First things first:

Over the XMAS holiday, my uncle accidentally backed up into my rear bumper while we were all parked in my parents drive way. It didn't do much damage, just scratches to the bumper. I was quoted $598 (which my uncle agreed to pay) so I went ahead and had it repaired. I took in the car Wednesday and they called me telling me the car was ready Friday morning while I was at work.

I sneaked out of work Friday afternoon to pick up the car and dropped it off at home (parked in my garage). I didn't use the car Saturday, then Sunday my GF noticed something. Turns out there are 2 dents on my passenger side rear door. I thought to myself, "I am going to call the body shop first thing tomorrow morning" it being a Sunday and the shop was closed at the time.

I called Monday, but was unable to get a hold of the guy who helped me before because he was busy so I left a message and emailed him. I didn't get a response phone call or email so I then called him again later in the afternoon. I told him what I found and he said, go ahead and bring the car in tomorrow morning so we can take a look. Brings us to yesterday (Tuesday) morning... I took the car in and his reaction when he saw it was "Holy...shhh!" He then called his manager and the owner of the shop. They all were surprised and didn't know what to tell me. They called over the guy who painted it asking if he noticed that from before and he said no. They even called the guy who washed it, he didn't remember. We then all walked back inside and the owner asked to pull up the "walk through report." They looked up my file, and found that they did not do a walk though of my car (their mistake). They then went to the back, and later came up and the owner says the following.

"Well, we didn't do a walk though like we should and that is our fault but because you didn't call us right away (Friday when I picked up the car) it is partially your fault as well." She then went on to say that she was willing to pay for half of the repair at cost value... meaning I wont be charged for labor. So basically, I was then quoted ~$398.00 of which I would only have to pay for half ($199.00). Now, I understand that $199 is a great price for the amount of damage there is (see pictures below). I understand that normally a repair like this would cost something like $500-700. I went ahead and left the car there this morning so that they can repair the damage.

Reason for my post:

Should I have to pay for even half of the repair (at cost)? $199 ??

I know that she (the owner) is being nice by offering me this deal, but at the same time I don't feel like I should have to pay for damage done to my car especially after I just paid them $600 out of pocket for repair to my bumper. In a sense I don't see why I should have to pay for something extra when I already paid for something, but at the same time I can see her point in which she can assume that the damage could have been done between the time I picked up the car (Friday afternoon) and Monday... even though the car was parked in my garage the entire time.

Anyway, you can see from the pics below the damage is definately not from any type of door ding. Something obviously fell on it or something heavy (for example shop equipment) was leaned up against it. There is 2 dents, plus above the top dent you can tell the door was pressed in a little.

discuss...

 

I would argue with them some more. No way in hell is that your fault. I had something very similar like that done to my car(same spot) and I brought it back and they fixed it for free. I would argue with them some more because it is clearly their fault. Thats like paying them for fixing it and messing it up then paying them for messing it up.

 

BS!! Get a copy of that statement that they didn't do a walkthrough of the vehicle. I would then contact your Better Business Bureau and file a complaint if they do not fix it at their cost. Normally, this would be your fault, because it is up to you as the consumer to verify that everything is in order before removing the vehicle offsite. Fortunately for you, looks like they have a standard policy of doing a walkthrough before releasing the vehicle and it says so on their document. Based on that alone, I think you can squeeze the owner to pay for the damages done. After that, I would not do anymore business with this company. Total BS that this happened in the 1st place and then trying to make you pay 1/2 of the cost!!!

 

I agree with icyur2 above ^^^^. You can squeeze more money out of them at the threat of reporting to BBB. I am not a lawyer, but legally it seems like you might have a hard time proving that they caused the dent unless someone comes forward from the body-shop.

And how is fixing those dents costing 400$ !! I recently got a 1-foot dent in the rear door and a small dent (size of your dent) in the front door in my 2-week old rx-8 from a hit and run and fixing that costs $1000. Just giving some numbers for comparison. (https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/foot-long-dent-my-2-week-old-rx-8-a-82208/)

Bodi

 

See that is what I said too. I heard them ask to one another "let me see the walk through"... "there isn't one"... "you didn't do one?"...."no"...

AND I FORGOT TO MENTION...

