Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, October 6, 1994                   TAG: 9410060031
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RAY REED
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SQUEAKY WHEEL GETS PAINT JOB, TOO

V.M., Roanoke

A: General Motors has acknowledged a paint-delamination problem on some models and is repainting those under a six-year warranty. Delamination, in this case, means the top coat separated from the primer, in sometimes-sizable chips.

Ford, Chrysler and some imports have had paint problems too. Many Ford owners who report the problem are told that the dealer can do nothing and are given another number to call.

As with most consumer complaints, the people getting results on flaking paint are the ones who complain the most.

A customer's starting point should be a talk with the dealer who sold the car. Lots of buyers report they're told nothing can be done. Those who persist and write letters to the corporation's consumer contacts often are told the company will bear some of the repainting cost.

When a car is purchased, the owner's manual or other written material should include a phone number or address for the company's consumer contact. Write there if the dealer isn't helpful.

If you've lost those numbers, send your name and address to "Consumers Resource Handbook, Pueblo, Colo. 81009." It's free and has the consumer-contact numbers for carmakers-and other corporations.

None of the car companies is agreeing to pay in every case. Sometimes an adjustment is available only for select models.

Dealers have had to turn down a few customers who asked for a freebie paint job on a roughed-up vehicle with a half-dozen dents in the body.

Ocean tunnels

Q: We recently got into an argument about how the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel was built. Some say they dug completely under the ocean and others say they built it in sections. Who's right?

D.B., Troutville

A: This may depend whether you were a stickler for details-like, does it matter if the tunnels are covered by sand and mud now?

The Chesapeake Bay tunnels, and the other two underwater highways in the Norfolk area, were built from preassembled sections.

Lengths of tunnel were sealed temporarily at each end, floated to the site and sunk to the bottom.

Preparations included dredging the tunnel's path to more than 100 feet to remove sand and silt.

A stone foundation was dumped in from the surface, and the tunnel sections were laid on that and joined together.

Then-your discussion may hinge on this-the tunnels were covered with about 15 feet of sand and rock to protect them from dragging anchors, propeller backwash and other currents.

A few years ago on the Chesapeake Bay tunnels, says engineer Bob East, some ceiling tiles were replaced. When people asked what they were doing, workers replied that they were installing skylights so they could watch the fish.|

Got a question about something that might affect other people too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.