Car dealer body shop fudges repair. What to do?

[spotbird]

A couple weeks ago I was rear ended while stopped in traffic. The other driver was probably traveling at 10 to 12 mph because the impact gave quite a wallop. It didn't look as bad as it felt at the scene, but that turns out to be because of the trailer hitch, most of the damage wasn't visible. We could see that the bumper was askew and a couple reverse sensors were broken or had fallen off.

Once the adjuster got a look at it he thought there would be around $3000 in damage, but said there would be more once they took it apart. The total cost ended up at over $4000. It drove a little rough when I picked it up, then it seemed fine. Also the low gas warning light was on although it had a quarter tank, but when I filled it up that light went off. I haven't been to a quarter tank since, so time will tell if it's an ongoing issue.

Today, almost a week since I picked up the car, the reverse sensor failed. So I visited the dealer's collision center about the problem. They took the car around back and returned with the reverse sensor "repaired". When I asked what they did the rep said they unplugged it and plugged it in again and then it worked.

The rep said the problem could be unrelated to the accident, and if it needed further repair he would have to prove it was related to get approval from the insurance company. I argued this problem shouldn't concern the insurer, it was the dealer who did the shoddy work. The service rep pretended not to understand my point on that one.

On my way home I stopped at the Honest Mechanic who works on our other cars. He put the car on the lift and said that the backup sensor harness was broken and rather than replace it the dealer used a plastic tie to secure it. Honest Mechanic said it will never hold like that and it will fail again. He said the gas warning light very well could be related to the accident, and that a rear shock was leaking, he said that may or may not be related.

I left a message with the dealership general manager, since the car has about three weeks left on the warranty. My question was whether it was realistic to expect Ford to pay for the repairs that the dealer's collision center botched. Shortly thereafter he must have had someone from the collision shop call me, but I missed the call. The problem is that the collision center looked me in the eye and outright lied, and I'm not sure I'd trust them to find religion now.

What now?

[elleng]

1. QUICK, off top of the head:

FORD wants us all to think they're super, right? They probably don't want the world to know about their faulty FORD dealership 'repairs.' Let head/owner of dealership know you have reason to believe, from a pro, Honest Mechanic, that the repair was done improperly AND that you were lied to by one of dealership's employees, AND that you will inform insurance co. about this 'bad practice.'

Tell them to FIX IT!

May have more thoughts later.

[DCKit]

4. Lady, I'd hire you as a general contractor any day of the week.

Bring 'em in ahead of schedule and under budget, every damn time.

[elleng]

9. Swell, DC, but I'm a lawyer, no contractor here!

Negotiations? Maybe!

[spotbird]

5. In a more "southern" way, I think I said exactly that

I said something along the lines of, "Since the car is under warranty I'll still need the repair, my problem is that I doubt Ford will pay for a repair that the collision center preformed improperly."

It was a surprise that the manager didn't call me back directly. At this point my inclination is to call the GM tomorrow and say I'd prefer he'd advise me rather than another person from the collision center. If that doesn't get his attention, maybe I'll figure out who to talk to at Ford HQ about fraud.

Eventually someone will want to make this right (Yeah, another triumph of hope over experience.)

[elleng]

8. I somehow suspect that your experience will justify some 'hope' here;

after all, as I said, Ford does want us to think they're hot-shots now, right? No 'bail-out' for them.

[spotbird]

17. Just 'hope' going up the chain of command

will identify someone horrified about their company's behavior.

[elleng]

23. Yes, and that would be a very good thing.

Best of luck!

[Sherman A1]

2. I would start with filing a complaint

with your State's Attorney Generals Office. You would be just so amazed how quickly the business in question can "find religion".

[blue neen]

3. IMHO, you should contact the insurance company.

They would be interested to know who does quality work and who does not.

[flvegan]

6. This is the correct answer.

And to add, the OP has gotten a second opinion. If the insurance company insisted on the body shop that was used, it's on them to make it right.

[elleng]

10. Good one, right, if insurance co. insisted or even recommended the shop.

[spotbird]

11. I picked the shop

because I thought the dealer would be more likely to total the car in an effort to sell me another.

The insurance company is the person who hit me, so I doubt they'd care. They had their own recommended shops and told me they would troubleshoot if the repair was improper should I use theirs. I assumed that was meaningless, maybe I should have done it that way.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

12. Since the car is still under warranty (I assume purchased new?).....

....Ford Motor Company will have much more interest in how you are treated in the service department.

