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stormyva
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« on: June 27, 2008, 02:15:05 PM » |
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This is what happens when a senile old lady (87 years old to be exact) driving a mini van that shouldnt be driving pulls out of a parking lot.....   It was only two hours shy of being exactly three weeks old when it happened! It goes in to Phillips on the 7th. |
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« Last Edit: July 18, 2008, 08:05:18 PM by stormyva »
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MPETUOS
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« Reply #1 on: June 27, 2008, 02:38:56 PM » |
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I feel your pain stormy...... My first MINI got bumped in my driveway at 8 days old.  Your pain will pass and you'll be motoring again soon!!  |
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maacodale
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« Reply #3 on: June 27, 2008, 10:08:03 PM » |
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Shoot, our little Sting has been "rearranged" twice since we had him. Once when a hit and run driver pulled out too far coming out of an Exxon station on Tyler in Charlotte. Then again New Years Eve when a piece of road debris took out the left front. Basic math tells me we've spent almost 4 grand fixing him up. Well, State Farm did help last time.
Our cars go back together very nicely. I wish I had more to work on. WAIT! Hope I didn't jinx anyone!
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Dale Blankenship
Poquoson, VA
07 Mellow YellowCooper S
Of course son thinks it's his!
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MD_IN_UK
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« Reply #4 on: June 28, 2008, 10:54:56 AM » |
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Imagine if you will, for just a moment, stormy......taking delivery of your brand new car, stopping at 7-11 for a coffee, and seeing someone take out your rear bumper with there dispicable driving technique. Your car only has 12 miles on it...ouch.
That just happened to a customer of mine last week. Unbelievable what terrible luck some folks have.
Hey Dale, looks like Phillips will get some work there way anyhow.
Give 'em a week and your baby should be good as new again. Sorry to hear of your misfortune.
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Batman228
Regular
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Posts: 115
Phillip & Trixxie
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« Reply #5 on: July 01, 2008, 06:51:19 AM » |
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StormyVA, it will be ok. The insurance folks should get you fixed up. My Trixxie was hit the other week, although I dont think as bad. Prognosis is that both cars will be ok.
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Phillip & Trixxie
Team AutoXCooper.com
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stormyva
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« Reply #6 on: July 18, 2008, 08:07:37 PM » |
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I AM SO SICK OF HAVING TO DEAL WITH THIS FREAKING ACCIDENT STUFF!!!!!!
This is long winded and copy/pasted from my website, but here it is anyways........
I was excited! I thought I was going to get to pick up the MINI tonight and finally be rid of the VW Rabbit from Enterprise Car Rental. Was that to actually happen??? NOOOOOO! But I cant blame that all on USAA this time. Phillips Body Shop had faxed over a request for final approval ob the repair amounts to USAA today. The fax was followed up by a phone call to our "wonderful" claims adjuster Shawnta. Of course Shawnta did not answer her phone and the call went to voice mail. 8 hours later the voice mail still had not been returned. The fax that was sent over is now somehow lost in the USAA black hole along with the other voice mails and faxes. All was not lost though..... the person that I was working with at Phillips Body Shop was going to be nice and let me pick up the car with out the final authorization from USAA. I was excited! I was finally going to have the MINI back so I could have it to do the Hampton Roads MINI Club drive to the Gloucester Renaissance Festival. I arrived at Phillips around 4:30 and was instructed to inspect my car despite the fact that it had not been cleaned and prepped yet. When I got to the car I was surprised at how much dust a car can build up when it sits in a body shop for two weeks. Then I walked around to the side that was worked on. The first thing I noticed was the weather stripping/trim piece along the window which wasn't attached properly. I lightly pushed it and it settled in to place, no big deal there. I looked at the paint next and saw exactly what I was dreading. The paint looked like the surface of an orange, the entire door had a horrible case of orange peel. An even closer look found dust stuck in the clear coat in several places as well. Frustrated as hell at this point I proceeded to inspect the door jambs only to find harsh paint lines from taping along the inside edge of the door. I wasnt done finding crap though, the door jamb showed deep sanding marks from what looked like probably a 100 grit or coarser paper. What the f$%& a body shop that works on Mercedes and other high end stuff turns out work that looks as bad as something from Earl Sheibs. I dragged Michelle who was my contact at Phillips out to show her this wonderful work. She is so nice, she apologized profusely, and told me she would have it back in the shop first thing on Monday to have her painters look at it. More than likely this means another week without the MINI!!! The MINI went in to the shop five weeks after we purchased the car. They have had it for two weeks and will likely have it at least one more. So much for enjoying that new car smell!
This has truly been one of the worst car owning experiences I have ever had! USAA has sucked from the start with their horrible customer service and response. Enterprise screwed up the car reservation and put me in a gas guzzling F150, swapped it out with a car that smelled like a sweat factory and vibrated like crazy. Now Phillips is putting out shoddy work. ALL I WANT IS MY CAR BACK AND FOR IT TO LOOK LIKE IT DID BEFORE THE ACCIDENT!!!! Is that really too much to ask for????
