[LT4Greg]

Good deal Van and keep the positive attitude!! ��

[gd-bh]

Originally Posted by Vanthios

To be honest I just want to be out of this vehicle. Unfortunately this vehicle also suffered from the A8 shudder and I've been in and out of another dealership back in Richmond, VA numerous times over the past year. The body damage acquired from this most recent dealership may disqualify me for Lemon Law, meaning I can't replace this car at all without selling it, and then who knows what sort of devaluation I'll incur from this recent damage.

Glad you are working towards regaining your "leverage" with that dealer. Given the above quote, this is an excellent opportunity to get everyone "off the hook". Do some research on values of the car (ignoring the damage), and what you might want to replace it with that the dealer sells, and suggest that it would be a great compromise to get you into a new car. Win-win....you get a new, undamaged car, dealer fixes car, and sells/wholesales your old one, dealer gets sale of a new car, and you out of his hair.



It's an opportunity, just came about in a sucky manner. Treat it that way..

[95 imp]

Originally Posted by Vanthios

I'm still worried about damage that's not visible from the outside. To fix the fenders the body shop use a pinch weld clamp to pull the pinch welds back into place, and then the fenders kind of just went back to their original place. We'll see how things go.

Without looking at it, odds are there is no "internal damage". If you could stick your arm in the crease that might be different.

It's kind of like denting a soda can. Push it in the right spot/spots and it all comes out. If there were internal structure damage you couldn't just "pull it out".

I'd bet the kid who did it had no clue, no one noticed, (including you for a while) and he's embarrassed (plus got a reaming), the SM and GM are worried about their reputation and are trying to make it right and the body shop isn't going to ruin their reputation/get sued over fixing your car to cover someone else's mistake.

I'm glad you calmed down and gave them a chance. I'm sure it will all work out. It's tough to admit you were wrong. I, for one, am glad you did and I bet things are going to smooth out so you get what you really want; your car fixed properly with minimal inconvenience.

[c4racer]

The sheetmetal on these cars seems very thin to me, so this is not a surprise. I am not a fan of using 4 point lifts like that on any sports car, but dealers are dealing with 90% non sports cars. My front fender got quite a dent from hitting my garage door frame once - and I backed out of the situation but still - didn't take much. I am hoping painless dent will fix my fender - but in trying to work the sheetmetal from behind I can tell it's extremely thin. nothing like the metal on my 71 or even on my old 3rd gen - that's for sure.

[Joe Remi]

Good on ya for your cooler head prevailing. Onward!

[Rock-It Man]

Originally Posted by 5senna5

There is no such thing as a dealership that’s okay being pushed around, just like you aren’t okay with it. Truth be told we are actual humans too and expect some small form of Golden-Rule engagement. The number of issues are very low, maybe 3% of customer, which is representative of the problematic people in society in general.

I'm all for the golden rule, and over the years I have established good rapport with a couple of dealers.

However, some dealers, and service managers in particular, start with the attitude without provocation. I can't explain why, but I don't stay around long enough to find out why.

I'm talking about people who get impatient if you spend more than 30 seconds explaining symptoms or ask any questions when you pick up the car.

[5senna5]

Originally Posted by Rock-It Man

I'm all for the golden rule, and over the years I have established good rapport with a couple of dealers.

However, some dealers, and service managers in particular, start with the attitude without provocation. I can't explain why, but I don't stay around long enough to find out why.

I'm talking about people who get impatient if you spend more than 30 seconds explaining symptoms or ask any questions when you pick up the car.

Without question, being on the blowtorch receiving-end of the customer service industry can take its toll on any of us, that’s when it’s time to call it quits. Mechanics time out with arthritis and fried backs, service drive guys (some of them) get completely mentally F’d. Every place I’ve been has gently shown them out the door when it’s apparent this is the case.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by Vanthios

Did this; car's going back to the shop to be inspected and repaired (any of the small stuff left after pulling those fenders back into shape). I apologized for interjecting at every point in their attempt to fix the damage. Also apologized for showing up to the meeting with an adversarial attitude which, regardless of my speaking volume, is true. The general manager didn't really have any control over the third-party body shop doing the repair; it was wrong to chastise him like he did the repair himself.

