There’s a recurring chorus among new car buyers who came to regret their purchases: “I should’ve gotten a Toyota.”
The Japanese auto manufacturer is renowned for its reliability. While there really isn’t any company that creates 100% perfect products all of the time (it’s not like Toyota doesn’t issue recalls for its vehicles), there’s a reason why so many mechanics swear by the brand. They’re relatively easy and inexpensive to service compared to other brands and they’re engineered in such a way that helps them to remain long-lasting investments.
Many thought TikToker Magster (@magster2222) would’ve been better off buying herself a Toyota than the 2024 Chevy Trax she’s posted several times about in the hopes of getting the attention of higher-ups at General Motors.
In her first video, titled, “Day 1 of Trying to Get the Attention of General Motors CEO,” she says that when she first hopped inside the vehicle, she fell in love with it from the get-go.
@magster2222 Any advice would be much appreciated #chevy #2024chevytrax #generalmotors #chevytrax #buyback #lemonlaw #gmceo #qualityassurance #customerservice #greenscreen ♬ original sound – magster2222
Magster states that before purchasing the vehicle, which she thought was the perfect starter new vehicle right after graduating college, she was a loyal customer of the brand, rocking an Aveo beforehand.
However, her honeymoon phase with the Chevy Trax was unfortunately short-lived: After about five months, Magster says that she started experiencing problems with her new car at just under the 13,000-mile mark.
Things start to go wrong early on
While idling, she says the car’s engine misfired and she was left stranded. Since it was pretty much a new vehicle, she says that GM roadside assistance was able to help get her car towed to the nearest GM service center, which she was thankful for.
The culprit behind the engine misfiring? Magster says she was told that “a spark plug had fried” in the whip and that it was replaced, leaving her on her merry way to drive off in her car.
The very next day, she says the same thing happened—she was idling. The engine misfired again, went into low power mode, and she needed another tow from General Motors. She says it wasn’t just the spark plug, but one of the fuel injectors. The service department’s solution was to change out all of the fuel injectors along with the spark plug, but this wasn’t a quick fix. The fuel injectors needed to be ordered for the car, she says, leaving her for 14 days without her new car.
It’s not like she was without a car, however. She complimented the dealership stating that they “worked really well with [her]” to ensure that she had a car to drive during this time, so she just rocked a rental in. When Magster finally did get her car back, however, she noticed that when she first started it up, plumes of smoke would come out of the exhaust.
After driving for about eight days after this fix, she says that the engine “blew up” while her boyfriend was behind the wheel. Thankfully, she says he was able to coast it to the side of the road to safety. After getting it towed to the dealership, she says that the techs at the place told her the issue was “internal engine failure.”
Magster added that the dealership didn’t have a detailed “diagnosis” of the situation and that they were simply going to replace the car’s engine because the vehicle was under warranty. She says she’s “very nervous about getting the vehicle back” due to the severity of the issues that occurred in just the very little time she had owned it.
Because of all the engine problems, she says she attempted to enact a “buyback” with the dealership but was told that this wasn’t possible because, for a buyback to take effect, she would have had to have the same issue happen three times.
What’s more, her Chevy Trax “has been in the shop for over 45 days and they [the techs] no have a specific diagnosis…on why any of the failures happened.” Magster went on to say that she was specifically attempting to capture the attention of GM’s CEO as her case with the auto manufacturer has been officially “closed.”
In a follow-up video about the incident, she shared photos of the warning messages and what appears to be engine failure notifications on her car’s dash system.
@magster2222 I appreciate all of the outreach I have received from Day 1 video! I’ve taken the advice of many of the comments and I appreciate all of the advice I’ve been given #chevy #2024chevytrax #generalmotors #chevytrax #buyback #lemonlaw #gmceo #qualityassurance #customerservice #greenscreenvideo #greenscreen ♬ original sound – drip gang kodak
Viewers weigh in
Several folks in the comments section told Magster that her first mistake was buying an American car in the first place: “Should have bought a Toyota,” one person said.
Another remarked, “Toyota and Honda only I’ve learned over the years no American vehicles.”
Someone else said the dealership’s service department more than probably knew there was something really wrong with her car when they clocked a fried spark plug despite there only being 13,000 miles clocked on the odometer.
Others recommended other brands that should stick with while adding that seeking legal counsel was the way to go: “Baby : Toyota , Honda , Subaru , Lexus , Mazda and get a lawyer.”
Another person said that purchasing the initial rollout of a new generation of a car’s model is always a bad idea: “Never buy the first [batch] of new model.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to General Motors via email and Magster via TikTok comment.
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