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Grandmother stuck making payments on broken car as repairs stall for months

58 minutes 13 seconds ago Wednesday, August 05 2026 Aug 5, 2026 August 05, 2026 7:23 PM August 05, 2026 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - A grandmother finds herself making payments on a vehicle that's been sitting in the shop for months. The family tells 2 On Your Side they only had the car for a few weeks before the problems started. They want to know who's responsible for repairs, as they haven't been able to get an answer.

Marie Garwood doesn't drive anymore. Her granddaughter, Tabitha Gonday, takes her where she needs to go. They bought a car, new to them from Matt Bowers Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, this past January. 

"We got a 2017 Chevy Equinox," said Garwood.

They put cash down and financed the rest. They purchased an extended warranty, just in case. Horizon Advantage is at the top of the paperwork. 

"About a month after we got it, it was making a horrendous noise," said Gonday. 

To Gonday, the noise signaled that something was not right, so she brought the car back to the dealership to get looked at.

"They were like, OK, we're going to have to do diagnostics on it, get in touch with the warranty company, that was the beginning of March," said Gonday.

Gonday says that vehicle has been at the dealership on Airline Highway ever since, almost five months. She checks in with the service department, but the weeks continue to tick by, all while monthly car payments are made.

"When I got the extended warranty, they said, anything's wrong with it, you bring it in, you pay the $200 deductible, and we fix it. That's it," said Gonday.

Gonday and her grandmother fear that they are stuck in the middle of something out of their control. 

Gonday says she heard from Matt Bowers' dealership Wednesday afternoon. They told her they would have a decision by the end of the week. WBRZ was unable to connect with the warranty company. 

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