Collision Craft

Review: I went to Collision craft after an auto accident to have my vehicle evaluated and an estimate performed for the insurance company. The estimate, at first, was missing some info, so I had to have more added to it. I did not want any surprises and the insurance company was willing to pay for the repairs. I was told by Tim and his repair associate that they could not find 2 of the parts for the front of my truck. The associate told me all of the suppliers did not have the items we needed. They both suggested I order them on the internet to get the items, and it may be a better price to boot. They said they could not order anything but standard factory parts, and they could not secure the factory parts necessary for the repair in any reasonable amount of time (more than a month). I secured the parts for the repair, and brought the truck to them to perform the repair. I had done the removal of the old parts and agreed to install some of the ancillary components (lights, nerf bar, paint etc.). I merely wanted them to make sure the frame was straight and the parts were mounted appropriately and without any issues. When I picked upp the truck after repair, I was in a hurry to get to the front end alignment shop and Tim said the "front end looked perfect, and the entire job turned out well". He never mentioned anything not fitting appropriately. The plastic upper fascia (supplied part by me) did not fit and was not lined up appropriately, the lower fascia was not replaced as asked, the fender was not lined up properly and was touching the headlight, the plastic lower trim was not secured to the fender, and the bumper did not line up properly. I paid almost $800 for the repair and minimal parts for a bumper and fender panel install and a headlight mount kit. I noticed the issue, spoke to Gene Dziza (owner) and he said he would fix it free (he re inspected it) and they scheduled it in for the re-repair at their cost. They even offered a rent a car. I brought he truck in and Gene refused the repair.Desired Settlement: I want Mr. [redacted] to apologize for calling me a liar, and I want the bumper to line up with the truck properly and the parts to fit properly. If he has to replace the parts, then it needs to be at his expense. At this time, I don't care about anything else, I just don't want my bumper to look "out of whack". They advertise lifetime warranty of the work, but they are turning me away because I secured the parts at their request. I want the labor and part covered under warranty or a refund.

Business

Response:

May 6, 2013

ID #9514442

We are in the business of repairing collision losses that are primarily covered by

insurance. We do not make it a practice to tell people to bring their own parts in so we

can put them on their car. Roughly 40 – 45% of our sales is in parts. It is an important

profit center for us.

Of the five insurance companies that we are able to garnish customer satisfaction ratings

from, we currently score 100% for four of them and 96% on another. Those are year-

to-date numbers. I point this out to illustrate that we make a living repairing insurance

claims.

In Mr. [redacted]’s case, Mr. [redacted] wanted a limited amount of repair work done because

he cashed out and bought parts that I am willing to bet, cost much less than what the

insurance company paid for. Furthermore, we do not use parts from the vendor he

obtained the parts from and there is a reason for it. No insurance company that I know

of uses those parts either. Let me point out that it is not that uncommon for customers to

cash out on an insurance claim and have none of the repairs done or do them themselves.

Mr. [redacted] chose to do some of the repairs himself. But think about it, do you think

it is in our best interest to encourage customers to do that? Mr. [redacted] makes it sound

like we gave him no other option. I assure you, we do not tell people to “Go cash your

insurance check, get the cheapest parts you can find online, do some of the repairs

yourself, and we’ll guarantee the fit of those cheap parts you bring in or replace

them at our cost”.

We replaced the parts he wanted us to. We did not purchase or sell him the parts, nor did

we paint any of the parts.

Mr. [redacted] came in with some problems with the way the parts fit. I happened to be

in the office, looked at the vehicle, and told my Parts Manager to get some new parts

here and gave Mr. [redacted] an appointment date. At the time, because I did not handle

Mr. [redacted] original claim, I did not realize that Mr. [redacted] provided his own parts.

Now in Mr. [redacted] complaint it is clear that he expected me to warranty the fit of the

aftermarket parts he provided and purchase new parts at my expense if I could not

make them fit. Quite often, aftermarket parts do not fit. I stand by my conviction that

that is an unreasonable expectation.

