Got my car back!! Body shop horror story inside!

zZSportZz · 04-19-2010, 10:06 PM

So I finally got my car back today. It took them 2.5 weeks to fix a scratch on the door, quarter panel, and rear bumper....I also had them buff the entire car (this is very important to the story below).

The horror started on this past Friday. I got a call from the body shop telling me that my car was ready. I was very ecstatic to get it back, but my enthusiasm lasted for only 2.5 seconds. At the end of the conversation, they gave me a nonchalant "oh by the way" asking me if I knew that I had what appeared to be an "acid wash" all over my car and that "I should take it to the dealer to be repaired!" These were their exact words. Acid what? Come again?? Dealer?? Why??

So immediately I start thinking about bird crap, and that I must have a spot or two that I missed. Nope. They informed me that it is all over my entire car and that they thought it looked like acid rain. WTF!!!??!!

So I rush to the body shop, and see my car sitting in the lot. Upon closer inspection I almost keeled over and had a heart attack right there in the lot. It took every ounce of my resolve to not start swinging fists. Here is what I saw....(sorry for large pic, but I wanted it to be large enough to see)

This is a picture of my hood. You are looking down at it. The bright white towards the top is the reflection of a light on the ceiling in the shop. All those marks I circled are over pretty much every square inch of my car (minus one side). You could not rub or wash them off, it seems as though they were in the clear coat.

Immediately, the owner of the shop starts back-peddling, saying things like.."well we never saw the condition of the car when you brought it in because it was covered in pollen, it could have been like that". I was like no, it was not like that. I was like level 10 pissed at this point in time, having to argue about the condition of my car pre-induction to their facility. They kept asking me retarded questions like "did you follow someone that was leaking oil?" and "did you spray armor-all on you car?" and the finally the owner proclaims that since it was only on the entire hood, roof, trunk and right side (the left side they repaired was untouched), that it could be nothing that they've done.

As we are standing there, one of the painters shows up and says "it wasn't like that when we painted it". Then the guy who buffed it finally chimes in (after standing there silent for 20 mins) and says, 'it wasn't like that when i buffed it". Also, it just so happens that the Geico adjuster was there who did the estimate on my car (the stars were aligned that day). He chimes in and says "that car was clean when I saw it". So finally the owner can't backpeddle anymore, but just the fact that they tried pissed me off bigtime.

So now they realize they have to fix it and decide that my entire car needs to be wet sanded and rebuffed, but they can't do it until Monday. At this point I'm pretty pissed because of the abuse my poor clear coat is taking at the hands of these people, but they ensure me it will be alright. I'm left freaking out ALL WEEKEND LONG worrying about my car, literally sick to my stomach.

Fast forward to today, I get a call that my car is almost ready. They inform me that whatever was on my car came off with a buffing/polish and that it did not need to be wet sanded. Good news for once...

I head into the shop 15 minutes later and I could tell that they gave my car extra TLC. I sh!t you not when I say that my car looks like black glass. Apparently, they buffed/polished the car...then also HAND POLISHED it. They detailed the entire thing too. I was pretty awestruck. I was expecting the worst. There were no marks anywhere. My car looks about 100 times better than the day I took it home from the dealer. They also matched the paint perfectly. So after my weekend of hell and despair, there was a happy ending. Sorry for the iPhone pics but this is the car now....

So even though there was a happy ending, it came with some major stress. I explained to them that they KNEW my car didn't come in with that crap all over it. They should have taken care of the issue in-house and never even tried to pawn the car off on me in that condition. Did they REALLY think I would take the car like that? It made absolutely no sense at all. Why would you call someone up, requesting them to pick up their car and throw in a minor OBTW at the end informing them their entire car is messed up, and that they should take it to a dealer to be repaired. Really?

Anyhoo, after talking with them for a while, after the whole ordeal was over (they dropped $100 dollars off the detailing price making it practically free) they hypothesized that after my car was washed, it may have been sprayed with overspray from another car wash and left to dry out in the sun without being wiped down. They think it may have been severe hard water stains on my car. I'm not sure I buy it, but I'm just happy I finally have the car back and its in one piece.

m4a1mustang · 04-19-2010, 10:10 PM

Sucks that you had to go through that but at least they came through in the end.

I see Starbucks in your immediate future...

PapoZalsa · 04-19-2010, 10:13 PM

Looks great, but black paint is hell to keep up with, especially Nissan paint.

Xan · 04-19-2010, 10:15 PM

Happy it worked out and the end result does look good!

zZSportZz · 04-19-2010, 10:16 PM

Honestly, detailing my car is my therapy after a long week of work. I have no problem keeping up with it. Getting told that my car has 'acid rain marks' all over it, is a whole different story thought hehe. I'd still like to know wtf happened to my car to get all that crap on it though.

zZSportZz · 04-19-2010, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m4a1mustang

I see Starbucks in your immediate future...

