As General Motors faces a host of investigations surrounding its troubled ignition switches, the automaker has made its affected customers two offers designed to boost customer confidence.
Megan Gappy of Roseville drivers around in her 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt with her two year old son. When she heard about the potential trouble with her ignition switch, she was uneasy.
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"The whole part where it said the jarring motion or the rough roads really scared me because of how bad our winter is with all the potholes," she told Ruth to the Rescue.
She was relieved to get a free loaner from Moran Chevrolet in Clinton Township.
"Oh! It makes me feel so much more relaxed," she said.
Trying to Keep Customer Confidence
"It's a customer confidence issue. We're trying to make sure the customers stay in the fold," said Pat Moran, president of Moran Chevrolet.
He says General Motors made a good call.
"There's a lot of these cars on the road. So, we all have a concern that safety is paramount, and if they can get ahead of it by putting people in rent-a-cars or making that extended offer to make it easier for them, we're all about that," said Moran.
Moran says if you have one of the affected models you can arrange a totally free loaner at any GM dealer, not just the dealer where you bought your car. You will need to have insurance to protect yourself and the car. The dealer will keep your car until repairs are made. You will probably be required to put down a small deposit.
Repairs to the 1.6 million cars with the troubled ignition switches should begin in early April. Gappy says she was told her car would get top priority because she had a rental.
For GM drivers who might be ready to buy a new car, the company is offering $500 toward a new purchase or lease. That offer runs through April 30.
"I think they're doing it because, you know, they want us to feel safe driving on the road. But, I also feel like ... they shouldn't have been selling any of these cars to begin with," said Gappy.
She's not sure if she will remain a GM customer in the future.
Moran says customers should give current General Motors management the benefit of the doubt.
"The whole management crew were not there at that point in time when these cars were built specifically. I'm proud of the reaction. I'm proud of what they're doing. I'm proud to be a Chevrolet dealer."
He also says he's owned other franchises, and he's never seen customer service better than he's seen at General Motors.
As Gappy prepared to drive off in her rental car, she wasn't sure the recent gestures from General Motors would be enough to keep her coming back for future car purchases. However, she is urging other drivers to take General Motors up on the rental offer.
"Just the fact that people have died because of this...you don't want to take that chance with yours or somebody else's life," she said.
Here is the latest list of recalled vehicles:
2005-2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. Pontiac G5
2003-2007 Saturn Ion
2006-2007 Chevrolet HHRs, Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky