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CB Bad Business Partners Review of GM Buick
GM Buick

GM Buick review: repair fraud 1

T
Author of the review
5:07 am EST
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Gentlemen,
I bought a used 2012 Buick Lacrosse from the original owner on 8/20/17. I only had 14, 000 miles on it and it looked brand new. Unknown to me, the vehicle was serviced by Hanlees Hilltop Buick-GMC (in Richmond, California 94806) on 7/26/17 by the original owner for a rear differential oil leak. I wondered why the price of the car was so low (It was meant to be a gift for my 18-year daughter to park in the parking lot of her private college), (I figured it would be safe and not so expensive that she would feel horrible if her lack of driving skills got her into an accident. Turns out, Hanlees never fixed the leak (although they stated on their receipt that the problem was fixed (see attachment : "Page A" for a full description). So when I found out that the car had "supposedly" been fixed by Hanlees 25 days ago, I took it back to them and told them it still leaked, they said that they would fix it, no charge to me, they would charge the amount to the previous owner's account. (Is that proper business procedure, or were they scamming money?).
When I went back 3 days later, they said it was fixed (see attachment "Page B" for full details) so I drove it 40 miles home. When I got home, I put a big sheet of white paper under the car where the leak was. When I got up the next morning, I moved the car back and there was a big oil spot exactly where the leak had begun. I had a strong suspicion that they never even touched the car. So, before I took it back to them, I crawled under the car and placed a tiny piece of black "Gorilla tape" on the outside diameter of a bolt that had to come out if they examined the inside of the differential. Since my early career in Mechanical Engineering taught me a lot of tricks, I strategically placed the tape so it had to come off if anyone even touched that bolt head with a wrench. I took the car back (see attachment "Page C" for a full description) and told them that my white sheet of paper showed that it was coming from the differential and asked them to take off the differential cover to look inside for damage. They said they would do that. I even gave them a blue print I had drawn showing exactly where the leak was in relation to the outside of the car (see attachment : "Page H" for full details).
When I finally picked the car up a week later, I again asked them if they had taken off the differential cover to spot any problems. Not only did the assure me that they had done this, but they also assured me that the leak was fixed. So, I drove it home and put a clean piece of white paper under the car where the leak had been. Sure enough, in the morning the paper was soaked with oil in the same exact spot. Not only did they lie to me about fixing the leak, but the piece of gorilla tape was exactly where I put it. As planned, when I lightly touched the tape, it fell off in my hand. First, numerous lies all through the 3 times they supposedly fixed the car, then blatant criminal fraud had been commited by both the service manager (Anna Maskell) and her employees. (I had even gone to the extremes of showing them the oil stained white paper I used to show them exactly where the leak was. Blatant lies 3 different times and now criminal fraud — somebody is in big, big legal trouble. (By the way, I had already talked to my 3 lawyer friends, and they assured me I had a bonafide fraud lawsuit with enough physical evidence to win a substantial amount from G. M. for out of control running of a G. M. shop for not only my personal expenses, but a hefty amount for malicious pain and suffering. I am giving you guys until next Thursday at 6:00 P. M. P. S. T. to agree with my demands at the end of my letter. If you have not responded favorably, I will immediately bypass you and report this entire incident to B. A. R. (California Bureau of Automotive repair) and will simutaneously let my lawyers handle the rest of the show.
But wait, there is more. Being fully enraged by Hanlees Hilltop Buick, I decided to take the car to "Buick, GMC of Vacaville, California, 95687. To make sure I exactly communicated the problem to them I wrote them a detailed letter of instruction (see attachment" Page F "), showed them the stains on my white paper collector sheet, and included a dimensional blueprint showing them exactly where the leak was in reference from the side and the back of the rear bumper (see attachment" Page H "). When I picked up the car 3 days later, they said they had fixed the leak and they had extensively driven it to make sure it was fixed (see attachment" Page D "for full details). So, I drove the car home (note: I had already driven over 200 miles to these various shops, consumed 40 hours of my time (I used to make $200/hr, so that is a lost $8000 of my time) and had to have my doctor wife take off early from the Sacramento Hospital so she could drive 110 miles to pick me up and take me home (by the way she makes over $300/ hr. So I figure in time alone you guys are into me for about $11, 000 and I was getting pissed off!
The next morning after I checked my fresh white sheet of paper, it was stained with oil. I took the car back to them, told them it still leaked and begged them to please, really fix the problem (by the way, the leak was getting so bad, I was afraid to drive it the 20 miles back to Vacaville. I prepared detail explanatory paper, that I gave to the service Manager (Robert Brace) : (see attachment" Page G "for full details). I also again included my blueprint showing him for the second time exactly where the oil lead was (see attachment" Page H "for full details.
After a whole week, they called and said I should come down there. When I got there here is what Robert Brace told me: 1) They did not fix the car (see attachment" Page E "for full details) 2) that to fix my car it would cost me an additional $4, 053.91 to fix the leak.
Are you friggin kidding me? $4000 for an oil leak?
I promptly left, paid my bill and have not returned there.

