opinions needed... long story.. thanks in advance - NJFBOA - Home of New Jersey's Camaros and Firebirds

camarokev · 12-24-2005, 01:10 PM

hey guys.... okay, if I could get some opinions about what you would do it'd be appreciated

Okay, so I'm at work today, chilling, and I walk outside... boom... my windshield is busted on the drivers side... a small bit of cracks, but still its messed up, will need a new one soon now. Here's where it gets interesting:

This past month, I had my car bodywork done by Dales Custom Autobody in H-Town- after I had an accident. Some of you might remember this. However, after I got the car back, the door and the front drivers fender that I had, would "rub" against each other, creating a loud bang when I went to open the door. Some paint rubbed off, but I chose to ignore it, being happy that I had the car back.

Finally, a couple days ago, I had the car brought into my service dept at the dealership that I work at to look at it. Turns out, the fender was missing many bolts, and my wheel well was rubbing against my tire when I steered. Now, those bolts that hold the fender in place, SHOULD have been put on by Dales, correct? Especially after having insurance and laying out my deductible of a G.

Now, a lot of the paint has been rubbed off by that fender/door problem, and the part of the car dales fixed was exactly that part of the car. In my opinion, if the door and fender were not aligned by Dale's correctly, and there is NO other cause for my windshield to be cracked *it is cracked directly above where the door and fender meet, right where they rub together* wouldn't Dales be responsible for not only the bodywork on the fender/door but also for the broken windshield??

It just makes absolutely NO sense to me how this would happen... and like I said, my service guy that put in the bolts said that half of my car was unbolted underneath, including that fender. Usually they don't charge me, being a manager there, but they had to charge me 31bucks because it took him so long to put all the bolts in and get it lined up properly.

Now... after that huge rant, the question... what do you guys think? What would you do if this was you? Really looking for some opinions... thanks

enRo · 12-24-2005, 01:28 PM

First off, bad place to take your car. Ive seen some work they've done which wasnt all too bad, but you can definately tell it was in an accident.

Anyway, bring your car to another body shop that does free estimates for the soul purpose of proof. Ask this "new shop" for an estimate on the damage to the car, and if you talk with the guy doing the estimate, ask him the same question you asked us... if the windshield being cracked relates to the door and fender rub. Then have them put it in statement on the estimate.

Next, take your car to Dale's and show them your in charge and say something like "Listen here, the job you guys did on my car was ok, but why are there bolts missing from the fender? And the door rubs against the fender?" Then slap them in the face with the estimate and threaten to call your lawyer. Ive dealt with Dales twice with estimates, and Ill never ever ever go back reguardless of how many Fbodys they've work on (seeing their lot is full of them). They wouldnt even install an OEM body kit on my 89 Formula. Good luck

nj85z28 · 12-24-2005, 01:44 PM

sounds like you got boned man..

camarokev · 12-24-2005, 01:50 PM

thanks bigdaddykane.. good advice indeed... and yeah, Dale was a complete **** throughout the entire process... claimed that I was trying to commit insurance fraud when I ordered a fender through my dealership.. shoulda gone someplace else when that happened... eh well, live and learn.

Also, would you call the insurance company dude? I paid the deductible, but I'm not sure if I should wait on callin them up about this.

Here's a couple pics of the damage...

The thing that pisses me off is that I just got a new windshield put in like 4 months ago before the first accident happened... eh well, lemme know what you think of the pics Thanks man for the reply

hope everyone's havin a great christmas eve though

Frosty · 12-24-2005, 02:08 PM

Is there a good chance it's due to the rubbing and banging? Yes.

Can you prove it? No

Are they going to say it's your fault for waiting so long and not complaining right away about the door end fender rubbing? Yes.

Is there anyway you can scan a copy of their estimate? I'd like to see it. What was the extent of the damage they fixed?