The general manager told me that the employee that jacked the car up wrong was also the one who was revving my car in their garage. The employee apparently had no idea that he had damaged the fenders, and said he wasn't revving it too much. The general manager told the employee that if it ever happened again he'd be working somewhere else.

I'm still worried about damage that's not visible from the outside. To fix the fenders the body shop use a pinch weld clamp to pull the pinch welds back into place, and then the fenders kind of just went back to their original place. We'll see how things go.

Thanks everyone for the help, guidance, and opinions. I think it's great we have a place where so many fellow Camaro owners can come together and discuss situations like my own. Dissenting or supporting, I appreciate all the responses.

Except for you 5senna5, you dealer bastard you.
(tongue-in-cheek joke...)

Its good you calmed down and finally saw things rationally, shit happens...I get the notion of getting pissed off too especially if this was dropped on you and the dealer let you take it home that way without admitting to it while knowing they screwed up. The good is they were forthcoming about trying to repair it rather than dismissing it.

Just as a rule of thumb, tempers and anger does not always = best resolution ...infact rarely does this help anything when it comes to terms with resolution. I've personally always have to watch myself when dealing with mechanics unfortunately.

[NeverDie]

Originally Posted by Vanthios

The general manager didn't really have any control over the third-party body shop doing the repair; it was wrong to chastise him like he did the repair himself.

So whose responsibility was it then? Someone at that dealership had to contact them, get them the car, and tell them either what to do or what not to do (even if it's just "fix it", that is very careless). It isn't YOUR responsibility here, it is theirs.

[HDRDTD]

Originally Posted by Vanthios

Did this; car's going back to the shop to be inspected and repaired (any of the small stuff left after pulling those fenders back into shape). I apologized for interjecting at every point in their attempt to fix the damage. Also apologized for showing up to the meeting with an adversarial attitude which, regardless of my speaking volume, is true. The general manager didn't really have any control over the third-party body shop doing the repair; it was wrong to chastise him like he did the repair himself.

The general manager told me that the employee that jacked the car up wrong was also the one who was revving my car in their garage. The employee apparently had no idea that he had damaged the fenders, and said he wasn't revving it too much. The general manager told the employee that if it ever happened again he'd be working somewhere else.

I'm still worried about damage that's not visible from the outside. To fix the fenders the body shop use a pinch weld clamp to pull the pinch welds back into place, and then the fenders kind of just went back to their original place. We'll see how things go.

Thanks everyone for the help, guidance, and opinions. I think it's great we have a place where so many fellow Camaro owners can come together and discuss situations like my own. Dissenting or supporting, I appreciate all the responses.

Except for you 5senna5, you dealer bastard you.
(tongue-in-cheek joke...)

Great outcome !!

[Vanthios]

Originally Posted by gd-bh

Win-win....you get a new, undamaged car, dealer fixes car, and sells/wholesales your old one, dealer gets sale of a new car, and you out of his hair.

As awesome as this sounds, this the service department's general manager. The dealership is a conglomerate of a few brand dealerships, with a single service department. I'm not sure the general manager I've been speaking with has much power in the sales department. I'm likely wrong though.

Also I'm not quite sure I'm ready to take that $13K-$22K loss yet.

[Umbriel]

Someone jacked my car up wrong, probably the Dodge dealership I bought it from, and I didn't even notice it when I bought it, it as a 10 hour road trip to pick it up. Anyway it was the same type of thing as in the pics and I just got down there and bent it all back together by hand, not that big of a deal.

[SpeedIsLife]

Question:

The damage was significant, no doubting that, but it has been repaired...but were you more interested in getting your car back or seeing this as an easy out to get out of a car you were increasingly unhappy with while blaming it on someone else?

[gd-bh]

Originally Posted by Vanthios

As awesome as this sounds, this the service department's general manager. The dealership is a conglomerate of a few brand dealerships, with a single service department. I'm not sure the general manager I've been speaking with has much power in the sales department. I'm likely wrong though.

Also I'm not quite sure I'm ready to take that $13K-$22K loss yet.

You never know what can happen unless you try. And sometimes a "loss" can be a win. Life is way too short to be unhappy with your car.