Every time I leave my car anywhere I reset the tripometer so that I know if they drove my car and added miles. When I got the car back, it had 1.3 miles on the tripometer. Now I know 1.3 miles isn't very far at all, but there is no was they can drive 1.3 miles on their own property. The manager said "well, we have to pull it in and out of the shop..." lets face it... 1.3 miles is impossible to drive while in their shop. I am pretty sure that someone drove it off their property thus driving it on a public road without my permission. They didn't drive very far, but that's not the point. Now, if they would have explained something like "well, we had to test to make sure that the rear bumper didn't vibrate or rub against the rear tires when we re installed it" or something like that, that would have been fine... but they completely denied driving it off the property which means they wont admit they are lying! There is like 5 restaurants next to the shop. I am not saying they did but any of their employees could have taken it while on lunch or something. I'd hate to blame them... but it is possible.

They did awesome work (on my 1st repair) and I know the shop is a good one... but I'm a little hesitant about paying an extra $200 when I already paid $600 for the other repair.

What should I do? I left the car there this morning and I am sure they are already fixing it. They said it would be ready by Friday. Should I go in then to pick it up and refuse to pay for anything else? I bet they wont release my keys until I do.

Thanks again!

 

I did read your post previously, sorry about your car. But...

read my 1st post. The owner is only charger me half of the repair at cost. She isnt charging me labor. Just parts (if any) and paint ... then only half of that.

 

At this point, since the car is already at their shop and is being "repaired" I would have to suggest you bite it on this one..THEN, file a complaint in the better business bureau once you get your car keys back. With the complaint, if they had the brains, they would refund you the $$ you gave them if they don't want a stain on their business name. I don't care how good of a job they do on your car. If they are driving without your permission and lying it in front of your face, that alone is totally UNPROFESSIONAL!! Ya know, now that you mention about resetting your tripometer, a better way to catch them is to write down how many miles you had on your odometer vs. that..at least you know that doesn't lie..they can always reset the tripometer to make it look like they didn't go anywhere, but went for a long drive at your expense.

To sum up:

1 - Bite the cost for now
2 - Get your keys back, before driving off try to get #3
3 - If you can, obtain a written copy of their checkout procedure (you mention that they didn't do a walk through)
4 - File a formal complaint with BBB at your state
5 - Never do business with them again, AND pass the word around of their shitty service to ruin their name

Suffice to say, to avoid getting your car anymore messed up, get your keys back from these people ASAP, before doing the other stuff..and..good luck!!!

 

pay it- you have no idea how that damage was done or where.

 

I agree with zoom44 - you can't prove that they did it, and when you think about it, they can't prove that you did it in the time that had passed between the car leaving the shop and you noticing the damage.

 

I think you should take the deal. How does the shop know if they are responsible for it??? How do you know it was done there??? You don't because you didn't inspect the car when you picked it up. I don't see how it makes any difference whether or not they did the walk through on your car or not. It is your property and your responsibility to make sure everything is fine when you pick it up. If you pick it up without complaining at that time, you have essentially given up your claim to them being liable. After that point they can very easily argue it happened in your posession because you took it off their property and without a complaint right then the assumption is that you are perfectly fine and satisfied and that there was no damage because you didn't point it out.

It sucks, but how do you know for sure the body shop did it if you didn't notice it when you took it home and it was two days later that your girlfriend pointed out damage to you while it was in your garage???

I think you are getting a good deal on getting your car fixed at a discount without having to pay for labor. I am assuming the only reason they are agreeing to this is because they didn't have a documented walk through done on your car. If they had, you would most likely be out of luck.

Take the deal. You could be worse off.

Take this as a lesson learned. Always inspect your stuff when you pick it up to make sure there is nothing wrong with it.

 

... or, maybe your girlfriend dropped something on it when she was in the garage, alone, with your car.



Just kidding...

I really do think that you are in a bit of a pickle... kind of your word against theirs...

What I'd do:
I'd pay them the money, get your keys and then ask them "Where do I file a complaint?" they will ask why... be nice and explain that you know that it didn't happen in you possession, you really had thought they were a great shop but you don't feel that way anymore... etc...

T

 

Why is the complaint even necessary??? They were more than reasonable and helpful in fixing the problem. I watch a lot of of small claims court shows on TV (I work at home). If you pay them and take it off their property, you have absolved them of responsibility for it. Look at it this way, no one can prove where the damage came from. The shop could just have easily not done a thing for you to help fix it. You could try and sue them to fix the damage. You would not win in court because you cannot prove they did it because you did not check it out first. (Just had a nearly identical case on one of those court shows ).

