Monday, December 01, 2008

Some wonder about warranties, coupons after 2 dealerships close

By Tim Moran
tmoran@modbee.com

last updated: October 07, 2008 07:33:22 AM

The service and parts departments at Friendly Chevrolet in Escalon remained "temporarily" open Monday, according to a woman who answered the phone, but the rest of the dealership was closed in the wake of the closure Friday of Generation Motors in Modesto.

Both dealerships are owned by Curt Hughes. Generation Motors, a Lincoln-Mercury, Kia and Isuzu dealership on North McHenry Avenue in Modesto, closed abruptly Friday. Hughes did not return phone calls Friday or Monday.

Darlene Smith of the Stanislaus Economic and Workforce Alliance said packets of information on unemployment services were left with Generation Motors employees late Friday and again Monday morning.

Smith said the Alliance had no warning of the closing, nor did she know how many employees were affected.

"We don't like it when these things happen. We like to get in early. We've got to think of a plan to deal with this," she said.

Customers of the dealership could face problems with contracts for extended warranties and other services.

Lorie McDonald of Modesto said Monday that she bought an extended warranty and a five-year book of tickets for oil changes from Generation Motors when she bought her Mercury Mariner there three years ago.

McDonald said she paid $2,840 for the five-year extended warranty.

Those warranties typically are through a separate insurer, said Steven Haskins, a spokesman for the Department of Motor Vehicles. It is a separate contract that should remain in effect despite the dealer closing. Consumers should contact the insurer on the contract for details.

The manufacturer's warranty that comes with the car is an obligation of the car maker and is honored by any of its dealers.

Could be out $200

The oil change tickets are a different matter, however. The tickets have Generation Motors printed on them, McDonald said.

"I paid for that, and now I'll be paying twice every time I need my oil changed," she said. McDonald couldn't recall what she paid for the booklet, but a typical oil change would cost about $30, and the booklet was sold at a discounted price, she said.

If the discount was $5, and she has two years' worth of tickets left, McDonald could be out $200.

"Nobody knows what to do," she said. "I'm sure there are others in this situation."

Customers can try to contact Friendly Chevrolet or Generation Motors to see if the oil change booklets will be honored or refunded. An answering machine took messages at Generation Motors on Monday morning, and a woman answered the phone at Friendly, saying the parts and service departments were temporarily open.

Haskins suggested that consumers could file complaints with the DMV, the Department of Consumer Affairs or the California Department of Insurance if they feel they aren't getting what they paid for.

"Obviously, if any customer has an issue with the dealer in question, he or she needs to file a complaint with DMV Investigations, either at a field office or by downloading a complaint form from the department Web site," Haskins said.

The complaints have to be signed, so the form would be printed from the Web site and then mailed into the department.

On the Net:

Department of Consumer Affairs, www.dca.ca.gov; Department of Insurance, www.insurance.ca.gov.

Bee staff writer Tim Moran can be reached at tmoran@modbee.com or 578-2349.

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