by Guest » Sat Apr 05, 2008 10:24 am
My Rav4 slid into the side of the left rear wheel of a Ford F150 because its driver was unable to stop in the snow. The accident was determined to be the other driver's fault and her insurance, GEICO, payed for the repair of my car as well as the rental car while mine was being prepared.
My beef is with the repair shop. My car sat in the parking lot of my apartment for a month before the shop actually towed it in to be worked on. They "misplaced" the estimate that GEICO faxed to them and they were "unaware" that my car was not driveable which is why it took them so long to get it towed. Once in the shop, my car stayed there for over two months as they waited for parts, got approval for an alignment, waited for more parts, waited on a hood, needed to get aligned, etc. it was a different excuse every week for why my car was not done. Additionally, every time I called to check on my car there was only one, designated person that could talk to me about my car. No one else could tell me anything about it and when I left messages to call back they were never returned. I finally got my car back just this Wednesday, April 2. When I picked it up, I noticed it was out of gas, completely. My car usually takes twelve gallons when the empty light is on. I put over thirteen gallons of gas in my car after picking it up, my car was not on an empty tank when I turned it in. Where did my gas go? Was my car driven somewhere and why? Thursday, after turning in the rental car we noticed my car was making this horrible gravel-grinding sound everytime the brakes were applied. My car was due for new brake pads before it went to the shop but they were not making any kind of noise, not even a squeal, let alone grinding enough to rattle my floor boards. I immediately took it back to the repair shop and they claimed that I probably needed new brakes due to wear and tear and that they had not touched the brakes. 400$ later my car needed new brakes and rotors! My car is only five years old. My car has supposedly been sitting in a shop lot for two months, how could my brakes have experienced so much wear and tear that I required new rotors? I wish I had written my mileage down before turning it in, whats that they say about hindsight...? Anyhow, do I have any legal recourse or who should I talk to about this issue? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
My beef is with the repair shop. My car sat in the parking lot of my apartment for a month before the shop actually towed it in to be worked on. They "misplaced" the estimate that GEICO faxed to them and they were "unaware" that my car was not driveable which is why it took them so long to get it towed. Once in the shop, my car stayed there for over two months as they waited for parts, got approval for an alignment, waited for more parts, waited on a hood, needed to get aligned, etc. it was a different excuse every week for why my car was not done. Additionally, every time I called to check on my car there was only one, designated person that could talk to me about my car. No one else could tell me anything about it and when I left messages to call back they were never returned. I finally got my car back just this Wednesday, April 2. When I picked it up, I noticed it was out of gas, completely. My car usually takes twelve gallons when the empty light is on. I put over thirteen gallons of gas in my car after picking it up, my car was not on an empty tank when I turned it in. Where did my gas go? Was my car driven somewhere and why? Thursday, after turning in the rental car we noticed my car was making this horrible gravel-grinding sound everytime the brakes were applied. My car was due for new brake pads before it went to the shop but they were not making any kind of noise, not even a squeal, let alone grinding enough to rattle my floor boards. I immediately took it back to the repair shop and they claimed that I probably needed new brakes due to wear and tear and that they had not touched the brakes. 400$ later my car needed new brakes and rotors! My car is only five years old. My car has supposedly been sitting in a shop lot for two months, how could my brakes have experienced so much wear and tear that I required new rotors? I wish I had written my mileage down before turning it in, whats that they say about hindsight...? Anyhow, do I have any legal recourse or who should I talk to about this issue? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 12:54 pm Post Subject:
Good morning lokipoo77, and welcome to the community....
Well lets try and disect this....
My beef is with the repair shop. My car sat in the parking lot of my apartment for a month before the shop actually towed it in to be worked on
This is outrageous! First was the shop (by chance) a 'preferred' or 'recommended' shop by your Gieco adjuster? This could have a huge bearing on the outcome...During this month did you call the shop or your adjuster to see what was up?
