2000 Camaro damaged by tire shop

Yes... Get a Jew lawyer and hit them for a $1,000,000.00 for your pain and suffering.

Oh look....nothing left.

Interesting header information, but please, don't feed this troll.

Martin '01 Formula - MTI Air Box Lid, K&N Filter, Hurst-6, SLP Cold Air Induction & Smooth Intake Bellow Corsa Catback w/Premium Tips '83 V45 Magna

When they lifted it, they put the lift pads on the mounting flange for the fender and bent the flange and broke the tab off the fender ? This happened to my 2000SS but I cant prove witch of two shops did it. The dealer used to change my oil and they could have done it but I believe the tire shop who rotated my tires once was the culprit. No proof so I am screwed.I now do ALL my own maintaince. Let us know what happens.

Same reasons for me. As I own better, nicer and newer cars, I just won't let ANYONE touch them. My oldest brother and a muffler and suspension guy are the only people I trust to lay a wrench on any of them, with the necessary exception of the body shop (once and will have to again for the Trans Am).

The Vampire, "Muffin Man"

X-MessageID:

: When they lifted it, they put the lift pads on the mounting flange for the : fender and bent the flange and broke the tab off the fender ? This happened : to my 2000SS but I cant prove witch of two shops did it. The dealer used to : change my oil and they could have done it but I believe the tire shop who : rotated my tires once was the culprit. No proof so I am screwed.I now do ALL : my own maintaince. Let us know what happens.

Thanks for your intelligent reply. I'm pretty sure that's exactly what happened to mine. My big question is how do you fix it? Service King wants to replace the whole fender. I think this is overkill, is there some simpler and less expensive way to put it back in place?

As far as suing them goes. Yes, I'll do it. No, I'm not going to hire some lawyer of the Semitic persuasion and sue them for an unreasonable amount.

What I am considering is going to the local Justice of the Peace (JP court) and filing a small claims action against them. I'll show them the estimate of $900 for replacing the fender. I have an estimate for the

2-year-old damage which does *not* involve replacing the fender. I have records showing I had the tires rotated several times since that first damage was done. And I'll be willing to swear under oath that the latest damage occurred right when the tires were replaced.

Odds are good when they see that summons, or the small-claims form in my hand they'll be more than willing to offer me something to keep me out of court. It might not be the full $900 but a good chunk of that would make me happy.

However, what I really want is the car fixed. I'd like to have both the original damage, and the latest thing, both fixed without replacing the body parts. If I could someone who could tap the fender back into place for a hundred or so, I'd much rather do it this way. The amount would be so small it wouldn't be worth hassling over.

Seems like these guys love to put the lift at the weakest spot on your car. I always have to watch them. Once, they bent the fins on the body, and I had them get it repaired at a body shop for free.

This is a very common scenario. I even did it once myself (and on a heavily modded 98 that was good for 10s, no less, if I recall...) I have been told that this point (the fender pinch weld) is factory accepted as a lifting point, but never verified this for myself. Always make certain that a shop lifts the car on the front subframes (the one I broke sat too low to get the lift arm under the sub). Lucky for me, we were able to wrap and rag around a pair of pliers and bend the pinch weld back down without splitting the finish, which pulled the fender back into near-perfect alignment. (the vehicle owner was present and aware of the situation.) A scary number of fourth-gens I have seen have suffered this damage.

Chevy Munky wrote: : Nomen Nescio wrote: :> X-MessageID: :> :> When I get home from the tire shop, I notice the right fender :> is bulging out about an 1/2 inch from the right door. Obviously :> this happened cause of them jacking the car up.

: This is a very common scenario. I even did it once myself (and on a : heavily modded 98 that was good for 10s, no less, if I recall...) I : have been told that this point (the fender pinch weld) is factory : accepted as a lifting point, but never verified this for myself. Always : make certain that a shop lifts the car on the front subframes (the one I : broke sat too low to get the lift arm under the sub). Lucky for me, we : were able to wrap and rag around a pair of pliers and bend the pinch : weld back down without splitting the finish, which pulled the fender : back into near-perfect alignment. (the vehicle owner was present and : aware of the situation.) A scary number of fourth-gens I have seen have : suffered this damage.

So what you are saying is that you don't have to replace the fender. Is this pretty much always the case? If this is so, I'd assume a body shop could do this for next-to-nothing, and it wouldn't be worth suing Discount Tire over it.

Also, has anyone ever hit something on the right front corner with a fourth-gen. Quite easy to do since you can't see the front of the car while driving it. The bumper cover is bent out of shape where the fog light is. I was wondering if someone could maybe put a heat gun on it and pop it back into shape. Also, the paint needs touching up in that area can this reasonably be done without having to paint the entire fender or bumper cover. If anyone has ever had this done how much did it cost and did it work out OK? I really can't afford to pay $1100 to replace the bumper cover at Service King.

Depending on how bad the damage is, sometimes this problem can be "fixed" by simply bending or hammering back the point under the fender where it attaches to the body. Why do shops instinctively lift the car at this point? It's even marked, "Don't jack here" or similar warning!

Let me give you some advice: take that tire shop to small claims court. At first the task might seem daunting, but believe me, it is not. Just do it a step at a time. Here is what I recommend you do:

1) Write a letter to the tire shop stating your concern, and that you firmly believe they are responsible for the damage. Indicate that if you do not receive a cheque within 10 days from their receipt of your letter, in the amount of the Service King estimate for the damage they caused, you will have no choice but to take legal action.

1b) Advise them you will not only sue for the cost of repair, but also an additional unspecified amount for pain and suffering. Advise them that they may also be liable for any legal or admin costs in "enforcing collection of this obligation".

2) Send them the letter via Registered Mail. This will allow you to track when they have physically received it.

3) Be patient, and don't lose your cool.

4) Keep all bills and receipts related to this matter, as the tire shop will be accountable for all legal and admin costs you incurred.

5) If they do not respond to your letter within the 10 days, go and file a small claims court proceeding.

Having read your arguement and story, I am confident you would win, and at the least, you would cause this tire shop some inconvenience for the trouble they are causing you.

Don't worry about anything else. Make sure you sue them for a minimum $500 to $1000 for pain and suffering in dealing with the matter.

You need to show them you are serious and that you mean business. Don't lose your temper or argue or fight with them, just be business like and in the end you'll teach them a nice lesson.

Believe me, I have done it and I got what I was after. You just need to be patient. Once you serve them with the court papers, the onus is on them to have to file a defense. If they choose to sit on their asses and ignore it, there will likely be an automatic ruling against them which would allow the courts to grant you the power to collect the suit amount via a collection agency.

Good luck!

On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 17:10:03 +0200 (CEST), Nomen Nescio puked:

The shop bastards did the same fricking thing to my 2KSS. I pounded the flanges back to 90 degrees with a hand held sledge, but I'm afraid what's gonna happen next time some moron lifts it again.

-- lab~rat >:-) Do you want polite or do you want sincere?