Body Shop Blues...
Feb 14, 2011, 06:55 PM
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Body Shop Blues...
Hopefully someone has had a situation similar to mine so I know where to start.
Here it goes:
On the 14th of November I was driving Southbound I-5 to my brothers house. He lives in Portland, Or., I live just NW of Seattle. About 3/4 of the way through the trip a racoon the size of a german shepard darts out from the median. I'm going approximately 70-75 (70 is the speed limit) in the right hand lane. I immediately swerve to the left lane thinking he will just run across both lanes but he stops between lanes and I nail him with the passenger side of my bumper. Instantly the car stalls due to a busted intercooler coupler and I sputter into the Chehalis Walmart at 10:30 pm on a Sunday to buy tools and repair the car. 30 minutes later I'm on the road to my brothers.
The next day I take my car to a body shop I know of by my brothers place, I have a friend that works for the place and figured if someone I know is there I can't get screwed. I should have known better. First thing the body shop owner tells me, "I know the Progressive adjuster, I can get you hooked up". I explain I just want the car fixed but he goes on pointing out things prompting me to say it was from hitting the racoon, when it wasn't. I leave the car there so the insurance adjuster can come and get the estimate all figured out. Two days later, I get the estimate in my e-mail with a grand total of $4257. New right fender $384, new oil cooler $375, new headlight assembly $1262, new splash shields ~$150, new intercooler piping kit $500 plus labor/material, etc. This is for a Evo 8 so OEM parts are spendy but I thought it was too much. So I go back into the shop and he points out all the things he says need to be replaced but he says he will repair them instead and eat my $500 deductible. I told him if he is charging my insurance company for OEM replacement parts, he needs to install them not just repair my damaged parts. He says he will and then tells me he will just eat my deductible anyways since I have a friend at the shop.
All seems good. I take the Amtrak back up to Seattle and await for the car to be done.
Problems start.
He calls me and tells me that he will repaint my back bumper if I pay the deductible (it had some scratches and paint was faded slightly). I tell him sure, go ahead I planned on paying the deductible anyways.
A couple of days later he tells me he went ahead and welded the right fender instead of buying a new one. I tell him its an aluminium fender and most likely it will crack at the weld. He says he had a "Professional" do it so I don't need to worry. Oh and he will eat my deductible again.
Constantly telling me parts are taking longer to get because Mitsubishi doesn't deliver, he has to pick them up :unsure:
Calls maybe a week later and says the headlight doesn't really need to be replaced he can just fix my old one. I said sure because I didn't see any damage to it when I was at the shop. This whole time I'm thinking that he is subtracting these parts from the estimate, lowering the estimate.
Finally after weeks of delays he says the car is ready and I can come pick it up. So I take the train down and meet him at the shop on a Saturday evening. First he tells me I owe him $10 for gas because my car was empty and then he tells me I owe him $60 for an oil change. He says he can't charge the insurance company for an oil change. I tell him if you are doing mechanical repairs that deal with draining the oil then of course you can. I give him the $60 because well... I'm a sucker. He tells me he kept my car at his house in his garage just to be extra safe against vandals. Sure buddy, this is right after he tells me his back is sore from driving my car because of the suspension. So I give him a ride back to his house and instantly I notice the car has a major boost leak. I tell him thats not the way its supposed to sound but he argues with me about it saying thats the way a turbo sounds. Its my car and its not the way it sounds, bud. I tell him its something I can fix, I have to get back up to Seattle so I leave.
As soon as I get the car home I tear into. I remove the whole front end and double check all repairs. Fender is cracked already where it was welded, headlight is cracked where they tried to epoxy a mounting tab and they didn't use the mounting tab again knowing it wouldn't hold. Under engine cover wasn't replaced and I specifically remember him tell me he got that on there for me when I picked up the car. No new intercooler piping, just my original stuff. I was told the intercooler had a leak and had to be welded, I removed it and found no fresh welds whatsoever. I e-mail the adjuster and she tells me the original estimate is what was paid out.
The body shop owner walked with close to $2500 dollars worth of parts he didn't put on my car, thats just parts. Not even including labor/materials he didn't use because he didn't install some parts.
I call the insurance adjuster and she tells more or less that I am on my own. I call the body shop owner and he says he "hooked me up" with a bunch of extra stuff so thats why he kept the extra money. I get pissed and tell him thats not how this works especially since he couldn't tell me the extra stuff he did besides pressure test the intercooler. He tells me what does it matter my car has been in a wreck before, which it hasn't. He tells me that he had to use sun-died paint because he couldn't match my paint, sun-died??? really??? He tells me that he had to send parts back because he couldn't get them to fit and he had top pay a restocking fee. He tells me I told him I couldn't afford to pay my deductible so he used the extra money to pay for it, which is untrue. I had my brother right next to me the whole time I was discussing the deductible when I first brought in my car, the owner told me he would pay the deductible. I should have turned around and walked away that moment.
