Autobody disaster

[Pac-man]

Hello everyone, had a problem this week, maybee you can help. Had a little body work done and when they were detailing my car the kid doing the buffing had the bright idea to jack-up the front end so he could buff the nose easier. He put the jack right were the front spoiler is and tried to jack the car. The result was that the spoiler was crushed up under the car and the metal bar directly behind it was bent all the way up and into the radiator. The air intake (K&N twin cones) came loose. Basically everything moved up a few inches. When I came to pick up the car I noticed the spoiler was bent and they said the car was that way when I dropped it off. After I threatened the manager with bodily harm they admitted what happened and proceeded to fix the damage. Two hours later I drive away. The car seemed fine but soon after I get (warm up complete) and (service active handing) on the dic. The little orange corvette light with the skid marks is also lit up on the dash. The car is under warranty from the dealer. Does anyone know what these messages mean? Maybee c4c5 specialist can help. Thanks in advance.

 

[craigrice]

First, I want to say that I hope you will not judge all shops by this one! We are not all bad. A couple of points here though: 1. Your regular warranty is most likely not going to cover damage of this kind, they are going to tell you it is "accident" or "improper use" damage related - not manufacuring defects and therefore not covered. 2. The damage you are describing would not likely to be able to be repaired properly in the short amount of time you stated. You can't just yank things out and expect them to be correct. 3. You need to go back to the shop and advise them of your expectations - THEY are responsible for the damage and they are responsible for the repairs (proper repairs) to correct the damage.

Just a word of advise here. Be calm and professional with the manager, that old saying of catching more flys with honey than vinegar is very true. Know who you are dealing with, is the manager really a manager or just claiming to be one, find out who is really in charge. Also, if you can not get a positive result you have a lot of recourse if this is a licensed and bonded shop, you can file a complaint with the licensing agency and their insurance company. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Craig

Hello everyone, had a problem this week, maybee you can help. Had a little body work done and when they were detailing my car the kid doing the buffing had the bright idea to jack-up the front end so he could buff the nose easier. He put the jack right were the front spoiler is and tried to jack the car. The result was that the spoiler was crushed up under the car and the metal bar directly behind it was bent all the way up and into the radiator. The air intake (K&N twin cones) came loose. Basically everything moved up a few inches. When I came to pick up the car I noticed the spoiler was bent and they said the car was that way when I dropped it off. After I threatened the manager with bodily harm they admitted what happened and proceeded to fix the damage. Two hours later I drive away. The car seemed fine but soon after I get (warm up complete) and (service active handing) on the dic. The little orange corvette light with the skid marks is also lit up on the dash. The car is under warranty from the dealer. Does anyone know what these messages mean? Maybee c4c5 specialist can help. Thanks in advance.

 

[Pac-man]

Thanks for the resp. I was'nt going to try to get the damage fixed under warranty. I just mentioned it because maybee the service messages are a separate problem. I will definately have the body shop fix the damage underneath. I've got to have the dealer see what is damaged first.

 

[yellow_2002_germany]

When I came to pick up the car I noticed the spoiler was bent and they said the car was that way when I dropped it off.

I love it when a place says this. It seems to be the automatic response. I know it is for their own protection but it seems as if they could look at the rest of the car and see of there was a reasonable chance the person is telling the truth.