Aaaaaarrgghhhh

[Gripey]

I took my 2000 coupe into the dealer (that I have used for years) to have some routine maintenance done and some brake work done which involved the abs system. Picked it up yesterday morning and started the 70 mile drive home and stopped (kind of) to get some gas on the edge of town and noticed the pedal was a little spongy, but she stopped at the pump...strange I thought.....filled up, fired her off, applied the brake to put it in gear and smoke just rolled out from under the hood...FIRE was the first thing I thought so I slammed it in gear to get away from the gas pump and had NO brakes when I start to stop so, I grabbed the emergency brake and got her stopped. The smoke had gone away so, I popped the hood and found that when a brake line had been put on that it was rubbing against the belt, which in turn cut a hole in the line. Called the dealer and after a discussion of who needed to get it back to them, they sent a wrecker.

I called them this morning and they said that Chevrolet no longer made that line and they were in the process of finding one....OK, I was fine at that point, then comes "oh, one other thing......as we were pulling your vette into the shop, one of our salesman came around the corner in another vehicle and caught the front end of your car and left a rubber (tire & rim) mark on it". I won't repeat what I said on here. I jumped in my pickup and drove the 70 miles to see what happened and the "rubber mark" runs fron the mid point of the nose all the way to the end of the nose piece. ad i'M REALLY THROUGH THE ROOF AT THIS POINT (but trying to keep my cool)...i SAY NEW NOSE PIECE, THEY SAY THEY MAY CAN FIX THIS ONE...i SAY IT HAS TO BE PERFECT THE NEXT TIME i SEE it (sorry, I hit my caps lock)....just like it was when I brought it in, I will accept no less.

I guess we will see what happens....I just keep thinking of what may have happened if I had not stopped to get gas before I got to that first red light in town

 

[vett boy]

I recommend you drive the extra 1200 miles to Junkie's in Old Fort NC .(I Do )

 

[Remo]

Omg!!!!

Holy crap Gripey...that is a nightmare. I hope the dealer makes it up to you somehow.
Remo:cool

 

[jrose7004]

Well the first mistake I see that you made was going to a dealership! I avoid them at all cost!

 

[Gripey]

1200 miles, that seems short now.

Well, I guess I learned my dealership lesson...like I said, they have always done a good job in the past

I'm just sick

 

[Toms007]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Hopefully the dealer will make it right. A few years back I stopped at a dealership....to pick up a title of a car that I bought. I parked right in front of the main showroom about 30 feet behind a new F150 4x4. I saw the guy get into it, and start it up, I saw the reverse lights come on and thought he won't back back up that far...but I was wrong... I layed on the horn and that receiver hitch just plastered the front bumper of the 94 Vette. I was just madder than H. Come to find out it was the OWNER of the dealership, and he had me take it right back to the body shop and get an estimate...I told them it had to be as good as it was before. They took real good care of the Vette and it ended up better than it was.

So hopefully you experience will be as good.

 

[sstearns2]

People who drive trucks and SUVs should have recieve training on how little they can see out the pass side and rear. They seem to think they have great visibility from way up there but the reality is they have huge blind spots. I've been backed into by an SUV too and I was laying on my horn.

Scott

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

The car will never be right - all because of the negligence of several dealer employees.

You should contact an attorney - it will probably be a long process, but I would not accept a repair of the front end without replacement of the fascia or the dealer buying the car.

It is your choice - but I would push for the dealer to buy the damaged / wrecked car from you at "list" price.

You should also post the dealership name and address so others can avoid the business.

Good luck.

 

[Gripey]

OK.......this might be a stupid question but will the front end repair show up on CarFax, etc. as a collision repair and if so, would this de-value my car?

 

[bwing]

"CARFAX® receives data from more than 20,000 different sources including every U.S. and Canadian provincial motor vehicle agency plus many police and fire departments, collision repair facilities, auto auctions, and more."

This is the first sentence on the Carfax website so I'll say if your collision isn't reported to your DMV or the dealers insurance company it may not be reported.

 

[Toms007]

My incident was not reported, when I traded it in it didn't show up, but I told the dealer about what had happened.

 

[Fullback32]

I took my 2000 coupe into the dealer (that I have used for years) to have some routine maintenance done and some brake work done which involved the abs system. Picked it up yesterday morning and started the 70 mile drive home and stopped (kind of) to get some gas on the edge of town and noticed the pedal was a little spongy, but she stopped at the pump...strange I thought.....filled up, fired her off, applied the brake to put it in gear and smoke just rolled out from under the hood...FIRE was the first thing I thought so I slammed it in gear to get away from the gas pump and had NO brakes when I start to stop so, I grabbed the emergency brake and got her stopped. The smoke had gone away so, I popped the hood and found that when a brake line had been put on that it was rubbing against the belt, which in turn cut a hole in the line. Called the dealer and after a discussion of who needed to get it back to them, they sent a wrecker.