I could use some coffee

.

madelf · 04-20-2010, 08:27 PM

2theextreme · 04-20-2010, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by madelf

That pretty much sums up his story in emotes!

Jeffblue · 04-20-2010, 08:36 PM

at least they didn't use this to clean off the acid rain spots!

I was at infiniti getting my car serviced there, and one of the technitians was getting yelled at for using brake cleaner to clean off the whiteboard... That kind of thing scares me since i was having my car serviced there.

Glad to see your car turned out all right tho

m4a1mustang · 04-20-2010, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffblue

at least they didn't use this to clean off the acid rain spots!

I was at infiniti getting my car serviced there, and one of the technitians was getting yelled at for using brake cleaner to clean off the whiteboard... That kind of thing scares me since i was having my car serviced there.

Glad to see your car turned out all right tho

zZSportZz · 04-20-2010, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffblue

at least they didn't use this to clean off the acid rain spots!

I was at infiniti getting my car serviced there, and one of the technitians was getting yelled at for using brake cleaner to clean off the whiteboard... That kind of thing scares me since i was having my car serviced there.

O.o

pauley · 04-20-2010, 11:33 PM

Paint remover..... now that's scarey.That's why if it ain't a warranty/recall issue, dealership is not touching my car.

ZCarMan · 04-21-2010, 05:59 AM

Rick, sorry for your troubles mate. It all worked out in the end so there is a happy ending as you said. Now get your Z up on Saturday morning and join up with us again!

fullmonty · 04-21-2010, 07:21 AM

Damn man glad it worked out!

kniwolf · 04-21-2010, 09:52 PM

Wow! Glad to see that they straightened it out for you. What body shop was it?

04-19-2010, 10:06 PM	#1 (permalink)
zZSportZz A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,095 Drives: 370z Blk on Blk 6MT Rep Power: 18	Got my car back!! Body shop horror story inside! So I finally got my car back today. It took them 2.5 weeks to fix a scratch on the door, quarter panel, and rear bumper....I also had them buff the entire car (this is very important to the story below). The horror started on this past Friday. I got a call from the body shop telling me that my car was ready. I was very ecstatic to get it back, but my enthusiasm lasted for only 2.5 seconds. At the end of the conversation, they gave me a nonchalant "oh by the way" asking me if I knew that I had what appeared to be an "acid wash" all over my car and that "I should take it to the dealer to be repaired!" These were their exact words. Acid what? Come again?? Dealer?? Why?? So immediately I start thinking about bird crap, and that I must have a spot or two that I missed. Nope. They informed me that it is all over my entire car and that they thought it looked like acid rain. WTF!!!??!! So I rush to the body shop, and see my car sitting in the lot. Upon closer inspection I almost keeled over and had a heart attack right there in the lot. It took every ounce of my resolve to not start swinging fists. Here is what I saw....(sorry for large pic, but I wanted it to be large enough to see) This is a picture of my hood. You are looking down at it. The bright white towards the top is the reflection of a light on the ceiling in the shop. All those marks I circled are over pretty much every square inch of my car (minus one side). You could not rub or wash them off, it seems as though they were in the clear coat. Immediately, the owner of the shop starts back-peddling, saying things like.."well we never saw the condition of the car when you brought it in because it was covered in pollen, it could have been like that". I was like no, it was not like that. I was like level 10 pissed at this point in time, having to argue about the condition of my car pre-induction to their facility. They kept asking me retarded questions like "did you follow someone that was leaking oil?" and "did you spray armor-all on you car?" and the finally the owner proclaims that since it was only on the entire hood, roof, trunk and right side (the left side they repaired was untouched), that it could be nothing that they've done. As we are standing there, one of the painters shows up and says "it wasn't like that when we painted it". Then the guy who buffed it finally chimes in (after standing there silent for 20 mins) and says, 'it wasn't like that when i buffed it". Also, it just so happens that the Geico adjuster was there who did the estimate on my car (the stars were aligned that day). He chimes in and says "that car was clean when I saw it". So finally the owner can't backpeddle anymore, but just the fact that they tried pissed me off bigtime. So now they realize they have to fix it and decide that my entire car needs to be wet sanded and rebuffed, but they can't do it until Monday. At this point I'm pretty pissed because of the abuse my poor clear coat is taking at the hands of these people, but they ensure me it will be alright. I'm left freaking out ALL WEEKEND LONG worrying about my car, literally sick to my stomach. Fast forward to today, I get a call that my car is almost ready. They inform me that whatever was on my car came off with a buffing/polish and that it did not need to be wet sanded. Good news for once... I head into the shop 15 minutes later and I could tell that they gave my car extra TLC. I sh!t you not when I say that my car looks like black glass. Apparently, they buffed/polished the car...then also HAND POLISHED it. They detailed the entire thing too. I was pretty awestruck. I was expecting the worst. There were no marks anywhere. My car looks about 100 times better than the day I took it home from the dealer. They also matched the paint perfectly. So after my weekend of hell and despair, there was a happy ending. Sorry for the iPhone pics but this is the car now.... So even though there was a happy ending, it came with some major stress. I explained to them that they KNEW my car didn't come in with that crap all over it. They should have taken care of the issue in-house and never even tried to pawn the car off on me in that condition. Did they REALLY think I would take the car like that? It made absolutely no sense at all. Why would you call someone up, requesting them to pick up their car and throw in a minor OBTW at the end informing them their entire car is messed up, and that they should take it to a dealer to be repaired. Really? Anyhoo, after talking with them for a while, after the whole ordeal was over (they dropped $100 dollars off the detailing price making it practically free) they hypothesized that after my car was washed, it may have been sprayed with overspray from another car wash and left to dry out in the sun without being wiped down. They think it may have been severe hard water stains on my car. I'm not sure I buy it, but I'm just happy I finally have the car back and its in one piece. __________________ --Rick Last edited by zZSportZz; 04-19-2010 at 10:11 PM.

