Issues with local shop.
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From: Utah
Issues with local shop.
Okay, here is a quick run down of my problem.
My car needed Safety and Emissions. I had heard good things about Dave's Complete Auto Service, in Centerville. Yesterday, I wake up, and figure it would be the best day do get this done, as the weather was somewhat decent. I drive from my house in Farmington, to the DMV which is about 2 miles away. From there I drive to Daves, which is about 5 miles away. I get the inspection done, drive back to the DMV, then home. I proceed to wash and wax the car, planning on putting it away for the winter.
While waxing the front bumper, I see this on the front lip:
This is small point on the OEM AP2 lip, on the passenger side.
I flip out, for one, this is a BRAND NEW lip from H and A Accessories (Carmichael Honda of California), put on not two weeks ago. Since then, the car has had maybe 50 miles put on it. Second, I know for a fact I did not ding it, because something like that I definitely would have felt, or heard. The last time I drove the car, I overfilled the fuel, spilling down the side. I promptly went home, and washed the car. If this was there before, I would have seen it. Also, there is obviously no road rash, but there is clearly red paint.
So, I stop by the shop this afternoon, and try to tactfully ask about this, first to Dave (the owner) and then the tech as he walked in. Both pretty much went on the defensive, and said it would have been brought up if they did it. They then asked to see the car, which I was not driving due to the crappy weather. I pretty much figured both would happen. I told them I would be back with the car, when the weather clears.
On the short drive home, I figured I better jump on this now while it is fresh. I really hated this option, as it was raining again when I made it home.
Anyways, I make it back to the shop, and Dave comes out to look at it. Says that it cannot be determined if they did it or not, but they have been in business for 20 years, and the tech has been there for 15. If the tech did it, he would have said something. Understandable, I say. But we all are human, shit happens that we may not know about. He gets on the ground and looks at it briefly, still saying they didn't do it. I ask them if their lift was red, because you can obviously see the red scuffed paint mixed in with the damage. He said they have blue and red, and he was not sure which one would have been used. I mentioned again to have the tech take a look at it, to provide some answers.
Dave then says he will pay to have it "repaired" at his body shop. I say that it will not be put back in the condition that I brought it here. He then mentions they are good at their jobs, and it won't be perfect, but with a little putty it will look fine.
Now, I mentioned that to me, my car is damn near perfect, and I want to keep it that way. Then he goes on about owning Ferrari's GTR's, yadda yadda, as if my cheap ass Honda should not be considered perfect. Now, if I did the damage turning some curves up east canyon, I would kick myself for it, but I would accept it. I would like them to fix the issue, and correct my car to how it was. I do not feel like having my new lip smeared with bondo, to half ass correct the problem they caused.
Dave then said that he will not replace it, but only fix it. If that is not what I want, then he cannot help me. Had I went over the car with this much detail before I left the parking lot, he said it would have been different. Shame on me I said for trusting them.
I explained again that I wanted them to replace the damaged item, not try to cover it up. Again he said no way, and to call them if I changed my mind.
So, my questions here are:
1- Looking at the pictures, what are you able to make of them?
2- Would you be fine accepting a cover up repair?
3- Would you back down from your stand?
In my opinion, the first ding occurred while pulling the car up the ramps. The bottom damaged occurred while backing down the ramps.
My car needed Safety and Emissions. I had heard good things about Dave's Complete Auto Service, in Centerville. Yesterday, I wake up, and figure it would be the best day do get this done, as the weather was somewhat decent. I drive from my house in Farmington, to the DMV which is about 2 miles away. From there I drive to Daves, which is about 5 miles away. I get the inspection done, drive back to the DMV, then home. I proceed to wash and wax the car, planning on putting it away for the winter.
While waxing the front bumper, I see this on the front lip:
This is small point on the OEM AP2 lip, on the passenger side.
I flip out, for one, this is a BRAND NEW lip from H and A Accessories (Carmichael Honda of California), put on not two weeks ago. Since then, the car has had maybe 50 miles put on it. Second, I know for a fact I did not ding it, because something like that I definitely would have felt, or heard. The last time I drove the car, I overfilled the fuel, spilling down the side. I promptly went home, and washed the car. If this was there before, I would have seen it. Also, there is obviously no road rash, but there is clearly red paint.
So, I stop by the shop this afternoon, and try to tactfully ask about this, first to Dave (the owner) and then the tech as he walked in. Both pretty much went on the defensive, and said it would have been brought up if they did it. They then asked to see the car, which I was not driving due to the crappy weather. I pretty much figured both would happen. I told them I would be back with the car, when the weather clears.