I called them this morning and they said that Chevrolet no longer made that line and they were in the process of finding one....OK, I was fine at that point, then comes "oh, one other thing......as we were pulling your vette into the shop, one of our salesman came around the corner in another vehicle and caught the front end of your car and left a rubber (tire & rim) mark on it". I won't repeat what I said on here. I jumped in my pickup and drove the 70 miles to see what happened and the "rubber mark" runs fron the mid point of the nose all the way to the end of the nose piece. ad i'M REALLY THROUGH THE ROOF AT THIS POINT (but trying to keep my cool)...i SAY NEW NOSE PIECE, THEY SAY THEY MAY CAN FIX THIS ONE...i SAY IT HAS TO BE PERFECT THE NEXT TIME i SEE it (sorry, I hit my caps lock)....just like it was when I brought it in, I will accept no less.

I guess we will see what happens....I just keep thinking of what may have happened if I had not stopped to get gas before I got to that first red light in town

Dang, I got mad just reading that. ad

I found myself being through with dealerships after a couple of incidents when I had my 1989 C4. Never again. If you can find a Corvette specialist nearby, that is the way to go. I drive about 34 miles one way to get to mine and it it totally worth it.

 

[njlouc]

Sorry to hear of the sad news. Only us Vette guys can appreciate the consideration we give to our (hobby) cars. :bash
Next - you are on the right track by loudly complaining. BTW they really dont care and it is why GM is OUT!
Make VERY sure that all repairs are done by the best shop and not reported to any insurance company particularly yours. Here in NJ no matter what happens your rates are bound to go up and the report goes to carfax. it is probably the same all over.
Dont fall for their stories about how tough things are. with business the way it is they should have had plenty of time to be careful.
Also the brake lines can be repaired via a coupling until a real one is obtained....or they can easily make one themselves. a real brake shop can do it!!!

 

[KANE]

The car will never be right - all because of the negligence of several dealer employees.

You should contact an attorney - it will probably be a long process, but I would not accept a repair of the front end without replacement of the fascia or the dealer buying the car.

It is your choice - but I would push for the dealer to buy the damaged / wrecked car from you at "list" price.

You should also post the dealership name and address so others can avoid the business.

Good luck.

Hold on now... accidents do happen. :ugh

Getting all "lawyered" up is a bit premature. I'd advise cooler heads to stop and think about this before escalating it- especially if there is only a rubber mark on the finish.


Gripey- I'm sure they are sorry for the problems. No one likes to have to absorb the cost of repairs due to their actions.

See what they offer to remedy the situation. As long as they can repair it- it should be okay- and need some buffing and polishing at a minimum. If it is really bad, they should remove the front bumper, the lights, and respray & blend it.:cool

I would say that you should think about finding a smaller shop where they are in perhaps less of a hurry. That will reduce the risk of mistakes like the one you posted from happening.

 

[Gripey]

Thanks for all the concern folks.

They have found a line and they have assured me that everything will be as good as it was when I brought the car in. I think there is to deep of cuts in the nose piece from the other vehicle's tire and rim running down half the lenghth of the front end. They said they would let the body shop determine the best way to go......either repair or new. I think they will do me right. Well deal with it if we're not satisfied. We'll let ya know what that is.

 

[Gripey]

Well, thought I would post this turned out. We got our car back today and it looks great. They did a great job on the repairs. Glad this deal is over.

 

[KANE]

Well, thought I would post this turned out. We got our car back today and it looks great. They did a great job on the repairs. Glad this deal is over.

Great news- glad it all worked out!

 

[Toms007]

So glad that it worked out!

 

[JDL333]

Get if fixed at a qualified place of your choice

I had a similar event happen to my wife's '98 Camaro SS. On the lot outside the service dept. one of the dealer's car movers backed in to the Camaro. Crunched the right front fender, bumper cover, and headlight facia. Wanted to take it to the body shop I had used for years, the one that was rated at the best in the entire state, the one that would give me a lifetime warranty on the repair, but let the dealership talk me into letting them do it in their body shop. They offered the same warranty (though I never got it in writing) and they said that it would be as good as factory. They provided a loaner, called me a week later and said it was ready. Went to pick it up and there was overspray on the hood - and the fender was not as glossy as the rest of the car (the paint was black and new - shouldn't be hard to match). They sanded the hood where it had overspray and repainted it and buffed everything out. Two years later, the paint on the hood started cracking. Took it back. The sanded it down to the fiberglass and repainted it. Another two years and it's cracking again and the corner of the hood has cracked where they sanded it too thin. And the dealership has changed hands. Had my body shop look at it and they said that the fiberglass looked as if it had not been properly prepaired for paint - that's why it was cracking.

This reinforces what I have always heard - when body shop guys working at a dealership get good, they open their own place. Only guys in training work at dealerships.

If I were you, I would report it to my insurance company and make the dealership pay to fix it at a body shop of your choice and reimburse you for any resulting decrease in value.

I sure wish I had done that.

 

[jrose7004]

Glad they got your car fixed to your satisfaction!