About three weeks ago, seems like a lifetime, the dealer replaced the clutch, flywheel, slave cylinder and pressure plate in my 07 Z06. They also generously replaced the ash tray lid they scratched and gave me the bonus round of lowering the car lift in the next bay onto the end of my drivers door. This put about a two inch crack in the door about three inches from the end of the door. I did not get to see the car in person because they already had it at a body shop to fix by the time I got to the dealership.
They took pictures and I have a copy of them. The initial look at he damage at the body shop wasn't too bad, but the look at the pictures shows just how hard the lift impacted the door. The door would not close and it was obviously sprung.
Tomorrow will be the third attempt by the dealer/body shop to right their wrong. So far the damage wasn't completely repaired the first time. The door still had damage on the back side and needed paint. The second time they said it was ready the paint still did not match but they did attempt to align the door.
The door is sitting about 1/16 of an inch to far to the rear and is contacting the door latch, you can see a groove in the metal part of the door latch. When you open the door it does not feel right, almost like a drag or something, just can't put my finger on it but it does not feel even close to the passenger door nor how it was before the dealer damaged it. The paint does not match where they painted it and there is damage on the sill plate along with the bottom of the door below the hinges.
Looking at how hard the lift had to contact the door to crack the fiberglass and cause the door to contact the lower sill plate could there be additional damage to the upright??
I contacted GM and they say the dealer has confidence they can fix the car, I've lost all confidence and am wondering what options are left that GM can do.
Has anyone had to deal with something like this??

 

Do not pass go, do not collect $200....get the car to a body shop (or three) that YOU trust and get some other opinions. Sounds to me like there may be damage to the FRONT of the door (hinges and frame where they attach) that they did not align properly.
When you have these other opinions ( and estimates as to how to fix it) then and only then do you have a starting point for negotiations with the original shop.
My heart goes out to you. I would be just sick if the dealer did something like this to our car -- and just like you I would not rest until it was made perfect again.....best of luck in this......

 

A bunch of random thoughts.


I would do whatever it takes to get that car looked at by a COMPETENT body man/adjuster. It sounds like they are trying but learning as they go.

I would get GM involved. Possibly get a good lawyer that works in that field, your own insurance company. Whatever it takes.
Getting the car to a much better body shop would be ideal; the first clown outfit should pay.

You car has been hit hard and will be worth less, a lot less once the facts get around.
Impossible possibly but try to get the dealer to give you full value for your car and have them get you a new one THIS SHOULD BE AT NO COST

 

Tell them you'll swap them even for an '08 Z06 and you'll drive away quietly never to be seen nor heard from again. Otherwise...
Their service department is insured against losses. Tell'em to take their lumps and nobody gets hurt.

 

I've thought of going the route of a new car but I do not know how successful it would be. I have contacted GM and they opened a case on the claim but right now I do not know how liable GM is for this. The car was having warranty work done on it when the dealership damaged it. They admitted to GM it was an accident but this does not help me one bit. Everything wrong with the door and paint so far I have had to point out to the Dealer. I have talked with the owner, by Voice mail and also the General Manager, Sales Manager and the Service Manager. I feel like I am getting the run around and they are covering their tracks in an attempt to get it good enough I'll go away. I have even thought of the BBB but do not know how they could help in this case. As far as my insurance company, I don't know if I want to bring them into this fight.

 

If you're really pleasant and a sweet talker, you'd get a swap no charge. Trust me.

 

I've been holding things back all along being polite and professional. I am ready to have a sit down and come up with a real solution. The main reason I went to GM was I got tired of all of the hassles with the dealer and I wanted it all documented. The dealer is about 40 minutes and in one week I made four trips out there and three trips back without the Z. When you get off of work at 3:00 drive 45-50 minutes for traffic, only to point out the problems still have not been fixed, it gets old real quick.

 

I think it's time to open to Gates of Hades and power up the flame-thrower!!

You laid out one helluva pile of hard-earned cash to buy the best of the best. The stealership should be bending over backwards while kissing your feet to make this right. We ain't talking about a clapped out '99 Cavalier here -- it's a 2007 Z06!!

 

Does anyone know how to get a hold of a Regional Representative? It would be nice to have that person here to assess the car and dealership.

 

I don't know what path you want to take, or really what options are open to you re body shops in "Warrick County". You've received good advice above, methodology, who to talk with, how to approach them, etc.

Of all the things said above, I believe BBB is probably one of your last to do.

Frankly, even tho it's ultimately a GM car, they have nothing to do with it. It was damaged at the dealership. It is an insurance issue, theirs, or yours. It is a consumer protection agency issue, if you have one in Warrrick County. It could be a legal issue, if you choose to hire a competent, qualified attorney. It could be an info to Chev/Corvette issue to warn them of the intractability and evasiveness of their dealer. But it really isn't a "GM" issue.

That's my take on it. Hope you get it resolved.

 

File a claim with your insurance company. It's why you pay and it is their problem.

