[Number 3]

Originally Posted by 5senna5

Good luck with that... the dealership is most definitely not going to buy your car. Loss of value is going to be difficult to prove since it won’t go on Carfax ($10k deductible for their shop insurance) plus those repairs still wouldn’t establish $5-10k loss of value even if it did (Maybe on a GT3). Here’s a hint, if you think that you’re going to brow-beat and demand the sun & moon from a pack of hard-as-nails dealership service guys, you’re probably setting yourself up for disappointment. Imagine your car is forklift and you own a warehouse, if it was damaged when in for repair there would be calm rational discussion about getting it fixed. Becoming emotional, demanding, or indignant doesn’t have a place in the resolution. This by the way is how they are looking at it. If you remain calm, reasonable, and approachable the outcome will be significantly better for you. You’re going to be unsuccessful and counterproductive in any attempt to intimidate or leverage (with a lawyer, heard that more that once) them in to giving in to your (unreasonable in regards to buy-out or loss of value) demands. For a dose of perspective, think about how you would treat someone if you ran the service department or owned the dealership, there are always two sides to this. Be cool and all will be fine in the end.

Yes, pretty much this.

They made an error and jacked up your car incorrectly. Pretty sure there are multiple threads like this going back to even the Gen5s. OP you can search on those and see what recourse those Camaro5/6 members got from the dealer when this happened. I do not recall anyone getting their car bought back because of damaged fenders and I'm pretty sure that is what you have.

If they did something that caused major structural damage maybe you'd have a shot. But they jacked it up by the fender. This is one step in the repair world from they scratched up your fender. That certainly doesn't get your car bought back.

And to the folks that want to act like some or most or many mechanics are incompetent and not capable, this is simply not true. In every business, there a good and bad employees. The business will generally make more money when all the employees are the good ones. That's the battle for any business owner. Make money sure, that's objective number one. But to have employees, in this case mechanics, that can't do there job well will only add cost, just like it has in this case. Rework is waste and costs money. Because no matter what, they will have to bear the cost of repairing your car. And that's bad for business.

I've had issues not diagnosed properly, over the years. I'm a horribly picky customer when it comes to my cars. I take them in for any and all cosmetic, alignment and BSR issues. And apparently it's just wild luck that I've never had a damaged car. Because that has never happened to me.

The one thing this does bring to mind is simply when buying a Camaro or Corvette, buy from a dealer that sells and services them a LOT. If you buy from a dealer that doesn't have much work on Camaros, you are probably more likely to run into an inexperienced tech that hasn't jacked up a lot of Camaros or it's been a while and they are out of practice on what it takes.

No excuse by the way. This is why the plant that builds Camaros (and every auto plant btw) has things called work instructions so that the operation is visual, the correct tool identified so that the operator(s) can to the job correctly each and every time. That was clearly missing in this case.

[craigss50]

Originally Posted by Number 3

Yes, pretty much this.

They made an error and jacked up your car incorrectly. Pretty sure there are multiple threads like this going back to even the Gen5s. OP you can search on those and see what recourse those Camaro5/6 members got from the dealer when this happened. I do not recall anyone getting their car bought back because of damaged fenders and I'm pretty sure that is what you have.

If they did something that caused major structural damage maybe you'd have a shot. But they jacked it up by the fender. This is one step in the repair world from they scratched up your fender. That certainly doesn't get your car bought back.

And to the folks that want to act like some or most or many mechanics are incompetent and not capable, this is simply not true. In every business, there a good and bad employees. The business will generally make more money when all the employees are the good ones. That's the battle for any business owner. Make money sure, that's objective number one. But to have employees, in this case mechanics, that can't do there job well will only add cost, just like it has in this case. Rework is waste and costs money. Because no matter what, they will have to bear the cost of repairing your car. And that's bad for business.

I've had issues not diagnosed properly, over the years. I'm a horribly picky customer when it comes to my cars. I take them in for any and all cosmetic, alignment and BSR issues. And apparently it's just wild luck that I've never had a damaged car. Because that has never happened to me.

The one thing this does bring to mind is simply when buying a Camaro or Corvette, buy from a dealer that sells and services them a LOT. If you buy from a dealer that doesn't have much work on Camaros, you are probably more likely to run into an inexperienced tech that hasn't jacked up a lot of Camaros or it's been a while and they are out of practice on what it takes.

No excuse by the way. This is why the plant that builds Camaros (and every auto plant btw) has things called work instructions so that the operation is visual, the correct tool identified so that the operator(s) can to the job correctly each and every time. That was clearly missing in this case.

Very well stated and is the reason I drive 45 mins to a dealer that sells a lot of Camaro's and Corvettes instead of a local dealer 10 mins away that is smaller and doesn't sell/service many Camaro's or Vettes.

[Vanthios]

Update:

I received a text from my service adviser this morning at about 9AM that said the following:

Good Morning, just to keep you in the loop. Sending your vehicle to body shop to obtain estimate. I will keep you posted as I obtain info.

I did not authorize the vehicle to be taken to any body shop. The dealership doesn't have their own body shop so they chose one in the area (about 5 miles away). I had no say in which shop the car would go to or when it would be taken to a shop.

I went to the meeting at 11:30AM and fortunately both the general manager and the service lane manager were in the general manager's office. I started by telling the service lane manager how I did not appreciate that he left as soon as possible last Friday, leaving me to work with my service adviser greatly upset with no plan in action come Tuesday (today). I explained the damage that I observed, the research I had done as a repair estimate, and the research I had done about diminished value. The general manager stated that they take full responsibility for what happened, but then stated that there would be no diminished value if they paid for the repairs out of pocket versus reporting it to insurance, and thus it wouldn't show up on a CarFax. I thought this was really sketchy, so I asked him "do you really expect me to try and sell this car to someone else and not disclose the thousands of dollars in body work that's been done to it? I'm sure that's illegal." Backing up the general manager stated that it could go through insurance, but that would most certainly mean it would be reported to CarFax. I stated that I would like to take the vehicle to a different body shop following their chosen shop's estimate, and explained that I don't have any confidence in them, their estimates, or their work. I then showed the general manager the video of his technicians revving my car in the garage. I did not receive an apology from either during the meeting.

On my way back home I thought about the body shop that they chose. I turned around and headed to the shop to see what state my car was in. When I got there I found that the shop had done some work to my front fenders, mostly correcting them. At no point did I authorize the dealership or the body shop to do any work on my vehicle. While I was there taking pictures of the corrected fenders the general manager stopped by for a different matter. He saw me multiple times but refused to come to speak to me. I went to the body shop's office and asked them what sort of work they were instructed to do. The receptionist, who had just gotten there and was unfairly being caught in the middle of this unfolding story, had to go outside to speak with the shop owner, who was talking with the general manager. I followed her out and, once up close with the general manager, he finally acknowledged me. He came over to see my car and I explained to him that I was told and thus thought that the vehicle was here for an estimate, not for work. He countered with an appreciation for the shop's "efficiency" to recognize the easy fix and just do it. I reiterated multiple times that the point of my vehicle being at the body shop was to obtain and estimate for repairs. I explained that now that repairs have been made, an estimate from any other shop would be skewed as they're not creating an estimate for the same damage. Each time I got a response that defended the body shop's repair of my vehicle. I flat out told him that no further repairs are to be made and I'll be taking the vehicle to another shop following the estimate for my own third-party estimate.

When I got back home I called the shop to get the question "What were you told to do?" actually answered. The owner of the shop told me that the dealership told them to "deal with it," not explicitly perform an estimate. Again, when the dealership took my car to the body shop and told them to "deal with it," I had not authorized an estimate nor any work. Moreover, what the body shop was told to do conflicted with what I was told was happening. The body shop owner also told me that it's not really possible for the front fenders to get pushed up against the bumper like I said I saw. I don't believe that because those front fenders have never touched the front bumper. There's always been a gap.

While writing this I got a call from the service general manager. He said that, after speaking with the body shop and the dealership's owner, it would be best if my insurance and the dealership's insurance hashed it out. I take it this means the body shop they chose doesn't want to work with me; it seemed like the dealership and the body shop were in kahoots anyway.

Where do I go from here?

[Emoto]

Holy crap, OP. What a sh*t show. Hope things end up ok somehow.

[5senna5]

1. Not illegal to sell a vehicle without specifically detailing any bodywork performed to it. If someone asks, tell them. Lots and lots of vehicles have minor repairs (which yours is a minor repair) without “disclosure”. It’s naive to think a clean Carfax means virgin panels.

2. You shot yourself in the foot over Carfax issue by inserting yourself in an annoying fashion and now they’ve decided to let insurance handle it because of your difficult approach.

3. I would call the GM and (of course not grovel but) politely apologize for being difficult initially (read my posts previously about how not to annoy the shit out of people trying to fix their mistake at a dealership) Let them attempt a full repair without involving insurance. The “cahoots” they are in with the body shop is called a professional business relationship, with presumably millions of dollars spent going both ways in body and sublet repairs (that’s normal). Turns out the dealership may know more than you about how and where to fix the car. Maybe even just say, “Guys all I’d ask is that my car look just like it did when it arrived before all this.” That’s totally fair. Dictating which shop and multiple estimates before an attempted repair is yet again sending you backwards from getting what you want.

[Vanthios]

Originally Posted by 5senna5

1. Not illegal to sell a vehicle without specifically detailing any bodywork performed to it. If someone asks, tell them. Lots and lots of vehicles have minor repairs (which yours is a minor repair) without “disclosure”. It’s naive to think a clean Carfax means virgin panels.

Illegal or not, it's wrong to let someone purchase a vehicle for $28K-$36K and knowingly exclude thousands of dollars in body repair work.

Originally Posted by 5senna5

2. You shot yourself in the foot over Carfax issue by inserting yourself in an annoying fashion and now they’ve decided to let insurance handle it because of your difficult approach.

Then so be it.

Originally Posted by 5senna5

3. I would call the GM and (of course not grovel but) politely apologize for being difficult initially (read my posts previously about how not to annoy the shit out of people trying to fix their mistake at a dealership) Let them attempt a full repair without involving insurance. The “cahoots” they are in with the body shop is called a professional business relationship, with presumably millions of dollars spent going both ways in body and sublet repairs (that’s normal). Turns out the dealership may know more than you about how and where to fix the car. Maybe even just say, “Guys all I’d ask is that my car look just like it did when it arrived before all this.” That’s totally fair. Dictating which shop and multiple estimates before an attempted repair is yet again sending you backwards from getting what you want.

That's not going to happen. I don't trust them, I don't trust their auto shop, and I don't trust their first pick body shop. Keep in mind I never authorized their body shop to estimate or repair my vehicle. I didn't want multiple estimates; I just want an estimate from a third-party that the dealership isn't affiliated with. I've felt out of the loop and out of control since I first brought the car back.

[LT4Greg]

Van, it looks like the damage between the fenders and doors are fixed. Are those the pics taken after the body shop worked on the car? And the gap between the front of the fenders and bumper cover are normal. My ZL1 has them! Dont stress out about a carfax being done on your car as I was told by a body shop owner I know and a claims adjuster too because it really doesn’t matter that much nowadays since there are so many cars and trucks on the road now.

[5senna5]

Originally Posted by Vanthios

Illegal or not, it's wrong to let someone purchase a vehicle for $28K-$36K and knowingly exclude thousands of dollars in body repair work.



Then so be it.



That's not going to happen. I don't trust them, I don't trust their auto shop, and I don't trust their first pick body shop. Keep in mind I never authorized their body shop to estimate or repair my vehicle. I didn't want multiple estimates; I just want an estimate from a third-party that the dealership isn't affiliated with. I've felt out of the loop and out of control since I first brought the car back.

If your ego is more important than results, you’re headed in the right direction...
Harsh but true.

[Vanthios]

Originally Posted by LT4Greg

Van, it looks like the damage between the fenders and doors are fixed. Are those the pics taken after the body shop worked on the car? And the gap between the front of the fenders and bumper cover are normal. My ZL1 has them! Dont stress out about a carfax being done on your car as I was told by a body shop owner I know and a claims adjuster too because it really doesn’t matter that much nowadays since there are so many cars and trucks on the road now.

Yes those are pictures I took today while the car was at the body shop.

The fronts of the doors are still bent inwards some. If I press my finger against the paint and go across the gap between the front fender and front-bottom of either door there's a very clear drop-off when going from the fender to the door. From what I was told the body shop has only corrected the fenders.

[Joe Remi]

Bro, they damaged your car and are trying to fix it. You're trying to get a buy back cuz you don't like the transmission. Nice effort, but it's not happening.

[Memphis SS]

I agree with others that you shot your self in the foot by going off. The body shop looked like they were doing a good job fixing it without having to paint. If I was them I wouldn't touch your car at this point either.

The only thing you can do now is let the two insurance companies work it out. You made your bed...

[Mov Ov3r]

Originally Posted by Memphis SS

The only thing you can do now is let the two insurance companies work it out. You made your bed...

I hate to agree with this but this is now what it has come to. I can understand the frustration but you should have cooled down and really thought through these conversations. The dealer was going to make it right. If you had ANY problems with the repairs, the interpretation I got from your convo with the GM was they would be willing to service the vehicle until it was fixed correctly. Now as an insurance job they will fix it, but not necessarily to your satisfaction. GL OP

[RoninSS]

If your unhappy with the situation.. Lawyer Up!

[5senna5]

Originally Posted by RoninSS

If your unhappy with the situation.. Lawyer Up!

Yep..always the best and most cost effective option, guaranteed satisfaction too. Maybe start a civil case based on annoyingly-overly-obsessive-self-centered-performance-car-enthusiast discrimination.

(Tongue-in-cheek joke...)