Is it just the plastic bit, or the whole assembly. Because I definately drove a car for many years without the plastic bit

The dealer will never put in a used part for you--it;s not just illegal, they are contractually obligated to use certain parts. It's all about the CYA. However, they are only step one in this process and if they can't help, fuck 'em. LA is the center of Car Culture, though, and there are zillions of really good mechanics around who know how to find and install used and aftermarket parts. I'm not kidding. Go to any car show and all those gleaming machines have been lovingly restored with parts taken out of other cars or even machined on purpose. And I'm not just talking old cars--we have seen PT Cruisers and Toyota Rav4s and Mustangs and all kinds of newer vehicles at these events. You give the official channels a few more days to get their act together and then take it to the streets.

Allyson, @davidgewertz at @zdnet has a post up about GM today. Have you commented on it? [link]

Several pictures are askew!

There has been some structural damage to older buildings, including the Smithsonian and the National Cathedral. I doubt we've heard about all of the homeowners' with some actual damage yet.

Allyson, every time they reply first RT it. And when you respond put a period before the @GM or whatever, so that everyone following you sees the back & forth.

Ugh. Now I look like a twitter failure (because I am, I never really used it).

Thanks, flea, I emailed him.

Used part found in Philadelphia.

Used part found in Philadelphia.

Huzzah!

And when you respond put a period before the @GM or whatever, so that everyone following you sees the back & forth.

Ah, so that's what the . does! Slowly I learn.

Used part found in Philadelphia.

Capture it before it escapes!

Seriously, what a f*cking ordeal to have to go through just to get a $50 part replaced. GM deserves to be shamed in public.

Now I look like a twitter failure

Nah, it's like everything else where there are tricks to getting attention. Post again with an update even if it's "now they're claiming they'll help but I've been told that before" or something. Basically, people like a story. And Twitter particularly likes a story where the third act is "I got no help until I started shouting about it here."

But good news on the used part! Does that mean they found a way around it having to be new?

You know, I understand that they can't just pull the part out of their ass, but it seems to me that they should either GIVE you a used car of equal value or give that amount of money toward a new one. Hopefully, this only happens once ina blue moon, so it wouldn't really hurt their bottom line. If this is happening a lot, then there is a problem they need to resolve with that make and model.