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Female here: Dealership wrecked my car and need to know what to do (pics included)
Acura dealership wrecked my car in car wash after an oil change. They stated they are paying for the damages and its on the house. I was told by the advisor I wouldn't need to file an accident report with my insurance company. I asked them to give me a personal incident report of the technicians name, what happened etc.
How do I best handle this situation that they are downplaying as if its no big deal? I stated to them I'm going to loose value of my car because of this and they stated I won't because it will have OEM parts and will not list it on Carfax report. I told them if I trade my car in I dont want to lie and say my car wasn't in an accident when it actually was. Not pictured is also my hood is now misaligned.
rim scraped
Is there anything I need to check for once I get my car back or is this a situation I need to speak with an attorney about.
I would treat this as if it was a regular on the street accident. The dealer should make repairs to bring the car up to " as new " condition. You can go after then for future free service to cover any diminished value compensation.
They owe you for the diminished value of your vehicle. People file diminished value claims all the time when they are hit. The fact is that even if let say you lie and try to sell the car, if it is taken to a competent auto body technician they will be able to see that the parts, regardless of being OEM, will not have the original factory stickers on them. Also they can check the bolts on the hood and see if they have been torqued (paint will be scraped off) meaning it was obviously taken off for a reason.
I bought my first used 2012 Shawd TL from the dealership and the car was in a major accident without a car fax report showing an accident. I found out it was from my auto body guy and ended up getting another car from them a week after finding all of that out (first day I owned the first car I got hit while stopped at a light.. Blessing in disguise lol).
Don't trust the dealerships they are total slime. They will lie cheat and steal to avoid compensating you. The fact is they will never indemnify you because even a minor fender bender that could virtually does nothing to your car and be quickly repaired will still devalue it if it shows up on a report. Accidents = lower value. I would recommend filing the claim then filing a diminished value claim against them.
Since it's their fault your insurance company will subrogate against the dealerships insurance and collect the funds from them. Also it won't affect your rates because you are not at fault.
Don't let them get away with anything, really put their feet to the fire and get back what you lost due to their negligence.
p.s.- do not let them fix your car no matter what happens bring it to your own shop. If my theory on what happened with my first car is correct the dealerships auto body shop left me in a car that had a frame welded wrong putting my life at danger and a coat of paint thinner than nail polish. Be sure to use your own shop.
Great advice above. I wouldn't let someone who messed it up in the first place offer to fix it up. Obviously they are going to cut corners wherever they can to save money.
Similar situation to when my aunt got into a small accident recently and the other party offered to fix it up for her because 'her brother owns a shop'.... Uhhh no thanks.
Also, no need for the "FEMALE HERE" alert, we're all equals here, right..? I don't think our advice would have been any different if you were male
I would treat this as if it was a regular on the street accident. The dealer should make repairs to bring the car up to " as new " condition. You can go after then for future free service to cover any diminished value compensation.
Ok I would do this. Thank you
Originally Posted by fryrice
That's not too bad my mom brought her RDX in for an oil change and this happened
We let them fix it and now the door don't seem the line up.
Wow! Did she call her insurance company or let the dealership handle it and did she get compensated for diminished value?
Originally Posted by thoiboi
Great advice above. I wouldn't let someone who messed it up in the first place offer to fix it up. Obviously they are going to cut corners wherever they can to save money.
Similar situation to when my aunt got into a small accident recently and the other party offered to fix it up for her because 'her brother owns a shop'.... Uhhh no thanks.
Also, no need for the "FEMALE HERE" alert, we're all equals here, right..? I don't think our advice would have been any different if you were male
Thanks for the advice. I put female here because I wanted everyone to speak in layman terms. LOL I don't know anything about cars and just found out what's a fender. I didn't know if I needed to look under the hood for something and would have need directions on where to look. Sorry
Unfortunately, they already took my car to their body shop. So with the diminished value, do I ask them or contact my insurance for that?
Originally Posted by Pgr1990
They owe you for the diminished value of your vehicle. People file diminished value claims all the time when they are hit. The fact is that even if let say you lie and try to sell the car, if it is taken to a competent auto body technician they will be able to see that the parts, regardless of being OEM, will not have the original factory stickers on them. Also they can check the bolts on the hood and see if they have been torqued (paint will be scraped off) meaning it was obviously taken off for a reason.
