Help me understand this.

11/2: Lady rear ended me on freeway, while I stopped in traffic and she didn't. Damage was to right rear bumper, tailight, quarter panel.

Four weeks later, I pick up my car from bodyshop.
Car goes back to bodyshop next day cause it pulls like heck and the rear suspension doesn't feel right. After the accident when the car hits a dip in the road, the rear end will swing side to side. They replaced some of the lateral arms and knuckle on the side that sustain damage. Helped but didn't completely fix problem. Car doesn't "feel" right. I get into this heated discussion with the manager. He says there's nothing wrong with my car-alignment is good, yada yada, I explain the problem to him. Insurance recommend I take the car to Acura dealer but they don't want to pay the $130 fee to diagnose the problem. So I take my car home.

I go on vacation 2 weeks. Body shop is off during x-mas. Car goes back to bodyshop for alignment check 1/5. Body shop says alignment is good. I asked to see alignment spec, Rear right camber is -3.0! Car goes back on Monday 1/9. They replaced all the lateral arms, no change in camber. They change out the cradle, which was a big job apparently.

I picked up the car last night, guys says cradle fixed the camber, alignment is perfect. I looked at the new alignment spec camber looks good. I go home and look at the spec some more and the rear toe is off and the total toe is way off. I think it was -.10 and -.15. The alignment spec is for a 2009 TL, mine's a '08. The spec is missing the front caster spec number as well. The steering is much improved but I still have "bump steering".

WTF? I don't know if it's incompetance, shady shop, or just part of doing biz with the body shop world. The shop was highly recommended-AAA, registered with BBB, good reviews on yahoo, tons of biz going through them, classy place.

It seems like they don't want to work on my car at all. The initial estimate was $4500, then went to $7500 when I picked up the car the 1st time. I'm sure the recent job was north of 2k in mechanical fix.

I don't understand why they just don't fix the car correctly, the first time. After the accident, the steering wheel center was off like 15 degree or so but the car track straight.

Car's going back to shop on Monday. Can the rear toe be adjusted on TL? If not, I guess something else is bent. Gawd, I hate this.

 

Sorry to hear; it sounds like your car just might be an exception to the body shop's rep.

The rear toe is adjustable on the TL; camber and caster cannot be adjusted.
BTW, check to see if the body shop does the alignment in-house or takes it outside, as subcontracting the alignment may explain some of the alignment issues.

 

All repairs n alignment r in house.

 

Unfortunately this is how it is dealing with some body shops. Once they deliver you the car, your car is no longer a priority.

 

This.

I would continue to hound the insurance company if they approved the body shop. They should be able to help you.

 

shop needs to fix it. OR...you eat it and take it to the dealer for an alignment or any other place you trust with your car.

painful situation to say the least.

i know i am VERY particular with my TL. my body shop knows this and so does my dealer. they know i'd rather them get it right the first time out than rush it. and b/c they know this, they take a few extra steps to make sure everything is done correctly and without issue.

if you keep going back to the shop to get this righted....be firm and persistent with your expectations. have the manager ride in your car if it feels funny. or point out the specs of the alignment and say this isn't right. good luck.

 

Like others stated, if the body shop is not meeting your expectations, talk to the insurance company. The insurance company should withhold payment until the car is completely repaired. I know in past accidents, it took close to 5 months to get my car back to normal. I went rounds and rounds with the body shop and ended up with an insurance company rep coming out to see my complaints, and they took it back to the shop manager stating either fix it or no payment.

That is the primary advantage of using one of the insurance company shops. The shop has a lot to lose by not keeping the insurance company happy.

 

Update:

I spoke with my insurance company and after my frustration with the body shop, I need advice on what I should do. I feel that the body shop cannot fix the problem after taking the car back to them 5 times.

I feel like I need another party to look at the car, even if it's just to get a 2nd opinion on the repairs made and/or additional damage that hasn't been discovered yet.

The problem is this, if I take my car to a dealer/specialized shop I would have to flip the fee for the "diagnostic fee", which is about ~$150. If they find that my alignment problem is related to the accident, the insurance company would pay for the repair and reinburse me for the diagnostic fee. It's obvious that the accident cause my alignment issue as it didn't have this problem prior to the accident.

The body shop gave me a alignment report, but I'm not 100% confident it's legit to be honest. I'm thinking about taking my car to this place:

http://www.trulineseattle.com/

My other option is to take it to Acura dealer or another body shop. My gut feeling is that my diagnostic fee with Acura could run up higher than what I'm comfortable with paying with and no end in sight.

What do you think?

 

Take it to the Acura dealership they will probably do it for no charge

 

i'd take it to the Acura dealer, explain your situation. they may work with you on it and waive the diagnostic fee (esp if you already have a relationship with your dealer). if there are other issues that were not corrected by the body shop and the dealer finds them...tell your insurance or eat the cost and be done with it. tough and frustrating situation, or take it to another reputable body shop and have the car checked out.

 

Myself at this point I would find an alignment shop that can show you they just had the rack calibrated and have them do an alignment conditional that you can stand there and they will supply you with the before and after numbers and that have the settings for your year and model.

Body shops aren't alignment specialists and in this case are backing up thier own work.

If you find that the independent shop says the alignment is on then your SOL. If its still off and they can't align it they will be able to tell you what part is causing the problem.

The shop you posted looks like they specialize in suspension... tell them your concerns.

Good alignment shops up here are -$100.

What are you refering to as "bump" steering? Did they give you the front toe numbers?