Good day. Just want to share my recent experience with Buick and Gm service centers. I recently traded my 2010 Chevy Traverse for a new 2014 Buick Enclave thinking it was time for a more modern vehicle. Got a very good deal and trade in value at the dealership so i was very satisfied. 2 weeks in, I decided to turn on the a/c coz the weather was getting warm and it wouldn't turn on, blinks maybe 5 times then turns off. So decided to bring it to the nearest GM service and they told me that the a/c condenser was leaking and must be a factory defect so they told me to come back in 2 days to replace the part. Came back and was told a different story this time, they said that a rock probably hit the leaking spot and it wouldn't be covered by the warranty instead my insurance can pay it or out of my own pocket. They showed me the spot where it supposed to be hit but i couldn't tell any trauma or folds that might show it was hit by a rock but I'm not the expert so yeah. At first i thought why is this part exposed at the front that makes it susceptible to be hit by debris but then I discovered that it actually has a mesh like screen at the front that covers the condenser so the rock story kind of felt far fetched to me. Anyhow I told them that i was upset about this whole thing and that I was just gonna bring the vehicle to the dealership where i bought it for a second opinion. They then told me that they were gonna call Gm customer care if they'd be willing to absorb part of the cost and then got a call that i only have to pay $100 for the repair. For this to happen this early to my car kinds of makes me wonder if the same thing is gonna happen again in the near future. I drove my Traverse for more than 4 years and didn't get any problems like this so it might be a car design thing. I called GM customer service to kind of hear their opinion on the matter and they said they were gonna call the service center for a review of my case but got a call the day after from them telling me that the initial diagnosis sticks and that i was getting a good deal of $100 for the repair. I still called a bunch of people but then I realized that I was on the losing end of this thing and there'* really nothing i can do about it. This is going to be my first and last Buick and I will trade this in the next two years maybe for a better designed SUV. Thanks and more power.

George,

Welcome to the forum. Sorry this happened to you, and it does not make sense. Have you had the Buick repaired? If not, please find the best dealer in your area and bring the Buick to them.

I understand your frustration and many people have been migrating away from GM to Asian manufacturers. GM really needs to get great platforms engineered and keep improving that platform. BMW is a good example of this. They use the same engines for decades, simply continue to make a great design better. GM needs to do the same.

have you tried complaining to the manager? Have you called GM'* customer satisfaction or whatever its called. go to automotiveforums.com register go to Buick and model , list your grievances. They have a GM rep that moderates the forums for such complaints for customer satisfaction. She will tell you to contact her offline to make it right. You can also search through other GM posts and seek her/him out and PM them. My sister had sort of the same thing happen with Nissan. We like the car hate Nissan. You have to yell and scream. Go into the dealership . Ask to who the owner of the dealership is not the manager.

I already talked to the service manager at the dealership where i bought it and he basically told me the same thing, that if it was indeed a rock that caused it there'* no warranty to it and I'm pretty sure they are gonna say the same as what the mechanic at the other service center told me. Basically this is one of their trick reasons to charge the insurance or let the customer pay out of pocket for the part. I was hoping that I would be treated a little bit different coz i bought the vehicle from them, man was I dead wrong lol. And the dealer who i bought the vehicle from wouldn't even bother to return my calls lol. Anyways Im charging this to experience, next time I'll know what to do. I've decided to pay the $100 and have them repair it to get this over with, I'm just hoping that they do a good job of it and not make me come back to that service area again.

dont know about your design but i do know a little about car a/c, had this same thing happen to the 03 monte i bought, lasted about a year and developed a crack near the corner. it just happens sometimes. the part however is likely 2 to 3 times what they are charging you, 50 for refrigerant, and 2 to 300 for labor and new filters and orifances, to recoup the old stuff and recharge it. so i wouldnt feel to bad about paying 100 bucks for a 7 to 800 dollar repair. my second one lasted from 04 to the time i traded it in with 200k, never had to charge it or anything

The Traverse and the Enclave are the same platform, so you might have just gotten lucky with the Traverse. One thing about cars... they break, for various reasons that are often out of our control. I don't know about the rock story, maybe or maybe not? If they can't prove it (just like you can't NOT prove it) then IMO the warranty should be kicking in as the default. Make enough noise, and you will probably get covered. Pay the $100, and you avoid the inconvenience but the dealership "wins" so to speak. Your choice.

P.*. What made it seem like your 2010 Traverse was no longer "modern"...? For the amount you probably paid on that 2014 Enclave, the dealership should be rolling out the red carpet for you every time you drive up!

Why didn't you bring it back to the original dealership in the first place? They are more likely to bend over backwards for you, than a dealership that didn't sell you the car...... the SM for the original dealer probably would have fought for you.......once the other shop got involved and determined a rock hit it, there was nothing the other SM could do....

Next, did you take a picture of the area where this rock supposedly hit the condenser? You said it didn't look like it was hit, and I would have sent that picture into GM Customer Assistance....

I remember the weld on the lower right front condenser of the U-vans that leaked at the weld, and people were paying for it....then GM came out with the TSB.....those that kept their repair bills were reimbursed....so hang onto that bill....... if it wasn't hit by a rock, and with a few more of these leaks, a TSB will be coming out....