On the short drive home, I figured I better jump on this now while it is fresh. I really hated this option, as it was raining again when I made it home.
Anyways, I make it back to the shop, and Dave comes out to look at it. Says that it cannot be determined if they did it or not, but they have been in business for 20 years, and the tech has been there for 15. If the tech did it, he would have said something. Understandable, I say. But we all are human, shit happens that we may not know about. He gets on the ground and looks at it briefly, still saying they didn't do it. I ask them if their lift was red, because you can obviously see the red scuffed paint mixed in with the damage. He said they have blue and red, and he was not sure which one would have been used. I mentioned again to have the tech take a look at it, to provide some answers.
Dave then says he will pay to have it "repaired" at his body shop. I say that it will not be put back in the condition that I brought it here. He then mentions they are good at their jobs, and it won't be perfect, but with a little putty it will look fine.
Now, I mentioned that to me, my car is damn near perfect, and I want to keep it that way. Then he goes on about owning Ferrari's GTR's, yadda yadda, as if my cheap ass Honda should not be considered perfect. Now, if I did the damage turning some curves up east canyon, I would kick myself for it, but I would accept it. I would like them to fix the issue, and correct my car to how it was. I do not feel like having my new lip smeared with bondo, to half ass correct the problem they caused.
Dave then said that he will not replace it, but only fix it. If that is not what I want, then he cannot help me. Had I went over the car with this much detail before I left the parking lot, he said it would have been different. Shame on me I said for trusting them.
I explained again that I wanted them to replace the damaged item, not try to cover it up. Again he said no way, and to call them if I changed my mind.
So, my questions here are:
1- Looking at the pictures, what are you able to make of them?
2- Would you be fine accepting a cover up repair?
3- Would you back down from your stand?
In my opinion, the first ding occurred while pulling the car up the ramps. The bottom damaged occurred while backing down the ramps.
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From: Las Vegas
Man that sucks, I live a stone's throw away from that shop too. I would wait and see how the repair looks, but I would be ready to pursue it further if it is still noticeable.
Back in college I managed Jiffy Lube stores for 5 years and was safety/emissions certified in Utah. I always bring my cars to Jiffy Lube for safety and emissions, mostly because they use brake testing pads so they don't have to actually pull your wheels. Well that, and they are under time pressure to move cars through, so a thorough inspection may or may not happen (I prefer the non-thorough type).
Back in college I managed Jiffy Lube stores for 5 years and was safety/emissions certified in Utah. I always bring my cars to Jiffy Lube for safety and emissions, mostly because they use brake testing pads so they don't have to actually pull your wheels. Well that, and they are under time pressure to move cars through, so a thorough inspection may or may not happen (I prefer the non-thorough type).
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From: Las Vegas
Originally Posted by UT_Evo,Nov 5 2008, 09:09 AM
I would take the repair they offered, and be thankful they offered that much. There is no way you can prove (at least, not worth pursuing) that they did the damage, and they are still willing to fix it. Dave was even honest with you and told you that had you checked it over before leaving (which you should ALWAYS do with a car when you've left it somewhere for anything) that it would've been a different story.
On a brightside side-note, if your paint is the type that is expensive for a paint shop to mix (my silver Evo, being the example in this case) then have the paint shop touch up other dings, scratches, rock chips, etc. A window shop scratched the roof of the Evo. I took it in, it cost them 180 to fix the scratch in the roof. About 100 of that was mixing the paint needed for the job. With the left over paint I had the guy touch up a lot of other problem areas, cost me an extra 70 is all.
And on the quoted: I would NEVER EVER take my car to Jiffy Lube unless I was willing to pay the price of the idiots they typically employ. First (and only) time I took the Evo there they put a jack through the floor of the car trying to jack it up at a point that is NOT a jack point, without even asking me. Second, I've had friends go there and get the wrong oil put in their cars, most of the time it isn't a huge deal, since the cars are POSes and they notice and make Jiffy change it, but what if you didn't? I'll take a slow skilled service over a quick service of a 14 yr-old like Jiffy gives.
Or, as I did with the Porsche, I'll take it to a shop owned or worked at by a friend. That way I know it is cared for, and I get high level treatment at low level shops. (in the case of safety/emissions, that is)
On a brightside side-note, if your paint is the type that is expensive for a paint shop to mix (my silver Evo, being the example in this case) then have the paint shop touch up other dings, scratches, rock chips, etc. A window shop scratched the roof of the Evo. I took it in, it cost them 180 to fix the scratch in the roof. About 100 of that was mixing the paint needed for the job. With the left over paint I had the guy touch up a lot of other problem areas, cost me an extra 70 is all.