I bought my first used 2012 Shawd TL from the dealership and the car was in a major accident without a car fax report showing an accident. I found out it was from my auto body guy and ended up getting another car from them a week after finding all of that out (first day I owned the first car I got hit while stopped at a light.. Blessing in disguise lol).
Don't trust the dealerships they are total slime. They will lie cheat and steal to avoid compensating you. The fact is they will never indemnify you because even a minor fender bender that could virtually does nothing to your car and be quickly repaired will still devalue it if it shows up on a report. Accidents = lower value. I would recommend filing the claim then filing a diminished value claim against them.
Since it's their fault your insurance company will subrogate against the dealerships insurance and collect the funds from them. Also it won't affect your rates because you are not at fault.
Don't let them get away with anything, really put their feet to the fire and get back what you lost due to their negligence.
p.s.- do not let them fix your car no matter what happens bring it to your own shop. If my theory on what happened with my first car is correct the dealerships auto body shop left me in a car that had a frame welded wrong putting my life at danger and a coat of paint thinner than nail polish. Be sure to use your own shop.
DO NOT let the dealer fix that car. Inform your insurance immediately. Take it to your shop. Personally I like ABRA if it's in your area. The ones I use only use OEM and that's why some insurance companies hate them. Also I would write a certified letter to ACURA corporate and inform them of negligence on the part of the dealer and let the owner know you have the letter and will send it if they don't further compensate past fixing the car. Based on whatever you feel is fair. Your car value is dropped, plus if you showed up a year later to trade in car...........you know the rest. It would sound a little like this...."sorry ma'am but we can't give you full trade because there were repairs done to car and that would be dishonest to sell to someone else and not disclose it, so we wouldn't be able to sell for full retail value". (but the 1st thing out the dealer mouth was we won't tell CARFAX, but from the other side of their mouth they'll say, This Car has a clean CARFAX to purchaser) SMDH.....Let us know how it turns out. I just had dealer repair my wifes wheel they curbed during oil change.
1. Being a female isn't an important fact at all, seems like a lame attention grab. In fact, there's a whole section on Reddit dedicated to pointing out those posts.
2. *Always* involve your insurance, why on Earth wouldn't you? You're paying them to cover you in the event of an accident. Your vehicle was in an accident - use them.
3. My dealership hosed up my bumper during the A-Spec lip install, they used a decent body shop up the road and the results are ok. I'm not thrilled however I did call them out on the way they handled it and did not pay for a good chunk of the work.
If you're like, call Acura Client Relations and open a case with them and explain what has happened. They'll ask what you want them to do, leave the case open until the car is repaired, they (ACR) can help assist getting it done properly if needed.
To the guy who said it should be repaired to "As New" condition - No, that's not how it works. The OP has a 2011 Acura TL - it's going to have wear/tear from those ~4 years on the road. The dealership/insurance is not obligated to return it to "New" condition because the car was in "New" condition when it got there.
wish i consulted with my fellow acurazine members first...the car is already repaired and the service manager give us a bunch of "free" oil changes haha
To the guy who said it should be repaired to "As New" condition - No, that's not how it works. The OP has a 2011 Acura TL - it's going to have wear/tear from those ~4 years on the road. The dealership/insurance is not obligated to return it to "New" condition because the car was in "New" condition when it got there.
I agree with the Muffin Man. When my 2010 TL was in accident (guy blew a red light and I hit him), I got my insurance company involved they wouldn't put OEM parts on it because it wasn't new. What they wanted to do is for me to take it to one their recommended body shops that guarantee their work for as long as I own the car.
As for diminished value, the other insurance company gave me the run around about it, they were pretty much a shitbag company. The only way to get it was to sue them, which I didn't have the time or energy.
If you have a reputable insurance company, get them involved and take it to one of their recommended shops, but check their reviews, that way, you'll always be covered. All in all, it doesn't look all that bad, any body shop worth their salt should be able to fix that without an issue.
One other thing, check dealerratings.com to see how they are ranked. If they are a premier dealer and are ranked high in the state, I'm thinking they will try to do the right thing and work with you, but I would definitely get your ins company involved, you have more options and that's why you pay them all that money.
