This has been a horrible day all around. The events of today make my problems seem very trivial. I cannot express my sadness at this day's terrorist events. It hit especially hard as my husband is a Captain for United Airlines and thankfully is home safe today but just yesterday he flew in and out of Boston Logan airport. It could have been him up there today. We both cried today for the loss of his fellow United comrades and for the hundreds of souls lost so heinously. I also have a cousin who works in the Pentagon and have not yet been able to ascertain if he is safe or not. .
And so it goes. . Well, on to the car bitching. It was promised to me at 6p this evening so we went to pick it up, NOTHING had been done! They said to give them an hour, we waited an hour and a half, went back and waited another hour. When they finally rolled it out, the two front rims were painted a different color than the rear ones. THEN we saw that the driver's door no longer fit and the left front side panel was sticking way out. When they put it up on jack stands they had sprung the whole left side. Taking into consideration the day's previous activity and now this, I totally lost it. I ripped them apart pretty good. I'm normally good-natured but this was the last straw. The manager asked me what I wanted done and I told him I wanted a new car, he went ballistic. Of course I won't get a new car but this one will never be the same after this damage. So we ended up leaving it there again and he said he will call tomorrow and discuss it at greater length. SO, now what do I do? I need help and advice again, guys.
Sorry, I realize I'm rambling but I am in kind of a state of shock after everything that has happened today. Just please let me know what you would do. . . Thanks

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Rox

 

Here I am replying to my own topic - is that sad or what? When I re-read it today I realized how out of the loop I was when I posted it. It hardly makes sense... so I would like to ask anyone who reads this to refer back to a posting from Sept 10 entitled Bad Rims-Am I SScrewed by Dealer? That will explain the problems I am having in reference to what occurred last night at the dealership.
Should I be concerned about much structural damage here or what? Also I fear they will take the back rims off and try to paint them that hideous color they painted the front with. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. . .Thanks
BTW, my cousin working at Pentagon is alive and well, just couldn't get out of the area until 7p last night, SOME good news finally.

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Rox

 

That truely sucks. What a bunch of morons, how hard is it to lift a car without braking something???

I would have gone balistic too. The sad part is I dont know if that kind of frame damage can be repaired "right"

Good Luck

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Jason
93 TA, M6

 

Rox, I to am saddend by what transpired yesterday.Im thankful you and your husband are safe and as well for your cousin...It sure does make what we do with our cars seem awfull silly but we must go on. This is what I wou.I wouldnt deal with the idiot Manager I would demand that you speek to his boss and that should be the owner of the dealership.Write down everything that has happend so that you wont forget any details.(including the underware thing) Drag his *** out to the car and show him what theyve done to it. Ask him if thats the kind of work he would want done to his car.Is that the kind of work they do to everybodies car or is this somekind of special treatment that only the "ladies" get. this along with the underware comment should get things fixed. Demand that they fix it right.or tell them you want a full refund......Let me know what they say....Good luck and God bless....Mark

 

Thank you, Mark and Jason, for your kind replies to all my problems. The latest update is this - went again yesterday to pick up the car (with much apprehension) and as soon as they rolled it out I went nuts again. I'm telling you, you could have paid admission to this "sporting" event. Play by play: 1)Took car in because clock and audio controls flickered madly as soon as headlights came on. Diagnosis-rip out radio and order new one. Result-new radio installed and flickers worse than original one. 2)Took car in because both front rims had been badly damaged in transit to the dealership. Diagnosis-send them out to be repaired and remounted. Result-rims are now painted different color than rear ones and as car had been incorrectly mounted on jack stands, front fender was sprung out at least an inch. 3)Left car at dealership for fender to be repaired and when we went to pick it up saw immediately there is now large gap between driver door and front fender. Dianosis-well, they can try to realign front fender to close gap but in exchange for that I will be left with "rattles and squeeks". Solution-unknown as of yet. I had a horrible fight with manager again and told him I wouldn't take car, then decided I didn't want to leave it in their inept hands again so in fit of stressed-out desperation, opened the door, threw myself in the car and told the manager (who was still holding onto my keys), "Give me my frickin' keys so I can drive around in a damaged vehichle" and roared off.

