BODY SHOP IS TRYING TO SCREW ME! i need the auto community's help!

hi, my name is Ander and i drive a Ford Ranger. i just moved to Austin, TX from FL for work. a couple weeks ago someone hit my truck and i had to take it to a body shop to have basically the whole drivers side except the front fender replaced.

well i got it back last week and started looking it over a little bit. i popped the tonneau cover and it was a lot more wobbly than usual and i looked around and saw one of the welds at the front of the frame was broke, and it was teetering on the other corner and the hinges. i told them right then that it was broke and the manager said he'd have to make some calls to see who could fix it because apparantly this body shop didnt have a TIG welder to weld the aluminum. the repair looked ok on a cursory look and since i had my wife with me she wanted to go home so i signed off on it and left.

the next day i brought it out to look at more closely and noticed other things. there were huge, deep gouges on my tonneau cover down into the primer, that were NOT there before. so i called them back up and told them what i had found and said i would like them to repaint the area because they had obviously done it. the lady said she would make a note of it and tell the manager and he'd call me back about that and the weld. well he never called me back so after waiting all weekend i called them back and talked to him and he said he still hadnt heard back from USAA about the weld. im thinkin wait, USAA isnt gonna cover the weld that YOU broke. so after i hung up, i call again the next day and leave him a message, and then call him again today because i still hadnt heard anything. finally i get him on the phone and he says they wont fix the weld OR the gouges, because he doesnt believe they actually did it! im completely at a loss for words here. this dude completely denied responsibility after TAKING responsibility when i first showed it to him when i picked it up!

i hang up and head down there to talk to the guy myself and he meets me outside and is like "wheres the scratch?" i show him the scratches, two on the front edge that look like it was spun around on the ground to move it or something, but could probly be buffed out, and about 3 more, an inch long by 1/2 inch wide down into the primer. again he says "we didnt do that" hes trying to say that since they set it on a bench while it was off theres no possible way those scratches could ever have been caused by his shop. then he accuses me of trying to defraud him and get my tonneau cover repainted because when i first brought it in i asked if they could simply reclear a couple spots where the clear was peeling from a massive bird crap. they said theyd have to strip and reclear the whole thing for $400 which i declined. (afterwards i made plans with a coworker-minitrucker for him to spot clear the areas just to stop them from peeling). so now theres no possible way they could have caused the gouges in their negligence since im trying to defraud them. fine. be that way. at least fix the weld that you ADMITTED you broke. NO YOU SAY?! he says "i know how we took it off and on and theres no way we broke it". AAAARRRRGHH! what the hell happened to personal responsibility today?! so after some more arguing with a wall, they wont fix the scratches, and they wont fix the weld, and he wont admit they caused either of them.

i asked him how much of his business was word of mouth. all of it. i asked him if he know how much it hurt for someone to tell about bad experiences. he said a happy customer tells 1, an unhappy customer tells 9. i say ill tell WAY more. and i left.

im going to lodge a complaint with the BBB tomorrow, and call up my insurance co and let them know, and not to recommend them to anyone else. im also considering calling up "7 on Your Side", the tv news crew guys. so heres what i need YOU guys to help me with. call him. email him. send him letters. let him know that what he is doing is WRONG, and he is being outted and people know what a snake he is and that this all could have been avoided if he had manned up and fixed the damage they caused.

heres the info:

Jesse JohnsonCustom Car Crafters6819 McNeil DrAustin, TX 78729tel: 512-331-9398fax: 512-331-9399cell: 512-748-6467email: jesse@customcarcrafters.net



Cliffs Notes:body shop broke my tonneau frame and put big gouges in it and wont fix it. told me to shove off. i need EVERYONE to show them this is WRONG and let them know. many times.

You signed off on the work.

Always check the work before signing off on it, Next time your wife is in too much of a hurry you should tell her to walk.

Sorry but you did the wrong thing, he is running a business the way that they are ran. Bringing the truck back in after you said the work was to your standards in not a way for them to make money.

Think of it from his side. He gets alot of people damaging thier own rides even more to try to get free work done. He knows the common things to look for, like you asking him to spot clear the bed cover. Then signing off on the work and returning with scratches asking him to repair it. This is a flag for him to think you are trying to get free work at his expense.

No matter the truth, you did not do things the way you are supposed to. Next time, if there is a next time, you will have learned a valuable lesson and do things the correct way.

thats true, and i agree, i should have looked closer at the whole truck. as it is, i just looked at the repair, i wasnt looking for additional damage. BUT that still doesnt excuse him refusing the fix the tonneau frame. i DID show that to him before i took the truck and he DID say he would fix it then.

I'm looking at it from his perspective...

He agreed to fix the tonneau, you came back and told him there was more damage that he did. He most likely thought you only claimed he was at fault for the scratches because he agreed to fix the broken hinge.

This being a common way for people to "get free work" he deceded to put you in the group of people wanting freebies.

Now that you know how the process works I'm definate you will check all work performed before signing your name agreeing with the shop that thier work was satisfactory.

It sucks, but everything does not always work out when you cannot do the work yourself.

yup ben hit the nail on the head. you shouldnt have signed off till you througly inspected the truck. just buck up get a new bracket and get the tonneau repainted. there isnt really anything you can do, as its your word agaisnt his.

IM WITH BEN ON THIS ONE !!!

i just got off the phone with the body shop OWNER Richard wood (awesome nice guy BTW) and he said he would fix any damage i had and handle it personally. he even said it was probably Jesse himself that damaged my tonneau. he said hes taking Lance's car to SEMA tomorrow and he will bring me back some stuff even! hah! score one for the good guy! THANKS EVERYONE THAT HELPED. i know your emails and phone calls probably made a difference!

thats cool man! one thing you gota think of is that the manager is just doin his job lookin out for hte company, but he could be an asshat at the same time.

james, i remember you from RPS. been a while since i seen you over there. anything new?

hard to say if they did it or not , usually when a vechile is brought in they should do a inspection on it do prevent things like this.. i just moved from austin and the guys over there do really good work... hopefully they will take care of you