Oil change place damaged my car. What do I do?

January 3, 2006 11:34 AM

Local oil change shop damaged my car. What should I do?

A few weeks ago while I was getting an oil change, one of the oil changer guys fell on my 1996 Civic and put a minor dent in the hood. The shop manager told me "We're really sorry. Go to X Auto and they will fix your hood for you, on us. " I went to X Auto, and they gave me a written estimate for $1200. I brought the estimate back to the oil change shop. Now the shop manager is telling me that he's calling various junk yards to find a hood that's in perfect condition.

Given that:
1. I do not want a new hood if the paint doesn't match perfectly
2. I would rather get some form of cash compensation for the damage

What should I do? I did mention to the guy that I'd be willing to take a check for the repairs instead of having him pay $1200, and he kind of ignored my suggestion.

Also, is there anything I should be doing to protect myself? Demand a written statement of Car Damage Culpability?

posted by agropyron to travel & transportation (15 comments total)

I feel like I should just tell him "Look, rather than you wasting your time fixing my hood, I'd much rather you wrote me a check for X dollars." I'm not sure if this is reasonable, or how to arrive at a reasonable amount.
posted by agropyron at 11:43 AM on January 3, 2006

do you have anything on paper where he admits guilt?
posted by trinarian at 11:49 AM on January 3, 2006

No, there's been no paperwork at all so far. Though it seems like there should be.
posted by agropyron at 11:59 AM on January 3, 2006

are they willing to have the junkyard hood repainted to match your car?

They are trying to keep their insurance out of it. If they have to involve them then their rates will go up.

You could ask for a check for X amount. They might be willing to do this.

It doesn't sound like they are trying to screw you over but to fix you car for the cheapest way possible that is ok with you. Your car is 10 years old.

People like to think that old change centers are making money hand over fist and they are not. That is not say that you won't run into disreputable centers or owners.
posted by nimsey lou at 12:19 PM on January 3, 2006

I'd think he's responsible for fixing the damage done to your car - I don't mean legally, necessarily, but just from a common sense standpoint. He's not responsible for giving you the cash - the garage might be cutting him a deal (though I doubt it given he's obviously not happy with the estimate) or allowing him to pay over time, neither of which option applies to simply cutting you a cheque. If he's willing to pay you a lesser amount to make the whole thing go away, that's fair game, too, and you can ask him, but he's already being pretty reasonable about this (a lot of guys would have made it a lot more difficult for you, regardless of their responsibility).

As a random suggestion of value, I'd say cost of repairs assuming he could find a replacement hood - 10% might be a reasonable amount to ask for. The 10% makes this work out a bit in his favour, so he should be agreeable to it, and also accounts a bit for the inconvenience of being without your car while they fix it, which isn't a factor if you're not going to get it fixed. If you think he's inclined to negotiate rather than agree upfront, you might start with cost of repairs assuming he could find a replacement hood and move down from there.
posted by jacquilynne at 12:56 PM on January 3, 2006

I would take a hard-line stance on this, since in my experience things can go quite sour quickly. He's looking out for himself and will do the bare minimum, I try not to be optimistic about such things. Here's what I would do:

Get an estimate from three separate places. Show him all the estimates and tell him that he may take it to one of those places to get it repaired or give you the cash from the one offering the lowest estimate.

Document this all and put it in no uncertain terms. I find when dealing with less-than-helpful customer service, being as lawyer-like as possible helps. It lets them not spin what you say and makes sure they do what you want. He doesn't want to get insurance involved and I understand that, but that's too bad. I would get insurance involved if he starts making unreasonable offers or gets creative (i.e. painting a hood).
posted by geoff. at 1:14 PM on January 3, 2006

Check your original oil change paperwork ... it likely has legal language on it regarding damage to the car. If you signed it, that's a contract. It could specify what the resolution should be ... but that may or may not work in your favor here.
posted by frogan at 1:28 PM on January 3, 2006

I'd go with a good used hood rather than a dent repair and repaint. I don't care how good the body shop is they can't match the quality of a modern factory paint job.

