Need advice on my car 2011 Chevy

In Febuary of this year I financed a 2011 chevy cruze. I was at a stop light yesterday and soon as the light turned green I press the fuel and Boom. My car went a few feet and I felt/ heard something break. Im stuck. I Shift to park, reverse, nothing. I shut off car and turn it back on and nothing. Cant move at all. I get help and push car to parking and dial up chevy. Im covered with warrenty. Today Tow guy takes to chevy dealer service. we get there and they refuse the car because we dont have an appointment. Chevy could not find anyone that could service my car. I was sitting on the tow truck for like an hour until chevy told tow company to drop off the car to my home and leave it. I live in Nyc and we have alternate side parking where we have to move cars so the streets can be cleaned. My car wont budge and I have to move it around not to get a parking ticket. Next appointment date is for nov 17.

I had this car less than a year and it straight left me flat . Straight stranded. Its only a few years old and already kicking people to the curb.This is my first time ever financing a car. I sort of dont feel comfertable with it. Anyone have any advice?

You can call chevy customer care and see if they can force an earlier appt maybe.

I dont live in a high population, as such I have never heard of not being able to drop off a car for service.

But you have warranty rights.

Have you talked to a service manager to express your situation and see if he can come up with alternate ideas?

a reply to: smirkley

Yea they were the ones who told me there is nothing they can do for me until I have an appointment with service dealer. Then they will tow car to service dealer. Chevy said there is nothing they can do for me as far as appointments go.

a reply to: Prisoner60863

I'd jump on the ball and contact a consumer law attorney. You can use Avvo to get you in the right direction.

We had an issue with our old Jeep and went that route. We used a group of affiliate attorneys with LemonAuto.com with great success. While they don't have an affiliate in the State of New York, they may also be able to point you in the right direction.

Now that's out of the way, I have to say that I have never heard of a dealership straight up refusing service like that. Yes, they may not get to it for awhile, but they should at least be able to keep it on the lot. Had I been you, I would have had the tow truck drop it on their lot and tell them it's their problem until they fix it.

I would also try calling Chevy customer service. If they're unable to help you, ask to speak to a manager or supervisor. If they're unable to help you, keep moving up the ladder. Call, call, call. Be a thorn in their side. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, so to speak.

The key is to be polite, courteous, and respectful. If you get loud, curse, or cop an attitude you won't get very far at all. And that, right there, is the hard part. Good luck!

a reply to: cmdrkeenkid

Thank You for your advice and I agree with you to be polite. I will start being the thorn tomorrow. I straight want to return car. Its way to soon to leave me dumped on road without a warning.

a reply to: Prisoner60863

You may also wish to get more info on your car, use the VIN to find previous owner, and/or use the VIN to find out the service history.

If the car's mechanical history is very bad, depending on your state, you may be able to have it called a lemon under lemon laws (if any) in your state and force buyback and/or compensation.

At the very least, you may get more ammo if you want to go to small claims court and sue the dealer that sold it to you, particularly if the service had been done at that dealer since new - e.g. they knowingly sold you a car they knew was a lemon

Good luck

a reply to: Prisoner60863

My #1 advice: only buy V8 engines. Tried and true, they won't fail you.

The Cruze likely has a sideways 4 cyl, which is prone to breakage. Once those engines hit 120k miles, they are throwaways. I had a Grand Am that was that way. At 117k miles the head gasket blew and i was left walking.

V8...thats what you want. Even if you buy something a little older.

Along with the warranty I would check with your insurance agency. You may qualify for a vehicle rental.

So does the car start at all or at least turn over still? Sounds like it does but you can't go anywhere when putting it in gear is that correct? If that is the case it sounds like it is something with the transmission. Could be something simple as the mechanism that puts the tranny into gear just snapped or came out of place.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I agree. V8 is tight.

And the head gasket is a common problem with the 4 and 6 pontiacs.