Contact your local Ford district manager with your concerns. Also, let the dealer know you will be completing any Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) surveys accordingly - when I was in the business 10 years ago, the CSI surveys were a BIG deal. IIRC, the "Blue Opal" rating was very much contingent on their service and sales CSI surveys.

[spotbird]

14. How can I find the district manager?

The way I was treated really was abominable. The facts of what happened are even worse.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

25. If you don't get satisfaction from the service manager ask to speak directly with the Ford rep.

The service manager should have no problem giving you his/her contact information.

[spotbird]

15. Yes it was new. nt

[flvegan]

16. Well, it seems now we might be headed towards subrogation.

Call YOUR insurance company and tell them that you're driving around in a potentially unsafe automobile that might suffer further damage because of errant repairs should you be hit again, causing your underwriter to potentially take a bigger loss in the event it might be on them to pay for it.

[gkhouston]

13. And the insurance company was doubtless charged for a proper repair, which

means the body shop ripped them off.

[spotbird]

18. As a matter of fact they didn't

Honest Mechanic (HM) looked through the statement. Since they didn't rip off the insurance company HM guessed the collision shop broke the part and didn't want to absorb the repair.

[blue neen]

26. Yes.

The insurance company needs to be notified if the dealership did not repair the car correctly. They are the ones who paid for the claim. Ultimately, we all pay when there is shoddy repair work!

They can also determine if there was additional damage.

[Edweird]

7. A well known South Florida dealership (with a name similar former Dolphins QB) did AWFUL work

on my ex-wife's car damage from a wreck. Later when the results of their shoddy sub-par workmanship manifested itself they tried to hard sell a new engine. I knew they were lying and demanded the return of our car - it took some 'persuasion' to get them to release the car. They wanted a 'diagnostic fee' which I refused to pay since there clearly was no diagnosis. The car was returned and we took it to a place we trusted and it turns out they used the ignition parts off of another (incompatible) model which caused the ignition system to fail. That dealership is obviously completely untrustworthy. Oh, they also didn't replace the airbag that deployed in her crash.

[rustydog]

19. 4 words: State Attorney Generals Office

Complain about the business practice of the dealership.

[spotbird]

20. A necessary step,

but I doubt I'll get the repair done if I stir up too much shit too soon.

[LeftyMom]

27. There may be an office that deals with this sort of thing.

In California you'd need http://www.bar.ca.gov/ and they would be willing to inspect your car for free to let you know if the repairs were done correctly.

[LadyHawkAZ]

21. Contact the Better Business Bureau

and tell them everything you just told us.

[spotbird]

22. The BBB is not really a

consumer advocacy agency. Its mission is to make the members look as good as possible. But you're right, some people still rely on those ratings. The dealer has an A+ rating, but online raters hate them, so they must concern themselves with it.

[RagAss]

24. Call Congress Right Now !!

[HeiressofBickworth]

28. I took a more direct approach

when I had our new car back to the dealer for the fourth time in four days. I stood in the service department waiting room and yelled "would you like me to go to your sales floor and explain your lack of service to your potential customers?" Surprise, Surprise, they flocked to my car, fixed it and got me out of there in record time. I never took the car back to that dealership and never had any dealings with them again.

[MindPilot]

29. Would you like some advice from an experienced pro?

20+ years as a car dealer tech.

This is not necessarily a case of shoddy repairs or any kind of rip-off. This is simply what the insurance company will call hidden damage. The guy who does the body work is not skilled in electrical repairs, but there is no provision in the insurance payment to cover the cost of that. Additionally the guy working on it may have not seen that as enough of an issue to start the process to create a supplement; asking the insurance company to cover additional costs.

So, bottom line, nobody is trying to rip you off. You need to go back to the adjuster who took care of your claim and tell them you have found hidden damage. This is the insurance company's repair to pay for, not the dealership.

Take the car back to the dealer but go to the service department, not the body shop and get an estimate for the electrical work. You may have to pay and get reimbursed by the insurance company because the service department doesn't have the same administrative structure as the body shop does to bill insurance.

I was the electrical guy...this kind of thing was a daily occurrence, and I would tell you the exact same thing as the service manager did; "go back to your adjuster".