It totally sucks that happened to you. If it was me I would be inclined to have the dealer get me a new car with the same features and mileage. +1 put their feet to the fire. The car will never be the same now its been hit. You will be taking a bath when you sell due to damage report. +1 diminishing report (new to me) good info on this thread. It sucks when people wreak a car your not even in. Cops wrecked my Rsx-S when it was parked in a parking lot.
It totally sucks that happened to you. If it was me I would be inclined to have the dealer get me a new car with the same features and mileage. +1 put their feet to the fire. The car will never be the same now its been hit. You will be taking a bath when you sell due to damage report. +1 diminishing report (new to me) good info on this thread. It sucks when people wreak a car your not even in. Cops wrecked my Rsx-S when it was parked in a parking lot.
Not how it works in real life.
the dealership is not obligated to GIVE some one a new car.
also, if fixed properly, one wouldnt even know the OP's car was in a minor fender bender...
and yes, its VERY minor.
i hit a curb and destroyed my front end + both front and rear sub-frames..
i incurred almost $15k in damages and the car was brought back to like new condition, using all new OEM parts.
car sat on frame alignment machine and was pulled back into alignment.
to this day, car tracks straight and NO ONE CAN TELL THAT IT WAS in an accident.
Front end damage:
How she sits today:
Last edited by justnspace; 07-01-2015 at 12:18 PM.
the dealership is not obligated to GIVE some one a new car.
also, if fixed properly, one wouldnt even know the OP's car was in a minor fender bender...
and yes, its VERY minor.
i hit a curb and destroyed my front end + both front and rear sub-frames..
i incurred almost $15k in damages and the car was brought back to like new condition, using all new OEM parts.
car sat on frame alignment machine and was pulled back into alignment.
to this day, car tracks straight and NO ONE CAN TELL THAT IT WAS in an accident.
Have to agree with justnspace here. I don't know if people have unrealistic expectations because they are a dealership and everyone thinks they have money. From what I can see, the damage isn't major (confession-I'm not an auto body guy, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night) so a good body shop should be able to fix it. Will the car now be worth less? Absolutely, but that's where you engage the dealership and see how they can make it right, if it's not to your satisfaction then you have other options.
When I got hit, I decided that I wasn't pursuing diminished value because my plan is to drive this car into the ground. But when I looked at all the numbers, I came out with a figure of about $2,300 (give or take) in diminished value. If I wanted to pay a lawyer, I would be out that money and not know the end result. You also have the option of small claims court where you can do it yourself.
At the end of the day, you can't tell my car was hit because the body shop did a good job, but my damage was only about $5k with no frame damage.
Cheers,
Nick
PS-talk to your carrier about pursuing a diminished value claim or lawsuit and I can almost guarantee you that they'll tell you it's not worth it.
I get the impression a lot of people giving advice either haven't been involved in an accident before where insurance and/or a dealership is involved or are have just insane expectations.
614erich - this is a very minor accident. It sucks, but it's minor. I doubt the alignment was even affected. Looks like a low speed impact where a car was backing into another. They are in no way going to give you (or obligated to) a new car or a replacement - that's unrealistic and silly.
*edit*
I would potentially barter with the dealership and see if you can get an OEM lip kit out of it for a steep discount though, they may be down for that.
Even if it is unrealistic it would be worth a shot for a negotiation point. Start high and end in the middle. If they totaled it yeah she should obviously get a new car. Ive read a post on here where dealers messed up a car or provided a lemon and the dealership gave them a new car.
Even if it is unrealistic it would be worth a shot for a negotiation point. Start high and end in the middle. If they totaled it yeah she should obviously get a new car. Ive read a post on here where dealers messed up a car or provided a lemon and the dealership gave them a new car.
So what's your negotiation tactic when you get to that point?
Me:"BUT BUT I READ IT ON THE INTERNET! YOU OWE ME A NEW CAR!!!"
We're trying to give the OP realistic advice. Not something like:
Hey OP, might as well ask for a RLX SH-AWD because they ruined your 4G and you no longer feel safe in it..
Good luck and hope it works out OP, I would not hesitate to use your insurance either and make sure the dealer makes it right for you. In the customer service industry, trust is an easy thing to lose and I'm sure you can use that in your favor.
that's just it tho....
if the customer received a lemon, there's a whole process that he/she has to go through.
its not as simple as you make it out to be....
