(Toledo News Now) - More than a million GM car owners are now scheduling their cars for recall repairs. Unfortunately, some are finding they may still have to wait.
General Motors is finally beginning to repair more than a million cars affected by its ignition switch recall. This means owners of the Chevy's Pontiacs and Saturns that are involved are now calling their dealers, trying to schedule repairs. Some are learning it's not so easy.
Rick Faulkner is nervous about driving his Saturn Ion.
"My car had actually done that twice, shut off, and by that time I realized there was something wrong," said Faulkner.
Even before he received this official GM recall notice, he knew he had a problem with his ignition.
"There's a chuck hole on my street, a little rise in the hill, and if you hit that chuck hole, it will shut the car off. You lose power, breaking everything," said Faulkner.
Faulkner says he called some local GM dealers, but no one had replacement ignition switches yet. One dealer offered a free loaner car, but he balked because they wanted a credit card.
"They wanted a deposit on the gasoline," said Faulkner.
Sheila Reiss, meantime, owns a Chevy Cobalt, and is nervously waiting for her dealer to get parts.
"We are still being told it would be about 2 and a half weeks before they receive parts," said Reiss.
Dealers say they want to get everyone's car repaired as quickly as possible, and it's just a matter of getting the parts in and getting everyone scheduled.
GM dealers say they will install the new ignition switch and metal sleeve which will prevent keys from turning off while driving. However parts are just trickling in, meaning many drivers will have to wait a few more weeks.
Bottom line: if you can't get yours fixed right away, GM is offering free loaner cars to nervous owners, trying to keep their trust. You have to ask for a loaner. It's not automatic.
Keep calling, and be patient, so you don't waste your money.