04-19-2010, 10:10 PM	#2 (permalink)
m4a1mustang A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Northern VA Posts: 55,385 Drives: on two wheels Rep Power: 6962	Sucks that you had to go through that but at least they came through in the end. I see Starbucks in your immediate future... __________________ - Steve Zs & Coffee - Saturdays at 10AM in Fairfax, VA and Columbia, MD (Click the banner!) LIKE us on Facebook!

04-19-2010, 10:13 PM	#3 (permalink)
PapoZalsa A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Not in Sunny Florida Posts: 6,358 Drives: 16 Nismo w/Tech Pack Rep Power: 4499	Looks great, but black paint is hell to keep up with, especially Nissan paint. __________________ 2009 370Z MB Base w/Sport Package 6MT Modshack's Custom Air Intakes /3M Clear Bra/ Illuminated Kick Plates / F. I CBE w/12" resonators / EVO-R Front Lip / Rear Hatch Wing / Tein S-Tech Springs /Ilegal Tint in the Rep. of VA/4x20mm Z1 Spacers/ Vinyl Roof/Liquid Carbon Designs

04-19-2010, 10:15 PM	#4 (permalink)
Xan A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: MA Posts:99999999999999 Posts: 3,301 Drives: 370Z 40th Aniversary Rep Power: 24	Happy it worked out and the end result does look good! __________________

04-19-2010, 10:16 PM	#5 (permalink)
zZSportZz A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,095 Drives: 370z Blk on Blk 6MT Rep Power: 18	Honestly, detailing my car is my therapy after a long week of work. I have no problem keeping up with it. Getting told that my car has 'acid rain marks' all over it, is a whole different story thought hehe. I'd still like to know wtf happened to my car to get all that crap on it though. __________________ --Rick Last edited by zZSportZz; 04-19-2010 at 10:19 PM.

04-20-2010, 08:27 PM	#7 (permalink)
madelf Base Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Fredericksburg, VA Posts: 77 Drives: 09 370Z PW 7AT Rep Power: 15	__________________ Fairlady Z \| Tint \|

04-20-2010, 08:36 PM	#9 (permalink)
Jeffblue A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: NY Age: 36 Posts: 9,192 Drives: Z32TT & 335xi Coupe Rep Power: 37	at least they didn't use this to clean off the acid rain spots! I was at infiniti getting my car serviced there, and one of the technitians was getting yelled at for using brake cleaner to clean off the whiteboard... That kind of thing scares me since i was having my car serviced there. Glad to see your car turned out all right tho

04-20-2010, 11:33 PM	#12 (permalink)
pauley Base Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Md Posts: 103 Drives: 09 370Z + 07 G35S Rep Power: 15	Paint remover..... now that's scarey.That's why if it ain't a warranty/recall issue, dealership is not touching my car. __________________ 2009 370Z Blk/Blk Touring/Sport + 2007 G35SModified

04-21-2010, 05:59 AM	#13 (permalink)
ZCarMan A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: MD Posts: 4,488 Drives: 09 Z34, 13 F-150 Rep Power: 25	Rick, sorry for your troubles mate. It all worked out in the end so there is a happy ending as you said. Now get your Z up on Saturday morning and join up with us again! __________________ Jon Swift \| SPC \| Stillen \| Motordyne \| AAM \| Cobb \| Hawk \| Volk Racing \| Bridgestone Green Demon Eyes

04-21-2010, 07:21 AM	#14 (permalink)
fullmonty A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Dirty Jersey Posts: 7,762 Drives: 370 Touring/Sport Rep Power: 33	Damn man glad it worked out! __________________

04-21-2010, 09:52 PM	#15 (permalink)
kniwolf Base Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: MD Posts: 17 Drives: 2009 Nissan 370Z Rep Power: 15	Wow! Glad to see that they straightened it out for you. What body shop was it?

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