When carmakers make mistakes, they usually need to issue a recall and correct the problem on affected vehicles. This is all but guaranteed when the mistakes are safety-related, as the safety regulator bodies step in to put pressure on the automakers. But there are smaller problems that do not affect the safety of a vehicle, while still being unpleasant or even damaging to its resale value. In this case, the affected owners have to fight for their rights in court.
This is what happened when several owners of full-size trucks and SUVs, discovered that the paint job on their GM-made vehicles was not exactly spotless, so to speak. More specifically, the paint on some Chevrolet and GMC vehicles delaminates, peels, bubbles, or blisters, without any external or environmental influence.
Affected owners filed a class-action lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida and demanded GM to issue a recall for all 2015-2019 Chevrolet and GMC full-size SUV and trucks that suffer from the peeling paint problem. The plaintiffs also demanded GM to repurchase affected vehicles at full cost and reimburse lessees based on how much they’re paid toward their leases.
“GM should properly repair all of the Class Vehicles, immediately, offer rescission to the Class by repurchasing their Class Vehicles for their full cost, reimburse the lessees of the Class Vehicles the monies they have paid toward their leases, recall all defective vehicles that are equipped with the defective paint, and cease and desist from marketing, advertising, selling, and leasing the Class Vehicles,” writes the Riley, et al., vs. General Motors LLC. lawsuit.
This seems like a minor problem for a car owner, but it has far-reaching consequences. Not only does the peeling paint blemishes the look of the vehicle, but it also affects its resale value on the used car market. A repaint would not do either, since the vehicles were painted using robots at the factory and hand-painted vehicles would not have the same consistent finish. The plaintiffs also claim that GM was aware of the problem.
According to CarComplaints, the vehicles affected by the peeling paint problem are the 2015-2019 model years of Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon, Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Yukon XL, and Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra.
Affected owners filed a class-action lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida and demanded GM to issue a recall for all 2015-2019 Chevrolet and GMC full-size SUV and trucks that suffer from the peeling paint problem. The plaintiffs also demanded GM to repurchase affected vehicles at full cost and reimburse lessees based on how much they’re paid toward their leases.
“GM should properly repair all of the Class Vehicles, immediately, offer rescission to the Class by repurchasing their Class Vehicles for their full cost, reimburse the lessees of the Class Vehicles the monies they have paid toward their leases, recall all defective vehicles that are equipped with the defective paint, and cease and desist from marketing, advertising, selling, and leasing the Class Vehicles,” writes the Riley, et al., vs. General Motors LLC. lawsuit.
This seems like a minor problem for a car owner, but it has far-reaching consequences. Not only does the peeling paint blemishes the look of the vehicle, but it also affects its resale value on the used car market. A repaint would not do either, since the vehicles were painted using robots at the factory and hand-painted vehicles would not have the same consistent finish. The plaintiffs also claim that GM was aware of the problem.
According to CarComplaints, the vehicles affected by the peeling paint problem are the 2015-2019 model years of Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon, Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Yukon XL, and Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra.