[Mark R]

My ZL-1 was lightly damaged by hail in May. Total claim was about $6000, which included removal of many panels of PPF so the damage could be suctioned with hot glue. The windshield was chipped, and the PPF needed to be replaced afterwards.

I dropped off the car yesterday for the PDR, and they damaged my steering wheel to the tune of $1450 to replace it. A fat guy sat in the car and gouged out the leather and carbon fiber on my custom steering wheel with his belt buckle. They also damaged the truck lid liner reaching behind it to fix the dents. And these are the best PDR guys in town. Yikes. The PDR work was good though.

Since I didn't have a garage yet, I bought a $500 Harbor Freight pole tent to put the car in away from the weather, after the initial hail storm. I put a thermometer in there, and it reached 130 degrees each day. That is too hot. To make matters worse, I found a mouse nest on the back of the engine as I pulled it out to start the repairs.

So I rented an indoor storage space for $200 per month to keep the car in until I get the garage built.

I had to vent here because of my intense frustration. I dread any one working on my car, because experience has shown me that the more other people touch my vehicles, the worse they get, and hidden damage often happens.

I take it to the dealer for service work, and only one person works on it, who does impeccable work. If he is not there, the car waits until he is ready.

By the time I finish managing the repairs on my car it will be at least 4 months to get it complete.

Frustrating !!!

[2023_ZL1-AUTO]

That sucks what you've been through. As far as when other people work on your car and things get worse: It's most likely not the fact that other people are working on your car, but the who's working on your car. I've had other people work on my car a lot and I've had great success and a great experience, never a negative one. I've never had an issue afterwards related to anything they did or their workmanship. Just wanted to mention that all shops/mechanics are not the same.

Take care!

[pauly1119]

Damn that all sucks. Sorry to hear that. Hopefully you get it all sorted out.

[Mark R]

Originally Posted by pauly1119

Damn that all sucks. Sorry to hear that. Hopefully you get it all sorted out.

I'm working on it.

[Gunkk]

Originally Posted by Mark R

I found a mouse nest on the back of the engine

Had an 07 Santa Fe in the driveway for a few months last year. Short story, it sat too long and rats moved in and ate the harness. Insurance payout after deductible was less than the $500 I got selling it to the LKQ u-pull-it.

So my advice: get yourself some outdoor snap traps and use peanut butter and granola as bait. These work: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BNQ3R9H 3 confirmed rat kills, but all of them too late to save the santa fe.

The traps are very light, so to prevent predators from dragging them off (trap and all), tie the traps down with some yard sign wire or straps+stakes. Found one trap with a rat skull inside a week after it disappeared it about 50' away in the brush at the edge of the property.

[Mark R]

Originally Posted by Gunkk

Had an 07 Santa Fe in the driveway for a few months last year. Short story, it sat too long and rats moved in and ate the harness. Insurance payout after deductible was less than the $500 I got selling it to the LKQ u-pull-it.

So my advice: get yourself some outdoor snap traps and use peanut butter and granola as bait. These work: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BNQ3R9H 3 confirmed rat kills, but all of them too late to save the santa fe.

The traps are very light, so to prevent predators from dragging them off (trap and all), tie the traps down with some yard sign wire or straps+stakes. Found one trap with a rat skull inside a week after it disappeared it about 50' away in the brush at the edge of the property.

Good advice, but I'm going to store it in town in a self store facility. I'll use your ideas to protect the daily driver cars.

[mrzab]

It’s kind of expensive, but my garage has mice, chipmunks, etc, and when I got my ‘18 Z I bought a Car Capsule to put it in. That was 4 years ago and i haven’t had one problem with rodents or insects getting in the car. And they make a capsule for outdoor use.

[Mark R]

Originally Posted by mrzab

It’s kind of expensive, but my garage has mice, chipmunks, etc, and when I got my ‘18 Z I bought a Car Capsule to put it in. That was 4 years ago and i haven’t had one problem with rodents or insects getting in the car. And they make a capsule for outdoor use.

I'll have a look at that. Thanks.

[clg82]

Well Mark, you're preaching to the choir here (at least for me). My car was (in my view) destroyed by a hail storm beginning of this year. PDR did a great job, although not without some issues I found after the fact considering the car looked brand new before the hail. All this to say, it seems like it'll take forever to get it back to looking like it used too. You'll get there.

[Mark R]

Originally Posted by clg82

Well Mark, you're preaching to the choir here (at least for me). My car was (in my view) destroyed by a hail storm beginning of this year. PDR did a great job, although not without some issues I found after the fact considering the car looked brand new before the hail. All this to say, it seems like it'll take forever to get it back to looking like it used too. You'll get there.

Yup. It's a frustrating first world problem, but a problem none the less. It seems that much of my time in life is monitoring and making sure other people actually do the jobs they are paid for, without causing damage along the way.

[Broooster]

Bucket traps. Make yourself a couple and put them around your car when in storage. They work constantly and you don't have to keep checking on them. I made this one, but used plastic pop bottles. I've caught mice and chipmunks. Don't forget the water.

https://youtube.com/shorts/zf8otSSJV...9f5sDFPnqZb3-A