Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog

We already touched on it being impossible to get parts for a 2016 Dodge Hellcat. But here’s a story about a man who can’t even get a bumper for a Cadillac EV he bought less than two years ago:

In December 2023, Levan Azrumelashvili bought a Cadillac EV Lyriq, an all-electric vehicle that cost nearly $86,000. It would be the heart of his brand-new limousine business.

He invested in livery plates and limousine insurance, which is more costly than insurance for a personal car.

The Fair Lawn man’s new venture was off to a solid start. But in April, he had what appeared to be a relatively minor accident — Azrumelashvili said his insurance company agreed it was not his fault — but the damage was more than cosmetic.

The car couldn’t be driven.

And now, nine months later — that’s 279 days as of Sunday since the accident — the vehicle remains at the body shop. Cadillac and its parent company General Motors (GM) haven’t been able to get one of the parts needed for the repairs — a bumper — despite multiple promises.

“At this point, my business is destroyed, I have not been able to drive my limousine for nine months, and I am told by GM that they can’t get my parts, yet they continue to build the cars, which obviously contain the parts my car needs,” Azrumelashvili said, noting that he’s still paying $1,100 a month for insurance and $1,437 a month on the vehicle loan.

“It seems unconscionable that a company would sell cars for which they cannot get parts within the first year,” he said.

His $86K car was his lifeblood. He’s been waiting to get a part for 275 days. Why?

After the accident, Azrumelashvili took the car to a Cadillac dealer, which sent it to a body shop, where it’s been sitting all this time.

At first, he said, he was patient.

“For the first five months, I received phone calls from the dealer just about weekly, saying that the needed part would arrive in about a month,” Azrumelashvili said.

Then he received an email on Aug. 19 that said the part would arrive in October.

Frustrated, his wife posted what was happening on social media, and it got the attention of a representative from GM’s “Executive Resolution Department.”

Azrumelashvili said the representative recommended he go to the dealer to discuss getting a replacement vehicle.

“The dealer said that in order to get a replacement car, I would have to give them a new, additional down payment,” Azrumelashvili said he was told at the September visit. “They did not offer me any compensation for the car they could not fix and were holding.”

Unsatisfied, he wrote his first of two letters to Mary Barra, GM’s chief executive, and several other higher-ups at the company. He asked for some kind of resolution.

Because that’s just the kind of hairball I am, I plugged Mary Barra’s name into Open Secrets, expecting that (like most CEOs) she would have donated to both Democrats and Republicans. And she has. But one of the first names to pop-up was Joe Straus (or the cabal), who she gave $1,000 to in 2016. Funny that, a Michigan CEO giving a grand to a Texas state rep (and, not coincidentally, then Speaker of the Texas House).

“Given all of this, your company is costing me well over $10,000 a month, and that is a low estimation, given the money I usually make, not even mentioning the depreciation of the car or the loss of time,” the letter said. “My limousine certification needs to be renewed every year, and I cannot provide `Black Car’ services with a vehicle older than five years. I have already lost half a year.”

In early October, the promised part didn’t arrive, but he received a check from GM for $3,593.47. The unsigned letter said it was a “good will adjustment.”

“I did not cash it, as it was a ridiculous offer after six months of losses, with no end in sight,” he said, and he called his contact at GM.

The representative explained the check represented half of his monthly car payment, and Azrumelashvili could choose between continuing to get monthly payments or asking GM’s “repurchase department” to buy back the vehicle.

“But he had no information about how I could reach such a person or department — except to contact the dealer,” he said.

That wouldn’t help, Azrumelashvili said he explained, because the dealer already said it wanted a new down payment.

Come December, instead of the part, Azrumelashvili received a baffling message. He had apparently been approved by GM for a buyback back on Sept. 3 — though he was never before told he was approved or given details or a contact person — but the offer was inexplicably rescinded on Nov. 14.

“It is my hope that GM will take back this car and reimburse me for my total losses, including all car payments, livery insurance payments and lost income,” he said.

Snip.

We reviewed Azrumelashvili’s paperwork and asked General Motors to review the case. A spokeswoman said GM was “aware of the situation and will continue to work with the customer directly.”

Then Azrumelashvili received an ironic email from Cadillac.

It congratulated him on a year of ownership for the Lyriq.

That was followed by a call from GM. A representative said they had the part.

“I told her right away that I obviously don’t believe this or can’t even tell if they’re being authentic or not after all I’ve faced,” he said. “I told her I wanted them to offer a buyback service and she told me she had to check something.”

A few days later, Azrumelashvili received an email from GM saying there were no new updates about the repair, but it would stay in touch with the dealer.

A few days after that, he called the dealer.

“I got information that GM is pushing that they can fix the car as soon as possible, but I was told the part was recalled,” he said.

We asked GM about it on Dec. 20. A spokeswoman said she couldn’t “speak to the recall” but she got confirmation that the part arrived.

A few days after that, Azrumelashvili received yet another message from GM. Once again, it said there were no new updates and the body shop told him it was waiting for parts.

After the holidays, we asked GM if it would reconsider the buyback, or something to make it right for this customer if the part was not available.

The company did not respond.

“I’m at a sheer loss situation and my car has lost a year of its value. I was unable to work and provide for my family this year and we faced many hardships,” Azrumelashvili said. “Ultimately, I’m very disappointed I chose Cadillac to only face what I did. I feel as if I was taken advantage of and thrown to the curb.”

Now, it’s tempting to think this is yet another result of the Flu Manchu supply chain disruption. And it might be. But something else is at play here: The drive to make new cars “smarter” (and thus more expensive). The Lyriq uses “multiple ultrasonic sensors located on your front and rear bumpers.” The more smart components the car has, the more fragile the supply chain and the easier to break.

But even beyond that, the shifting kaleidoscope of excuses indicates a company that’s either badly dropped the ball on customer service, or is simply lying its ass off for reasons not readily apparent.

And really, it’s yet another reason why you should be extra cautious when buying an electric car…

(Hat tip: Steve Lehto.)