Hello. I'm truly sorry for you bummer of an experience with your first vehicle purchase made via financing.
I've been reading around on this site for years (never in this specific forum) but I joined just to give my 2 cents and hopefully assistance.
I've been in the business, at a large Chevy dealer in Ohio for 15 yrs, I have mainly been in sales, and service, now am in sales management. I don't know enough to give clear help but I will try to offer it. If you pm me the VIN I can pull a vis on it and get you the remaining warranties, show the in service dates (the date the clock started ticking on the warranty and the mileage it was at) and any service repairs or recalls done under warranty by a GM dealer.
I can tell you that if the owner of that chevy dealer, or the general manager had seen the (lazy, or overwhelmed )service advisor turn business away that individual would have lost their job. We do not turn business away, and we do huge #s in both service and sales. The service department is responsible for huge dealer profits and creates a nice living for good, solid technicians. That car you towed in there is $ in the bank to them so shame on them (as far as that side of the coin goes). More importantly they may have blown the chance at gaining or should I say saving a customer. You bought that chevy because you enjoyed the ride, style, features, way it fit you, the color and of course the financial part of it or you wouldn't have bought it. It's a 2011 with probably what, about 55k miles on it? Had they said "hey we can't get the repairs done immediately, but we can look at it, here's a rental for $30 for the day (until warranty is verified, your responsible for $) we'll call you tomorrow with a diagnosis". The whole thing was just handled wrong. I love making folks smile in these circumstances, the service department and mainly the advisors diffuse bombs all day, normal maintenance not so much but anything else and it's an unexpected cost, that a lot of times people don't budget for. So for someone to break down, get towed, explain, and hours later be told nope can't help is just unacceptable... it is when a bit of good advice is priceless. The service manager if he or she wasn't present at the time you were turned away, than I would certainly bring this to their attention, you'll get bumped to the front of the line and they'll get the best in the shop to look at it. General motors has changed a bit since 2011 too, the transparency they offer is great. They took a hit but have stepped up and handled it.
As far as the problem with the vehicle I dunno. Is it an automatic? We're there any warning lights on before it happened?
If my response in any way is unfit I apologize in advance, I am new to the whole forum "thing"....well at least posting in them, I'm normally just a reader.
Ill get you that info if you'd like. Best of luck!

a reply to: smirkley

On the GM V6s, especially the 60 degree V6s like the 3100/3400, its really the lower manifold gasket that is the issue and its commonly mistaken for head gasket failure. The 4.3 and the series II and III 3800`s are beasts when treated right.

Be very careful. Chevy dealership rescheduled my mother's impala until it was out of warranty.

She literally had to call a lawyer with all the dates and times the dealership called and cancelled her appointments. This may have nothing to do with your situation but keep it in mind that warranties are usually time and milage combinations.

a reply to: StratosFear

I stand corrected and I recall you are spot on. I have a Grand Prix with the 3100 for the kids to use.

originally posted by: StratosFear
a reply to: smirkley

On the GM V6s, especially the 60 degree V6s like the 3100/3400, its really the lower manifold gasket that is the issue and its commonly mistaken for head gasket failure. The 4.3 and the series II and III 3800`s are beasts when treated right.

My Impala has the 3.9l "3900" V6, which I understand is just as "bulletproof" as the 3800. It is a proven platform. GM sucks at building any V6 under 3.8l...

With all of that being said... 15 years ago, you could call a guy like me with an OBD tester, and probably get it fixed for a reasonable rate... (I usually charged a 12 pack of Rolling Rock + parts) Unfortunately, technology in most recent vehicles precludes simple solutions. I bought the shop manual for my Impala, and it scares me... I used to work on F-16s...

I hope this all works out. I have owned many different brands of vehicles, and Chevy always gave me the best service...

Do they have a facebook and/or twitter page? if so get on those and put some public shame up, its amazing what happens when the PR dept see a rather bad example of customer support and normally like to sort things out, also try local papers as i doubt they really fancy reporters ringing up asking awkward questions.

Even at the time rolling it so it blocked the exit of the place might of been a good idea as it means the cops are called and bad press

I would suggest perusing every forum related to your make and model... pretty sure there are many "Chevy Cruze" forums... it may be a know issue. Sometimes knowledge is power...

a reply to: Prisoner60863
Doesn't this series have timing chain/belt issues?
Warranty....

Drive your Chevy to the levy, you'll find the levy dry...they'll be good ole boys drinking whiskey and rye.

Sorry man, an old song popped into my head. I am sorry that your Chevy don't Cruze. timing belt? Why would any manufactured use a belt and not a chain is beyond me! Good luck to you, I hope its under warranty.

I would think that this is a Chevy warranty and could be used at any Chevy dealer. Call around and see what you can find. Other than that, lawyer up.