Once in the shop, my car stayed there for over two months as they waited for parts, got approval for an alignment, waited for more parts, waited on a hood, needed to get aligned, etc. it was a different excuse every week for why my car was not done
Again OUTRAGEOUS! Again, did you contact the adjuster during this time period? I'm assuming they had you in a rental car this entire time?Was my car driven somewhere and why?
It should've had a test drive or two, but no more than 25 miles each, and that's about the max!Thursday, after turning in the rental car we noticed my car was making this horrible gravel-grinding sound everytime the brakes were applied.
That's the noise they make when the pads are pretty much gone, and on the rotors, if that goes on too long, then the rotors will warp, which is what it sounds like happened, and likely too bad to have them 'turned'...thus requiring replacement of the rotors...you don't say if your rav or if 2 or 4 wheel drive, so I checked 2wd (might not be any difference) , I came up with 430.53 IF they used oem parts (which personally I wouldn't have on this ) so that sounds right for rotors and pads...My car is only five years old.
Well that's about right for pads, or actually about a year longer than they should've lasted to be honest, with normal driving conditions...the rotors could've been saved if you had replaced the pads earlier...I wish I had written my mileage down before turning it in, whats that they say about hindsight...?
The good news here is the adjuster that wrote your estimate probably did and further probably took a photo of the odometer! (should be on the estimate get a copy!) Also if it was towed to your home or from your home (towed at all) the tow truck driver probably wrote the mileage on the tow bill as well !!!Anyhow, do I have any legal recourse or who should I talk to about this issue? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.__
Maybe...if the adjuster or tow driver got the mileage you might have a shot....also though, unless you can prove the mileage when you left the shop could be a problem...some shops will write the mileage in and mileage out....Please do let us know...after you look at the estimate and the tow bills....also remember you knew you needed pads...so minimally they 'might' or you 'might' be able to prove that they owe for rotors only... :? It will be an uphill battle I assure you....Please answer the questions, I've asked, and let us know about the mileage on the estimate and exactly how much additional mileage there was when you picked up the vehicle....another thing....the shop HAD to know the brakes were in need of repair...they SHOULD have called you while in the shop and minimally advised you, and tried to 'upsell' them getting this done while in the shop....When I was a shop manager, if there was a dangerous issue and after I told the owner if they didn't want us to do the work I made them sign a waiver before they took their vehicle, in essence saying, 'Lori told me the brakes were bad, and I'm driving this vehicle away from the shop knowing that'...as to obsolve the shop from any liablity....oh, another place the mileage 'should' be is in the alignment spec sheet, ask the shop for a copy of that as well....also on that sheet the tech 'should've' noted the bad brakes...My car was due for new brake pads before it went to the shop but they were not making any kind of noise, not even a squeal, let alone grinding enough to rattle my floor boards
How did you know this? How long did you know this? And why had you not replaced the pads if you knew this? When pad are at the end of their life they can start this noise very quickly...Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 04:22 pm Post Subject:
When I was much younger I took my car into A Ford dealership to be repaired. I got it back and 1/2 the repairs were not done and there was over spray all over the out side and _inside_. I complained and they took it back into the shop. Long story short, they did this 3 or 4 times. They put me in a rental for a month and in end, it still looked awful. Did I mentioned that I worked there at the time? So I know how you feel.
As mentioned, the _BIG_ question is if you choose the shop or GEICO recommended it. If GEICO recommended the shop then _they_ really need to be involved. At first they will "talk" with the shop and I'm betting this won't get the shop to do much. If it solves the problem, great! But if it does not you many need to really pressure GEICO into taking additional action. While carriers say they stand behind the work done at preferred shops, I've not seen this to hold much weight when something goes wrong.
If you choose the shop it might be difficult to address. From what you mentioned, it does not seem like the shop can be trusted. I'd recommend setting up a meeting with the _owner_ and go over the vehicle to address all the problems. That is where you should start and then go from there.
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