GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I was given the GM customer service number and I will use that, but I need action soon as I can.I have an interesting situation where I dinged up the driver side bumper of my 100,000+mile 2006 Vibe and lo and behold when I took it to the body shop we discovered that the car's front structural brace and mounts to the frame were seriously damaged. This damage was SEVERAL years old based on the rust accumulated around the tears and someone had just slapped a new fender on it and called it a day. The thing is though, I bought that car BRAND NEW with 14 miles on it and it has NEVER been in such a front collision (or any collision ever at all except for the one I mentioned above.) It either happened at the factory or in transit.I want answers immediately. The dealership refuses to give me thier factory sales rep's contact info and I was told....they are looking for a paper trail. Meanwhile the shop wants to fix it on top of the slight damage to the rear and the quote ballooned to say the least.I know this car is 5 years old and all....but i was sold a defective brand new product. So, anyone know anything? Thanks,Isaac

Not sure.. but.. good luck! I doubt they will want to do anything to help.

A friend works QC at Subaru. It is not unusual for factories to fix minor assembly-line defects and damage without telling you, but this sounds like much more.Give the dealer a day or two, then become proactive. Best to contact your local 'Consumer Advocate' at your newspaper, local TV stations, your state Attorney General's office and Consumer Advocate, your insurance company, all with a well-documented complaint including lots of photos.It's amazing how a couple of TV cameras and calls from reporters can get local dealerships to become more, uh, 'responsive', to customers.

I would be interested in seeing photos of the damage in question.

I can link up some pics of the damage. Do I have to re-size them first?I miss driving my 5-speed Vibe. So bad. Thats what pisses me off so much. I just wanted it fixed and back. But the body shop said he cant let it on the road like it was. Luckily a friend let me borrow her 08 Cobalt...but its automatic and i literally feel like I'm driving a with a rubber band to the wheels. Anyway....my baby is sitting all torn apart and I'm going to wait on GM to "get back to me?" yeeeeeeeah...okThanks for the tips Kostby....i really do appreciate that.

Ok, a somewhat image intensive post. So bear with mehere is the whole brace. some closeups of the braces bend point a NON-DAMAGED mount on drivers side the damaged mount on passenger side Radiator shot with bent metal....piece.... holding everything together

Looks like a bumper test into a post.Hope you get results!!!

http://www.gmpartsdirect.com/catalog/frameset.cfmThe center brace is like 135.00, brackets around 10 bucks. The expensive parts are the outer bumpers, covers and absorbers that would of been damaged in the latest wreck. Some of the radiator support parts are spendy too.http://www.carpartswholesale.c...:0%29this one has reinforcement bumpers or braces for like 40 bucks.I do not know if you can get all these things through these sites for this kind of money or even if these are the right parts, but some things are not worth the fight with big corporations. Proving things could be tough. Shop around, get the best deal you can, and try to find the finer things in life to enjoy. You could also try to find a similar year Vibe that was rear ended with no front end damage at a junk yard.Good luck whatever you decide.http://www.gmpartshouseusa.com...49395http://www.partswebsite.com/reliablegmparts/

Thanks for the links 10vibe. While informative...I went ahead and told the body shop to fix the car and I would pay for all costs. I am pursuing GM / dealer through other means now. I was basically told since nooone had any paperwork for the damage, they are not responsible for the cost of fixing it. Thats not acceptable to me. Also, paying for this whole mess is PREVENTING me from enjoying the finer things in life. I'm looking at $800 extra dollars on my bill. Yeah, I guess i could buy the parts and do it myself, but i dont possess the skill or time to do that.

WOW! That's really not cool. I've heard of that happening. Where cars fall off the transport truck, they wheel them in and patch them up without really fixing anything. Which dealer you buy it from. Maybe a few calls from "Genvibe" bros with get thier attention.

I feel for you. It was not right for that damage not to be fixed before you bought it. It should of also been disclosed, but that is not in car dealership DNA. RMCKINJR is probably right and it happened unloadiing off the transport.I would probably be in the same boat as you and just tell the body shop to fix it and then consider legal action against the dealership. The problem is the cost of pursuing legal action versus the return and proving the case.The dealership might make you a deal on a new car that you can't refuse if they had any heart, but then you would still be doing business with someone you are not happy with or that you can trust. The one thing they will not do is admit to anything. Unless turnover is great in the management of that dealership, somebody probably remembers a screw up that damaged a new car. Management and ownership never forget when it costs them any money. Since it was a lousy fix, I doubt they had insurance pay for it, whether the transport's or theirs. If damage was done at NUMMI, they have all the parts there to fix it right. There is one other explanation for the damage to consider. Ever leave town for a week or two and leave the house and car keys in charge of kids, relatives or friends? Somebody might have a "friend" whose father "has the ultimate set of tools" and they "fixed" it over the weekend. Another explanation involves sliding across the floor in my shades, socks and underwear hoping guido the killer pimp brings back my parents furniture, while I dry out my fathers Porsche. I thought I would of learned my lesson the time I tried to roll the odometer back on the Ferrari.I am sorry you have to go through this. It is unfair. i just hope you can let it slide off your back and not dwell on it like I probably would. Try to smile and be grateful for all the good things in life. Take care