Took my car to the dealer for its first free oil change yesterday. When they were raising it up, I heard a creaking/crackling noise that seemed to be coming from where the lift was in contact with the car. The mechanic said it was not touching the paint and was normal and did not hurt the car. I'm not sure I am convinced...

Anyone?

It was dark when I got home, so now that I am mobile this am, I am going to go see if I can see far enough under it to look for any possible damage.

 

did they install the jacking pucks at the lift points?

could be that's what you heard.

 

Creaking is not unusual it's the cracking that I'm worried about. Make sure you take a look. You should be able to see under their with a small hand mirror or similar. As long as they were on the lift points and not on the body you should be all right. If they were on the body, that would explain it. Good luck with your findings.

Paul

 

Julie, I hope it turns out to be nothing! Man I would be a little worried.

 

Please let us know what you find. Can't believe the dealer didn't know how to raise the car. Anyplace other than the dealer, I ask how they plan to raise the car. I keep pucks in the car. Just had a mobile truck change my wheels. I told him how I wanted it raised.

 

Run your bear hand along under side of the rocker panel at each lift location, if it's cracked you will feel it. That's what I did one rainy night when I returned from the dealer and found one crack.

 

Well crap!

There are three places where it is cracked, one lift point I believe escaped getting cracked. One spot has some bent metal that just doesn't look right to me. There is also some thin metal type stuff...almost a paper thin material hanging down under the front, near where the car was lifted but a little farther in. The metal part is crinkled and there is a rubbery/stretchy substance that looks like it was stuck to something and is now hanging down a bit too. I can't see well enough underneath the car to tell what it is or what it is supposed to be doing.

There is also a chunk out of the little silver GM square logo on the drivers side behind the door. I don't remember that being there either, but I am gonna check my pics to see if it shows up there.

I called them about it and the service manager said to bring it in next week and he would see what he can do about it. I am pretty sure they will do the right thing but it still makes me wanna cry. I feel like a bad mommy who didn't protect her child!

 

So tell us did they crunch up the paint, or were you just listening to MOZART?

 

Decided to go to the dealer tonight....instead of waiting until Monday. I just wanted the service manager to see the damage. It made me feel better to let him see it now so that there is no argument later about "Well, why didn't she bring it in right away?" from the higher ups. He was more than nice about it, as everyone at this dealership has been throughout the purchase of this car, but I still wanna cry.

He said his body guy was gone and to come back Monday and he would have him look at it and they would order the correct parts and have them painted to match. I know they will do the right thing, I really wasn't worried about that too much.

It is definately a relief that they will fix it, but as I told him the thing that really bothers me is that it happened and that I didn't listen to my instincts.

I know something about cars, but for some reason in certain situations I just shut my mouth. I heard the crackling noise, I KNEW something was wrong, I KNEW he was lifting it wrong, yet when I said something and he said it was fine, I just stood there like a dumbass.

I just hate having to tell a man, especially a mechanic that he is wrong, about something to do with a vehicle. It never goes over well. If I am not sure, I will ask questions. But when my brain is screaming "DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER", I am dead on. I just hate being labeled the psycho/picky bitch over stuff like this, so I backed down. Why the hell did I just stand there and let him break my baby? He didn't do it on purpose. It's just that these things happen when I entrust others with something precious. Dammit, I should have known better. I only have myself to blame.

So here sits my poor baby with three cracks in his poor little undercarriage and a gauge out of his little GM logo thingy.

I think I am gonna go bathe him in an effort to beg for forgiveness.

 

bare

 

Spent the last two hours washing and wacing him...I feel a little better now.

 

no, beer

 

Him? Vettes are female.

 

You don't want the body shop replacing rocker panels. To do so requires front and rear quarter panel removal, door, and door frame removal, and they will have to chip off the old one, and glue the new one on. Basically taking the car apart. Those panels are the first body piece placed on the frame.

I had lift damage (they drove over the lift) that scratched both panels pretty bad. I inquired about their replacement. Both the body shop, and folks on this forum said the same thing.

Even if it's cracked, they should be able to repair it. Replacing it would be far worse IMO. Do you trust them to put your car back together correctly?

The body shop did mine right. Even the paint matches. At least as far as I can tell. I was worried about that b/c of Monterrey Red.

 

Hope the vet gets fixed and all is well!

 

I'm sorry for you and your car.

What's almost as upsetting is that the dealership, the service mgr., and the technician don't know how to raise the car. Obviously.

This repair that they're going to do will cost them a little time and lost opportunity to make more money otherwise, but it'll also cost you time, aggravation and a whole lot more than just, "oh, we made a mistake."

And time is money. I think you would be within your rights to ask for compensation, no matter how nice they've been. And not just $50. Add a zero to make it interesting.

Unfortunately, in this country it is frequently only after someone has paid out a bit that they begin to understand and learn the full weight of what they've done wrong. In your case, even if you didn't "teach them the right way to raise a Corvette", the Service Mgr. may choose to find out about it and teach it to his techs on his own. But maybe only if forced to do so by the strength of losing some money over it--- a check made out by the dealership to you.

My take on it is, while dealerships don't do everything the best, at the very least they should be able to lift up a Corvette without damaging it in three out of four locations. The old saying about "do no harm" may apply.

Good luck.

 

Sorry your oil change didn't turn out to be "free". Good luck with the fix.

 

As explained in another thread...I'm straight, so it's a HIM.

 

And all that wouldn't bother me except it means having the car out of my sight and control for far too long, which scares the crap outta me! What else could be damaged if I am not there watching like a hawk? That's the thing about this, if I hadn't been there to hear the crackling noise, I probably wouldn't even know it had happened. I wash my car and keep it very clean to say the least, but how often do I actually reach that far under it to where I would have ever felt the damage? That is the scary part, if I hadn't have been as **** and paranoid as I am, it would still be there and I may never know about it.
I really don't know if I trust having the car gone for what would surely be a few days if not a week just to get this fixed. I may ask them about just fixing it on the car. But that may still take more than a day. This is really a no-win situation and it sucks!

 

I am sorry to hear about the idiocy of the dealership... kinda makes you want to go buy ranps and coveralls to change oil yourself, huh.