Hi everyone,

I own a 2003 Acura CLS6 with 150K miles. I had a shop install tires friday and perform a 4 wheel alignment. When I got the car back, the passenger door dented the fender upon opening the door, something that had not happened previously. Obviously, it was mis-aligned somehow.


Knowing that frame damage can cause this, I look under the car, and what do I see....evidence that the shop improperly lifted the car.


Could this be the culprit?

I've contacted the shop and am awaiting a reply.

Thanks in advance

 

Looks like the car fell off for sure

 

They definitely missed the hoisting points of the frame.

Either they stuck the jack without looking & started to pump it, or the car fell off & hit something..which I think is very unlikely. I would be scared to have my car serviced by these mechanics.

 

Went there today and met with the shop owner and the tire tech who serviced the car.

We took a look at the car together, and the tech demonstrated how he works on cars using their lift. The alignment rack is one of those drive up lifts with pneumatic arms to lift the car. The rubber feet on the lift are quite big, so I'm not sure if that is what damaged the car. Still, the damage occured sometime between friday and sunday, so I have good reason to believe they damaged the car.

The shop's argument is basically "there's no way our lift could have done that, and our tech is saying he didn't damage the car", so they are not fessing up to the damage.

However, I did see that they had quite a few jack stands stashed in the corner. I snapped a few quick pictures for proof. Maybe the tech used the jack stands for some reason and messed it up?

Anyways, I'm seeing a collision expert on Thursday who is going to evaluate the frame. I'm hoping his expert opinion will provide evidence that the shop did indeed mess up, and the owner will agree to pay for damages.

Anyone have any extra advice for me? I have never had to deal with this type of situation before.

I am being cautious, documenting this situation via e-mail trail, and taking a lot of pictures along the way.