If you complain now it is a baseless complaint and they were more than reasonable and fixing it. This just makes you spiteful when they did more than they had to in regards to fixing your dent. They could have just told you it was your fault and left it at that. This is costing them time and money that they are not obligated to provide you.

Let it go.

 

I don't think anybody has seriously mentioned 'taking them to court'... The guy asked for discussion and we all have our own opinions...

The beauty of the REAL world is that you can discuss things with people and they may be reasonable enough to listen and believe your story. If the 'complainer' isn't being rude, and states his point objectively, the smart business owner will listen. This doesn't mean they will (or should) do what you ask, but there is nothing wrong with speaking up POLITELY about how you feel and what you think happened. Be prepared to tell them what you expect in order to make you (the customer) feel better about what happened.

 

Which is why I feel the shop went out of its way to fix his problem when they didn't need to/have to and offering him the discount. I don't see any point whatsoever in complaining at this time. They more than adequately addressed and remedied the problem.

 

Have you ever been caught off guard and you just go along with something because you didn't have enough time to think something through? It has happened to me before and I wish I had the chance to say what was on my mind (in a constructive way) and try further reasoning. In this case, he was offered the 'deal' to get it fixed, and now he has reflected on it and it sounds like he is obviously not happy with it. He sounds like a pretty reasonable guy, and now that he has the chance (when he picks up his car) to say something, he can... I wouldn't just let it go, but I wouldn't make a big deal either.

My 3 cents...

 

When you go back to pick it up very politely explain to them the 1.3 miles thing and that they didn't do a walkthrough. Say that you agreed to pay it because you just wanted it taken care of (you'd already been without your car for some time just for the first fix). Say that you were very happy with their work and would recommend them to the 20,000 members of an online automotive community (that'd be us), but that the bizarre 1.3 miles and dent that you're sure wasn't your fault is making you seriously rethink taking your business and recommendation elsewhere.

I know it all sounds pretty corny, but I honestly think it's your best shot. People will always tell you to take everyone to court all the time. It's just not worth it IMO. Let us know how it goes.

 

I like your approach with that one, at least about the 1.3 miles. I can see his point saying he knows he didn't put the dent in his car. This is my issue, he didn't check his car when he picked it up before he took it. He put it away and didn't look at it until two days later after a third party says "Hey, there's a dent in your car." That makes at least one other person that has access to the car and the area it is in. That person may well have caused it (not saying for sure they did, just possible) or another person with access to that area. Being in a garage something could also have fallen on it (depending on how and where it was parked, accidentally on its own or accidently with the a little "help" like someone is carrying something or doing something on a shelf and it falls). This also makes it possible for the third party to try to blame the shop for the damage they may have caused, knowing it had not gone anywhere since being picked up from the shop. A lot could have happened in two days. I am certain that the shop feels with significant certainty that they didn't do it, but in good faith they offered him a break to fix it because they didn't have complete records. I don't think he has room to complain about the dent. The miles he can.

I think people here are overreacting in wanting to blame the shop and file complaints on them and expecting them to fix the damage for free when it is a guess that it came from them. To me, the dent owner is more responsible for the damage than the shop in this instance because he didn't bother to check his car over. He may not have literallyy dented his own car but he is responsible for it by not noticing whether it was there or not to start with to take the appropriate actions at the time.

 

There is absolutely no way I would take them to court. Besides the fact that I know it is not worth the time/money... I think it would be unfair for the business, its employees and especially the owner.

Being in the Hospitality industry for a long time now I have come to realize that things that happen sometimes don't involve everyone in the business. A simple example of what I am talking about is when say... you are dinning at a restaurant and your food takes long, it taste bad or is not what you figured it to be when ordering and you take it out on the server by being rude and not tipping. It is clearly not the server's fault that the food was cooked improperly right?

In this case, before I left the car (the second time) I clearly told the owner that I appreciated her help in having the dents fixed. I also told her that I know it wasn't her fault. There is no point in me blowing up on her because I know she personally didn't drive it the 1.3 miles, and I am almost sure that she wasn't at fault for the dents.

My best guess is that one of the shop guys might have left a piece of machinery or a latter or something else nearby and it could have gotten knocked into my car. I know for a fact that the dents were there before I brought the car home because I drove the car straight home and left it in the garage until I discovered them.

