Case update!

GM called me today and they were sorry to hear about our problems. They intend to take this case and contact the dealer because Buick's policy is the same in China as overseas. There is a certain procedure the dealers have to follow when they deliver a new car to a client, and this dealer obviously didn't know or didn't want to follow suit.

I recently bought a new Buick Regal GS here in Shanghai and I am very disappointed with the service from Buick/GM. Basically Buick doesn't care about their clients. Once you have paid for the car you are on your own.

Week 14 - 2010, we ordered a Buick Regal GS, the final price including taxes is normally 300k+
Week 17 - 2010, the car is delivered/ready for pickup.

We go to the dealer to pick up the car and to my amazement the car was dirty. The shine of the car looked like it's been driven for a month without cleaning. Opening the hood revealed a stack of foliage. The break discs were full of rust! The car didn't have a GS anywhere so you wouldn't be able to see what specific model.

The dealer was also very surprised that I checked the oil level of the car. Of course Buick wants to save a little money, so the cars oil peg was in the middle of full and empty!

I complained to the shop but they said; "This is the normal procedure here in China". Being in China for 5 yearsmy brain had already created that sentence before he even started it.

I then mailed Buick in the US and the expected reply arrived promptly; "This is unfortunately not our problem please contact Buick in China".

Now in China they don't have email, so you have to call them and once again the claim is; "This is not our problem, we are not responsible for the resellers in China".

If this would have been in Europe I would have withheld the payment from the bank, but here in China they are pretty clever, they want the payment first, then you can get the car. But on the other hand, in Europe no car dealer with respect for themselves would have delivered a car like this. You can buy a 10 year old second hand and it's spit shined before you get it.

Another scary example I have is that when we were looking at a new car, we talked to one of the Buick S4 shops here in Shanghai. I was inquiring about the Buick Park Avenue and I was dumbstruck by the reply; "You should not buy this model, because it's not that good due to quality issues".

This really puts a smile on my face because it shows me that corporate America has no idea about the doings of their dealers here in China.

I have now removed all the oil and replaced it with a high quality synthetic to ensure the best possible conditions for our car. Next time I will buy a Volvo, they know how to treat a customer and the car is spit shined before delivery :-)