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Known factory defect in car costs almost as much as car itself.
joshofalltrades
Class TraitorSmoke-filled roomRegistered User regular
Class TraitorSmoke-filled roomRegistered User regular
Okay, so I own a 2002 Saturn VUE with a VTi transmission. Recently, the transmission has started making chainsaw sounds when started up in the morning or during low-gear acceleration. I figured this was going to be an expensive fix and I was right. A mechanic told us the part itself is around $3500 which is out of the question for us right now.
Then I started poking around and found this:
How do I go about finding out how to enter a claim for this? The trannie started going out about a thousand miles ago but we've had no choice but to continue driving it, since it's our only vehicle. We have people, including mechanics, who can testify that it was going bad before the 125,000 mile mark. We have a GM dealership in town who can fix it but hadn't mentioned this class-act suit, even when we gave them the model and year, which to me means they might be trying to cheat us.
What's the best course of action for me at this point?
Then I started poking around and found this:
In yet another big red mark on GM's ledger, the General has settled a class-action lawsuit brought by the owners of more than 90,000 Saturn Vue and Ion models that came with GM's VTi continuously variable transmission. The transmissions have, apparently, had an unusually high failure rate and cost $4,000 to $5,000 to replace. The transmissions were found in the 2002 to 2005 Vue and 2003 to 2004 Ion. It was discontinued after 2005.
The settlement has received preliminary approval from a federal judge, but the official settlement hearing will not occur until February 17. In an interview with Automotive News, Rob Schmeider, who represents the Saturn owners, estimated that the lawsuit could cost GM over $100 million, though GM attorney Joe Lines found that figure to be "wildly exaggerated" and estimated the true cost would be closer to $10 million to $20 million. Lines declined to give a failure rate for the transmissions.
The settlement applies to all owners of '02 to '05 Vues and '03 to '04 Ions with the VTi transmission. The percentage of the settlement each person receives will depend on the number of miles on the vehicle when the transmission failed and whether the current owner bought it new or used. Assuming the settlement is approved, all owners of those vehicles will receive a claims form for expenses related to the transmission failure, but only if the vehicle had less than 125,000 miles on it before the failure and the transmission fails within eight years of the date the vehicle was manufactured.
How do I go about finding out how to enter a claim for this? The trannie started going out about a thousand miles ago but we've had no choice but to continue driving it, since it's our only vehicle. We have people, including mechanics, who can testify that it was going bad before the 125,000 mile mark. We have a GM dealership in town who can fix it but hadn't mentioned this class-act suit, even when we gave them the model and year, which to me means they might be trying to cheat us.
What's the best course of action for me at this point?
joshofalltrades on
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It looks like since GM bought out Saturn, they are refusing to honor the terms of the settlement. FUCK.
This is a multi-thousand dollar fix here and I'm getting fucked in the ass. Shit.
Still, any advice is appreciated.
Shogun Streams Vidya
However GM should have to honor the terms regardless as long as you meet the requirements. When the brand was liquidated GM agreed to provide parts/service/etc for Saturn branded vehicles for X years after the liquidation completed
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
WordsWFriends - zeewoot
Better case than that worst case is calling the law firm in charge of the class-action suit. Looks like if you bought it new and it's under 100,000 miles, then it's covered 100%. lakinchapman.com is firm in charge of the class action lawsuit it looks like.
Really nauseous.
Find the GM corporate number, tell them you're trying to get your vTI replaced under the class action lawsuit and you would like to discuss why you're being denied repairs for a faulty unit? While bankruptcy does absolve people from debt, stuff like this has to be footed by people who buy the brand. You buy the trademark, you also buy the debt that goes along with that. So if old GM sells it to new GM, well, tough luck scumbags.
You'll also have luck telling them you have absolutely no problem going to the press, all of them that you aren't getting anywhere.
IANAL.
If you get nowhere or are spinning your wheels, "Tip" off large auto enthusiast blogs to your blog. One that starts with a "J" comes to mind as a place that loves to get hold of these types of things and use their immense visibility and rabid readerbase to get results
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
WordsWFriends - zeewoot
Additionally, did you own the vehicle at the time the case was started/settled? That link looks to be a couple of years old.
But it's irrelevant to the class-action, since it covers anybody who own a covered vehicle at anytime and anywhere.
Chances are you have to send some information to the business in question and they give you a voucher, unless you're on the up and up with the dealership.