You're going to have quite a battle on your hands to prove that.

camarokev · 12-24-2005, 02:16 PM

yea.. i'll see if I can't get it scanned in Tony- gotta get it out though from the file. And I'm also almost positive that Dales warranties their work for the life of the vehicle... so, if he doesn't comply with the windshield, then I'm at least going to have him repaint that door and fender- and get it lined up properly. If he doesn't do that, and replace the windshield, then going to have to take it up legally. My non-collision insurance on the car is a $200 dollar deductible, and if I remember correctly last time I replaced the windshield it was 196 bucks

Plus, what about all the missing bolts that were not there holding the fender in place until my service guy put them there? At least I have that receipt and the work done on the car showing that those bolts were not in there.

NJSPEEDER · 12-24-2005, 02:20 PM

first thing you need to do is contact your insurance company. let them know that the work done was unsatisfactory and it has resulted in more work needing to be done to the car.
you will have to get statements from the mechanic that told you about the missing bolts and statements from anyone that would have known/seen the fender to door alignment issue from the time you picked the car up.
your insurance company will likely ask you have have the car checked over at another shop before they will do anything. ask around and find a very reputable place to do the assessment of the situation.
i am hoping also that you complained very loudly about the work done before you took the car back from the body shop.
at the end of it all there is a good chance you will need to get a lawyer involved still, but at that point you would have a very good chance of getting your car fixed AND making a few bucks off of the situation for all the time and effort it costs you.

Savage_Messiah · 12-24-2005, 02:31 PM

good luck with it man

Frosty · 12-24-2005, 02:39 PM

What Tim said. If you're that serious about persuing this definately get the insurance company involved. Was this one of their "preferred shops"? If so I'm sure they'd like to know that one of their program shops did a **** job.

camarokev · 12-24-2005, 02:54 PM

thanks tim, bigdaddy and all for the advice so far... I'll keep ya up to date with what happens, definitely going to pursue this. The REALLY interesting thing? Having ACL Reconstructive Surgery done on my right knee on tuesday.. haha.. so it'll be an early early call on tuesday morning to the insurance company before surgery.. haha.

Tru2Chevy · 12-27-2005, 01:46 PM

Good luck getting the car fixed right, chances are it won't be easy.

- Justin

12secondv6 · 12-27-2005, 02:15 PM

Yes, contact insurance company

bitchincamaro · 12-27-2005, 05:02 PM

i heard some good advice above. next time if you know its not right from the beginning you should speak up then, it may be more of a hassle bitching at the time, but could have also saved you this mess. as far as bringing your parts to the bodyshop, the shop i worked at would ask you if you brought you hamburger to mcdonalds to have them cook it. we would use the parts you brought, but add a handling fee. getting another estimate and another shops opinion is a good idea. let the insurance company know too. some body shops are out there to make a buck, and could care less about the customers car. my shop was all hourly and 90% of the employees have been there for a long time. the shop has since all changed to flat rate. all the old guys that have been doing body work for 20+ years still do things right, but the few new guys are hacks. its a shame, they dont care about the finished product, they want to do it quick and make a few dollars. what sucks for them is the jobs have to meet managment standards and dont get paid to do a job twice. one guy told me he would quit before going flatrate. he is a perfectionist and want to straighten out suspension/frame damage correctly knowing lives depend on it. its good to know there are honest people out there still.

jims69camaro · 12-27-2005, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bitchincamaro

he is a perfectionist and want to straighten out suspension/frame damage correctly knowing lives depend on it. its good to know there are honest people out there still.

those guys are few and far between these days, in any line of work. people are there to do the bare minimum, it seems. i always went above and beyond, sometimes pissing off the other managers at my level (and above - not a good career choice). i would work my employees, not let them work the clock. if they had their way, they'd be out back smoking cigs (or other flammable materials) instead of getting work done. for me, at least, when i was working i couldn't stand to sit around doing nothing.

we are talking about people's lives in some cases. like mechanics, cars or otherwise. if they don't get it right, people could die. now think about one of those hack mechanics working on the next plane you're on...