South Hill Collision Inc

Mr. [redacted] had recently purchased a 2008 Ford Mustang and brought it to us for repairs, upon the advice of his insurance company.   After pickup, he returned, and wanted someone to pay for his worn out clutch/slave cylinder. It is an aftermarket racing clutch.  We went for a...

ride with him, confirmed that he did indeed have an issue including hard to engage into gears when hot.  We only drive cars to/from our production facility, which is about 10 blocks.  The office building is located at 152nd and Meridian, and includes offices and waiting rooms.  Our production shop is 30,000 square feet at 163rd and Meridian.  All cars are driven to the shop for repairs, as we cannot repair cars in the office space.  The car would not get hot in that short drive.  we tried to reach a resolution.  We agreed to take his car to an authorized dealership and have them diagnose the issue, we also notified his insurance company.  He chose Lakewood Ford as a neutral Mechanical shop, and as a Ford Dealer, they have better knowledge of these cars than anyone, as well as being Ford Certified Mechanics.  Lakewood Ford agreed there was a problem, said problem was a worn out clutch slave cylinder.  They further went on to say that no abuse or external cause other than the part wearing out could be responsible.  They said it was wear, and wear alone that was responsible for the part failure.  Lakewood Ford explained this to us, Mr. [redacted], and the insurance company. They also recommended he return to a factory clutch system.  Mr. [redacted] wanted to take it farther, and got his insurance back re-involved.  It went up the ladder there, until they finally sent out a  Property Damage Specialist to look.  He agreed with the dealership findings.  I have included photos of the worn out clutch.  As a gesture of goodwill, we offered Mr. [redacted] $500 which he declined.  We only offered this money to him because we pride ourselves on happy customers, and after being proven that there was no factual way that his failure could be attributed to us, our technicians, the accident, or anything else even involving us, we attempted to have him go away happy.  Unfortunately, we are not willing to spend $2800 on an item for goodwill, we are not at fault.

Unfortunately, South Hill Collision can't help with Mr. And Mrs. [redacted] problems, we only coordinate the time for the rental to meet a customer, if the customer requests it.  Our only function is to repair the vehicle, in this particular case, as Progressive and the [redacted] agree.  This was...

a frustrating situation for the customer, as the navigation system was damaged, and not easily repairable or replaceable. Progressive did try an alternate unit first, which was no good.  We do see why they are frustrated, but we can't be responsible for something we are not. 
~We don't authorize Rental cars, Ever.  The insurance company or the customer does.
~We are not involved in any payment between insurance companies and their customers, or for the terms of the policy purchased by the customer.
~Rental coverage is determined by the amount of coverage a customer elects to purchase as part of their policy.  We don't see their policy, know their policy, or make any determinations on their policy. 
~we NEVER promise coverage, as this is something that we Never have a part in.  Policies are between policy holders and their insurance company. 
~We aren't responsible for the condition rental cars through any of the Rental car companies, although we do expect them to take care of our mutual customer.  Our part in this is to arrange for them to be picked up at set time, then the customer is picked up and taken to the Rental car office, where the terms of the rental/policy/car etc are discussed between Hertz, the customer, and the Insurance.
~ We can not authorize rentals for insurance companies, therefor South Hill Collision is not responsible for the rental, only installing the part in the car. 
 
Having said all that, (which we have explained several other times to several folks regarding this particular bill) I do understand his frustration.  However, it should not be with South Hill Collision.  I believe the final determination was between Hertz and Progressive.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
Verbal statements (promises) made to the [redacted] were, in fact, guarantees and are upheld as verbal contracts, even though they were not memorialized in writing; thus making this verbal agreement binding and superseding the written company policy (that was never signed or agreed or committed upon anyhow).
Sincerely,[redacted]