We had our car "Fixed" at a repair shop but they did a really bad job. What are our rights?

Question

We were rear ended last month and we took our car into a repair shop. It had gotten some great reviews, but we just got our car back and its not the way it should be. This is my boyfriends Lexus, and its his baby. He is so upset over this! The trunk used to close automatically and now you have to slam it shut, and the bumper is not attached properly. The repair shop took almost 2 weeks to "Fix" it and it looks so bad!! They didn't give us any paper work and the insurance company has already given them a check! What are our rights? Has any one else had a similar situation and if so what happend? We really appreciate your help, my boyfriend is so so upset!! Thanks!

Answer 1

You need to go back to your insurance company and notify them.  They should help

Answer 2

my car was parked in my drive way in west palm beach flordia on a horse shoe style road.. sometime in the middle of the nite a dodge van came down that road apparently lost as they didnt know there was a curve in the road and they were driving too fast ,ended up in the swail and lost controll and hit my car so hard the inpact knocked it 5 feet in the air and swung it around our light pole and it landed in the grass...

no one on the street heard it as it was about 63 am in the morning and it was a hot nite so everyone had their air condition on and their windows closed.

we called the police and our insurance company and we were told we had to take it to a ford dealer. this car was a diferent modle all together and i was worried that the ford dealer wouldnt fix it corectly... they had our car for 2 weeks and when i went to pick it up i noticed right off there was stuff wrong with it... i had my name embossed in gold on the wind sheild and it wasnt there... i had a harley emblem in the rear window and it wasnt there... i had a custom made dash cover on the dash and it was gone so we looked in the trunk for it and the trunk was full of water ... uggggggggggg

i asked them why there were lines on my rear window and they replyed thats your read defoger ... and i said i dont have a rear defoger as there is no button for it on by dash.... they got a bit worried at this point because i had photos of everythin i was pointing out to them...

they took my car bct to the garage and fixed the trunk ... lolol they drilled a hole in it to let the water out ... i said thats not going to fix the problem that it has.. there is a leak somewhere and water is getting in...

so the boss told me ok... take it home and write everything down that it wrong with it and we will fix it... i said ok. i drove it 1 block and it said i was out of gas... the gage said i had 1/2 a tank... i got it to a gas station and it took 50 dollars to fill t up... so it was empty...

a few days later my husband took it out on I-95 and at 65 miles an hour the car totally lost all its power... breaks,lights, everything and almost lost controll of it... if it had been me behind the wheel iwouldnt be here telling you about it today...

we then called the insurance company and told her of all that was wrong with the car and we didnt feel safe in it... she had it taken back to the dealer and they fixed the gas tank which was totally bent in half from the accident... thats why it regestered 1/.2 a tank...

we then asked if we could get a second opinion from a dealer that built the car which was dodge... and she said no so i told her we would take it to an attorney and she buckled and said ok...

we took it to the dodge dealer and the head person took it for a spin and came cack and said give me a few hours  ... we went back and he told us he wouldnt let his grandmother drive that car it was totall un safe..

thay had tried to pull the frame (which was bent) straight andin the process broke all the glass in it which is why all my emblems were all gone and there were lines in the back window . they had replaced it with a new/used window that didnt belong on t. thay also cut the car in 1/2 and put a whole back end body on it  and didnt weld it right so if i had been hit from behind it would have came apart...this is why it leaked into the tunk as well and into the whole inside of the car which was moldy as well... all the interier was runied...

he wrote it off as a totaled car and the insurance had to pay the ford dealer 5000.00 dollars for working on it as well as the bank of 18000 dollars to pay off the car...

take your car to a dealer you trust and who made the car and get a second opinion... you have a right to decide where your car should be taken to be fixed no matter what the insurance company says and no matter how many estements you get . you still have the power to make that dission where to take it... if your not happy with it and scared it isnt safe take it to a dealer... it may be a right off..

remember YOU HAVE THE POWER

cheers

mystic

Answer 3

Call your insurance agent.  You didn't say what state you're in.  California has Bureau of Automotive Repair that will file a complaint.

Answer 4

Go back to the repair shop and tell them what you are not happy about.  If they refuse to fix it, or if they don't fix it properly the second time, call your insurance company, or the other party's insurance if you went through them, and tell them.

If the insurance company does not help you, call the BBB, and file a claim in small claims court.

My boyfriend had a problem similar to this.  Someone broke into his car by breaking the window.  He had to have the window replaced 4 times because it wasn't working.  The only reason it got fixed the 4th time is because he took it to a different shop and sent the bill to the first one.  I would probably talk to a lawyer before doing that though.

Answer 5

Ask for your money back, or ask them to fix it right.  If they don't, the answer is easy... sue 'em in small claims court.

Answer 6

Yes, you should contact the ins agent and tell him/her the job was not done well.

You MAY end up in court before this is all settled, but you should win.

Answer 7

Your vehicle is supposed to be returned to you in "pre loss condition"

If you are not happy with the repairs, take the car back to the shop. Speak with the owner/manager and explain to them your concerns. They should have not problem addressing the issue.

Also call the insurance company and let them know too. Let them know that the shop (that they paid their money too) didn't repair your vehicle up to par. They may suggest you take it back or may refer you to a new shop.

Best of luck