K
keeshy2
Guest
State of VA: I was involved in a car accident on Nov. 17th. I was turning left on night & a guy driving without headlights hit my passenger side as I turned. Did some serious damage to the side of my car. Car was towed to a dealership for repairs. The dealership contracts out body work to a body shop. Body shop received car for work on Nov. 22nd. Promised work, including alignment, would be finished by Dec. 15th.
Found additional damage after the quarter panel was removed. Called insurance & had a supplemental appraisal done. Body shop still said car would be ready Dec. 15th.
Body shop called me on Dec. 15th and said car wouldn't be ready until the following week. I told them I needed the car by Dec. 22nd since I was driving to NJ for Christmas. I asked them to return the car to the dealership since the insurance made the check out to the dealership & the car needed a state inspection (it had expired). They agreed & the car was sent to the dealership the evening of Dec. 20th.
I went to pick it up Dec. 21st and the car was pulling violently to the right. I got a mile down the road and then turned around & took it back to the dealership & explained what was going on. They sent the car BACK to the body shop to check the alignment. Body shop said everything was OK & I picked up the car the evening of the 21st. I test drove it and informed the dealership it was still pulling to the right but not as bad. They told me to take the car to NJ and when I got back they would check it out as a courtesy.
Drove the car up & back & found several things wrong with it. Called the dealership last Wed and set up an appointment for Friday. They never got around to checking it out until Saturday. As soon as they lifted the car, the tech noticed the control arms on the right front & back are bent and the right steering knuckle is damaged. He says it is obvious. So the dealership calls me and informs me of this and tell me I'm lucky nothing happened on the trip. They then ask me to contact the insurance so the appraiser can come out and do a supplemental so they can do the additional work. All I want is for my car to be fixed (which my insurance will pay for).
I talked to the dealership's service manager this morning. He mentions that the body shop sent over paperwork with the car after the repairs and there is mention on the paperwork of a damaged steering knuckle & bent control arms.
It sounds to me like the body shop KNEW there was additional damage & didn't want to be bothered with it. They released a defective car to me and when I complained, once again ignored the damage.
Is there anything I can do about this from a legal standpoint since they released a still damaged car? Can I request the body shop pay for the rental car while my car is AGAIN being repaired due to their negligence? If the tires (which were purchased 2 days before the accident & were VERY expensive) have been adversely affected by this, can I ask the body shop to put new tires on? Or am I up a creek without a paddle....
Thanks for any help/advice.
Found additional damage after the quarter panel was removed. Called insurance & had a supplemental appraisal done. Body shop still said car would be ready Dec. 15th.
Body shop called me on Dec. 15th and said car wouldn't be ready until the following week. I told them I needed the car by Dec. 22nd since I was driving to NJ for Christmas. I asked them to return the car to the dealership since the insurance made the check out to the dealership & the car needed a state inspection (it had expired). They agreed & the car was sent to the dealership the evening of Dec. 20th.
I went to pick it up Dec. 21st and the car was pulling violently to the right. I got a mile down the road and then turned around & took it back to the dealership & explained what was going on. They sent the car BACK to the body shop to check the alignment. Body shop said everything was OK & I picked up the car the evening of the 21st. I test drove it and informed the dealership it was still pulling to the right but not as bad. They told me to take the car to NJ and when I got back they would check it out as a courtesy.
Drove the car up & back & found several things wrong with it. Called the dealership last Wed and set up an appointment for Friday. They never got around to checking it out until Saturday. As soon as they lifted the car, the tech noticed the control arms on the right front & back are bent and the right steering knuckle is damaged. He says it is obvious. So the dealership calls me and informs me of this and tell me I'm lucky nothing happened on the trip. They then ask me to contact the insurance so the appraiser can come out and do a supplemental so they can do the additional work. All I want is for my car to be fixed (which my insurance will pay for).
I talked to the dealership's service manager this morning. He mentions that the body shop sent over paperwork with the car after the repairs and there is mention on the paperwork of a damaged steering knuckle & bent control arms.
It sounds to me like the body shop KNEW there was additional damage & didn't want to be bothered with it. They released a defective car to me and when I complained, once again ignored the damage.
Is there anything I can do about this from a legal standpoint since they released a still damaged car? Can I request the body shop pay for the rental car while my car is AGAIN being repaired due to their negligence? If the tires (which were purchased 2 days before the accident & were VERY expensive) have been adversely affected by this, can I ask the body shop to put new tires on? Or am I up a creek without a paddle....
Thanks for any help/advice.