"oh, they just gave them a new car"
no.
and NO, if they total it...they are not obligated to give you a new car.
do you live in Disney World? or some sort of fantasy land?
if they total your car; it would go through INSURANCE just like any other mishap.
then, when Insurance cuts you a check, you can either buy a new TLX or not.
nothing is free.
Last edited by justnspace; 07-02-2015 at 08:31 AM.
To anyone that hasn't been in an accident, try this little exercise. Call up your insurance broker or even the insurance company you have and explain the situation the OP is in and ask them how what advice can they offer if you're ever in the same situation. They are going to tell you the same thing justnspace and the muffin man have told you; get your company involved and be realistic about your expectations.
If you're a billionaire and you hit someone causing similar damage to the OP and you decide to not involve insurance companies, are you obligated to pay that person enough to get a new car? Of course not. The car will be repaired to pre-accident condition.
If you need a sleeping aid at night, read your insurance contract.
Even if it is unrealistic it would be worth a shot for a negotiation point. Start high and end in the middle. If they totaled it yeah she should obviously get a new car. Ive read a post on here where dealers messed up a car or provided a lemon and the dealership gave them a new car.
614erich-
I'm not sure this is anything to negotiate here other than some goodwill from the dealership. This is a finite amount to fix this damage, if you start asking for something extravagant, at some point they're going to tell you to pound sand because it's not worth their time. If you don't get what you're asking for, what are you going to do? Post bad reviews on Google, yelp, or dealerrater.com.
The dealer knows they (or someone) have to fix your car to pre-accident condition, that's all. Again, if they are a reputable dealer, they'll do something to help you out, maybe a free rental while the vehicle is being fixed, discount pricing on accessories, etc.
To anyone that hasn't been in an accident, try this little exercise. Call up your insurance broker or even the insurance company you have and explain the situation the OP is in and ask them how what advice can they offer if you're ever in the same situation. They are going to tell you the same thing justnspace and the muffin man have told you; get your company involved and be realistic about your expectations.
A word of warning though, I'd be very cautious how this is worded/said to your insurance company. I bet at least 1 out of 10 adjusters (the initial phone consult people) would actually open a case against you for it lol.
Update: They called and told me my car was ready this am. Got there and was immediately pissed before I alerted them I was in the parking lot. The hood was misaligned showing major gap on the side it was hit. They didn't replace my passenger mirror or my rim that was scratched. At least four parts of the panels that were replaced was raised on the corners and saw whitish lines and prints in the paint that was very noticeable. Didn't sign any papers and they said they will finally have the manager contact me next week. At this point, I'm going to call Acura Client services Monday morning and locate me an attorney. My insurance company has been helpful but they couldn't do anything because we didn't have a police report.
Update: They called and told me my car was ready this am. Got there and was immediately pissed before I alerted them I was in the parking lot. The hood was misaligned showing major gap on the side it was hit. They didn't replace my passenger mirror or my rim that was scratched. At least four parts of the panels that were replaced was raised on the corners and saw whitish lines and prints in the paint that was very noticeable. Didn't sign any papers and they said they will finally have the manager contact me next week. At this point, I'm going to call Acura Client services Monday morning and locate me an attorney. My insurance company has been helpful but they couldn't do anything because we didn't have a police report.
I assumed you had filed a police report! When you contacted your insurance company, didn't they tell you to file a report? If they didn't, that's quite surprising.
When you pointed the obvious out to them, what was their response? Did they say what they would do as a next step? You need to tell them that you are going to take it to a body shop of your choice to have them fix the items and that they are going to pay for it. It sounds like they tried to go cheap on you.
I think calling Acura Client Services is a good step as well.
Update: They called and told me my car was ready this am. Got there and was immediately pissed before I alerted them I was in the parking lot. The hood was misaligned showing major gap on the side it was hit. They didn't replace my passenger mirror or my rim that was scratched. At least four parts of the panels that were replaced was raised on the corners and saw whitish lines and prints in the paint that was very noticeable. Didn't sign any papers and they said they will finally have the manager contact me next week. At this point, I'm going to call Acura Client services Monday morning and locate me an attorney. My insurance company has been helpful but they couldn't do anything because we didn't have a police report.
