Adler & Mandel

To Whom it May Concern,Our Customer brought her [redacted] to us when her convertible top was not operating. We found that the top motor, that is placed in the left quarter panel of the vehicle, was sitting in water. The top motor has a plastic casing that is designed to keep water from getting to the...

motor. The Seal between this casing and its id, however, is not waterproof and can cause water to collect Inside with no way to drair out. The way water runs along this convertible top (as most) is the water is channeled to the inside quarter panels and out via the quarter panel drains. This top motor sits in the left quarter panel, right above the drair. The seål om this Cåšing is not water tight and on heavy rain/car washes water can get into the casing and affect the motor, After doing many of these cars over the years, we began starting to drill holes in the bottom of the casing that allows the water to drain out and into the quarter drain and there out of the vehicle before it can cause damage to the motor, So, we replaced the customers top motor, drilled the holes in the casing and the job was complete. Keep in mird that if these quarter drains become clogged that water will fill from the bottom up and eventually reach the motor's casing,A year later this customer came back saying that her top doesn't operate. Upon inspection, we found both quarter drains in the car were clogged and filled with water, As indicated the motor is installed in the left quarter panel. The motor failed because the left quarter drain on the body of the Car clogged, causing gallons of water to drain from the car and causing the top motor to fail. The Customer probably parks outside, under trees or large shrubs, because the fallout is causing these quarter drains to become clogged and thus causing the related damage to the top motor.At this point We cleaned her quarter drains at no charge. We asked her if she would like us to leave the motor exposed 5 she could take her vehicle to [redacted] to see if they would cover the motor under warranty, She agreed to this. Ultimately due to water damage to the motor, [redacted] would not over the part under [redacted]'s warranty, Oluf customer told us that her service writer at [redacted] of Rockville (of which we have a working relationship with) blamed the holes we placed in the casing of the motor, b?t this was not th? Case. In fact, wh?n w? Called to [redacted] to the Service writer directly, he confirmed that the motor became flooded because the drains became clogged, not because of the holes we placed. Again, the holes that we drill are to allow water to escape the Casing when water is drained from the top runoff (rain/car washes) out the quarter panel dr?ins. If the drains becoming clogged the water will fill up the compartment and get to the motor.Further, he såld that the holes we placed  in the motor's casing seemed like a preemptive measure since he had come across this problem as well. Our Customer called again stating that the holes we placed caused her motor to fail and wanted it replaced at no charge. We tried our best to explain how water flows though her car, and that even without the holes that the casing’s  lid is riot Waterproof, Hence the motor would have failed anyway since there were Several gallons of water sitting in the quarter drains because of the debris. No matter how we explained it she seemed not to understand, and she left with her car, We suggest that she keep her car garage kept and if that is not possible then not to park under large trees of anywhere that a lot of fallout occurs. Further to keep an ear out for the sound of sloshing water, especially where making turns that could be the result of clogged quarter drains.