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Alright all you lawyers, licensed and otherwise, here is my tale of woe; comments welcome.
When my son and I came out of an evening event, my car (2004 9-5 with 30k miles) would not start. Battery weak, idiot lights flashing on and off, evidently some kind of electrical component failure. I was parked on a hill, so I drifted it down a ways, popping the clutch in 2nd to try to get it going. No spark, no nothing. I figured I could try jumping it, but I had no cables, we were many miles from home, the algebra homework wasn't done yet, and ... hey! I have this GM Roadside Assistance that comes with the car; why not use it?
Long story short, I left the car (on a secure parking lot), got a ride home, and had GM Roadside tow it to the dealer, who replaced the battery (under warranty) and gave the car back to me with a cracked windshield -- an unusual stress crack across the bottom of the driver side of the glass. If I were suspicious I might think that the stress crack was caused by somebody dropping the car, possibly causing additional, hidden damage. But let me reign in my paranoia...
The dealer says, make a claim with GM Roadside, and if they deny it, claim it against your own insurance and maybe we'll help you with your deductible. GM Roadside has their towing contractor investigate. Tow truck owner inspects glass, agrees that the crack is "fresh" and not caused by a rock chip, but is sure his driver did not do it, and suspects the dealer, though he will not come right and say it was the dealer. GM Roadside informs me (by voice mail) that the claim is denied unless I can "conclusively prove" that the tow operator did it. (Both GM Roadside and the dealer understand that I had no opportunity to inspect the car when it was delivered to the dealer.)
My theory is that my relationship is with GM. GM provides the warranty and GM provides the roadside service. Everybody involved in this thing is acting as an agent for GM. I don't need to prove who did it; I can look to GM to make it right.
I am thinking of getting the address for SAAB Customer Relations or whatever they call it, and having my lawyer write to them demanding that they fix it AND that they communicate nothing to my insurance company.
Failing that I will pay out of pocket to replace it, and will not make a claim against my insurance, who would certainly recover their payout many times over through increased premiums.
Oh, and BTW, should I insist on an OEM windshield? Or are there good aftermarket products?
I am not ticked off. This is Just Business.
Thanks in advance for all comments.
, Fri, 3 Nov 2006 07:27:03
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