 29,522 miles (5/23/2005), white smoke began billowing out of the exhaust. Multi Chevrolet in Orlando, Florida discovered that a cylinder head was defective, the head gaskets were cracked, and the timing chain needed to be replaced. These repairs were again covered by warranty; however, this raised doubts about the vehicle’s quality. With not much time left on Chevy’s bumper-to-bumper warranty, my son decided to purchase an extended warranty plan. Not wanting a second-rate service, he chose GM's own Major Guard Coverage, which extended the existing warranty to 65,760 miles (Agreement Reference Number: 555-555-5555). This proved to be a good decision.
At 48,241 miles (6/9/2006), less than 10,000 miles over the original warranty, the instrument cluster and a suspension beam failed.
At 74,000 miles (5/10/10), the vehicle suffered catastrophic engine failure. Luckily, my son was driving on a local road, and was able to pull over safely. After having the vehicle towed, Marc Charlie, service manager of Bill DeFouw Chevrolet in Lafayette, Indiana, informed us that every lifter was broken, every valve was bent, and the pistons were irreparably damaged. The car didn’t even outlive the loan I borrowed to purchase it.

Marc Charlie of Bill DeFouw Chevrolet quoted us a price of $3700 to replace the engine. At this point, I had sustained two injuries that rendered me disabled, and I was also beginning to experience medical complications from diabetes. I was about to go on short-term disability, and my financial situation was bleak, and still is. Marc advised my son that because the car was outside of warranty, his hands were tied as far as coverage for the repair was concerned. Despite this, Marc took the initiative to contact GM corporate on his own to see if there was anything they could do; however, he was unsuccessful.

I still had faith that GM would stand behind their product and finance the repairs. Firstly, GM advertises superior quality; however, even a car of average quality does not suffer engine failure at 74,000 miles. Secondly, this vehicle had previous engine problems at 29,522 miles, when a cylinder head, 5 gaskets, head seal, and timing chain were replaced. It is very unusual for a well-made car to require these repairs at such a low mileage.

Throughout the summer of 2010, Mike escalated this matter through the hierarchy of GM’s Customer Service.

His first contact was with Dennis (extension 33096) who simply quoted company policy on cars outside of warranty. Mike insisted that he forward the case to a District Specialist.
Jennifer, a District Specialist (extension 41414), subsequently launched an investigation, which required us to authorize the dealer to dismantle the engine for signs of visible failure. After conducting the tear-down, Marc Charlie found nothing immediately visible; however, he was only authorized to tear down to the head. If we wanted Marc to remove the cylinders in search of manufacturing defects, this would have to be done at our cost. In short, GM’s investigation into the matter was conveniently superficial.
Still not admitting that this vehicle was defective, Jennifer offered 25% off a warranty repair or $1000 toward the purchase of a new vehicle; however, both of these options would cost MORE than paying for a new engine. Marc Charlie had quoted me a price $3700 to install a new engine, with labor. Getting a warranty repair completed with a 25% discount would be $5018. In other words, the “discounted” GM warranty price would be $1300 more than the GM dealership’s price, for reasons I still do not understand. As for $1000 towards a new vehicle, if I can’t afford to replace the engine, I certainly can’t afford to purchase a new car. I am still making payments on a vehicle that is, for all intents and purposes, dead.

Without a vehicle to drive to doctor’s appointments, the pharmacy, or grocery store, I was forced to move in with my son and his wife, which has proven to be a great burden to them, both personally and financially.

To make matters worse, just as my GM vehicle was dying, Congress awarded your company $49.5 billion in government aid. As you know, only $6.7 billion of this was an actual loan; most of this bailout money was transferred to GM through the purchase of 60.8 percent equity stake in the company. As a taxpayer, I am therefore not only a customer of GM; I am also a shareholder, and in this I feel doubly wronged.

Stories like mine have been devaluing the GM brand for decades. I hoped that bankruptcy would teach your company lessons on quality and customer service. Instead, you took the American people’s bailout money, while simultaneously failing me, the American consumer, by not standing behind your company’s products and ideologies.

I once again ask your company to do the right thing and finance the repairs to my defective vehicle. I have filed consumer complaints regarding this matter with the following agencies:

Better Business Bureau (Filed 7/29/11)
National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (Reference #10415586)
Federal Trade Commission Consumer Response Center (Reference #31718025)
Indiana Office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection Division (Mailed 7/30/11)

I have also written letters to the following politicians regarding my experience and their support of future government aid to GM. I have attached copies of these letters for your records.

Todd Rokita (U.S. House of Representatives, Indiana)
Senator Daniel Coats (Indiana)
Senator Richard Lugar (Indiana)
Secretary Ray LaHood, U.S. Department of Transportation

I would like to close by telling you that recently, my son and daughter-in-law purchased a new car. My daughter-in-law and her family have owned nothing but GM cars for the last fifty years. Her and my son had been planning to buy a Chevy Malibu for quite some time; however, disillusioned by GM’s lack of quality and customer service, they opted for a Hyundai instead. Despite decades of consumer loyalty, they have, like millions of other Americans, become concerned that GM will fail them the way it has failed me.

Sincerely,

Jill Kelly