Dealers press General Motors to honor Saab warranties beyond 2009
By Julybien, 07 Feb, 2012. 0 Comments
2011 Saab 9-4X
Saab Cars North America held a meeting Monday with around 25 dealers to discuss the creation of a parts distribution company and the disposal of approximately 2,200 new vehicles left in Saab's dealer inventory. The dealers are asking General Motors, which used to own the bankrupt carmaker until February 2010, to honor warranties for 2010 and 2011 models. General Motors only honors warranties for Saab cars sold up to 2009.Dealers have expressed sentiments that GM shouldn’t have pushed forward with the sale of Saab to Spyker Cars NV since it knew that the Dutch sports car maker does not have adequate capital and experience to carry the franchise forward. "There's a groundswell of frustration over GM's conduct" prior to the sale, according to lawyer Leonard Bellavia, who represents 165 Saab dealers.
Ray Ciccolo, president of Charles River Saab in Boston and NADA line representative for Saab, revealed that Saab dealers have asked Massachusetts Senators Scott Brown and John Kerry to help "get GM to sit down with our dealers." Bellavia said the dealers will use the Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, which was filed in January in Delaware, as a means to "investigate the circumstances surrounding the sale of Saab by GM to Spyker."
GM, however, maintains its current stand on the warranty issue. “Our obligation ends with the last Saab car built by General Motors and those were the 2009 models," James Cain, a spokesman for GM, said. [source: Autonews]
Latest Auto Shows
