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.ta 45
	667A E. Front St.
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	Plainfield, NJ 07060

	January 14, 1972

Customer Service Manager
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Chevrolet Central Office
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Chevrolet Motor Division
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Detroit, Michigan 48202


Dear Sirs:

In November, 1971, I ordered a 1972 Corvette
from C&S Leasing
in San Diego, California
through Cabrillo Chevrolet
also of San Diego.
The car was to be delivered near
my home in Plainfield, New Jersey.
This was done to save money and
to do business with a friend of the family.

In March 1972,
the car arrived at Potamkin Chevrolet
in Newark, New Jersey.
There was a paper mixup on the car that
took four weeks and very many long distance
calls to straighten out.
Potamkin Chevrolet also raised their
agreed preparation price of
$75 to $150 after the car was delivered.

In April, I received the car.
On delivery I noticed the following problems:

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1. Used 1 qt. oil per 500 mi
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2. Chronic hesitation and backfiring
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3. Interior water leaks
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4. AM side of AM/FM radio defective
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5. Paint defects
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There were also
numerous minor problems with the car.
It was clear that Potamkin did not
prepare the car.

I did not want to take the car back to Potamkin for service.
I decided to try Norris Chevrolet in Westfield, New Jersey.
I called before going down to ask how
they would react to a car not purchased there.
I spoke to the service manager, Mr. Anderson,
who was extremely nice.
He assured me there would be no problem.

In July, 1972, the car had about 5000 miles on it.
This was primarily due to one trip to North Carolina.
I took the car in with my original set of complaints plus a
request that the parking brake be made more effective.
Results:

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1. Oil leak reduced to 1 qt/1000 mi
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2. Hesitation - no change
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3. Interior leak - no change
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4. AM radio - no change
(They said they could not get it to fail)
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5. Paint work - no change
(They said the paint shop was booked solid)
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a. The parking brake was tightened to the
point where it would drag going foreward and
catch like a ratchet in reverse.
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At this point I called the zone office in Englewood,
New Jersey.
I spoke to a secretary and related the above tale.
She painfully inscribed every word,
asking to spell many.
I was later contacted by Mr. Lorimer of that office.
His first words were "What seems to be the trouble?"
I retold the tale.
He advised me that he would pave the way at Norris
and call me back.

After four weeks, Anderson called and asked why I hadn't
contacted him for another appointment.
After explaining that I was waiting for Lorimer's call,
I made a second appointment.
I had to cancel this appointment because of business,
but made another.

In November, I took the car in with the
original set of complaints plus the brake problem
plus standard 6000 mile service.
Results:

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1. Oil leak - no change
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2. Hesitation - no change
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3. Interior leaks - no change
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4. AM radio - no change
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5. Paint work - no change
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a. Parking brake - no change
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b. Oil change - $12 charge

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As near as I could tell,
Norris Chevrolet kept the car 3 days to change the oil.
I called Anderson and he was honest and frank.
He said that GM does not pay them
enough on warrenty work to make
it worth their while to work on cars not purchased
in their sales department.

I called Lorimer and related this to him.
He said GM would pay and that he would make this
clear to Anderson.
Before I could get back to Norris, I drove to
Florida, putting 5000 miles on the car.
I cut the vacation short so as not to
run over the 12000 mile warrenty.

In December, I went again to Norris.
The car now had 11800 miles on it.
I gave them the original list plus the
parking brake problem plus
two more problems that developed on the
Florida trip.
Results:

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1. Oil leak - fixed
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2. Hesitation - no change
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3. Interior leaks - better but not fixed
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4. AM radio - no change
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5. Paint work - fixed
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a. Parking brake - fixed
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b. New problems - both fixed

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After I picked up the car, I was unhappy,
but I rationalized that the car did run.
I had resolved to keep away from GM service.

A few days ago, Lorimer called and
wanted to be paid for some
non-warrenty work (tuneup, points and plugs)
performed on my last visit.
I refused.
He then became beligerant, warning me that
"You'll never get any more warrenty work" and
"I'll impound your car if it shows up in
a dealership in my district."
He also said
"I've been dealing with the public
a long time, but I've learned something
today. Why didn't you ask to have the oil changed?"
I did not ask to have the points and plugs changed.
I feel that they were changed in an honest
attempt to improve the hesitation problem.

That's my story.
The car now has 12300 miles on it.
I am still planning on managing without
GM `service'.
I am not asking to have my car fixed
nor am I asking to have my warrenty extended.
I ask to have this letter placed in
Lorimer's file as a black mark.
I ask that you look at the competence of the
service performed at Norris Chevrolet.
And anything you can do to Potamkin will be too little.


	Sincerely,






	Ken Thompson
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copies:
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Anderson
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Lorimer
