stillhere153

iTrader: (1)

you should keep some rocks in your back seat to throw at the next truck with shit falling off it.... smfh

ILLustriousUA6

iTrader: (2)

dam bro. I feel you. I hate body shops myself, all of them.

After my accident where my wheel also fell off, I learned so many things about bodyshops, it's rediculous..

I don't trust any bodyshops anymore.. NONE.

First time, Got my tires flipped, remounted and balanced, the tire shop from socal mounted the wheels on a little too tight. After 6 hours of driving from SOCAL TO NORCAL, wheel came off the car. studs were shaved, fender was gone, front end damage etc etc.

So I took it to this bodyshop with good reviews. THey did everything for me and also even installed my camber kit for free(in the fronts). Everything was fine untill I drove the car, there was some clanking noise in the front. I knew something was wrong and noticed that body shop did not tighten my camber kit. TIres were worn down like no tomorrow so I had to order new tires for the fronts.

SO I went to another body shop and told them that my alignment was off and I was wondering if they can check it for me. Also told them that they should check for my camber bolt to see if it was tight or not.

After alignment, he said everything is fine! SO I said nice.. Took it out for a drive and still heard the clanking noise. I told asked if he tightened the bolt down and he said yea. Jacked the car up and I moved the wheel for him. I was literally yanking the wheel in and out in front of him to show him he did not tighten shit. SO he said, no problem, we will fix it. OK.

After the car was done, I decided to drive it around, everything was fine, but still a clanking noise

SO I drive back to socal and I felt as if my tires were still wearing improperly. Still a little bit of the clanking noise, so i brought it to a shop in socal*Firestone_ and asked him to check my camber bolt. He said the driver side was loose and i was not even surprised. TOld him to tighten it for me and he showed me my toe was really messed up, obviously.

Ever since then, i had the hardest problem trusting body shops. I can honestly say I get paranoid after the car has gone through the bodyshops because it seems like they are always missing something....ALWAYS.

Anywho, You should have hired a lawyer after the 2nd time bro. Serious. It's not worth the time for you to be calling these dumbasses back and forth. It's a waste of time, because they always come up with some sort of BS.

stillhere153

iTrader: (1)

wat a cluster fuck... I mean did they even do the alignment, I'd literally have to say no because you'd realize that immedietly...

cschell

I completely agree with you IHC. I just got my car back after being in and out of a body 7 times over the last 3 and half months. (rear driver side quarter panel was hit hard while it was parked in the middle of the night, by girl drunk driving a rental car with no insurance or ever having a driver license). What do i find today? they sent my back seat to an upholstery shop to be cleaned bc of a previous mess they made of it, except they decided to replace a peice of the back seat with leather that doesnt match up and seem job that looks like was done by a 6 year old girl scout. They did sand down my hood and fender and paint them for me as an apology for all the inconveince but I have had enough. Any words of advice or other experiences from you guys are always very helpful. I feel your pain IHC.

I hate cars

Thank you guys. I really need to hear that I'm doing the right thing with the lawyer. I'm not the type to sue. I do have a way of getting things done and I'm very persistant and sometimes very aggressive but I like to give people chances. However, at this point my car has been taken apart and put together waaaay too many times. This needs to come to an end.

Oh, and I can relate to the quality of work. I haven't began nitpicking the actual bodywork and interior flaws because I have my hands full keeping the tires on this thing.

leedogg

When your life and the life of those you love is put in danger by their carelessness and incompetence, that is more than sue worthy, it is borderline arrest worthy.

Screen404

I know how you feel.
You are doing things right with getting a lawyer involved. Push them for everything they have got. You could have been killed due to their shitty work.

I have had a few bad experiences with shops the las time they striped mounting bolt on the brake caliper so as i drove over a speed bump the caliper came loose. (thanks good for brembos, too big to fall out. I had to tie it down with a wire to get it to the shop. And a few years ago a coworker of my hit a telephone post an hour after leaving the break shop - they filliped break pads - all four weals. As soon as rotors warmed up it was like no breaks at all.

So, don't feel bad about getting the lawyer. You have tryed to work things out with them. You gave him an opportunity to do the job right and to fix the mistakes (mistakes do happen): however the only thing you got in return - they tried to kill you.
I'm like you, i don't like to sue, but the has to be a recourse for their actions!!

poormans_tl69

Damn bro thats sucks..i work at a body shop and believe me its hard delivering a car after...well at my shop atleast..im the painter and shit but believe me my boss will not deliver any car without it being perfect..remember they are responsibe for everything once they put their hands on it...so i would bring that shit back and tell them that if they dont do it right you will report them to your insurance...trust me they will shit their pants...bodyshops dont want to get the insurances pissed..if you dont like the way the car is just bring it back...