Excuse after excuse until finally he says he will just order me the parts that he was originally supposed to replace and I will pay the deductible.. I agree to it so I can I get my car fixed properly. So he owes me an OEM fender, an OEM under engine cover with all mounting hardware, headlight assembly, and Injen intercooler piping kit. This is on the 7th of January, he tells me the parts will be ready to pick up on the 21st. I call him the day (Jan 20th) before I head down to Portland and he tells me the fender would be in on the 25th but the under panel and the headlight are on backorder. Fortunately, my brother can pick up the parts. Once again lies start. The under cover arrives first and my brother goes and picks it up immediately. Last week I get a text from my buddy that works there saying the fender just came in, its now the first week of February. I text him about the light and he tells me to call the owner about it. So today, the 14th of February, I call the owner from my cell phone(A number he knows). I leave a message, he doesn't call back. I call him later from my house phone (a number he doesn't know), he answers right away. He instantly tells me how busy he is, and he's having trouble at the shop, and he's been sick. I ask when the headlight is supposed to be in and he tells me that he never ordered it. He tells me he's not going to deal with me anymore because he doesn't owe me anything. That he he's not going to eat all the extra stuff he did on my car so I can have my parts. AND THEN HE HANGS UP ON ME.
The insurance adjuster says Progressive doesn't have a fraud division, I should contact my bank because its a loss on their investment. Do I contact Better Business Bureau, do I file a police report, do I contact Oregons Insurance Commissioner, Attorney General, do I beat his teeth into his throat?
I don't know where to start...
Here it goes:
On the 14th of November I was driving Southbound I-5 to my brothers house. He lives in Portland, Or., I live just NW of Seattle. About 3/4 of the way through the trip a racoon the size of a german shepard darts out from the median. I'm going approximately 70-75 (70 is the speed limit) in the right hand lane. I immediately swerve to the left lane thinking he will just run across both lanes but he stops between lanes and I nail him with the passenger side of my bumper. Instantly the car stalls due to a busted intercooler coupler and I sputter into the Chehalis Walmart at 10:30 pm on a Sunday to buy tools and repair the car. 30 minutes later I'm on the road to my brothers.
The next day I take my car to a body shop I know of by my brothers place, I have a friend that works for the place and figured if someone I know is there I can't get screwed. I should have known better. First thing the body shop owner tells me, "I know the Progressive adjuster, I can get you hooked up". I explain I just want the car fixed but he goes on pointing out things prompting me to say it was from hitting the racoon, when it wasn't. I leave the car there so the insurance adjuster can come and get the estimate all figured out. Two days later, I get the estimate in my e-mail with a grand total of $4257. New right fender $384, new oil cooler $375, new headlight assembly $1262, new splash shields ~$150, new intercooler piping kit $500 plus labor/material, etc. This is for a Evo 8 so OEM parts are spendy but I thought it was too much. So I go back into the shop and he points out all the things he says need to be replaced but he says he will repair them instead and eat my $500 deductible. I told him if he is charging my insurance company for OEM replacement parts, he needs to install them not just repair my damaged parts. He says he will and then tells me he will just eat my deductible anyways since I have a friend at the shop.
All seems good. I take the Amtrak back up to Seattle and await for the car to be done.
Problems start.
He calls me and tells me that he will repaint my back bumper if I pay the deductible (it had some scratches and paint was faded slightly). I tell him sure, go ahead I planned on paying the deductible anyways.
A couple of days later he tells me he went ahead and welded the right fender instead of buying a new one. I tell him its an aluminium fender and most likely it will crack at the weld. He says he had a "Professional" do it so I don't need to worry. Oh and he will eat my deductible again.
Constantly telling me parts are taking longer to get because Mitsubishi doesn't deliver, he has to pick them up :unsure:
Calls maybe a week later and says the headlight doesn't really need to be replaced he can just fix my old one. I said sure because I didn't see any damage to it when I was at the shop. This whole time I'm thinking that he is subtracting these parts from the estimate, lowering the estimate.
Finally after weeks of delays he says the car is ready and I can come pick it up. So I take the train down and meet him at the shop on a Saturday evening. First he tells me I owe him $10 for gas because my car was empty and then he tells me I owe him $60 for an oil change. He says he can't charge the insurance company for an oil change. I tell him if you are doing mechanical repairs that deal with draining the oil then of course you can. I give him the $60 because well... I'm a sucker. He tells me he kept my car at his house in his garage just to be extra safe against vandals. Sure buddy, this is right after he tells me his back is sore from driving my car because of the suspension. So I give him a ride back to his house and instantly I notice the car has a major boost leak. I tell him thats not the way its supposed to sound but he argues with me about it saying thats the way a turbo sounds. Its my car and its not the way it sounds, bud. I tell him its something I can fix, I have to get back up to Seattle so I leave.
As soon as I get the car home I tear into. I remove the whole front end and double check all repairs. Fender is cracked already where it was welded, headlight is cracked where they tried to epoxy a mounting tab and they didn't use the mounting tab again knowing it wouldn't hold. Under engine cover wasn't replaced and I specifically remember him tell me he got that on there for me when I picked up the car. No new intercooler piping, just my original stuff. I was told the intercooler had a leak and had to be welded, I removed it and found no fresh welds whatsoever. I e-mail the adjuster and she tells me the original estimate is what was paid out.