So here I am, trying to decide if I should let them try to repair it one more time (against my better judgment) or should I just let it go before the situation gets even uglier? I have to take it back once more as they did do the courtesy of ordering me new rims (?) but I will have to live with flickering radio and audio controls because I will not allow them to touch the electrical system. Talk about courting further disaster...

So, thanks again for lending an ear and let me know your thoughts on whether I should try to repair the door or live with it. This is assuming, of course, that they don't rip out the entire bottom of the car when they try to put new rims on.

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Rox

 

Well Rox,I was hoping for better news from you today.I was also hoping that they fixed the car to your satisfaction.It sounds to me that they are very inept and they just arent going to get it right.They also are probably hoping that you just take it home.I dont think they like to see ya comming. Have you spoken to the owner of the dealership? That may be your last hope of righting this wrong.will look for your reply.....Good luck Rox....Mark

 

Hope I can cheer you up with a few comments/suggestions. If you cannot get any satisfaction from this dealership (and it sounds like you will not), I would suggest writing/calling GM, and asking their zone manager to mediate on your behalf. Perhaps he/she will steer you to another dealership, where your car will be repaired to your satisfaction. Do not expect a replacement car, however, unfortunately. If GM decides not to help you, all is not lost. I would start by not returning to the dealership that sold the car, and get the two major things wrong with the car repaired by outside firms. The rims are relatively easy to repair & repolish, and should cost about $100 each to do so; if they are too badly damaged to be properly repaired, you could think about replacing them (contact SLP, they sell replacement OEM rims for a better price than the GM parts counter). On the subject of the body damage, don't despair. The F-bodies are notoriously fragile, but bounce back quite easily too. They should never be lifted from one side, unless absolutely necessary, as their fenders can be bowed out as a result. You can get a body shop to repair your fender (it is a simple matter of pulling down on the fender via the mounting flange on the underside of the car -- the fender will "magically" return to proper alignment as pressure is applied to that flange. And they can realign the door too, for a relatively small cost. A good car stereo place can probably fix your malfunctioning stereo. In closing, try GM first, try them again, and if they let you down, go to outside firms. I'm confident that after your rims, bodywork, and electrical problems are fixed, you will finally enjoy your new Camaro. Good luck.

 

Thanks again, guys, for your help and support. I am on my way right now to talk to the "head honcho" or so they told me, of the dealership. Things pretty much took a turn for the worse, if possible, yesterday, when I was driving along about 55mph and the hood flipped up on the car - now, I'm not talking about the end of the hood that normally flips up - I mean the back of the hood right in front of the windshield. All of a sudden I was looking at the road from between the hood and the fender, how's that for being a little damaged??

Not sure what will happen today but it's my last shot with this dealership and I don't want them touching my car anymore, I just want them to let me have it repaired at a reputable shop without me incurring all the cost of the repair.

I'll keep you posted. . what a week, huh? I feel badly, complaining so much about this with what is going on in the world. I am also afraid, can't help it, because my husband as you may recall, is a pilot for United and is scheduled to fly up and down the East coast this Sunday through Tuesday. Scheduled into White Plains and Newark, who knows what crazies are still out there?

Stay safe, everyone. . .


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Rox

 

Rox,Dont wory about complaining with whats going onin the world.We understand this is important to you and this is part of moving on.Hope you give old head honcho a good piece of mind,Good luck to you and your husband God Bless.....Mark

 

No need to appologize. We all need to vent from time to time.

If I bought a new car I would expect it to be perfect. Period. If it was flawed then the dealer should repair it. After all isnt that what a warranty is for?

The dealer damaging the fender is inexcuseable IMO. "Factory Trained Technicians" should know how to safely lift a car.

If you have anymore trouble with the dealer I would take Patricks advice and go elsewhere. Is there another dealer in your area that might work with you? Its been my experience that some tend to be better than others...

Any rate good luck getting it all fixed. Hopfully it'll be better than new soon!

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Jason
93 TA, M6