And on the quoted: I would NEVER EVER take my car to Jiffy Lube unless I was willing to pay the price of the idiots they typically employ. First (and only) time I took the Evo there they put a jack through the floor of the car trying to jack it up at a point that is NOT a jack point, without even asking me. Second, I've had friends go there and get the wrong oil put in their cars, most of the time it isn't a huge deal, since the cars are POSes and they notice and make Jiffy change it, but what if you didn't? I'll take a slow skilled service over a quick service of a 14 yr-old like Jiffy gives.
Or, as I did with the Porsche, I'll take it to a shop owned or worked at by a friend. That way I know it is cared for, and I get high level treatment at low level shops. (in the case of safety/emissions, that is)
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From: Salt Lake City, UT
Originally Posted by Danknee,Nov 5 2008, 08:45 PM
There is no need for them to touch your wheels or raise your car. I don't trust any shop and perform all my own maintenance at home.
Anyway, there is need if the idiot can't decide if there is a cat or not on an Evo and so feels he needs to jack it up to look under it better. The car passed the scanner tests, and the resonator looked like a cat... He shoulda just passed it. Oh well, they pounded back out the dent in the floor, gave me some money, and passed my failed safety for too dark of tint for me (after I put a cat on underneath, since in jacking it up he saw it was not a cat...). The funniest was how the manager ran inside and spazzed at me because the jack slipped and almost crushed his employee's head. I was concerned at first, until I came out to see the jack had gone through the floor since he jacked it up in the wrong place. Not my fault buddy! That would've sucked for the owner of the shop, I imagine death of an employee by idiocy is a large bill to someone. I can see the letter from the state now "Dear Jiffy Lube, because you failed to train your employees on proper jacking techniques and lost the life of ___, you are herby fined $500,000 by the state of Utah"
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From: Utah
Originally Posted by UT_Evo,Nov 5 2008, 10:09 AM
I would take the repair they offered, and be thankful they offered that much. There is no way you can prove (at least, not worth pursuing) that they did the damage, and they are still willing to fix it. Dave was even honest with you and told you that had you checked it over before leaving (which you should ALWAYS do with a car when you've left it somewhere for anything) that it would've been a different story.
On a brightside side-note, if your paint is the type that is expensive for a paint shop to mix (my silver Evo, being the example in this case) then have the paint shop touch up other dings, scratches, rock chips, etc. A window shop scratched the roof of the Evo. I took it in, it cost them 180 to fix the scratch in the roof. About 100 of that was mixing the paint needed for the job. With the left over paint I had the guy touch up a lot of other problem areas, cost me an extra 70 is all.
And on the quoted: I would NEVER EVER take my car to Jiffy Lube unless I was willing to pay the price of the idiots they typically employ. First (and only) time I took the Evo there they put a jack through the floor of the car trying to jack it up at a point that is NOT a jack point, without even asking me. Second, I've had friends go there and get the wrong oil put in their cars, most of the time it isn't a huge deal, since the cars are POSes and they notice and make Jiffy change it, but what if you didn't? I'll take a slow skilled service over a quick service of a 14 yr-old like Jiffy gives.
Or, as I did with the Porsche, I'll take it to a shop owned or worked at by a friend. That way I know it is cared for, and I get high level treatment at low level shops. (in the case of safety/emissions, that is)
On a brightside side-note, if your paint is the type that is expensive for a paint shop to mix (my silver Evo, being the example in this case) then have the paint shop touch up other dings, scratches, rock chips, etc. A window shop scratched the roof of the Evo. I took it in, it cost them 180 to fix the scratch in the roof. About 100 of that was mixing the paint needed for the job. With the left over paint I had the guy touch up a lot of other problem areas, cost me an extra 70 is all.
And on the quoted: I would NEVER EVER take my car to Jiffy Lube unless I was willing to pay the price of the idiots they typically employ. First (and only) time I took the Evo there they put a jack through the floor of the car trying to jack it up at a point that is NOT a jack point, without even asking me. Second, I've had friends go there and get the wrong oil put in their cars, most of the time it isn't a huge deal, since the cars are POSes and they notice and make Jiffy change it, but what if you didn't? I'll take a slow skilled service over a quick service of a 14 yr-old like Jiffy gives.
Or, as I did with the Porsche, I'll take it to a shop owned or worked at by a friend. That way I know it is cared for, and I get high level treatment at low level shops. (in the case of safety/emissions, that is)
I figured since they repeatedly work on high end cars, my car would be okay there for a simple state inspection.
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