Free Running Boards or under $200???
05-01-2007, 06:34 AM
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: 05-13-2006
Location: Chicago,IL
Posts: 2,334
Not magic !!!
Thanks Karen. I have quite a bit of damage.
I have called GM and they said to go back to the dealer. The dealer has seen the damage last time I took it in to the shop for oil change and cleaned it up (still had chips though) and said "you need running boards". This was my sales rep.
Well, had I been told from the get-go that running boards would have prevented damage, I would have had them added to the cost of the car. We live paycheck to paycheck and budgeted for the monthly payments. We don't have an extra $800+ (after paint, install and cost of boards since they no longer come painted) to spend on this all at once. Yet, my car is getting more and more damage.
I just want to be able to take some form of documentation to show them that people are getting the running boards free or at minimum cost.
I do expect them to take care of this. Had I been offered or told about the boards and chose not to buy them at point of sale...would be a different story.
I have called GM and they said to go back to the dealer. The dealer has seen the damage last time I took it in to the shop for oil change and cleaned it up (still had chips though) and said "you need running boards". This was my sales rep.
Well, had I been told from the get-go that running boards would have prevented damage, I would have had them added to the cost of the car. We live paycheck to paycheck and budgeted for the monthly payments. We don't have an extra $800+ (after paint, install and cost of boards since they no longer come painted) to spend on this all at once. Yet, my car is getting more and more damage.
I just want to be able to take some form of documentation to show them that people are getting the running boards free or at minimum cost.
I do expect them to take care of this. Had I been offered or told about the boards and chose not to buy them at point of sale...would be a different story.
Here in Chi-Town they put salt down instead of snow (it seems).
Theres constuction on all the freeways now too.
But, this notion the GM "owes" HHR owners running boards is the strangest thing I`m hearing.
When I bought my HHR, I saw the stone guards on the fender, Duh..., they put those there for something.
It just so happened that my wife wanted running boards, other wise, I would have to put out my dough for a set, just like if I ever decide to get fog lights.
Why do you believe that GM should pony up, what other industry/manufacture does that "Free correction" ?
05-01-2007, 06:50 PM
#12
Banned
Join Date: 10-24-2006
Location: The Show-Me State
Posts: 1,761
I`m posting this pic to show that running boards do help, but damage will occur nontheless.
Here in Chi-Town they put salt down instead of snow (it seems).
Theres constuction on all the freeways now too.
But, this notion the GM "owes" HHR owners running boards is the strangest thing I`m hearing.
When I bought my HHR, I saw the stone guards on the fender, Duh..., they put those there for something.
It just so happened that my wife wanted running boards, other wise, I would have to put out my dough for a set, just like if I ever decide to get fog lights.
Why do you believe that GM should pony up, what other industry/manufacture does that "Free correction" ?
Here in Chi-Town they put salt down instead of snow (it seems).
Theres constuction on all the freeways now too.
But, this notion the GM "owes" HHR owners running boards is the strangest thing I`m hearing.
When I bought my HHR, I saw the stone guards on the fender, Duh..., they put those there for something.
It just so happened that my wife wanted running boards, other wise, I would have to put out my dough for a set, just like if I ever decide to get fog lights.
Why do you believe that GM should pony up, what other industry/manufacture does that "Free correction" ?
If you really think you're going to get a free set of boards out of the dealer, go right ahead and try. I think they were dumb for not trying to sell them to you in the first place, but like Black Beauty says, the stone guards are there for a reason. No car is going to stay showroom clean once it's driven off the lot. No way. You can either pony up for the boards, pray that the dealer will break down and give them to you, or spend your time worrying about something else that's a lot more important.
05-02-2007, 03:40 PM
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: 04-23-2007
Location: Phoenix AZ
Posts: 205
I understand that the buyer should beware, and the stone guards are clearly there for a reason and certainly hard to miss. At the same time many of the dealers we spoke with when we were looking to buy a car absolutely told us that the running boards were not needed to protect the car and that all we needed to do is get mud flaps. This aparently is not true, but it's too late now because we've got the car. If we had discovered this site first, we would have gotten the running boards.
It's our feeling that, first of all, Chevy really should have designed the HHR a little better, they had to know what would happen, it doesn't take a rocket scientist.
So, while the buyer should beware, I think the design flaw, and the problems their customers will will encounter because of it, would seem like for good customer relations in the future, Chevy would at the very least give folks a good deal on running boards. It would have been different if their salesmen had informed us that we would NOT need them for the protection of the car.
In our case we decided to delay putting running boards on because we were pinching pennies, having lots of hospital and doctor bills at this time. Had we known it's an absolute necessity, we would have bitten the bullet and had them put on before we brought the car home.
As far as wear and tear on a vehicle, sure you're bound to get scratches and dings, but we really do try to take good care of our vehicles, even if we have to park far away and walk a ways. From the pictures we've seen of the damage done because the car isn't protected by running boards, that is totally unexceptable to us. We believe in being responsible, and in this case we believe that Chevy needs to own up to their responsibility in this design flaw. If they don't, then we know that we won't be doing business with them in the future.