Screen404

Also stop by count prosecutter office. Ther may be crminal charger that they need to file.

This is the only time I would say go to the dealer. Have them fix every litle thing that is wrong replace it with new factory stuff. Send the bill to the body shop.

I hate cars

I understand where you're coming from. I always try and let them make it right. I worked as a mechanic and I know there are some customers that invent new problems to gt the car fixed for free. That's why I've always been nice to them. However, this will be the 13th or 14th time I've had to take it back and it comes down to I don't think they're capable of doing it right and I can't keep taking time off of work. They fix one problem and create 1 or 2 new problems. The suspension has come loose twice now and it was nothing but pure luck no one was hurt or killed. Of the many things they did wrong, they scratched the roof down to the metal installing the rear glass. It was about 2" by 2" of metal and they let it go like that. When I brought it back, their fix was to spray some flat black over it. To me, that's just not giving a crap. They always offered to fix it without putting up too much of a fight, that's why I've let them get away with so much.

I hate cars

I agree. The second time I had to have the subframe and the second steering rack replaced I made them take it to the dealer and they did excellent work. We have a lead tech that's not only very smart but he's a Honda enthusiast, not just an employee. I annoy him talking to him so much trying to learn more about the car.

Luckily I have friends in almost every branch of the court system, the lawyer is a friend and many of the local PD and CHP are friends of mine. All the guys I grew up with that seemed like they were going to be the screwups got into some sort of law or law enforcement so it makes things easier on my part especially asking advice on what steps to take.

poormans_tl69

yo im telling you bro im in this buisness and thats wrong...customers have to be happy with the cars..i dont kno if you paid for the complete repair..but i would tell them if they dont do it right your going to take them to court..i understand if it was bad body work but when the customer feels not safe in their own car believe me there is a law for that...i know this because i read all them magazines that come in the mail to the shop and my boss just puts them to the side. take some pics of what your issues are ( if you can) lmk if you need advice i got you..

I hate cars

I'll have more details when I have time.

Just an update. The car is at Acura. They found the front toe off by 5 degrees. The lower control arm bolt hole in the subframe that is oval from the shop leaving the bolt loose was deemed unacceptable by Acura so the subframe may be replaced. The compliance bushing is torn on the right side which is why the alignment is so far off. It probably tore when the control arm bolt came loose and they didn't fix it before aligning it.

The rear toe was off. Not super bad but bad enough. The tech commented on how bad the feathering of the rear tires were.

That's the good news from Acura. Now the bad. The bodyshop is claiming that the car is lowered and that's why the alignment is so far off. It has factory a-spec springs all around with Koni Yellows in the stock position rear, lower position front. Once I told Acura they were factory springs, they came back saying it was a bad lowering job. I asked for them to explain "bad" and they told me the springs were cut. I told them to pull the springs out, check the part numbers, pull up a picture on the computer and compare my springs to the picture so they can see they're not cut. It's not like it's hard to tell. Anyone with a little common sense can look at them and tell they have never been cut.

Acura tried to tell me all directional tires are noisy. I told them BS, I've never had an issue with noise until the bodyshop "aligned" my car. I hate it when they insult me by saying dumb things thinking I'll believe it.

So besides the tech saying the springs were cut which is easily proved, everything is going ok. Of course, I'm still making a $701 payment every month for a car that I can't drive.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

You know, ACS is a joke, Matt. Seriously.

Bleak

iTrader: (1)

Man, reading all this seemed like an awful horror story. Knowing how knowledgable you are about your car and the work being done on it makes me wonder how much shady stuff these shops can get away with on the average non-enthusiast driver.

Scary.

Tehvine

What's even scarier is that we share the roads with these cars.

IHC, I don't know how you have mostly kept your cool during this... I work in a shop almost every day and everything you have said is unacceptable! Granted I only install electronics in cars, I always return the customer's car cleaner than I took it in. I treat every car like it was my own... if I have to ask myself "hmm is this going to be ok?" then it's not okay and I need to do it differently. Though, I do get mad at some customers who bring their car into the shop in shambles and think a radio is more important than a windshield or the caved-in passenger side.

