[MackSteelPrivateEye]

Originally Posted by Psyhamster

Hey y'all. I brought my Camaro to a Chevy Dealership near me today to have the Oil Changed and one of their advisors seriously damaged it.



The advisor taking it out of the service bay launched the car off the lift (after it was lowered) and smashed the drivers door into the fender after it hit one of the beams of the lift and the wall for the service bay.


The dealer kept the car, provided me with a loaner, and is going to be repairing the damage to the door and fender, but I don't know what I should be looking for when I get it back. Is there any other damage that a door being forced backward into the fender can do?


I'm thinking of having a third party mechanic inspect it after they complete the repair to make sure everything is fine, but any insight would be appreciated.


Pics below:

Sounds like the cockpit shell could also be damaged/deformed where the door hinge connects. But it could be designed to break away as not to damage it. I just really don't know.

[Hops]

Originally Posted by Psyhamster

The advisor taking it out of the service bay launched the car off the lift (after it was lowered) and smashed the drivers door into the fender after it hit one of the beams of the lift and the wall for the service bay.

Looks like someone who couldn't drive a manual decided to have a go at it with the door open in the service bay. incredible



Hope this gets sorted out in your favor.

[mikeman]

One big question here is...why is the service advisor pulling the car out of the bay? Isn't that the techs job when he takes the car in to set it up on the rack?

The more people you have involved on a repair job, the greater the potential for things like this to happen imo.

[UnknownJinX]

Sorry to see that man, I would be really angry if someone does this to my car.

Originally Posted by Camaro_QC

I'm not talking about sentimental value from the owner. But some people tend to overreact about their car and feel like they own a 2 million dollars car. Some people get a scratch and expect a new car. I'm just saying that things can get repaired. It sucks but that's how it is.

I don't consider myself unreasonable, but if the dealer says "oh it's just a Camaro" or something among those lines to me after this happens, I'd probably smack them and leave some strongly-worded reviews.

If it's someone else's property, respect it, especially if it looks like the owner is taking good care of it. It's a simple idea, and it doesn't matter if it's an old Corolla or a spanking new Corvette.

Now if it's a tiny scratch or a small, honest mistake I am not gonna make a huge fuss out of it, I probably just wouldn't come back again.

Originally Posted by Hops

Looks like someone who couldn't drive a manual decided to have a go at it with the door open in the drivers bay. incredible

Hope this gets sorted out in your favor.

And that's why every time I go to a shop, I have to note that my car is a manual and have someone who can drive one move it.

[mikeman]

Originally Posted by Camaro_QC

If repaired properly and if my plans were to keep the car for a long time, yes I would.

Not exactly the same but the 08 Tiburon I have was a totalled car. I bought it 8 years ago and it has served me well. No area of the paint that was redone as aged differently than the factory paint. I might even says that the factory area started rusting prior to the repaired sections! So as long as the job is done properly, it should be fine. Of course it hurts because it was "new", but for me cars are meant to be used and by being used, they might get damaged.

If it was a collection car then that's a totally different story.

But hey, that's just my opinion haha, we don't need to agree, I'm still a nice guy overall haha.

And no, please no, no sledge hammer to my car! It's not a cyber truck haha.

Oh no, I'm not the one with the sledge hammer.lol!

You're right, $hit happens. The only way to completely avoid it is never driving the car and storing it in some environmentally controlled underground bunker.

Damage that requires a repaint kinda touches a raw nerve with me. On my previous vehicle, I needed some paint work done and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't have them do it properly. It was very frustrating and I eventually got rid of it.

[Camaro_QC]

Originally Posted by mikeman

Oh no, I'm not the one with the sledge hammer.lol!

You're right, $hit happens. The only way to completely avoid it is never driving the car and storing it in some environmentally controlled underground bunker.

Damage that requires a repaint kinda touches a raw nerve with me. On my previous vehicle, I needed some paint work done and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't have them do it properly. It was very frustrating and I eventually got rid of it.

Totally understand how frustrating this can be.

Hopefully the OP will get his car back the way he wants it.

And to the other reply above, I'm not saying everyone should say "this is just a Camaro". Any person using the property of someone else should take care of it as if it was the most precious thing on earth. But to the owner, they should know the real value of it and not expect to have greater than what it's worth (I'm simplifying it here, but you understand what I mean).

Again, curious to hear the outcome of this.

[UnknownJinX]

Originally Posted by Camaro_QC

And to the other reply above, I'm not saying everyone should say "this is just a Camaro". Any person using the property of someone else should take care of it as if it was the most precious thing on earth. But to the owner, they should know the real value of it and not expect to have greater than what it's worth (I'm simplifying it here, but you understand what I mean).

Yeah, I hear you. If something like this happens to me I would just expect the shop/dealer to fix it to how it was on their dime.

[Bruiser0311]

WOW....I can’t even think what my reaction would be! Sorry this happened to you! Good luck!!

[TP2SS]

Okay, I'll revise my "new car" argument...

I'd tell the dealer I want full trade-in value (retail, not trade-in) for the car as it was when it was brought in, and pay dealer invoice or GM Employee pricing on the replacement, with all applicable incentives, etc.

