Complain about a product or service

Don Lewis Motors

Yuba City, CA

Becki of Sutter, CA, writes:

I purchased a used Suburban SUV from Don Lewis Motors in September 2000. About a week and half after purchasing vehicle I was driving it and had no brakes. I immediately took the vehicle into Dow Lewis the next business day and spoke to Matt in the service center. Matt told me my warranty would cover it - they offered a 90 day warranty and I also purchased an extended warranty. But they told me that I would have to pay $50.00 deductible. Then he informed me that the parts would not be in for a couple of days. I told him the vehicle was not safe to drive. He said this was the best they could do. So I asked to speak to the owner Mr. Lewis. I was finally able to speak to him regarding the vehicle and he confronted the Matt and asked him if he would want his wife driving a Suburban with no brakes. Mr. Lewis also gave me the exact diagnosis of the problem - a blown rear wheel cylinder. Finally, after much negotiation, I was able to get them to pay for a rental car. They did not want to, but I had just bought this vehicle and they claim that all their vehicles are triple certified before being placed on this lot. Mr. Lewis arranged for parts to be in the next day and the car was supposed to be ready by that Saturday at 5:00 pm. (I had brought the car in Friday morning). I received my vehicle back and proceeded to drive it. But the brakes still did not seem right; the ABS light kept coming on and the brakes would make the vehicle jump when applying pressure to them. So we went back telling them that the brakes were still not right. This time my husband spoke to the mechanic directly because Matt was of no service to us and his attitude was poor. I don't know the mechanic's name, but on our documentation there is a name of Jason Stearman. But I do not know if he is the mechanic.

My husband at this time went over everything concerning the brakes: the ABS light, the shimmy, the pull to the right, and the fact that the vehicle wouldn't start it had to be jumped. The mechanic noticed the battery conductor was stripped/broken and he replaced the battery. Upon repair of the vehicle this time they told us that they resurfaced the rotors, rear drums, and all pads. My husband picked up the vehicle again and we drove it about a week. He went back and spoke to the service department and said it was still not right. The service department looked up our account and said, "Give it time to wear in the new brake pads and see what happens." (This is something they now deny ever having said.) The print out that was sent to us after the repairs had been done because I requested an entire printout of what was performed because I only received a copy of the check in tag. They said they would print it out when they billed my warranty and send it to me. I did receive a copy of this print out; however the dates are not coinciding with the events that took place. I can send you a copy of my paperwork. The vehicle continued to shimmy when applying the brakes and on April 27, 2001, my ABS light came on and stayed on. In reveiwing my manual it said that there was a serious problem with the ABS device and should be brought in for service. We brought the vehicle in that day.

Upon inspection Matt informed us that the rotors were now warped and could not be resurfaced and we would have to replace the hubs. Of course I was not happy with this information because we had just had them repaired six months prior. Brakes do not wear out that quickly. Then they tried to tell us that it was our fault that our brakes were warped because we were pulling a two horse trailer with one "Mustang" horse in it with this quarter-ton vehicle. We also bought this vehicle for extra safety purposes and therefore installed a brake-mate to assist the vehicle's braking system. There is no way that pulling a horse trailer three or four times with an assisted brake-mate killed my brakes completely. They want me to pay $1500 to repair this because now they say my warranty will not cover it. Upon much discussion they finally agreed they would split the cost and they would pay half of the bill. I told them I appreciated their offer, but that I refuse to pay for a repair that was supposed to have been done correctly six months earlier and was charged to my warranty company upon which I paid the deductible. They said that this was the best offer they would give us. I do not consider this to be a fair offer. I believe they should make the repair at their cost because this matter was supposed to have been fixed to begin with. The vehicle's braking system has not functioned properly since day one and this is the third time we have brought the vehicle in. Of course their print-out does not reflect all of this. It is not sufficient with the documentation that I have. Unfortunately, the second time (when they also repaired the battery), they did not hand my husband a check-in sheet as I have received the two other times. But if you review their computer printout the information does not fit together.

I would like your advice as to whether or not this falls into a mediation type situation or a "Lemon Law" situation. I ask because this vehicle is having the same repairs done within the first year of ownership.

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