RUST - 2002 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 - Exterial rear wheel wells

[flea2k]

OK I probably should have waited a few minutes to post this to let off some steam after talking to customer service at GM but I couldn’t wait.

January of 2007 I noticed the paint bubbling around both rear wheel wells on my truck. It was definite rust. I looked up my warranty and thought great it is covered, I will get it fixed when I get in the situation to sell my vehicle which I planned on doing very soon. So I took it into a dealership and they said yes you have rust coverage until may 2008 or 100,000 miles. The manager I needed to talk to to submit the claim wasn't there so they told me to come back.

A month later I came back, the manager wasn't there again but they had me talk to the body shop manager. He looked at it and said yes that is definitely rust and it should be covered. The third time I called and scheduled a time that the manager would be there.

This time I went in and they took pictures and this is when he broke the bad news that he doubted that GM would cover it because they only cover "rust through" not surface rust. He submitted it and like he thought GM rejected it. He told me to call GM and submit a claim to customer service and they may cover it. Well I just got off of the 3rd call with them and they are not going to cover it.

I am a little more then upset. I have seen a few trucks around town with rust in the exact same spot as mine. I find this to be a big flaw in the truck and I can't believe they won't cover it. I asked them if they are willing to lose a customer because of a cost that would be minimal to them to fix. They didn't act like they cared.

Has this happened to anyone else out there with a Silverado truck? If so what was the outcome?

[rhvfd10]

any pictures?

[flea2k]

Originally Posted by rhvfd10

any pictures?

Let me call the dealership and have them send them to me.

[flea2k]

Originally Posted by rhvfd10

any pictures?

Here they are. Now even if it is surface rust, I find it hard to believe that this isn't a huge issue with this truck since it did it on both sides in the exact same spot.

[shadams]

Ooh, dang. I would be po'd too. I have always found it absurd that they have to wait until there is a hole there until they fix it. I do not understand it one bit, but thats the rule. Seem's like they would want to fix it sooner rather then later, but I imagine thats how they get around having to repair tons of vehicles with just surface rust, in areas where that is common, yet still have a corrosion warranty for competitive reasons. Unfortunately for you, that is one of those things that you as a consumer should know, as it has always been that way. If you look in your owners manual it talks about it.

Did you buy the vehicle new or used? Are you sure it has never been worked on before, body/paint wise, in those areas? Is there rust on the back side of the fender, or just on the front side?

[flea2k]

There seems to be rust on the inside of the fender but it is hard to tell. What sucks is I have ~7 months of warranty left in months but only 9000 miles, I doubt there is any way it will rust through by the time that warranty runs out.

I am the second owner of the truck, I bought it off a lease from a company that used a ton of these trucks and trade them in all at once. I just wish they would fix it so I could get something new, I drive a lot more to get to work no days and gas in this thing is killing me. I am paying more a month in gas then I am in monthly payments.

Any ideas on how to get it to "rust through" in 9,000 miles.... - kidding.

The whole rust through thing was new to me when the manager told me about it. I could have swore I did a bunch of research on the net and everything said "rust" but after hearing rust through I went to gm's site and it said rust through, I doubt it is something they just added but just seemed odd that I would have never picked up on that.

I am by no means a body shot guy but how much would it really cost GM if they had once of their dealerships sand it down and repair it? I am sure it would be a fraction of what it would cost me to have it done and in this scenario I would even be willing to trade it in and get in a new or newly used gm vehicle... but after this experience I think I will fork over the dough and fix it myself and get something as far from GM as I can. This rust appeared just 4 years after the car was new which is ludicrous.

[Slideways]

Originally Posted by flea2k

Any ideas on how to get it to "rust through" in 9,000 miles.... - kidding.

Salt water spray, from both sides, every night.

Just kidding. Nah, try it.

[likearock00]

Why not just trade it in if that is your intention anyway? Next vehicle should get some greatly needed Z-bart or whatever to eliminate this problem.

[casket_demon]

Are U sure U didn't buy a Nissan and are trying to pass it off as a Chevy to smear the image of GM's trucks?.

[doh]

The chips with black underneath have me suspicious. That looks like aftermarket panels, on both sides.

If you chip a factory fender, you'll see grey i.e. two sided galvanized metal. I suspect a repair using aftermarket parts.

Check the pinch welds inside of the wheel wells, where the inner/outer panel meet. Do they look like a robot or a human made them?

[flea2k]

Originally Posted by doh

The chips with black underneath have me suspicious. That looks like aftermarket panels, on both sides.

If you chip a factory fender, you'll see grey i.e. two sided galvanized metal. I suspect a repair using aftermarket parts.

Check the pinch welds inside of the wheel wells, where the inner/outer panel meet. Do they look like a robot or a human made them?

I will check that. Hopefully I can figure out what to check.

And for the comments above, I still owe money so I am sure I would be upside down if I tried to trade it in like this.

And no it isn't a Nissan, although right now I wish it was, maybe they take care of their customers better.

[drew630]

Originally Posted by casket_demon

Are U sure U didn't buy a Nissan and are trying to pass it off as a Chevy to smear the image of GM's trucks?.

Did you look at the pictures at all? Its clearly a Silverado.

[73ChevelleSS]

I know you are probably a little upset.But I am pretty sure that corrosion/rust is only covered for 3/36 on an 2002 model year vehicle.Where are you getting this 10/100k warranty from?Or possibly I am wrong.I did look it up in policy and procedure though.

[GMCSonoma]

Originally Posted by doh

The chips with black underneath have me suspicious. That looks like aftermarket panels, on both sides.

If you chip a factory fender, you'll see grey i.e. two sided galvanized metal. I suspect a repair using aftermarket parts.

Check the pinch welds inside of the wheel wells, where the inner/outer panel meet. Do they look like a robot or a human made them?

Replacement sheetmetal is black from GM...

Flea...are you the original owner??? No body work at all ????

[shadams]

Originally Posted by 73ChevelleSS

I know you are probably a little upset.But I am pretty sure that corrosion/rust is only covered for 3/36 on an 2002 model year vehicle.Where are you getting this 10/100k warranty from?Or possibly I am wrong.I did look it up in policy and procedure though.

Any type of surface rust (on body) is covered 3/36. After that, they only cover it for actual rust through, and its 6yrs/100k from in-service date/miles.