W211 AMG Discuss the W211 AMG's such as the E55 and the E63

My Nightmare with the Body Shop and Rental Car Agency

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Old Jun 7, 2007 | 02:45 PM
  #1  
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'09 911 C4S
My Nightmare with the Body Shop and Rental Car Agency

Sorry if I wasted anyone's time for venting in this forum.

As a bunch of you probably know, I was rear ended on March 6th 2007 and the flat bed that towed my car further damaged the front bumper. So after 72 days in the shop, I finally got my car back on May 17th 2007. The original repair estimate was for 9(rear) + 5(front) days of repair. The reason for them to stretch out the repair so much was because they have to "wait for a part / pump".

They promised to give me back my car on May 16th 2007, but that promise was not fulfilled. I argued with the body shop manager on the phone and told him I'm picking up my car no matter what on May 17th at 9am. On the day of pickup, I found numerous defects with the paint work and the front fender doesn't line up with the front bumper. They even put the wrong tire size on my rear wheel. This whole mess will take another 2K to fix according to a reputable independent body in Boston.

During this time, I was in C280 4MATIC loaner. However, I couldn't get the insurance company to approve of the rental charge on this car because the body shop refused to update them with supplements and paper work. I'm stuck with a 4200 dollar bill right now since I used a credit card for deposit on the rental. The body shop's manager had a verbal agreement with me that he will call up the rental agency (which is an Enterprise operated by the dealership) to put the charge on hold for me until they settle everything with the insurance company. Of course, that was another hollow promise as well. Up to this day, they still have not finished any paper work for my repairs and I'm stuck disputing the charge with my c/c company.

I'm letting my attorney handle the rest of the claims process as I have to focus on studying for my board exam. Usually I don't want to go the legal route, but these people have gone too far and pushed too many buttons.

Moral of the story: avoid Herb Chambers at all cost!
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Old Jun 8, 2007 | 12:37 PM
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1989 Toyota Tercel EZ - dyno'd @ 70whp/77wtq
I thought you sold the car already

Not sure if it's too late.... if I were you, I'd get that new $2K estimate and bill that to the body shop.... saying that either they foot the rental car bills and fix or pay $2K and call it even.

I'm sure they'd pick the latter one.
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Old Jun 8, 2007 | 12:51 PM
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Originally Posted by zoink
I thought you sold the car already

Not sure if it's too late.... if I were you, I'd get that new $2K estimate and bill that to the body shop.... saying that either they foot the rental car bills and fix or pay $2K and call it even.

I'm sure they'd pick the latter one.
Yep, I already traded in the car, but the saga still continue.....

Right now, I need to focus on getting my fair share back fromt the lady that rear-ended me, the tow company that fuked up the front end, and their insurance companies. Then, I'll focus on those ***** at the dealership's Enterprise as well as the the body shop. I did a conference call with the body shop manager and the insurance adjuster yesterday and the body shop is still trying to come up with a reasonable timeline to justify what happened in the 72 days that my car was in the shop (it's hard to make something up like this. I definitely want to see why the heck it took 2.5 months to fix my car).

I've wasted so much time with this bunch of crooks.

Last edited by Kev04C320; Jun 8, 2007 at 12:53 PM.
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Old Jun 8, 2007 | 02:22 PM
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dsc
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2004 E55
Sorry to hear the hassles. I know how you feel. Quite frankly you'll never get total satisfaction. I think you are right, focus on moving your life forward. Let those guys swim in their own filth.
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Old Jun 8, 2007 | 03:27 PM
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Originally Posted by dsc
Sorry to hear the hassles. I know how you feel. Quite frankly you'll never get total satisfaction. I think you are right, focus on moving your life forward. Let those guys swim in their own filth.
On the bright side, the new car's been driving awesome and I had already started modding the car too

You're right. It's time to move on and let them duke it out amongst themselves. After all, my passenger and I came out of this freak accident without a scratch. I'll let my attorney to handle everything from this point on. As long as I get something out of it, I'm happy. I don't care if the attorney made a bunch during this coz he deserves it in my books. The insurance company wasn't even aware that the repair dragged on for so fu ckin' long until I called them up yesterday.
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Old Jun 8, 2007 | 04:11 PM
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1989 Toyota Tercel EZ - dyno'd @ 70whp/77wtq
Something similar but a lot less severe happened to me...

