Zafira owners treated like ‘second-class citizens’

The BBC reports that General Motors have been criticised by MPs over their handling of the Vauxhall Zafira recall last year.

GM were notified of 287 Vauxhall Zafira B cars bursting into flames, yet only 59 of these incidents were investigated as GM had not been able to access all of the vehicles according to Thomas Berenz, director of global safety and field investigations.

According to the report, around 234,000 of the cars were recalled for a second time after some previously repaired vehicles had gone up in flames due to improper repairs to the heating and ventilation system as well as engine problems.

Evira Toelkes, vice-president of quality at GM Europe, informed MPs that GM had written to 1.2 million Zafira B owners regarding recalls but were only able to fix 165,000 of the vehicles.

There were so many complaints about how GM had been handling the process that some even formed a group to lobby parliament.

SNP politician Stewart Malcolm McDonald said ‘Some customers were made to feel like a nuisance or were met with disgust at dealerships.’ He continued ‘Vehicles were often returned to them with further problems with the heating and ventilation system.’

He added ‘I can’t think of another product in the United Kingdom at the moment where people have set up a campaign group and come to Parliament to try and resolve it.’