DataDon

Purchased a new 2012 Suburban off of the dealers lot this past February while we were in Florida. The trans on my 2007 Silverado truck started acting up so I traded it in on the Suburban. Suburban had 11 miles on it when we took it for a test drive and 29 miles on it by the time we signed the papers. This was not a cheap car. LOL
Drove it home to Illinois a month later - no issues. I now have about 5200 miles on it. It is garage kept here in IL.
Needed a new battery in May after only 2000 miles. Not sure why the old one died but whatever. My theory is that the dealer swapped out the one that came with the car and put in a used one. How do I prove that?

2 weeks ago I pulled it out of the garage to hand wash it. Used some bug and tar remover on back drivers side panel just behind the wheel well.
Paint just peeled off the plastic panel in a 3" diameter circle. I saved the pieces to show my Chevy dealer here in IL. I have purchased a number of vehicles from him since I moved to the area in 1979 so they know who I am.
Service advisor looks at the paint and said it was a repair job that was not done correctly. I insisted that the vehicle was brand new when I bought it and I didn't hit anything, etc. He called the shop manager over and they both said "we ran our hands over the paint and it has a ripple in it." What?!
They all but accused me of having a fender bender and having the fender repainted.

I was told it was not warranty work. But they would not put that in the computer and print it our for me. I called GM Care at least 15 times before they returned my call. No, they won't send out a rep to look at the peeling paint, they will go 100% by what the service adviser told them. This is bull****.

So gonna head to Florida next month to see the dealer who sold me the car and see if they will repair it at his expense - he indicated over the phone that they would take care of me. We'll see.

This is the last GM vehicle I will purchase after this fiasco. Ford, here I come.
One other thing: the dealer here in IL is known for avoiding warranty work at any cost. I thought he'd treat a loyal customer better than he did.
Gjovik Chevy in Sandwich, IL - avoid. Go elsewhere.

73shark

Welcome to the forum.

Sorry to hear about your paint problem but your dealer in Illinois probably does not consider you a loyal customer since you bought the truck in Florida.

DataDon

Then he has a short memory. I've purchased 5 new vehicles from him. My son has purchased one used and one new one from him. My daughter in law has purchased 1 used from him. Our stable has his logo on our license plate holders except the Suburban. We won't be advertising for him any longer - all plate holders came off the other vehicles today. Leaving the one on from the Florida until I see how he's going to handle it.
Anyone have paint issues other than me. FYI: white paint.

MDTAHOE

It is possible that the truck was damaged in shipping or on the Florida dealers lot.

in2pro

If it was damaged in the lot there may be no record of it, but it might be worth checking for any carfax data...

MDTAHOE

Ask them if you had had an accident and had it repaired at a body shop, why the heck would you be at the dealer complaining instead of at the body shop that fixed it. If it was repaired at any reputable body shop then they would fix it.

Crappychevypaint

Hello DataDon and everyone who answered here.
I unfortunately don't have a solution or know of a way to get the Chevy dealer to fix such problems...I wish I did, because I have the exact same problem!
I have a 2005 Chevy Van (Express1500). I bought it about 1.5 years ago and it looked (still does) very good with very minor dents from use. The worst was in the left front fender and I finally hammered it out a couple of days ago. Surprisingly all the paint there stayed in place. Now I noticed 2 small spots right above the windshield where paint was missing and one area had a small rust spot, to prevent it from getting worse I wanted to fix the area.
When I got on the ladder I noticed paint was also flaking off inside the rack rail-channel. There was never a rack on that van and it used to be in a garage before I bought it. I started wire brushing the areas but quickly saw that the paint edges were not sticking to the metal. I got a blower and started blowing all the chips off and to my surprise - SHOCK - the roof started peeling off like one peels a banana! The Paint doesn't stick to the metal at all and I have an area about 1/6th of the roof without paint now, and I just could keep going with the air blower and probably clean off the entire roof down to bare metal, hard to tell but it looks like there is no primer on the roof.
It's mind boggling and I have NEVER encountered anything like it. The paint looks flawless, there are no dents or rust spots. The van looked in near mint condition before I started taking the air blower to it!
That is not a repaint or some shipment damage or whatever - it is simply a manufacturer mistake, quality control failure and or even lack of primer. The paint is very thin and as I said I can't see a primer not on the metal and not attached to the paint. Terrible! What a pile of crap! That Chevys are cheaply built I know by now as I never encountered a fender that was RIVETED to the frame(2 spots)...! And everything is plastic and not even UV resistant. All Plastic starts turning white in the sun out here.
I guess as long as the transmission doesn't go out and the engine keeps going I should consider myself happy...

DataDon - what you encountered on yours is a manufacturer's flaw and nothing else! The problem here is that warranty is limited to a certain time frame or certain number of driven miles. A good Dealer (Human) who actually sees the problem and out of fairness fixes it for you is pretty much non existing. Not sure if you have been to Florida meanwhile as the posts are already a bit older.
I killed the first Ford I drove (engine) and now I am driving this Chevy carefully just to see the paint falling off...garbage!!!

DataDon

Update: Took Suburban back to dealer in Florida where I purchased it and they repaired the paint - assured me that it was not anything but a manufacturing defect and told me the dealer in Illinois was rude to me and should apologize.
I have been spreading the word about how badly Gjovik Chevy in Sandwich, IL treated me. Hearing stories about the same treatment over and over again.
Apparently the service manager thinks women are dumb and you can tell them things. Glad I followed thru and got my husband involved. This is a small town surrounded by other small towns - word spreads quickly and more and more locals are traveling 25 miles to go elsewhere to buy vehicles.
Thanks everyone for your input.

Chevrolet Customer Service

Hi DataDon,

So sorry to hear of the frustrations you experienced with the dealership in Illinois. If you would like to file a formal dealership complaint, please send us a private message with your name, address, phone number, VIN, mileage, and name of dealership. We are happy to hear the dealership in Florida was able to assist you with a resolution!

Jessica
Chevrolet Customer Care

Chevrolet Customer Service

Hello,

We do apologize for the frustrations you have experienced. You are welcome to send us your name, address, phone number, VIN, mileage, and name of preferred dealership through a private message; however, we cannot guarantee that cost assistance will be provided for repairs due to the age of the vehicle.

Jessica
Chevrolet Customer Care