AMUA6

iTrader: (7)

Dude I blew my top just reading this shit! It's all just a cluster fuck, I do my own mechanical work (as much as I can), to keep a shop from screwing it up. But then, when it comes time for an alignment or anything that I can't do in my own garage, the damn noob grease monkeys at these local shops try to shit talk me, and I agree you with IHC, it insults me. What's funny as hell is, one of the employees will tell you something (your car can't be aligned because it's lowered), then you ask "Well how can I fix it" (just to play reverse psychology, and be an asshole ). Then the dude scratches his head, looks at me and walks back into the shop to get some one who can try to explain to me "how I can fix my lowered car to be aligned"

I expect my car to perfect, just the way I left it, when leaving it at a shop. I always note my odometer when I drop it off, and when I pick it up. I mean come on, it's their business, it's their job, it's what they do. Granted some people just don't give a shit, but hell if you manage a business like that, you want a reputable review. I hate seeing this happen IHC, I would've had a lawyer involved after the 5th trip TOPS. And shit would probably have gotten nasty with them. I hope all goes well, and I'm curious to see where this thread goes.

TRIOD3SIGNS

ACS?

Matt... you need to go out... let me buy ya a beer.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

ACS=Acura Corporate Services.

yooin14

I have a small dent in the trunk. So I am thinking of getting fixed by paint less dent repait company - sosdent.com

Do you guys think they would do perfect work on my dent?

odehboy

i would have acura admit that your springs alone did not cause any of what happened to happen. The sub frame being messed up along with the wheel falling off all prove the quailty of work the bodyshop. It sucks when stuff like this is going on and you cant control any of it and people want to point fingers... and all you probably feel like doing is breaking them..lol

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

Hey, this is OT, but you're probably going to be fine.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

ACS=Acura Client Services.

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

massive fail... is the right title for this ordeal...

Mr. Maker

iTrader: (4)

WOW...thats all.

01clsstock

I hate cars

I might as well update this at least for my own records.

Spent 3 hours at the Acura dealer. I have to give it to this dealer, they have been extremely patient while making no money.

I had the head tech and the Geico guy down there. The bodyshop did not show up even though they had agreed to come a week earlier when this appointment was set up.

I had a list of 26 major items the shop screwed up on for the Geico guy and the tech. We went over the bodywork while waiting on a lift to open up.

As it started I think the Geico guy had the attitude that I wanted free tires or something of that nature. By the time it was over I think he realized I was letting the shop off easy.

My rear tires are feathered unlike anything I've ever seen. One side of the treadblock is full tread and the other is bald.

At the first sign of trouble the bodyshop immediately started bluting out "aftermarket". They did not bother asking what had been done to my suspension they just told Geico that my entire suspension was aftermarket and there was no way it could hold an alignment. So we proved the springs were factory a-spec after getting 4 different people under the car. Then I had to convince them that no one replaces factory shocks with more factory shocks. People go aftermarket when the shocks wear out. I got them to agree the Konis were playing no role in the tire wear.

To the front end, I showed them the torn compliance bushing and the bolt to the lower conrtol arm that fell out the second time. I showed them how the control arm was allowed to move front to back instead of up and down resulting in the completely torn compliance bushing. They agreed. My front alignment is terrible with 4 degrees of toe due to the bushing. The Acura tech agreed the bushing was causing this and should have been replaced when the car was repaired for the bolt coming out. So I won that one.

On to the vibration at freeway speeds. This started once the bodyshop replaced the front tires. They tried to argue with me that all of these cars vibrate. I walked over to a front wheel to inspect and noticed there were no weights. I walked to the other side and noticed no weights. They agreed this was the problem and the bodyshop was at fault.

The rear feathering is the one gray area. I know it started within 100 miles of driving it home from the bodyshop. Their stance is every Acura will feather the rear tires if they're left on there long enough. It was a ton of back and forth. I told them it didn't matter because the toe was found to be off after the bodyshop got done with it and I've never had an issue with toe or tire wear with this suspension setup.

I thought about holding off with the lawyer but he's ready to go and thinks it's an easy case. I waited to see the bodyshop's response but since they're still screaming aftermarket without having a single fact besides the yellow shocks, I'm not only going for money but for their business license. They should not be allowed to operate with so many blatant safety hazards. This is only one car I can't imagine how many other safety hazards they have created.