OK guys, here are my terms: 1) fix my car and fix it right
2) have it fully operational in 2 weeks maximum
3) charge me nothing and be glad I did not pursue higher powers

And here is what happens if you do not comply with my 3 requirements: 1) I will instantly discontinue all communication with your organization.
2) I will simultaneously pass all authority to my lawyers and have them immediately contact B. A. R. (California bureau of automotive repair) with not only the information above, but twice as much more that I did not disclose to you And also inform them that they have my permission to pursue this matter up to and including G. M.'s C. E. O. (in case you did not know, her name is Mary T. Barra).

1) You must personally preform the 3 requirements of sections #1 and #2 and #3
2) If you fail to fully cooperate and ignore my request, all hell will break loose, and you will probably lose your job (for your family's financial wellfare, take me seriously and preform promptly — You see guys, I am not a man to be toyed with and you guys have pissed me off.in fact, it is not even about the money anymore. It is a matter of principle. I have I have the brains, the motivation and the financial and social ability to sucessfully deal with the highest
managerial levels of General Motors.

In 1972 I got a job at the world's biggest airplane manufacturer where I worked for 30 years. At age 20 I had a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration with a major in Accounting. (I started at Minnesota State University at age 16). I am also a prospective member of" Mensa International.in the case that you are unaware, Mensa is an organization that you can only join if your IQ is in the top 2% of the world

3) I am not threatening you guys, I am only telling you the consequence of your further actions.

I will take this problem to the highest levels of G. M. management, I am also sending duplicate emails to all my former corporate lawyers (Yeah, we're still good friends after all of these years — in fact, one of them will be coming to my house for New Years Dinner)
Be smart guys: promptly comply with sections #1 and #2 and #3 of of this letter or deal with the consequences above.

Happy New Year,
Timothy Miller

P. S. C'mon, guys, let's make this easy on both of us. Simply comply and you will never hear from me again.

1 comments
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Shaun R.
, US
Feb 02, 2018 6:38 am EST

Hi Tim.

I have to say that I feel for you. You purchased what appeared to be a great deal on a Buick. Heck, with that low of millage, I'd think a lot of people would assume there wasn't much that could be wrong. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like you paid to have it thoroughly checked out by a trusted, GMC mechanic before making the purchase.

The letter comes across from, well, a blowhard. It doesn't take a great deal of intelligence to know what you and your friends made/make per hour, doesn't amount to a proverbial "hill of beans." And throwing in that Mensa part just comes across as idiotic.

The true facts are that you purchased a car through a private sale, so any laws that apply to dealerships, doesn't apply here. Although I wouldn't return to, or want to do business with this Hanlees Hilltop Buick-GMC, there was no actual obligation to you; even though they had worked on the leak recently under the authority of the previous owner. Whereas you've addressed this complaint to GM Buick, I'm not sure where they are obligated in any part of this.

I have a trusted mechanic in my area that services all our vehicles. He's independent and considerably less expensive than the dealerships. It may behoove you to seek such a service center out and get their input into this leak.

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