It's our feeling that, first of all, Chevy really should have designed the HHR a little better, they had to know what would happen, it doesn't take a rocket scientist.
So, while the buyer should beware, I think the design flaw, and the problems their customers will will encounter because of it, would seem like for good customer relations in the future, Chevy would at the very least give folks a good deal on running boards. It would have been different if their salesmen had informed us that we would NOT need them for the protection of the car.
In our case we decided to delay putting running boards on because we were pinching pennies, having lots of hospital and doctor bills at this time. Had we known it's an absolute necessity, we would have bitten the bullet and had them put on before we brought the car home.
As far as wear and tear on a vehicle, sure you're bound to get scratches and dings, but we really do try to take good care of our vehicles, even if we have to park far away and walk a ways. From the pictures we've seen of the damage done because the car isn't protected by running boards, that is totally unexceptable to us. We believe in being responsible, and in this case we believe that Chevy needs to own up to their responsibility in this design flaw. If they don't, then we know that we won't be doing business with them in the future.
05-02-2007, 03:56 PM
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: 08-20-2006
Location: Hillsdale, Michigan
Posts: 21,640
These should be offered at what it would have cost when purchased new. I didn't expect to get them for free but I sure in the hell shouldn't have to pay extra after the fact to fix something that GM is aware of!! I completely agree with you on the doing business with them in the future part!
05-02-2007, 05:30 PM
#16
Senior Member
Join Date: 12-28-2005
Location: Worcester County, MA
Posts: 2,531
I originally got the "GM Fix". I still wasn't happy because GM was not standing behind anything in the US. My dealer, who just happens to be the most reputable Chevy dealer in the area charged me $200.00 installed. Now that's customer service. GM could learn a few things from their dealers.
Thanks Herb Connolly
Thanks Herb Connolly
05-02-2007, 06:36 PM
#19
Banned
Join Date: 10-24-2006
Location: The Show-Me State
Posts: 1,761
I'm still trying to understand this design "flaw". It's styling. Most cars in the '40s and '50s looked like this car, and manufacturers usually placed stone guards, much like the ones that come on the HHR and SSR, on the vehicle to prevent excessive pitting and rusting of the exterior sheetmetal. On the HHR, the stone guards do just that and even if they do dull over time, the sheetmetal is still relatively safe.
If you want the car to stay picture perfect, buy the running boards. It's never going to stay picture perfect and I can guarantee you that many other parts of the vehicle will also dull after time, but since this is the hot internet issue that seems to have a corncob up everyone's butt, I'll leave you with the impression that everything will be okay once you install those free running boards.
If you want the car to stay picture perfect, buy the running boards. It's never going to stay picture perfect and I can guarantee you that many other parts of the vehicle will also dull after time, but since this is the hot internet issue that seems to have a corncob up everyone's butt, I'll leave you with the impression that everything will be okay once you install those free running boards.
05-02-2007, 10:54 PM
#20
Senior Member
Join Date: 04-23-2007
Location: Phoenix AZ
Posts: 205
Back in the 40's, didn't a lot of cars come with running boards?
As far as the paint dulling, we've owned cars for ten years or longer before getting rid of them, and we've never had a problem with the paint dulling. We are in AZ so we do keep our vehicles in the garage, but we do a great deal of traveling all over the U.S. and aside from a ding on the hood here and there, we have never had a problem with the kind of sand blasting the HHR pictures on this site show, and believe me, we've usually encountered quite a few road construction area's where ever we've traveled.
I realize our Saturn is made of plastic, and designed NOT to get dings, and I have to say that whatever they came up with works, there are NO door dings. The only nicks we've got on it are just a few on the hood from stuff that flew up as we traveled down the free way.
Just for the record, I find that if you send a letter, or email, to a company when you are not happy with their product, and you are nice and polite about it, you usually get pretty good results. We don't know what Chevy will do, but I did send an email yesterday and they did call my husband tonight to address our concerns. I don't care how big a company is, if they are a reputable company I belive they will do all they can for their customers.
In any case, it never hurts to try the nice way first.
As far as the paint dulling, we've owned cars for ten years or longer before getting rid of them, and we've never had a problem with the paint dulling. We are in AZ so we do keep our vehicles in the garage, but we do a great deal of traveling all over the U.S. and aside from a ding on the hood here and there, we have never had a problem with the kind of sand blasting the HHR pictures on this site show, and believe me, we've usually encountered quite a few road construction area's where ever we've traveled.
I realize our Saturn is made of plastic, and designed NOT to get dings, and I have to say that whatever they came up with works, there are NO door dings. The only nicks we've got on it are just a few on the hood from stuff that flew up as we traveled down the free way.
Just for the record, I find that if you send a letter, or email, to a company when you are not happy with their product, and you are nice and polite about it, you usually get pretty good results. We don't know what Chevy will do, but I did send an email yesterday and they did call my husband tonight to address our concerns. I don't care how big a company is, if they are a reputable company I belive they will do all they can for their customers.
In any case, it never hurts to try the nice way first.