Should have called Client Services immediately like I had suggested.
get your police report, why are you worried about client services. Sure call them but they have no obligation to make you whole. Your insurance company does and the dealership personnel. Do you know what person did it, that wrecked your car? File a claim against the dealers policy. Acura is digging a hole, but you have to make sure you are doing what you need to do to bury them. You may have to enlist real legal council on this. SOrry this happened, but you have to raise cain at this point.
I get the impression a lot of people giving advice either haven't been involved in an accident before where insurance and/or a dealership is involved or are have just insane expectations.
614erich - this is a very minor accident. It sucks, but it's minor. I doubt the alignment was even affected. Looks like a low speed impact where a car was backing into another. They are in no way going to give you (or obligated to) a new car or a replacement - that's unrealistic and silly.
*edit*
I would potentially barter with the dealership and see if you can get an OEM lip kit out of it for a steep discount though, they may be down for that.
I only stated Female here because I don't know the true name of parts on the car. I wanted you guys to talk in Layman terms for me. LOL I just found out whats a fender. just shoot me I'm learning.
I assumed you had filed a police report! When you contacted your insurance company, didn't they tell you to file a report? If they didn't, that's quite surprising.
When you pointed the obvious out to them, what was their response? Did they say what they would do as a next step? You need to tell them that you are going to take it to a body shop of your choice to have them fix the items and that they are going to pay for it. It sounds like they tried to go cheap on you.
I think calling Acura Client Services is a good step as well.
Cheers,
Nick
Originally Posted by TheMuffinMan
Should have called Client Services immediately like I had suggested.
Sorry you're having a bad time though
Muffin Man and gkon...I did call Acura client services and they were a POS and wasted my time. They completed the investigations and had the regional to call me about my car. He oversees 40 dealerships in my region. One of my concerns were me calling and leaving vms for General Manager and Service Manager and not receiving a call back from either. As of today, he stated both managers were suppose to call me this week. Well guess what they didn't. ACS stated they can't make them call me back and other BS.
The service advisor called me today again and said my car was ready after I told them last Saturday it wasn't right. Here are the pictures below that they so called repaired and I didn't accept it. So tomorrow I'm going to see what they did.
Originally Posted by GhostTL09
get your police report, why are you worried about client services. Sure call them but they have no obligation to make you whole. Your insurance company does and the dealership personnel. Do you know what person did it, that wrecked your car? File a claim against the dealers policy. Acura is digging a hole, but you have to make sure you are doing what you need to do to bury them. You may have to enlist real legal council on this. SOrry this happened, but you have to raise cain at this point.
Originally Posted by aIRpeACE
any updates?
I don't owe anything. I called the police and they stated by its being on private property the dealer didn't have to call them although I called to report my accident on their behalf. Im just getting the run arounds with this dealership.
they replaced this but it has white marks inside the paint.
Look at this big misaligned gap. This is the fender to bumper
Here's a closeup of the gap. At the top its not flushed and pushes out.
The big gap where my hood is not aligned correctly.
Still didn't replace my side mirror.
Look at this bolt between the door and fender at the top. I told them you can't see this bolt on the other side.
I had an auto repair shop co owner come look at my car with me and this is her finger pointing out everything. I wouldn't have known but they did immediately. She said its clearly visible this car was in an accident and they didn't repair it correctly.
Last edited by BlueAquarian; 07-31-2015 at 05:52 PM.
Detail the problems as you have with us and send it to them in written form. Include at the end that if the issues are not fixed, you will be forced to utilize all legal remedies available to you (one of which is to send it to a shop of your choice, pay the fees, then sue them in small claims if under $10k).
Detail the problems as you have with us and send it to them in written form. Include at the end that if the issues are not fixed, you will be forced to utilize all legal remedies available to you (one of which is to send it to a shop of your choice, pay the fees, then sue them in small claims if under $10k).
do not accept the car back until it is right. My dealer cracked my front bumper on my CLS way back in 2008. They repaired the car and when I got it back it was as good as new...
06-29-2015, 09:42 PM
Female here: Dealership wrecked my car and need to know what to do (pics included)
Anyone else wanna bash? 
