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January 2001 Dear Consumer: Thank you for contacting the Center for Auto Safety (CAS) regarding the paint problem on your General Motors (GM) vehicle. At CAS' urging, in January 1993 GM adopted the most comprehensive paint policy within the industry. GM will repaint vehicles with defective paint for free for six years and unlimited mileage, regardless of whether you bought the vehicle new or used. GM will pay all the cost of repair except for dents, scrapes and other similar damage. A copy of GM's announcement of its corporate-wide paint policy is enclosed. In March 1995, GM secretly reneged on this policy by cutting the limit to 5 years. However, many consumers have sued in small claims court to force GM to honor the 6-year program and to get free paint jobs beyond 6-years if they show the paint defect first surfaced within 6-years. A national class action lawsuit against GM was filed in Louisiana by Becnel, Landry & Becnel, P.O. Drawer H, Reserve LA 70084. One need not contact this firm to be part of the class as the court will order notification of all owners covered by the class if a settlement is reached. "Dateline NBC" did a program on peeling paint on November 2, 1997, and has an Internet website, www.dateline.msnbc.com, from which further information can be obtained. The most common paint defects seen in GM vehicles are paint peel and severe flaking, conditions in which a vehicle's colorcoat (e.g., blue, gray, silver) literally lifts away from the underlying anti-corrosion primer coat which is generally a dull gray color. On vehicles suffering paint peel, the colorcoat peels off on horizontal surfaces (hood, cowl and roof) first. On severely affected vehicles, the vertical surfaces (quarter panels) will also peel with the passage of time. The best analogy for the paint peel condition is the after effects of a bad sunburn. Following a sunburn, the skin often blisters and then peels away. Paint peel is analogous to a sunburn in that the paint literally peels away in patches. If your GM vehicle suffers from the condition described above, CAS suggests you take the following action to obtain free repairs beyond the express warranty period. C Contact the service manager at your local GM dealership. The dealer service manager has specific authorization to paint your vehicle for free as shown in the enclosed statement that was issued by GM in 1993. (All GM divisions except Saturn received notification of GM's corporate-wide paint policy statement.) C If the dealer service manager's offer is unsatisfactory or you are denied a refund for a previous paint job, call your GM Customer Assistance division at the following numbers: Buick, 800-521-7300; Cadillac, 800-458-8006; Chevrolet, 800-222-1020; GMC 313-253-7164; Oldsmobile, 800-442-6537 and Pontiac 800-762-2737. Use the complaint box to alert us if GM does not honor its policy. C If you find GM's response unacceptable, sue GM in small claims court. In most states, the GM agent for service of process is CT Corp. More information on this simple procedure is found in the enclosed blue pamphlet. (If the vehicle is less than 5 years old, you may also arbitrate through the Better Business Bureau by calling 800-955-5100.) As a practical matter, try to get your small claims case scheduled for a Friday afternoon or early Monday morning. Most GM field representatives have "travel zones," requiring them to drive or fly out to their zones on Monday and return home on Friday. By scheduling your case against GM on a Monday morning or Friday afternoon, the factory representative has additional incentive to settle with you out-of-court. Furthermore, most GM representatives hate spending half a day in small claims court. Many will settle with you before court, upon receipt of the small claims court documents. Be sure to list your phone number on the court papers so the factory representative can contact you more readily. If your case will not be settled without a court hearing, it is important that you know a couple legal terms in case they come up in court. "Statute of limitations (SoL)" means, in general, that a given number of years, usually four, have elapsed since the purchase date of the vehicle and the passage of time precludes one from suing in court. If you ever hear SoL mentioned, respond by stating that the "discovery rule" should apply in your case. The discovery rule is a legal concept that "tolls" (suspends) the SoL given it was impossible to discover the matter being sued over within the statute of limitations time period. In this instance, you will be suing over a latent paint defect. As a consumer, you could not have known of GM's latent paint defect until the paint literally started peeling/flaking off of your vehicle. Arguably, even if the paint started peeling/flaking years ago, you did not learn of the paint defect until January 1993 when the media publicized CAS' action regarding the GM paint peel defect. Some judges may decide that the statute of limitations did not commence running until you actually learned that the paint condition on your vehicle was the result of a concealed, latent manufacturing defect. If you must go to court, the attached news release shows GM is well aware of the deficiencies in its paint process and has taken responsibility for this defect back at least 6 years. Every dealer also got a detailed Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) on paint delamination which should prove useful in court as they show GM has been aware of the paint problem on its for several years. Ask your dealer for a copy. If the dealer does not provide a copy, ask the small claims court judge to order GM to produce a copy. Some of the TSB numbers are: Buick 92-10-57, Chevrolet/Geo 92-300-10, Oldsmobile 93-T-05, Pontiac 92-10-59, and GMC Truck 92-10-134. (You can also get an order form and index to all service bulletins issued within the past four years from GM by calling 800-551-4123.) You can obtain a copy of CAS' correspondence with GM on paint defects for $10. The correspondence includes several internal GM documents acknowledging the defect and stating the 6-year, no mileage, no-deductible paint policy. Ask the judge to order GM to reimburse the $10 cost as part of the cost of filing suit. Also ask the court to order GM to produce records on how many vehicles by model and year it repainted for free. Be sure to take along to court photos of your vehicle and estimates from local, reputable repair shops of the cost to repaint your vehicle. If you are beyond the 6-year limit, GM should still reimburse you if the paint defect first appeared during the 6-year period. After all, GM should not benefit from its delay in implementing this policy until after its arbitrary limit expired. If GM refuses to voluntarily pay for repainting, take GM to small claims court. Similar to the statute of limitations argument above, argue that this was a concealed, latent defect. Use the complaint box to tell us about any problems with the 6-year limit. You should write letters to help make state and federal officials aware
of the widespread nature of the GM paint peel defect. Include information
regarding the make, model and year of your vehicle, color, and a brief
overview of your experiences to date in your attempt to get GM to pay
for the cost to repaint your vehicle. Send CAS copies of your letters.
The individuals to write are as follows: Use the complaint box to provide information on your efforts and sucess in dealing with GM paint problems so that we can better help you. We need you to support the Center for Auto Safety in our fight for consumer rights and against poorly designed and unsafe cars. Your contribution is tax-deductible and entitles your to our quarterly newsletter, Lemon Times. Please submit the membership form along with your contribution and complaint. If you contribute $35 or more, we will send you the current edition of The Ultimate Car Book, by Jack Gillis. Every home should have this invaluable consumer guide. Sincerely, Clarence M. Ditlow |
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