When I got into an accident it was March and it was pouring raining with puddles 3 inches big. I was on my way from University at about 3 A.M. studying at the library. I wanted to get home as soon as possible and my better judgment didn't take over the situation. I had my 17 inch Pirelli Winter tires at this time which have crappy traction in the rain. I come around a turn and I hydro plated into a big cinder block looking thing. It broke the control arm and the rim on the rear drivers side tire area of my car and I guess the force of the accident popped my back bumper off. It was horrible and I was depressed for many months seeing how I paid for this baby myself. So anyways they do the repairs they had the car for 5 months total and there excuse was "we are really busy". I get the car back everything looks fine and I put storage insurance and put it in my carport thinking I would insure it next summer seeing how I was strapped for cash that summer.

So I got into an accident on March 23rd of last year. My car has been sitting in my garage getting start ups here and there and being driven around the block to keep it going. So anyways I changed my battery yesterday on my car with the help of Dannobre (because he had to build a terminal for the Red Top Optima battery as it doesn't come in a 35R only a 35)

Then after looking at NY's DIY on removing the Fish Tank out of my tail lights I started removing them. I noticed as I was taking the plastic clips off half of them were missing and the ones that were there were broken. I thought to myself no big deal these things are cheap and come in the bulk. I get both of the tail lights off with ease (minus the last clip was a bitch to come off with my chubby *** fingers) The left one came off first and I pulled the gasket off (picture below)



HERE IS THE RIGHT ONE





Now I go to take the right one off and I notice they had glued the gasket on the car and not on the tail light which I found strange. I then look at the condition of that gasket and gasped. (picture below) I have no words to describe the state of that gasket so I have put a few pictures of it up.

I then notice that the moronic body shop that fixed my car had noticed the screw off the tail light broke so to curb costs they glued it back on and when I was taking the tail light off it easily broke off. (Pictures below)








I then notice a funky smell coming from my car. That kind of smell you get when you wear damp clothes or your near damp carpet and to my ******* shock I see mold everywhere. (pictures below)




So now this is my check list on fixing the **** ups caused by the body Show

1. Replace or Glue back on screw on Right Tail Light
2. Purchase New Mazda Gasket because the Right one is toast (the left one is fine but I might as well fix both while I am at it)
3. I need to air out my car with a fan for about 48 hours continuous.
4. Remove the Water out of the left tail light.
5. Wash the mats and remove all the mold off them. I must wait until they are fully dry before putting them back in my car.
6. Raise hell at the body shop tomorrow. I feel bad for him for the **** I am about to raise tomorrow but if you can't fix the ******* car properly don't take the responsibility and let me take it to someone who can. If only I had researched the body shop instead of being a depressed piece of **** when the insurance agency asked me where to send it. ****


/END RANT

 

Had to get the rest of the pictures up

 

lol

sorry its funny! that does suck though, i would buy a new taillight from ebay or something and scent the hell outa your mold after you dry it out. Good luck

 

Yikes! Good luck at the body shop. (By the way, after paint matching, this is my biggest fear in getting body work. That the shop will cut corners/leave out little parts that I may never see.)

 

Its funny because of my captions

 

To kill the mold, go buy yourself a big container of Hydrogen Peroxide. It is safe enough for your carpet and will kill the mold. Also, do not assume that the mold hasn't spread. Pull up the carpeting in back and all of the trunk trim. Give it a good wash, disinfect it with the H.P. and let it dry COMPLETELY before reassembling ANYTHING. Wear a face mask while you're doing any of this, because mold spores go airborne when disturbed. That, and the mold caused by water damage is of the killing type.

To kill the scent, go to any pet supply store and pick up either 'Get Serious!' cleaner or 'OdoBan'. Either will work, but Get Serious! is better. Get Serious! also removes all kinds of stains (that you thought would never come out) and neutralizes odor by essentially eating it (And then you vacuum).

Some body shops are just crooked and you usually don't see it coming. Thankfully, the Body Shop belonging to my Toyota dealer is great...but as a result, pricing is a bit...much...

Good luck.

 

There is a good chance that the body shop billed for a new tail lamp and pocketed the $600.

 

I ususally just use Bleach to kill molds, water it down to about 50:1 (water to bleach), and just wipe it off.

I tried it once in my trunk, colors didnt come off, so u can try that. but yeah, do it like Rotarctica said, pull everything out and wipe it cleanly. if you dont have a mask around (N90 grade or better), u can just do it in open area. Make sure dont breathe in too much.

raise some hell @ the bodyshop.

 

sorry to see/hear this. that is one of the worst things that can happen. trust a mechanic shop and then they screw your (or in your case glue you) Hope it works out!!! Go give them a piece of your mind!

 

I would be so f'ing pissed I couldn't see straight! Whether insurance was involved or not. I'd be down there throwing that crap back in their face.
I'm with MM on this, they probably pocketed a huge sum off this! Bastards!

 

If i's a reputable body shop...they should warranty there work.

Also...get ICBC involved on the hidden crap that they were supposed to fix if they don't fix it. They more than likely got paid for new or good used parts...and fixing stuff like the tailight is shady at best. ( think insurance fraud) I would also get the alignment looked at ASAP as I suggested...as they can pick up any hidden/bent suspension components ...The rear bumper skin is crap as well....

 

If you enlighten your insurance comapny, they will likely also contribute to your hell raising.

 

Why clean the mold? Raise hell with the body shop and have them replace the trunk carpet.

 

************************UPDATE******************** ********

I literally just returned from the body shop and he will fix everything. He does not want me to get the Insurance company involved so he said he is willing to fix all the below stated items.

I showed him this link and showed him the pictures of all the things that were wrong. I put one day insurance on my car and dropped it off there.