Edit: Also this doesn't apply to you, but class actions do not cover everyone. In this specific case it only applies to people who owned one of the models before January 9, 2009.
I bought the car in April 2008.
I'm not sure of the time line from when you contacted the dealership to discovering about the recall, but you may want to call the local dealership and give them the information regarding the recall as you have found it. Then ask for the contact information of their overseer or who they report to for customer service difficulties and simply move up the chain.
I own a 2009 Toyota Matrix which has gone through four recalls in the last year and I found that local dealerships often had no idea what was going on because they had received no information from corporate. I felt better informed from reading the daily official Toyota press releases which stated what they planned to do, rather than the 'official' information trickling into the local dealerships.
Either way, I'd start with the local dealership and present them with the info as you have it and then move up the corporate chain from there.
Now I'm getting a bit panicky. We don't have the money every month to make a car payment until I get out of school. The wife and I both work 2 jobs and we have to be in different places at the same time fairly often, so we really need to be a 2-car family. My wife knows the service manager at the only local GM dealership but the only thing he'll do is give us the number for the people who deal with issues like this. Is there something I should do before calling that number?
Check that out and see if you can make the dealership that sold it to you replace it. You did buy it around the time this was going down so I'm sure this was a known problem so you may be able to get the dealership that sold you the car to exchange it for a different make and/or model.
You're almost certainly fucked, I think, though.
Honestly even if the claim goes through, don't expect to get a full payment.
You:
1. Were near the 125,000 mile limit when the problems started.
2. Bought a high mileage used car which was 6 years old.
3. Were near the 8 year time limit when the problems started.
All of this puts you at the back of the line for settlement money compared to, say, someone who bought an '05 and started having trouble in '07 and was the original owner. You may get few hundred dollars, but at 8 years old and 125,000+ miles its reasonable to assume from a legal stand point that the car has had a service life not incomparable to the usual service life of similar cars, making it very difficult to prove a monetary loss equivalent to the full purchase value of the car. This is probably why the 8 year and 125,000 mile limits were chosen in the first place, they were what the law firm considered to be a reasonable lifespan for the car.
My Subaru had a hitch in the transmission I needed to fix before I sold it. I could source new trannies direct from Subaru for around $4500, remanufactured ones from 3rd parties for $2k-2500 shipped, and I ended up getting it rebuilt locally for about $750. That was a pretty good deal though, and to get it I had to leave it for a week or 2 since it was basically being worked on during off hours.
On a car I used to have, a dealership quoted me somewhere close to $1k to patch a hole in the exhaust. When I went to some little muffler shop, they quoted me $30. I'm sure you wont get quite that nice of a ratio on a transmission, but you'll almost definitely get a much more reasonable quote from a transmission shop.
He's got a no longer produced (and never produced in large quantity) CVT, not a regular manual or hydraulic automatic. Your experience is not comparable.
For what he's talking about, $6k is pretty reasonable. He can shop around, and maybe find a used transmission from a salvaged vehicle, but off the top there's nothing ridiculous about that quote.
Chalk this up as a learning experience and buy a more reliable (conventional) car.
Your only possible option is to get a price tag for swapping your 4-cyl/Vti for either a normal transmission or a v6/normal transmission. I would consider such a swap to be insane and insanely expensive under normal circumstances, but when you are talking 6k for parts alone on a transmission, it might be an option.
Sucks that you got screwed, though.
The car still runs, it just makes weird sounds for the first minute or two it starts up in the morning. I guess now is the time to trade it, while it's still running.
You might be able to get a grand or two out of it, as long as you don't owe any on it, I'd just roll the cash from it into a new car loan or straight up trade + cash for a used car.
Do some car shopping, find one you want at a dealership/car dealer you have not spoken to about this issue. Drive your vehicle there in the evening. Make sure you have driven it around until it's not making noise. Take the vehicle you want out an a test drive to let them estimate how much you can get for your car. Do not mention the transmission. If asked, say "It's just time for a newer car, I want something safer for my family." If they specifically ask you about the transmission (like when they notice a noise that is probably there all the time but you don't hear because you don't know what you're listening for), simply say "It's always run fine for me."
Trade it in and get a new vehicle.
On the plus side we went to a car auction and picked up a 92 Mitsi Galant for $1450 including action fees. It was an incredible bargain it even has four new tires on it. Only money I've had to spend on it so far was $30 to fix a squeaky shock at the back.
So if you're looking for a cheap and functional ride go to a car auction.
Thanks and welcome to the forums.