The body shop owner walked with close to $2500 dollars worth of parts he didn't put on my car, thats just parts. Not even including labor/materials he didn't use because he didn't install some parts.
I call the insurance adjuster and she tells more or less that I am on my own. I call the body shop owner and he says he "hooked me up" with a bunch of extra stuff so thats why he kept the extra money. I get pissed and tell him thats not how this works especially since he couldn't tell me the extra stuff he did besides pressure test the intercooler. He tells me what does it matter my car has been in a wreck before, which it hasn't. He tells me that he had to use sun-died paint because he couldn't match my paint, sun-died??? really??? He tells me that he had to send parts back because he couldn't get them to fit and he had top pay a restocking fee. He tells me I told him I couldn't afford to pay my deductible so he used the extra money to pay for it, which is untrue. I had my brother right next to me the whole time I was discussing the deductible when I first brought in my car, the owner told me he would pay the deductible. I should have turned around and walked away that moment.
Excuse after excuse until finally he says he will just order me the parts that he was originally supposed to replace and I will pay the deductible.. I agree to it so I can I get my car fixed properly. So he owes me an OEM fender, an OEM under engine cover with all mounting hardware, headlight assembly, and Injen intercooler piping kit. This is on the 7th of January, he tells me the parts will be ready to pick up on the 21st. I call him the day (Jan 20th) before I head down to Portland and he tells me the fender would be in on the 25th but the under panel and the headlight are on backorder. Fortunately, my brother can pick up the parts. Once again lies start. The under cover arrives first and my brother goes and picks it up immediately. Last week I get a text from my buddy that works there saying the fender just came in, its now the first week of February. I text him about the light and he tells me to call the owner about it. So today, the 14th of February, I call the owner from my cell phone(A number he knows). I leave a message, he doesn't call back. I call him later from my house phone (a number he doesn't know), he answers right away. He instantly tells me how busy he is, and he's having trouble at the shop, and he's been sick. I ask when the headlight is supposed to be in and he tells me that he never ordered it. He tells me he's not going to deal with me anymore because he doesn't owe me anything. That he he's not going to eat all the extra stuff he did on my car so I can have my parts. AND THEN HE HANGS UP ON ME.
The insurance adjuster says Progressive doesn't have a fraud division, I should contact my bank because its a loss on their investment. Do I contact Better Business Bureau, do I file a police report, do I contact Oregons Insurance Commissioner, Attorney General, do I beat his teeth into his throat?
I don't know where to start...
Feb 14, 2011, 08:42 PM
#4
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You can take him to small claims court, all you have to prove is that what is listed on the estimate is not what is done to the car, to do so take the car to another shop and ask them to go over estimate from original shop and point out what has not been done. Then present findings to the judge.
Always take car to reputable body shop.
Always take car to reputable body shop.
Feb 15, 2011, 10:52 AM
#5
Evolving Member
After you all the things listed above take your car to a reputable shop and have them point out what is wrong with the "FIX" that shop did and ask them to put it in writing. That will be helpfull if you go to small claims court. Also file a BBB report against the shop, no it won't do anything for u but people like me who check the BBB before I allow anyone to work on anything of mine it will help them from being screwed by this guy.
BTW Carlson's Auto Body in Everett is a very good shop, they have worked on a couple of my other vehicles and they do great work and they won't charge out the butt.
BTW Carlson's Auto Body in Everett is a very good shop, they have worked on a couple of my other vehicles and they do great work and they won't charge out the butt.
Last edited by Aaron20; Feb 15, 2011 at 10:55 AM.
Feb 15, 2011, 07:26 PM
#6
Sorry to hear about your trouble!!! For all your future Body Shop needs go to Belkirkbodyshop. Tell them Elree sent you. Best in the business! My new post will be about them hopefully soon.
Feb 17, 2011, 11:35 PM
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Thanks dude! If you need someone to take a look at the repairs, feel free to swing by and i will be more then happy to look at your car. And ill try to find some info out about your problem your having with your insurance, that doesnt sound right.
Sorry to hear about your trouble!!! For all your future Body Shop needs go to Belkirkbodyshop. Tell them Elree sent you. Best in the business! My new post will be about them hopefully soon.
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Feb 19, 2011, 09:26 AM
#8
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Thanks guys for the tips/advice! I will let everyone know whats to come.
Did you read any reviews on Belkirk, Elree? Since I've just been burned by a body shop, it only takes one negative review to steer me away...
Did you read any reviews on Belkirk, Elree? Since I've just been burned by a body shop, it only takes one negative review to steer me away...
Last edited by evol911; Feb 19, 2011 at 09:35 AM.
Feb 19, 2011, 10:27 AM
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FWIW, metalmellinium is from BelKirk. So far everyone on here has had positive reviews; I know I forward people their way (and I need to get there myself...been a tough 2011 thus far...)
BTW - sorry to hear of your troubles. that really sucks!
BTW - sorry to hear of your troubles. that really sucks!
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