Here is my official check list of all the **** wrong with my car.

1. Drivers side seatbelt was not replaced during the accident and the mechanism is locking if I pull the seat belt at normal speed. This is also hampering how quickly I can open my rear door.

2. Overspray in the trunk on the trunk lid

3. The Mold on the carpet

4. The right tail light

5. The misaligned bumper (he is claiming he put a brand new one on but you can tell he salvaged the old one judging by how bent it looks)

6. He never did the wheel alignment

7. He admitted to me that it took him a month to start the car and he had flooded it. I was pretty disappointed because I have had the car almost 5 years now and I have not flooded it once.

 

you are not alone there my man it happens all the way here in the states and even close to the capital of the world(d.c.)my mazda bodyshop could have done a lot better but being the picky one i would rather burn the car to the ground than fight the insurance company and the dealership again.pride in workmanship over the years have gotten so bad they win we lose and it keeps on going on.the time it takes to fight these fools i would rather do the work myself and never let them touch my car again!!!!sorry it's been a month and i'm still pissed!

 

by the way they left my battery loose,refused to fix the dent in the hood caused by the accident,overspray on my new rims,headlight not adjusted ,dirt in paint,cut on steering wheel,had to repaint it due to mismatched paint(they did not blend it right)hood out of alignment,overspary all over engine compartment,dead battery(new one replaced a year earlier)chips in fender where hood and fender meets,overspray on both doors,fish eyes all over in paint they buffed out most of them,bolt missing out of battery tray with hold down j bolt missing as well,list go's on but this is going on too long

 

That sucks man.

I would take a look at the bill and see if they charged you for a new gasket, tail light, etc. You should also bring it to the managers attention at how ******* half-assed that **** is.

For the mold, I have never had a mold issue, but with all of my cars even though they get washed and vacuumed every week I would use a hand held steam cleaner.

You will be amazed at how black the water is that the cleaner sucks it. I usually use this with a non scented carpet cleaner, plus I would imagine that the chemicals will kill the mold and smell.

I have a Bissel cleaner that I got for something around $60 - $75 a couple of years ago.

 

Looks like you gave you Sunlight Silver curse to the body shop. I always release my hex before I let someone work on my car.

 

**************UPDATE**************

Going to stop by the body shop tomorrow to see what they have replaced and if they give me any problems I am going to get choked.

 

You just seem to be compounding your mistakes.

1. After you pick of you car, call your insurance company.

2. Get your car to a reputable body shop and have them check all work done. Have them look to see if anything wasn't fixed.
You might not even have a real rear bumped just a plastic skin with some twisted metal underneath.

Who knows what else they haven't fixed.

Of course he will fix everything you FOUND. He wants to keep you from calling the insurance company and possibly ending up in jail.


Also, note never EVER go to a body shop or a garage that is suggested by an insurance company or a tow truck driver. They will us salvage / used parts.

Note that what shop you go to doesn't change that you have an accident on your record. Your insurance will (almost certainly) go up the same amount and you will still pay the same amount for the repairs (what ever your deductible is.)

 

****************UPDATE**************


Went to the Body Shop this morning and they have ordered me a brand new Passengers side tail light and also a new set of gaskets from Mazda.

Here is the list of repairs they will do

1. Aligning Drivers side door which was causing alot of rattle when the door was being closed.

2. Replacing Drivers side Seat belt because it was catching and not allowing me to open the back door properly.

3. Right Tail Light

4. Trunk Carpet

5. Plastic Clips

6. Rear Bumper

7. Removal of Over spray.

They know I have them by the ***** and if they do not do it I have the evidence of there insurance fraud.

 

congrats man, u got them.

now pray that they will fix it right this time ...

 

Man, i was searching all over for this thread in the wrong place...

Hope they got your car straight....

I just got this car less than a month ago, and I just got in an accident today. (sideswiped someone dodging some stufu suv )
And I remembered reading this thread about shady body shops...

Well the accident will ultimatly be my fault since the suv got away, and geico would be calling me tomorrow where to take my car to get it checked for damage.

The damage is pretty minor, right side fender, part of the front bumper, and the rims are scared, also the wheel well cover is cracked but I was able to drive it home no problem (alignment seemed ok).

This is my very first accident and I'm not sure how the procedure would go, after reading this thread I'm worried that my car might go into the wrong hands...

and I'm extra worried because I don't trust geico due to some other reason which is another story. I was planning on changing to some other insurance at the end of this month but here I am now....

Are they gonna tell me where to get it fixed, or can I tell them I want the dealer to fix the car? Do I have the right to choose? if not is there any ways to get assured it would be fixed right, since I know there are alot of shady auto related shops down here in charlotte NC.

as a matter of fact I know a guy's suv was repaired half-assed when he rear ended someone, and he was with allstate. He found out it wasn't fixed right until a year later when the front end started falling apart....better call him too...

Oh, and I saw 2 black rx8s driving by while I was trading my info with the police, wonder if they're members here

 

I know how Geico works.

Yes, they will give you a list of recommended *Quick fix* body shops. you DO NOT have to go there, you can pick your own shops. When the adjuster is there, just tell him you have your own body shop but you forgot the full name of the place. He will write the list of what he sees, then he will search on his computer for the *estimated* cost and write you up a check. but the amount usually CANNOT cover the total cost of repair.

You can bring your car to ur dealership, but most likely they just gonna outsource it to someone else. So its better off to find a *good shop* in your area.

I heard Macco is good. not sure if they have it in NC. I had a minor accident and I fixed them at a local garage, the colors matched and quality was alright. not the best IMO. cost me like 700 bux.

 

1. lawyer.
2. sit back, drink a martini ... and watch themoney come -- then get a s/c