I admit it is my fault that I did not inspect the car 100% when picking it up. As I stated in my first post... I snuck out of work for a while to pick up the car then took it home so I was in a bit of a rush. I concentrated in inspecting the repair work and didn't focus on the rest of the car. I guess this mistake is going to cost me the $200.

I will attempt to talk to the owner once again when I pick up the car and ask her if there is anything else she can do to help me. I doubt that she will be willing to further assist me with the cost of this additional repair, but who knows? Maybe she will see that I am a loyal customer who just finished paying $600 for 1 repair and help me the rest of the way. It doesn't hurt to try again....

The only reason I am still a little upset is because of the 1.3 miles. Again, I know 1.3 miles is nothing! But it is impossible for them to have driven 1.3 miles just in their property. The manager of the shop tried to say that they pull the car in and out of the actual garage where the work is done to try to explain the 1.3 miles. Are you kidding me? Thats 6864 feet! That makes no sense. The fact that he tried to lie to my face about this is what upset me further. Or, maybe he truly believes that it is possible that the 1.3 miles were added within the property (but then I would loose respect for him and think he's an idiot).

Thanks to everyone who has commented, and please feel free to continue to discuss this. I am always happy to read...

 

I hope you can convince her, but make it clear that if she doesn't repair it that you won't come back. I sure as heck wouldn't. Good luck man.

 

so, just out of curiosity,....did you sign anything when you paid the first bill?? you may have signed away your right to complain about anything. Most shops have a damage waiver saying that if it is damaged there, then they are not responsible. If you did sign anything, your lucky they are even offering to take care of half, plus not charging you any labor. I'm not saying that you dented the car and are trying to get them to take care of it....but being in a service department for 8 years now, you'll never beleive the amount of people that tried to scam us into paying for their dents...again, not accusing you of doing that, but it does happen, thats why they have the damage waivers.....you may check your paperwork and read all of it, if you signed it, complaining to the BBB is pretty much a waste of time. Sounds like she is doing everything to try and keep you as a happy customer. I don't know how big their lot is for the body shop...but i know if they have a decent sized lot it would be easy to rack up 1.3 miles just pulling it in and out, then back into the paint booth, then back into the detail part.....not saying this happened, just another possibility

I know from experience it is hard to find a body shop that does good worked, my 8 was wrecked and i was without it for 2 months because i sent it back to fix a few things.

 

pay it and a week/month later brick their window.

 

If a body shop damages part of the body while working on another part of the body I don't care if you signed over power of attorney -- it would be ridiculous for them not to fix it. Not saying this is what happened and he did leave the lot, etc, etc. I'm just saying that if I went to pick up my car and noticed a giant gash on a different part of the body while doing a walkthrough on the lot and they wouldn't fix it I'd cut someone. But I have some anger issues so don't go by me.

 

That is sooo funny Saturn ^_^ The "anger" issue part..your avatar shows it *grins*

Back to the point, as Bunnygirl is trying to state, it is fine that the owner was willing to meet you halfway..HOWEVER, as mantis pointed out, he drove it directly home. So, unless he has a wife/girlfriend/kid, that accidently dropped something heavy to the side, SOMEONE at the shop did the damage. Her shop's reputation is on the line. If I was her, I find out which one of the punk worker is lying to her face, and fire his/her ***. The owner trust her workers to be honest with her..if they are willing to lie straight in her face, that person does not deserve to be working for her. This also includes the 1.5 miles of "testing" that was done...the owner should take the initiative and do an inquiry on who is lying on her. If mantis is a steady customer, who never filed these complaints before, I would lean towards believing the customer vs. the worker. Now, if mantis has a reputation to file alot of complaints....that be a different situation for her....

 

i agree...if htey had done a walkaround and you found a gash...it should be their repsonsibility....just cause a lot of shops have that disclaimer, doesn't mean they won't take care of it if they do it......if one of my employees scratches or dents a car, then we are definetly going to take care of that....but the problem is there wasn't a walk around and he didn't check the car until someone else noticed that it was there 3 days later....i'm just saying its going to be hard to prove to anyone that it was done at the body shop.....but on any account i hope they do as good of work on the side as they did on the bumper for you and it all gets taken care of to your liking

 

If you can't prove they did it, i'd say you're stuck. Next time do a real thorough walk through whenever you leave your car somehwere.