Complain about a product or service

Bay Buick GMC

Torrance, CA

Richard of Hawthorn, CA, writes:

On January 14, 2001, my GMC Jimmy SUV caught fire and my car became a total loss. i had the car serviced my this dealership on January 9, 2001. I had a thorough investigation of the cause of the fire done by hot wire and their conclusion was that the fire was caused by a fender mat that had been left in the engine compartment of my car. Between December 2000 and January 9, 2001, my car had been serviced by Bay Buick three times, the last servicing on January 9, 2001. The last servicing consisted of the dashboard being removed to correct a problem with the heating and air conditioning system. The car was at the shop from January 5 to January 9, 2001. When I retrieved my car from the shop I drove it for two days and then did not drive it again until the morning of January 14, 2001. After my insurance declared the car a total loss I contacted the dealer and advised them of the findings of the cause origin investigation. I feel that as a result of their negligence my car caught fire. I asked them to replace my cause for the amount of my insurance settlement as well as some additional out of pocket expences (towing charges, $1000 deductible, taxes on rental car not covered by my insurance, etc.); they advised me that they are not responsible for the destruction of my car. I have had my vehicle serviced my this dealership since I purchased the vehicle five years ago. I feel they are TOTALLY responsible for cause of the car fire.

I had to pay the towing charges to have the car towed to the dealership after the fire. They called a towing service they use and did not advise me before hand that I was to be responsible for these charges. My insurance company advised me that I had 30 days rental for $20 per day. I was not advised that this did not include taxes and that I had to pay the difference. Since February 20, 2001, I have been using public transportation to get around. My children and I have been greatly inconveniced by my not having a car. Last by not least I got out the car just in time before it was engulfed in flames. If I had not gotten out when i did i would have been locked in the car because the cables had melted and there was no way to exit the vehicle. When the fire department put out the fire, they had to break the window in order for me to salvage some of the items in my car.

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