Hi, sorry for the massive delay in responding. I've been so beat-down & depressed over this thing I kinda checked out for the last few months.

No the car wasn't repaired to my satisfaction. Working with Cooks was nightmare. They had my car for a total of 2 months.

The first time I picked it up, the interior was dirty, there was overspray on it, the door jam wasn't buffed out, and it shook and pulled on the freeway. Note: this was a brand new car when I dropped it off. I told them my friends 97 bmw comes back from the dealer after an oil change cleaner than they returned my 8 after $6K worth of work.

The second time--two weeks later--it was clean when I picked it up, but it pulls to the left and goes to the right when you accelerate. I now have a RWD car with Torque Steer! These repair works were done by a Mazda dealer--$2k worth of driveline/suspension components.

When the car goes over uneven pavement, it is all over the place. It's a real bummer.

The insurance company has been cool, and they said they will pay for me to take it anywhere, but the question is WHERE? I need someone who really knows their $hit and doesn't just replace parts.

I live in the SF Bay Area and I have no idea what to do next. I have family in LA and I'm thinking of calling Racing Beat in Anaheim Ca and seeing if they will look at it. I've never talked to them before, but they have an outstanding reputation. I don't even know if they get involved in situations like this. So, if that's an option, I'll make the 400 mile drive down there, visit family, fly back up to the Bay Area for work and then fly back down when all is good and drive it back up. I'm completely desperate to have my 8 correctly fixed. Out of something like 6 months of ownership, it's been F#$#ed up 4 of them. And the time I have into this is insane.


It's such a bummer to drive. My Beat 89 Nisan Pickup GT drives better than my 8 right now. Oh, then there is the issue with the trunk lid hitting the body and chipping the paint, interior rattles from when they popped out the back window, paint chips on around the driver's doorframe, and the washers that are RUSTING that they used to remount the trunk lid.

 

It's been a while since I read your original posts. Who is your insurer, and did they recommend Cooks? I would think they could make a good recommendation--they have a stake in this and (should) know that getting it fixed right is in their best interests, also, even if it's costly.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grabitquick

It's been a while since I read your original posts. Who is your insurer, and did they recommend Cooks? I would think they could make a good recommendation--they have a stake in this and (should) know that getting it fixed right is in their best interests, also, even if it's costly.

Hey is that Rooster Cogburn or is that The Shootist? Hmmm maybe he's too old in that Avatar... Anyway, I've actually been working with the CSAA guy that manages the CSAA approved repair facilities in my area. He’s a good guy and outside of Cooks, there’s no one he is comfortable recommending for this situation. Oh, and obviously he’s not going to recommend them now He actually suggested posting on the web to get input from others. The issue is that the 8 is so new, and apparently this problem is tricky to fix. First Cooks and then Mazda has blown it. I really need a frame and suspension guy that knows sports cars, preferably 8s, and knows his $hit. Not your standard Remove & Replace guy.

Oh, and then there is the Saga of my insurer, AAA. They were closing the office that was handling my claim. Something I later found out. So several times, I would call and the # to the person I was working with because they hadn’t followed up with me, and their # was disconnected with no forwarding #. I would then have to wait on hold with one of their customer service centers listening to a recording about "Excellent Customer Service." Then I would talk to a supervisor, next week same thing happened. After raising a stink, I was given to yet another agent. When I returned his call, he had a message stating the he was out of the office for a week and not to leave a message.

When I competently blew a gasket and once again escalated with their Las Vegas Call center, they had the same problem. When they called the highest guy in the office, he had a voice mail saying he would be out for a week. It was insane. There was no ownership and it constantly defaulted back to me to have them do their job. I could write a book on this, but would anyone bother to read it.

Everyone is shocked that Cooks constantly f#$&ed things up. My post above is only a small part of it. I've got a 40-page log on the experience. It’s amazing and insulting how poorly I was treated. Some have speculated that they are coasting off their reputation. I gave them multiple chances to handle things correctly. I even got to the point where I was working with the manager of the shop (after talking to the owner), and still my car was a mess the first time they returned it to me.

Ironically, the only person who handled anything well was Melissa the office manager. From what I experienced, that place is dead without her. And, I do have to have to give kudos to the sheet metal work. They had to cut off the rear ĵ of my car and the work is beautiful. I believe the guy who did the sheet metal had been there for 8 years and his name is (I know I’m going to butcher it) Provos—he’s a good guy. It’s just that everything else and the customer service completely sucked. Actually that’s not strong enough, it was a completely F$%#ed experience that still isn’t over. And, overall, outside of Melissa (who’s job wasn’t to work with me, but she stepped up and did), there was no ownership on their end. I’m so irritated I’m tempted to put up a web page detailing the whole experience.

 

It's Rooster in the avatar. I think The Duke was born old.