The body shop told me that it'd take 2-3 days to complete.... by end of 3rd day, they told me the car wasn't ready. I called the rental company and told them they my car was not ready and asked who would take care the bill. Of course, the rental company said it was me or my insurance company.

I said hell no.... I returned the rental car and went to the body shop. I said... hey, I need a rental car So the body shop gave me a voucher for the rental car...

I double confirmed w/ the rental company... they said, yeah, they'd continue charging the body shop until I return the car. This means my insurance company and myself are off the hook.

My car was ready 3 weeks later The body shop gave me Me, seeing the car was perfect and no worries w/ the rental expense, said OK and left

Lesson to learn: Never assume anything...

**Edit**
Forgot to tell the funny part of the story.... my car had the driver's door shell replaced and the door and front fender sprayed.... the bill showed $1100.... and calculating it myself, the body shop had to eat $750 from the extra rental expense.... Not sure how they made the money And this was before I went back 2 more times later to have the color re-matched.

Last edited by zoink; Jun 8, 2007 at 04:15 PM.
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Old Jun 8, 2007 | 04:19 PM
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Originally Posted by zoink
Something similar but a lot less severe happened to me...

The body shop told me that it'd take 2-3 days to complete.... by end of 3rd day, they told me the car wasn't ready. I called the rental company and told them they my car was not ready and asked who would take care the bill. Of course, the rental company said it was me or my insurance company.

I said hell no.... I returned the rental car and went to the body shop. I said... hey, I need a rental car So the body shop gave me a voucher for the rental car...

I double confirmed w/ the rental company... they said, yeah, they'd continue charging the body shop until I return the car. This means my insurance company and myself are off the hook.

My car was ready 3 weeks later The body shop gave me Me, seeing the car was perfect and no worries w/ the rental expense, said OK and left

Lesson to learn: Never assume anything...

**Edit**
Forgot to tell the funny part of the story.... my car had the driver's door shell replaced and the door and front fender sprayed.... the bill showed $1100.... and calculating it myself, the body shop had to eat $750 from the extra rental expense.... Not sure how they made the money And this was before I went back 2 more times later to have the color re-matched.
Dude, you're my hero

I learned my lesson to not sign anything (the rental agreement in this instance) until I'm entirely clear who's paying for what. Lesson learned and time for pay back.....
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Old Jun 8, 2007 | 04:22 PM
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2006 E55 AMG
Having worked in the insurance claims industry and dealing with car repairs, shops, rental car companies and stupid insurance adjusters, I can totally understand your frustration. Remember, insurance claims personnel are all entry level positions, just like rental car agents. You have my total sympathy but in the words of Rambo..."Let it go!!!"
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Old Jun 8, 2007 | 05:22 PM
  #9  
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Originally Posted by Rudyrono
Having worked in the insurance claims industry and dealing with car repairs, shops, rental car companies and stupid insurance adjusters, I can totally understand your frustration. Remember, insurance claims personnel are all entry level positions, just like rental car agents. You have my total sympathy but in the words of Rambo..."Let it go!!!"
I'm not ready to cough up 4.2K to pay for a lousy C280 4MATIC rental while they let my baby sit in the lot for 10 weeks, "waiting for a part".
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Old Dec 10, 2008 | 04:29 AM
  #10  
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WTF?
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Old Mar 2, 2009 | 09:40 PM
  #11  
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You are a freaking dumb *** to post that......

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...red-beast.html

This is my old E55:

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