05TLdcc

Un-freakin-believable. It seems like the Geico rep finally sees where your coming from. I hope it works out soon! seems like a never-ending shit hole!

TLin401

Good luck IHC!

dbqkqh

Lmao, so... what was the reason in the first place to take your car to their shop?
Car alignment and trans fluid?
Wow man.... Either you are being way too nice or those body shop guys are just plain retarded to escalate something from checkups to a major life threatening ordeal.
I wish you luck in your journey.

boomdizzle

damn that's crazy...good thing you're aware of everything on your car.

I remember one time I took my integra to get it repainted. Drove the car there perfectly fine with an almost brand new ACT stage 3 clutch. Came back a few days later to pick up the car, and the clutch wouldn't grab. Had to get the car towed to the Acura dealership and get it replaced. My brother is a master tech at Acura and he told me someone burned it out...major fail! I didn't know what to do...

I hate cars

Update... Got the rear 2 tires replaced, a 4 wheel alignment and both compliance bushings. I honestly forgot how quiet the TL is supposed to be. The fronts are the same ones they replaced last time. They were wearing very quick but evenly, no feathering. I may press to get the fronts done too since they're down to 3/10ths after 3,000 miles. However, if the shop had never screwed up and never had to replace them, the ones I bought would have close to 20,000 miles on them and they would likely be at about the same tread depth. Unsure on whether to pursue this one.

I can hear the engine and transmission whine again. It's been a long time. I lowered the bass on the subs. I had to turn it up a couple notches to drown out the tire noise which was annoying because at idle it had too much bass. Now the stereo sounds so much better while driving.

Handling is better. Stopping has definately improved. Stability is much better and the car does not try to follow ruts and grooves at all. It feels much more stable under braking but I guess one completely torn compliance bushing, one cracked, and 4 degrees too much toe will do that.

I think I fell in love with this car all over again. The noise and bad weird handling had snuck up on me over time and it hasn't truly been right since 1.5 years ago.

The dealer forgot to balance the front tires which have no weights on them but the vibration is much better. I don't really notice it till 70mph and I have to really pay attention to feel it. Taking it back in a week.

The steering doesn't feel quite as sharp but it was artificial with all of the toe before. Now it's more natural but still very sharp.

The fact that the front tires are quiet even though they're almost to the wear indicators proves their theory that my so called "race" tires are destined to be loud out of the water.

They did piss me off a little. I saw the tire invoice that only the dealer was supposed to see. There was a nice little paragraph about how these are race tires and are supposed to see limited street use and will wear VERY quickly. It's a load of BS seeing how the rears had about 18,000 miles on them and a ton of tread left except for the feathering on the inside edge.

The dealer did a great job of getting the camber under control with the a-spec springs and subs in the back. 1.6 right and 1.7 left. I'm used to 1.7-1.8 from most other shops.

All in all it cost me nothing and the bodyshop $900 and change.

Ramrodthrusterpuppy

Well, except for your time and aggravation. Incompetence at it's worst....wow, glad you finally got your pound of flesh...at least half a pound.

Bayam0n

damn... that sucks bro.

I hate cars

Another update, I wonder how long till we got to 100.

Got the car washed today. Noticed it was missing part of the door handle on the rear passenger side.

Went back to the carwash and found it on the ground before the car entered the wash.

After closer inspection, one of two screws were missing in the outer metal bracket. These screws seem to go from the inside of the door and hold the outer metal bracket on. They replaced this door skin and transferred the internals to it. This window has always made a lot of noise since I got it back. At this point I'm dead serious, probably just going to do it the old way and beat the shit out of the guy. No more lawyers and 10th chances. I'm literally going to beat him. The end.

AMUA6

iTrader: (7)

^^ I will bail you out of jail

DuoDSG

BAHAHAHAHA

This thread has blown my mind. All the adjectives to describe what happened just haven't come close to nailing it.

A video of the beatdown would be glorious. But I will settle for reading a post of how these clowns got their business license revoked and your TL is fully restored after you hand them their asses in court...or in person. Or both, if possible.

dwb993

iTrader: (13)

I'll contribute to your bail fund! You've helped me enough with all of your posts. Thanks.
Good luck with everything!

VQPower37

damn man sux to hear, im in for the bail fund

Getting Hosed

What a thread. Reminds me why I hesitate to take any of my cars anywhere for any kind of service.

I'm so paranoid now that I may take the rear bumper OFF of the TL-S to have it patched up.

I'm good for $100 into the bail fund.