If I still lived in Northern California (born and grew up in Marin), then I might have some suggestions for alternatives up there. I have a great body shop down here (M2 in Santa Monica) that has done cosmetic body work for me for years through State Farm, but as I noted, it's been cosmetic stuff--not the type of work you need, so I can't vouch for whether they would get the mechanical stuff right. Nevertheless, they are probably the biggest in the state, and have Nor. Cal. locations (link below), so it might be worth asking your insurer if they're worth talking to and if they'll work with them. Surprising as it is, sometimes a chain is the best way to go--resources, reputation, etc. can go a long way.

http://www.m2automotive.com/

 

Yes, you may be a republican, but you're a very misguided one! Compassion should be reserved for those who are deserving of it. Clearly, this lady is a threat to society. You say that she hit the car accidently; I'm sorry to inform but a 40 yr. old who voluntarily drinks alcohol and then causes damage is no accident! Also, who's to say that she hasn't hit and run before. Clearly that was her intention here. Would you feel the same way about this lady if there has been people injured or killed in the car? Well, it evident that this lady had the capability and was intoxicated enough to do this! I'm a republican too. While I have compassion for people who are are in unfortunate circumstances that they had no control over, I have absolutely none for this women and I hope that she gets locked up for a long time. She represents the worst of humanity and I hope I never encounter such a dreadful, lame excuse of a human being.

 

hopefully you can get them to total it

 

I would say talk to your insurance company and if you have the coverage I would highly recommend trying to get them to total the car out since this vehicle will probably never drive the same. Definately find out what her case number is and speak with the prosecuting attorney I am sure he/she would not mind you being there to speak about how much distress and money this person has put you through also to help her out by getting a larger sentence and/or fine. You could try a legal action against her but there is a limited amount of money you would see from that if any from a person employeed by a Jack in the Box.

 

If distance is the major concern, there is a highly regarded shop in Fremont.

I'm having my car fixed there for 2 different little gifts from some assorted losers.

www.tgifauto.com

The only thing is that they are VERY popular so the time thing could be an issue...
I took my car in on Dec.20th & they don't have time to start my car until 1/10/05 which is somewhat annoying but with theirreputation I guess I can wait.

They are also part of AAA direct network (or whatever that's called) if it makes it any easier.

Hope it works out for you regardless! Good luck!

 

Hey Rotamotion,
So sorry to hear about your plight. I have my car back now, finally, but the road was not an easy one for me either. I returned my car to the dealership 4 different times (total time at shop exceeded the amount of time I actually owned the car, too). Like your car, my once smoothe handling ride was all over the road-left right, it didn't matter. This was further exacerbated by the fact that.....get ready for this....they forgot to replace the broken/missing motor mounts!! When I mentioned that I thought this had occured, the body shop manager laughed and said, "Come now, I am sure that we would check that before we released your car". After getting my adjuster involved (State Farm), my car is now running as well as the 2005 I made them bring our for comparison. I shudder to think, however, what would have happened if I was on my own. I am still not happy with my paint job (this is paint job #4 on new panels), but seriously doubt that they can paint my vehicle without the "bubbles" under the clear coat. It sucks majorly because my total bill exceeded $17,000 (yes that is the number 17 followed by 3 zeroes). At the time of my accident I had just over 4000 miles. The irony is that when I asked the Mazda manager to book my car out as a trade, he said I could get $21,000 for it!! I am no math major, but it seems to me that if my car needed $17000 in repairs, and the value of it is $21,000, it should have been totalled. Keep in mind that the offer was made after the dealer gave me the assurance that the car was repaired to "as good as new condition". I have rambled enough, but would like to say that even after my front impact accident, I complained and harassed them and my insurance company enough to get the stuff fixed. I don't know of any shops to recommend, but back in the day my brother and I used to take our cars to Dave's Made in Japan in Campbell. They have been around since the 80's. You might want to give them a call.


Good Luck

 

I'm a Democrat, and I don't know what that has to do with a car accident. Maybe we should raise taxes so the government can provide this woman with a therapist for her abused childhood that led to her drinking problem. Why should she have to accept personal responsibility when the rest of society can foot the bill? Oops, did I say that? I'm still a Democrat.

It doesn't seem worth your time or money to sue this driver. It sounds like your insurance company is paying to repair the damage. Is this accident costing you anything? What would you sue for? Maybe suggest to your insurance company that they sue her to recover their costs.

One thing you could do that would probably make you feel better and would benefit this driver and the rest of society is to appear at her sentencing hearing (I hope the DA is pursuing a DUI charge against her). She needs to learn her lesson and get her life straightened out. This time, she smashed an RX-8. Next time, she'll smash someone's son or daughter. Jail time, suspended license, rehab.

Of course some people are too stupid to learn a lesson. Just look at the outcome of the last election. Ahhh, I'm still a Democrat! Just a joke, Republicans! I'll be here all week!

 

That's why we needed the 3 strikes law to stay the same she'd be or almost be in jail.

 

You'll be glad to know the 3 strikes law is the same -- Prop 66 didn't pass. The threat of 25 years to life in jail didn't deter her from smashing an RX-8, and I don't want my taxes spent on incarcerating her for 25 years for getting into a car wreck. Don't get me wrong, she should be in jail, but not for 25 years. For the same amount of money, I could pay 25 years of UC tuition, textbooks, and housing for someone who deserves it.

 

For that mount of money, you could buy him a new 8 and then make her work it off!

 

For that amount of money, I could buy 25 RX-8's with full MS bodykits and custom wheels and still have money for gas and oil changes for 25 years.

 

oh yea i forgot it didn't pass! haha