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maacodale
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« Reply #7 on: July 18, 2008, 11:32:45 PM » |
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NO! That isn't too much to ask. The down side is you shouldn't even HAVE to ASK! It should be understood. A little dust in the clear isn't a big deal and can be buffed very easily. Excessive texture "orange peel" takes a good deal more to correct, but it can be corrected by buffing. IF done correctly. The sanding marks under the paint can only mean a repaint. More than likely it's 80 grit marks from the initial shaping of the filler. No, don't worry, plastic filler isn't what it used to be. Thankfully. But that'll be more primer, paint and clear.
All shops have their share of "issues". We'll put out, on average, 30 cars a week. All aren't perfect. But we do our best to correct anything that doesn't look acceptable. Most aren't perfect from the factory. (My MINI had a creased body line and a run in the clear beside the head lamp, I didn't sweat it) There are a tremendous amount of variables that can occur when doing paint and body work. Things have to go just right for things to work out and look correct. Having said that, every step should be checked and one department should check the previous departments repairs. They'll get it right. They should also put any re-do work ahead of anything else. We do, since it's usually the easiest vehicle to get delivered.
On a related note, the wifes F150 just got totalled in front of the shop a few weeks ago. USAA was the other guys company. While he ran a stop sign and was driving on a suspended license, USAA refused to cover the truck. Thankfully State Farm (my company)feels differently and will go after USAA. USAA used to rent an office at my shop years ago. I used to think they were one of the best out there. I feel very different now. I'm betting you do to at this point.
Good luck, keep us informed.
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Dale Blankenship
Poquoson, VA
07 Mellow YellowCooper S
Of course son thinks it's his!
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MisBehave
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« Reply #8 on: July 19, 2008, 09:17:47 AM » |
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You know you can still come out today without Pedln. Hanging out "back in time" with friends with ears that understand might help a little for awhile with your disappointment and frustration. We're here for you.  |
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stormyva
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« Reply #9 on: July 20, 2008, 03:48:21 PM » |
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Sorry I missed you all yesterday in Gloucester.... work called and I had to take care of that. That which pays the bills moust come first.
USAA tried to do the same thing with me at first too, and just like your situation State Farm was going to take care of me. I was persistent with USAA and they finally agreed to take the blame. I am amazed that a company that used to have such a great reputation has gone so far down hill.
The dust in the door didnt look too bad, but some of the orange peel was pretty deep. The paint wasnt glass smooth to from the factory , but I would have at least expected a paint job that didnt scream..... HEY LOOK AT ME I WAS WRECKED AND REPAINTED!
I am keeping my fingers crossed with Phillips... I have had several people tell me how great the shop is so hopefully they will make things right. We'll find out tomorrow when they call me.
Dale.... hopefully your claims adjuster at USAA isnt Shawnta Spence or Ms Ivory. They are two that were soooo "helpful" to me. I can give you a number of one of the supervisors if you want it.... that might help you get some results from them.
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maacodale
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« Reply #10 on: July 20, 2008, 10:08:43 PM » |
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Hopefully you have better luck. We have a lovely little lass named Danisha. But she's leaving USAA. Maybe she got tired or smart. Maybe both. I have to agree with their downward spiral. Maybe Warren Buffett is unaware how his company is being run. As for the supervisor, I've gotten pretty good over the years at climbing that ladder. All I have to say is if you have USAA, good luck. If you get HIT by USAA insureds, BETTER LUCK!
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Dale Blankenship
Poquoson, VA
07 Mellow YellowCooper S
Of course son thinks it's his!
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stormyva
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« Reply #11 on: July 23, 2008, 03:26:01 PM » |
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Here's another update....
USAA came across my complaints online and contacted me.... since then USAA has been great. They have been following up with me, contacting the Phillips, and doing everything else that I feel they should have been doing all along. Hopefully the problems I had will be addressed and alleviated.
As for Phillips now.... my contact there must be so sick of me, but she is GREAT! She's patient and has been keeping me posted on progress with the car. Their work on the other hand........
I was called yesterday and told the car was done. They told me they fixed the orange peel and sand marks that I was concerned with.
When I got there to inspect the car I was very disappointed! The orange peel was gone and the side of the car looked awesome. The sand marks were gone, but the gold paint they sprayed in the jamb to cover the repaired sand marks didnt properly match the gold on the rest of the body. There were a few small blotches of light color visible along the door edge. Even worse, there were scratches in the glass on the door and the window tint was scratched in several places.
Today I was told that the car is back in the paint shop AGAIN, they have ordered new glass for the right door, and there is an appointment setup with Atlantic Shoreline on Friday to have the tint installed.
Hopefully the third time will be the charm and Friday the car will be done, and done right.
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