 

Looks like you have some good advices posted. I feel for you bro, best of luck and I hope it all works out in the end.

 

 

I would recommend the following, and in this order:

1. Have a private meeting with the dealership owner. Politely review the whole mess with him and ask what he would do if it was his car that was damaged, his personal time that was usurped, and the confidence he HAD with the dealership was destroyed. If he gives you , then let him know that you will:

2. Get the state attorney general's office involved, and:

3. Bring a law suit against him personally, and his dealership that will argue their willful neglect and impose both a remedy satisfactory to YOU, and probably lead to him GIVING you a new Corvette every year for the rest of your life.

4. You could also contact one of the local TV stations that love to do consumer stories that would put his dealership in a very bad public relations position.

5. IF he agrees to make things right, then you politely TELL him to go ahead and fix the car the way they want to, put it on their used lot and sell it. Meanwhile, he will replace it with a brand-new car of equal or greater value and satisfaction to you.

Don't put up with anymore of this crap.

Doug

 

File a claim with your insurance company. It has the responsibility to repair your car, lawyers, body shop contacts, and in-house estimators to identify all damage and ensure all parts get repaired properly and all details are perfect. Your insurance agent and company should be easy to work with. You will have added credibility when negotiating with the dealer's owner.

Your claim with your insurance company will not be held against you or affect your rates. Your insurance company should subrogate the claim and will therefore not suffer any out-of-pocket costs.

And try to maintain a stoic, knowledgeable demeanor... difficult as it must be.

 

Yes - you could do that, and you probably should. But you may not get the kind of satisfaction you really want. At this point it appears that if you have a well-trusted body shop that you know do the repairs, you MIGHT be OK with that. That might or might not happen. If you do deal with your insurance company, be sure to absolutely insist on the terms you want, and do not settle. If you feel ripped off, then follow my suggestions above. Good luck with it.

 

I feel it is a little late in the game to file a claim with my Insurance Company. The dealer has already tried to fix this with no luck. When I spoke with GM customer service they talked with the dealer and said the dealer had all the confidence they could make the door right. They didn't want to replace the door with a new one because they felt it would devalue the car not having the correct numbers to it. I really don't have any confidence with the dealer. I do not even want my dealer to check the air pressure in my tires because I feel they would screw that up as well. Oh did I mention they put 9 quarts of oil in my car when they changed the oil?? I had to drain out a quart. I thought this was a fluke until a friend at work had his new truck serviced and guess what, a quart overfilled. Try draining only one quart of oil out while laying on the ground in the cold garage.
I'll give a call to the insurance company in the morning on my way out to the body shop for one last attempt at repairing this.
Thanks for all the advice.

 

I had a one on one talk with the General Manager who is the owners step son. At that meeting they felt confident the car would be fixed right and everything would be great. I still have the owners number and will attempt to call her in the Morning and try to get a sit down meeting with them. She seemed easy to talk with on the phone and it sounded like she was genuine in her concern on getting this fixed right.
My buddy who had the oil change messed up sort of poked in their ribs when he asked if they knew anyone who owned a yellow Z06 with a damaged door. He said their faces in service went chalk white. I really can't say the words here which he used to describe their service department but it wasn't pretty.
I don't know of any good body shops near Evansville IN. We have only lived here about three years and I didn't have a need to know about a body shop. I've asked a few people at my plant and no one really knows of a good Corvette shop. It seems trucks are more of the normal than corvette's around here.
I have the number to Indiana's consumer protection agency and will attempt to contact them in the morning before I head out to the dealer, shouldn't be a problem with Indy on eastern and us on Central time.
Thanks for the advice and I'll keep everyone posted.

 

No offense, but you really are kinda in the middle of nowhere. (equidistant almost from Springfield, Louisville, Indy, and St. Louis).

However, you are relatively close to Bowling Green! Now that may be a plus.

See if there's a Corvette club in your area, and call the company president and ask for body/paint shop references. If that doesn't work, see if there are any car clubs of whatever make or persuasion (hot rod club, antique car club, porsche club, etc.). Ask them the same question re paint/body shops.

Granted, you don't have a lot of time on your hands with work and family, but post up a new thread on the regional forum of CF that applies to your location. Ask for help on body/paint shops in your town, county, general area - in that order.

It isn't too late in my opinion to involve your insurance company. You were trying to have the dealership do its work; they have failed, so far. Now, it's up to someone to get it done correctly. That's where your insurance company comes in.

But first, you may want to have that sit-down with the owner since, so far, the stepson/GM has failed, the dealership has failed, and they keep messing it up.

Good luck.

 

The statement about the number matching door doesn't sound right. I don't think the door is one of the parts that gets the VIN stamped on it. I would think a replacement for the door would be the better choice given the severity of the blow it got to cause that much damage.

With a number of failed attempts to repair the door, you may be getting close to being eligible for lemmon laws to apply to your situation. Even if you don't have to take the dealer to court, that could be used as an incentive for them to get this problem solved or to start discussing a buy back.