I don't think the shop is under any obligation to pay you out, just to put your car right. But it couldn't hurt to offer.
posted by Mitheral at 2:03 PM on January 3, 2006

Follow geoff's advice & attach the estimates to a formal letter stating what you've done & why, providing dates and the manager's statement, a la, "Per your agreement to repair the damage done to the hood of my car resulting from your workman's fall on it during my oil change at your facility at XXXXX Anywhere Drive on Dec. 15, enclosed are multiple estimates, balh blah blah." Get it on record. If it's at a chain shop (llike Quik Lube), get the name & address of the area/regional manager and cc them.
posted by Pressed Rat at 2:08 PM on January 3, 2006

$1200 dollars to get a hood replaced/ repaired on an old civic is total bullshit.

A replacement hood is $240, and getting it painted to match won't cost much either.

Hell, if you wanted to do it yourself, hoods are really easy to put on a car - usually a matter of screwing some bolts in with a socket wrench and connecting the two rubber tubes that feed the washer jets (they usually just plug in to the hood). A $25 order from paintscratch will get you a match to your factory paint coat, and since civics are so common, it really shouldn't be hard to get a pre-matched hood unless it is a custom paint job. You probably don't want to do this work yourself, especially to fix someone else's mistake, but the real point here is that $1200 is an ungodly fucking ripoff. Never go to X Auto again. I'm a do-it-yourself kind of person (and it is possible to match a factory paint coat if you order matched paint and clearcoat, I've done it), but if I were to pay for this repair, I would not go over $600.
posted by Derive the Hamiltonian of... at 4:55 PM on January 3, 2006

Also, you didn't mention the exact nature of the dent - if it isn't a sharp, angular dent, have you tried messing around with a plunger? You'd be surprised what a little suction can do, especially on a car like a civic that likely has relatively flexible fiberglass type body panels, and it certainly won't hurt.
posted by Derive the Hamiltonian of... at 5:00 PM on January 3, 2006

I would guess that the shops minimum for making a claim is not even close to what it would cost to replace your car, letalone the hood - I'd follow Geoffs advice, with an addition of paying for a lawyer to draft and send it - but the option of quotes is also good advice, and, a little less confrontational...
posted by DrtyBlvd at 6:31 PM on January 3, 2006

Get a reasonable quote for fixing or replacing the hood and bring it the oil change guys. As I pointed out above, the total cost for parts (new hood and paint) should not be more than $300 - $350. The body shop guys buy from the same online retailers I linked, or their competitors. I think it took me about half an hour to replace the hood on my car working with my stepdad, and masking off and painting a big, geometrically simple piece like a hood should also be a quick job - two hours if the guys are lazy. So, with the estimate you got from that shop, they would be charging something like $300 per hour in labor. Ridiculous, that's six times too high. Maybe the oil change guy will screw you over given the chance, but right now you're screwing him over asking for $1200 for that repair. Get a reasonable quote or at least the lowest one possible, and then take more drastic measures if the oil change guy is unreasonable at that point.

My advice for finding a good (fair) shop; Look for your local foreign car repair guy. He'll mostly work on BMWs, Audis, and Volvos, but he'll also be competent with Japanese cars. This guy exists in any sizeable town. Chances are he will charge you very good prices and will fix almost anything. My family drives old BMWs and Volvos, which are often branded as expensive cars to fix, but we know where to go to get fair prices. A lot of shops will overcharge you beyond belief if you give them the chance; people simply do not know better and accept it en masse.
posted by Derive the Hamiltonian of... at 7:16 PM on January 3, 2006

I just have to say.... Derive the Hamiltonian of... YOU ROCK.
posted by nimsey lou at 7:25 PM on January 3, 2006

Derive:
I got 3 quotes today after reading geoff's suggestions. $900, $1100, and $1200. The oil change dude probably wants to get his friends to do it for cheaper, like you're saying. What I mostly want is to find out how much he would spend fixing it, and ask him to cut me a check for a lesser amount. Say he'd spend $600 on the job, I'd ask him to save some money and give me $500.

I am writing up documentation on every time I've talked to him, dates, addresses and everything, to make it look professional and all. I'm planning to go in tomorrow and talk to him directly about it, so we'll see what happens.

Thanks for your suggestions and information, everyone.
posted by agropyron at 8:00 PM on January 3, 2006