Moderators, can you leave this post here for a couple days for me?

Hey everyone, I really need your opinion, advice and suggestions on what I should do. Okay here’s the problem, August 10 I made a deposit for my tein ss suspension and I was so excited cause my car was finally going to get lowered. Two weeks past and they finally arrived. The parts were ordered from a performance shop that my stereo installer guy recommended. August 24 I paid the balance of the money I owed and August 25 I got the suspension installed. The install went okay, but when it came to tweak the height adjustment the installer bent something underneath the car and now my passenger front door is rubbing against my fender and the side body molding. I saw as he was jacking it up that he was bending the side molding and made him lower the jack, on his second attempt I heard the metal to metal rubbing and then a loud clank noise. Now when I went to inspect to see if there were any damages I didn’t see any under the car BUT the door was not lined up with the fender. Now, what really hurts is that the installer does not want to take responsibility for the damage. He says by jacking up the car that damage did not happen with him. I don’t know what to do, so far on August 28 im going into Acura and have them inspect it and hopefully get it fixed. But im afraid this repair is going to be very expensive. I don’t have any pictures to show you yet but try to imagine what it looks like. Imagine you take your left ear and press it against the door to see how the fender and door lines up, you will then see the door sinks in and the fender pushes out. The installer said that he will come up with half and I should come up with half of the money, is that fair??? Please let me know what you guys and girls think.

 

That's bullshit! If he fucked your car up while he was working with it, then the repair is his responsibility. I would phone a recommended attorney and ask him what he thinks...at least you'll know how to approach the situation.

 

yeah don't make any compromises.. be strong in your statements
full court press him

 

oh HELL YEAH he's paying for the whole thing. WTF does he think he's getting away with especially with you standing there watching him fuck it up! I mean damn! I don't even know what to think. Thats like the dumbest thing i've heard out of anyone. "damn dude, sorry i broke your shit, lets go halfsies on the fix"

HA HA HA

 

He is responsible 100% That is why he should have insurance. By opening a company where he works on others' property, he should have insurance for this type of situation where he screws up. By agreeing to pay half...he is admiting he was at fault. Plain and simple I think. Lawyer if you have to, but I wouldn't spend a dime...shoot, if that was my car, and I heard/saw the damage, and he said he wasn't at fault, I would call the police immediately so they could make a report. Then we'll see how fast he pays for it when the insurance company comes after him.

 

"I want you to either pay for this damage in full, or tell my lawyer you only want to pay for half"

 

Another alternative, if he won't pay, is to contact your own insurance company. It sounds like something that your comprehensive insurance would cover (minus any deductible). But since you know who did the damage, your insurance company may very well go after the shop, or its insurance company.

 

Sounds like the guy might not have insurance! Beware of shop! Let others know where this place is so we can avoid it!

 

Sounds like he was jacking right behind your right front tire - behind where the/a mud flap would go... He must have slipped off the frame/uni-body forcing the side skirt up into the fender thus deforming the fender where it meets the front edge of the door..

Honest mistake, but he needs to take responsibility for his "mistake"... The fact he offered to pay for half is an indication of guilt. Besides, he knows damn well what he did!

Get an estimate at a body shop of your choice and present the bill to him. Given the probable cost, small claims court may be required if he continues to lack integrity..

Truly sucks

 

thank you all for your responses, i had to say you guys are making this much better and the heavy load off my chest lighter. im going to the dealer i bought the car from, and basically pay for whatever the cost accumulates to. Then present the bill to him, if the bill is really high and he refuses to pay atleast 80% of it then im going to court. if the bill is a few hundred (which i doubt) i will suck it up and take my losses. I just want to get pass this. Once again thanks for your inputs i really appreciate everyone of them, keep them coming. I will update you guys when this is all over.

Yes sir. Smitty thats exactly what he was doing, jacking it up behind the front tire.

 

I think your approach is wrong .. I'g get an estimate and go back to the installer and advise him of the costs and that you expect his insurance to pay it in full or you will be going to your lawyer. He jacked it incorrectly away from the jacking points and caused the damage.

 

Yeah I agree! Don't pull out any money from your pocket cuz the minute you do you can kiss any money from him good bye. Have your insurance company look at the damage and explain to them what happend. They will go after him and you won't even have to talk to him again. Also, don't even think about going in there with a bill and ask for only 80%. I mean, I don't want to be mean but when you bought your car, did the dealer ask you for 20% over MSRP and you take it?

 

Yea...whatever you do - DO NOT FIX THE CAR until you have in writing (notarized even) that he will be paying for the full thing...
like someone said above...him agreeing to pay half shows that he knows he did something wrong.
Get a lawyer or threaten to get a lawyer and im sure he'll be scared shitless
and don't be willing to suck it up and pay for it, regardless of how much or how little it is, it's the principle..

 

thats right, don't get it fixed, just get estimates. And also he did show it was his fault by saying to pay half the cost out of guilt. Talk to you insurance company and see what they say to do.

 

Hey guys, the results are in. Total cost to fix my car is $125 canadian. The shop refuses to pay so i told him that i want my deposit for my intake (which i got back). I basically raised hell at his shop, i was almost going to punch him out....im big 250 pound guy but luckily my dad held me back. Anyways the damage came outta my pocket but the problem is fixed. Thank you guys for your help.

 

Take pictures of the damage before it's fixed. I wouldn't want to soak the guy but what about dimisnished value of the car after the fix? It wasn't anything you did to cause the damage. You should not have to loose anything (except time and happyness) because of their mistakes. Lots of people have done
"professional" upgrades without any loss.

-Take pictures
-Get estimates
-Bring a friend as witnesses when presenting the estimate.
-Get a lawyer if he's not cooperative

Good luck with the situation!

 

Wow. I have to say I'm both disappointed and impressed. I'm disappointed you let that asshat off the hook, but impressed you're not bothered by it.

I'm glad the car is OK again.

 

No that is not fair at all that is complete bull, he damaged it not you so he should be responsible for all cost.

 

edit: i didnt read ur updated post



glad that ur happy. but i'd still want that person to pay.

 

Wow...
Here in Canada, we can go the BBB (Better Business Bureau) where you can report bad business practices or injustices. They then make the company pay if they are wrong. How does it work in the US?
Have you thought of threatening/posting an article in the local paper?
It's not a question of $$...it a question of principle!!!
My 2 cents.

 

i look at this entire situation where this guy will end up paying somewhere in the long run. For 125 dollars going to newspapers, lawyers, BBB etc would be a waste of time, money and effort. It will porbably cost me 100 an hour to get a lawyer to look over my complaint. However i am going to speak to the BBB, that i have tried to search in the yellow pages for phone numbers. Once again, thanks for your help guys.

 

Hondas may be the easiest cars to jack up, they have special freakin tabs for em.

Mike