GM & Honda Lemon Cars

[Ibaloi]

Picked it out from yesterday's inquirer. Column of Ms. Rina David : Milk And Lemons

"WHEN Mila Alora, a PR practitioner and good friend, first told me about her endless woes about her lemon of a car, a Chevrolet Optra, I chided her: "That's what you get for buying an American car!"

Perhaps that's an unfair characterization, given Filipinos' decided preference for Japanese makes or obsession with the snob appeal of Teutonic automobiles. But Mila's troubles with her car, which she bought in September of 2003, seem to prove right the Filipinos' bias against American brands, at least when it comes to cars.

In just one year and eight months, Mila has had to bring her brand-new unit to General Motors six times, for complaints ranging from a defective battery to a non-functioning car radio and CD, from leaking steering fluid to faulty spark plugs. The last time she used it, says Mila, the Optra "started shaking as if it was a helicopter going to crash with the engine emitting loud noises as it was going up the exit ramp of Greenbelt 3 ... with a foul odor permeating the interior of the car as if something was burning."

Through her Via Dolorosa with her Optra and with GM, Mila has been demanding that her lemon of a unit at least be replaced with another one. (Personally, I think she should ask for her money back with interest and something thrown in for all the aggravation.) While GM has been taking in the unit for repair and dutifully working on it, something always manages to go wrong afterwards. Mila rightfully asks: "What happens when the warranty finally runs out?"


* * *

THE SLINGS and arrows caused by the lemon she bought with her hard-earned money have turned Mila into a consumer advocate. In a letter she sent to the Bureau of Consumer Protection, she inquires: "If GM Automobiles Philippines can spend a fortune in advertising and public relations, ferrying motoring journalists from Manila to Bangkok for test drives just to have a good write-up about their vehicle, why can't the company attend first to the needs of the consumer who bought the product in good faith?"

For now, the problematic Optra is still in the GM garage, after Mila refused to take it back until the manufacturer replaces it with a brand-new unit that will, it is hoped, have a lot less problems. If "Life is a Journey," as the Optra ads proclaimed, then Mila's journey with her car has led her straight to car-owner hell."


Well folks, another one for the books!!!!!!!!

[odell]

i doubt na ibabalik un cash.. siguro palitan lang un unit..

[mazdamazda]

it's not just GM... add Honda too:

I bought a brand new Honda Jazz last November as a gift for my wife. I insisted on it, even if she wanted another brand. After 2 months, the problems came. My wife could start the car only after several attempts. We brought it to the Honda service center at Fairview. After 1 week, it won’t start again. This happened several times… at a shopping mall, at the office of my wife where it delayed my wife for 3 hrs. One time, I was even forced to just take a taxi because I had to respond to a medical emergency of one of my patients.

We called the Honda service center and even their technician couldn’t start the car. They took the car and told us after a few days there was only a loose connection. I felt bad because this was not the first time. I cannot believe Honda anymore, and I no longer trust the car. I requested for a change of unit but they refused. I feel so bad because I paid for that car with hard earned money. I thought buying a brand new car won’t give me trouble for five years.

The other lemon car buyer who wrote me was Mila Alora, a former press undersecretary during the time of Tita Cory at Malacañang. She bought a GM Chevorlet Optra. Here is the gist of her long e-mail.

First of all, Mila complained about the non-disclosure of a rebate of P40,000 to cash buyers "which was given only after complaint was lodged." Then she encountered a string of problems with the car which made her request for a change of unit.

When the car was not even two months old, the battery went kaput. And it took GM Auto World five days to replace it. Then it was the turn of the car radio and CD to stop working. Shortly thereafter, it was the fuel gauge that was not working. Then, it was the steering wheel that was not working properly, because the car’s steering wheel fluid was leaking.

The next problem Mila had was with the engine. It had a hard time starting and when it finally started, the car shook heavily as if it was going to explode. The GM shop said it only needed a change of spark plugs. But it happened again some weeks later… the body started shaking and a foul odor was emitted in the interior of the car, as is something was burning.

In all these instances, Ms. Alora found the response of the GM service center wanting. So, she wrote to an old friend of mine from my PNOC days, Atty. Vic Dimagiba who is now director of DTI’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Hopefully, Vic can give Mila and Dr. Mariano some relief from these car companies selling lemon cars.

[ILuvDetailing]

I hope they pass that Lemon Law soon...

[chieffy]

tsk talagang minsan makakatiymepo ka pa rin talaga ng lemon kahit anong brand pa iyan...

[BlueBimmer]

buti nalang i dont have a bnew car

[Bravoexo]

I guess I'd be pretty iff'ed too if my new car would not start... pero nothing like that has happened yet to me and my new ride, two months in ang going strong!

[mrpink]

.. ako rin .. yung bagong civic ko ... akala ko di mag-start ... pala ang tahimik lang pala ng engine !! ... ...

[bender]

Well, at least my toyota is still ok

[jepoy]

*mr pink congrats sa bnew civic mo ;)

[gearspeed]

May problem na optra namin sabi ng dad ko nung pauwi na siya bigla daw pumapalya ang optra samantalang bago na ang spark plug nun at kakatune-up lang.
I hope maayos pa ito..

[wilcats]

malas lng tlga pag napasa syo ung lemon car.... tsk tsk... bket nga ba hindi pa na implement ung lemon law? hindi paba napapass??

[OTEP]

Ewan ko lang, but I know some people who claim that their cars are lemons. Pero upon inspection napaka-simple lang ng problems that could easily be rectified.

Bihira ka makakakita ng may alam sa sasakyan claiming his unit is a 'lemon'. Mostly from people who just treat vehicles as appliances.

[ILuvDetailing]

They should have sets of guidelines for it to be considered a Lemon, its additional protection for us consumers...

[ale828]

Buti na lang yung GM Optra ko hindi lemon.