The day Mr. [redacted] came in, we had one of our loaners reserved and ready for him.

Because he has no collision or comprehensive coverage on his own vehicle, our

insurance does not allow us to loan him a vehicle. That was the first blow-up. Mr. [redacted]

demanded I rent him a car. I said I would not. I told him repeatedly, I would do the

best I could to fit the parts but could not guarantee I could make them fit. He told me he

expected me to buy new ones for him if I could not make them fit. I told him I would

not but would spend some time to try to make them fit. I do not think that is refusing to

do the repairs as his complaint states. That took place on 4/22/13. After thinking about

it that night, I told Mr. [redacted] to contact Mr. [redacted], offer to pay for an Enterprise

rental car, and tell him we would do the best we could to get the parts to fit. I thought

that would be a better solution than to have a “hater”. That was on the morning of 4/23,

long before I was even aware there was a complaint filed and may even be before the

complaint was actually filed.

We scheduled Mr. [redacted] for April 30, and provided him with a rental car we paid for

from Enterprise rental. I don’t believe there is another shop in town that would have

given him that consideration. To my knowledge, Mr. [redacted] complaints were handled to

his satisfaction on April 30.

I never said Mr. [redacted] was a liar. I suppose I did express some disbelief when he told

me that Mr. [redacted], my estimator told him the truck “looked perfect”. Tim was a body

repair technician for over 30 years. He is an ASE Master Collision Repair Technician and

an I-CAR Platinum repair technician. He is one of the most honest men I know. He says

he never used language describing the fit as “perfect” and I probably openly doubted that

Tim would use such language, especially given the circumstance.

I do apologize to Mr. [redacted] for that misunderstanding.

Sincerely,

[redacted], President

Collision Craft

Kalispell, MT 59901

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Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 9514442, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.] I still stand behind my statement that Mr [redacted] informed me to procure my own parts. I was told they could not locate the necessary parts. I also informed them I only wanted done what was absolutely necessary, however I wanted it done right. I made strong point of this when Mr [redacted] initially scheduled me in for the follow up repair. His denial of the repair after it had been scheduled and the unreasonable request to have full coverage insurance for the loaner was ridiculous. I saved money on the repair due to the vehicle being less damaged than estimates. I still expected to receive satisfactory treatment for the services I paid for. After they repaired the vehicle the second time, it was better, but not great. The fitment had nothing to do with the "substandard" parts, merely the care in witch they were installed. I have given up and did not want to complain anymore because I felt it would not be taken seriously

At this point I would prefer to have a refund of the labor costs only relating to the bumper install, or at very least an apology and explanation that doesn't insult and degrade me. They did not take my complaint seriously and have totally failed to provide adequate repairs.

Regards,

Review: See attached.Desired Settlement: see Attached document

Business

Response:

This communication is in response to a complaint by Mr. [redacted].

Mr. [redacted] called us on the day he hit the deer. He said we had fixed something on his truck previously and did not charge him, so he was going to bring his truck in for us to repair. I happened to answer the phone. He asked me if I had a loaner and I told him I did not. He requested that I give him my truck to drive. I told him I would not. He said he had an old truck to drive. When Mr. [redacted] arrived at our office, he was drunk and his passenger was passed out in the front seat. There were three people that witnessed this and have a great photo of it. At the time we had five loaners, with one being wrecked by a customer, so we had four on the road with nine people waiting for one to be available. This was explained to Mr. [redacted]. There was no way that I was going to incurr the liability of him driving one of my loaners anyway. I can't control what he does in his own vehicle but there is no way I'm going to have someone driving drunk in one of my vehicles. We told Mr. [redacted] his truck would be complete in four weeks. It was done in four weeks to the exact day as promised. Mr. [redacted] is seeking compensation for us not providing a loaner to him. He never paid me his $500.00 deductible.