Let them deal with trying to sell a damaged/repaired car. If they say it'll be as good as before once fixed, they should have no problem selling it off their used lot. More than likely they'll fix it as cheap as possible without reporting the damage, then pawn it off at an auction to another unsuspecting dealer.

It sure looks like that A frame (it's not a pillar but not sure what they call that part of the unibody) has been has been tweaked. It appears the hinges pulled the through-bolts outward and with them the sheetmetal.

[jb_camaro_2ss]

Genuine new GM parts and compensation for diminished value is completely reasonable in this scenario. It's up to you if you want to pursue that check for diminished value. The max payout for diminished value is usually 10% of the car's value, if I remember correctly. That's indeed more than just a few bucks and I would be surprised if the dealer offers this on their own. Sorry this happened to you.

[Yellow Beast]

I agree with demanding a new car. It'll never be the same again and if you were to ever sell it, it'll be in the carfax. I could understand if it was an older car but its 2 years old. Unless you really love that car demand a new one. It wasn't your fault, you didn't do it. If they refuse tell them you'll talk to your lawyer. This should scare them. If anything they will fix it and give you some sort of payment for their mistake. Id be PISSED if it were my car. I'm pissed that its your car!

[GrimReaperSS]

For those questioning why an Advisor was the one in the car, I see it was driven onto a drive on rack. Meaning to me that it was in a Quick Lube area and not on a flat rate technicians hoist. The dealer may have a policy that the lube rack techs are not allowed to drive cars in or out. Maybe this quick lube tech has too many moving violations and the dealership insurance will not cover him/her, meaning he/she cannot drive cars anywhere, so therefore someone would have to do this for him/her. As to why was the door even open? I have in my time driven cars onto/off many hoists, whether a drive on alignment rack or an in ground hoist, with the door open so that I can see where the hoist is as to not run the rim/wheel against the hoist and damage it. Likely they were backing out while holding onto the door and looking backward. Something happened like slipping off the clutch etc which shifted their weight and they lost control of the door in that moment trying not to fall out of the door. That's just what I see as possibilities. It is highly unlikely that this was done intentionally/with malice. Guaranteed that advisor is not sleeping well this evening because he/she keeps replaying this incident in their mind all night. As far as damage, complete new door (minus glass if not broken and the exterior mirror if not damaged), new fender and any associated hardware/components. I would insist on OEM parts, but would be aware that they could also attempt to source parts from a salvage yard. Have seen that plenty of times for used cars with body damage. As said elsewhere, I would also be worried about the mounting points on the body for the door hinges. The pictures aren't close enough to see if they have been damaged or not.

[mikeman]

Originally Posted by GrimReaperSS

For those questioning why an Advisor was the one in the car, I see it was driven onto a drive on rack. Meaning to me that it was in a Quick Lube area and not on a flat rate technicians hoist. The dealer may have a policy that the lube rack techs are not allowed to drive cars in or out. Maybe this quick lube tech has too many moving violations and the dealership insurance will not cover him/her, meaning he/she cannot drive cars anywhere, so therefore someone would have to do this for him/her. As to why was the door even open? I have in my time driven cars onto/off many hoists, whether a drive on alignment rack or an in ground hoist, with the door open so that I can see where the hoist is as to not run the rim/wheel against the hoist and damage it. Likely they were backing out while holding onto the door and looking backward. Something happened like slipping off the clutch etc which shifted their weight and they lost control of the door in that moment trying not to fall out of the door. That's just what I see as possibilities. It is highly unlikely that this was done intentionally/with malice. Guaranteed that advisor is not sleeping well this evening because he/she keeps replaying this incident in their mind all night. As far as damage, complete new door (minus glass if not broken and the exterior mirror if not damaged), new fender and any associated hardware/components. I would insist on OEM parts, but would be aware that they could also attempt to source parts from a salvage yard. Have seen that plenty of times for used cars with body damage. As said elsewhere, I would also be worried about the mounting points on the body for the door hinges. The pictures aren't close enough to see if they have been damaged or not.

They probably use those portable lift racks to save on money. By portable, I mean how they basically bolt down into the cement floor of the shop. I guess that makes it easy for when they construct the building. In the old days, they use to have those lifts with the center tube that rose from under the ground.

A shop, especially a dealership, should have lifts (if they make such a thing) that go flush to the floor with supports that clear an opened door. That way, they wouldn't have to use long planks of wood just to get the car up on the lift. The whole setup is a mess IMO.

[caSStro18]

Originally Posted by mikeman

They probably use those portable lift racks to save on money. By portable, I mean how they basically bolt down into the cement floor of the shop. I guess that makes it easy for when they construct the building. In the old days, they use to have those lifts with the center tube that rose from under the ground.

A shop, especially a dealership, should have lifts (if they make such a thing) that go flush to the floor with supports that clear an opened door. That way, they wouldn't have to use long planks of wood just to get the car up on the lift. The whole setup is a mess IMO.

Didn’t even notice that wood plank until you said something. That definitely raises some questions about the dealership. I don’t think I’ve seen that at my dealership before. If I do see boards being used for ramps at my dealership it might warrant looking for a new place to take my car for service. That just seems a little okie to me.