Response to customer complaint:
Unfortunately there are a number of inaccuracies in regards to the course of events, timelines, and recollections of the vehicle driver *** ***As *** mentions, the date of loss on the claim was 11/27/and the vehicle was towed to our
facility shortly thereafter*** *** Insurance inspected the damaged vehicle on 12/4/We contacted *** *** on 12/9/to confirm that liability had been accepted and once verified, ordered parts, scheduled the repairs and updated *** as to the statusThe vehicle was completed and available for pickup 1/10/
During this time frame the vehicle would not start consistently on its own accord due to a combination of previously modified battery cables and a weak batteryThe cables were originally designed for a ‘side’ terminal battery connection but at some point were incorrectly modified to accept a ‘top’ terminal battery connectionInstead of the replacement ‘top’ terminal connectors being connected directly to the cable someone attempted to connect them directly to the existing side terminal connectors resulting in a ‘loose’, poor connectionDue to the poor connection the vehicle would not consistently turn over and start while at the facilityThere were numerous times while at the shop that we were required to jump start the vehicleWe attempted to contact *** and left a voice mail on 1/2/at 10:02am regarding this problem along with an estimate amount to replace the battery terminal connectors correctly*** returned the call shortly after at 1/2/at 11:10am and declined the recommended repairs due to a lack of moneyWe continued with the insurance repairs and called him on 1/7/3:02pm to make him aware that he had pre-existing loose, worn ball joints and that we would not be able to perform an accurate front suspension alignment due to the looseness of the suspension partsWe explained that we would make the suggested alignment adjustments as close as possible to the factory specifications but the alignment would in effect ‘go in and out of alignment’ as the vehicle was driven due to the worn partsThis end result was acceptable to ***At this time I reminded *** of the battery terminal issue and he once again declined the repair suggestionThis poor battery connection issue would cause any potential stored codes to be erased and thus reset any potential warning lightsWe called *** on the scheduled delivery date of 1/10/at 2:30pm to let him know the vehicle was completed and also warn him that he should not shut the vehicle off unless he had a jumper pack or cables available as the vehicle may not restartIt was at this time that he became more concerned of the situation and approved the replacement of the battery terminal connectorsWe immediately installed the terminal connecters so *** could return the rental as previously scheduled and pick up the vehicle at approximately 4pm 1/10/which he didThe vehicle exhibited no warning lights of any type at the time of deliveryOur Final Invoice stated the following, “Found SRS light out and workingVehicle has poor connection from battery cables to battery; discussed with owner that battery problem will need to be corrected to diagnose any future codes”Apparently, unknown to us, a supplemental restraint light and tire pressure monitoring light came on at some point after delivery of the vehicle on 1/10/
It wasn’t until 2/28/at 11:18am that *** called us with a drivability complaint he described as a suspension noiseWe reminded him of the very loose ball joints and explained that could cause the suspension noise he was hearing when hitting road bumpsI told him we would be happy to look at his vehicle and explained that based on our prior experience if the problem(s) we found could be attributed to the accident *** *** Insurance would most likely cover the diagnostic and repair of the problemWe also explained to him that if the problem(s) we found were not accident related that he would be responsible for any diagnostic charges (ranging from $37.50-$in this case) and he would be responsible for the cost of any repairs*** elected to schedule an appointment for 3/5/but failed to make his appointmentTo reiterate, *** said nothing during this conversation about the tire pressure monitoring or supplemental restraint lights being on only suspension noise
On 4/14/*** and his brother stopped in with the vehicle upset about the tire pressure monitoring system and supplemental restraint lights being onThis was the first time we were made aware of these issues*** also indicated that he has had to add air to the right rear tire every other day recentlyWe explained to him that the tire pressure light is designed to illuminate in the event that the tire pressure becomes low on one or more tires*** insisted it was due to the wheel we replaced because it wasn’t like that before the accidentI pointed out to him that it was the right front wheel and not the right rear wheel that was replacedAt that point I explained that we could repair the right rear tire but it would not be covered by *** ***. *** declined to make the tire repairI also explained at this time that *** *** had paid us previously to calibrate the tire pressure monitoring system which was performed at the time the new right front wheel was installed and that is why the system worked as designed
As a courtesy we offered to check for any codes related to the supplemental restraint system and explained how the system workedWe explained to him that the system may not perform as designed if the warning indicator light was onWe also explained to him that we had a full day of scheduled appointments that day and we would need to complete that previously scheduled work before looking at his vehicleWe explained to both he and his brother that if we couldn’t look at it the 14th we could definitely look at it the next*** then repeatedly called both us and *** *** throughout the day every hour or so checking on the vehicle status sometimes hanging up in mid-sentenceWe were able to look at ***s vehicle towards the end of day 4/14/and then left a message for the *** *** claim handler with our findingsWe then contacted *** and updated him also as to our findingsWe explained to him that *** *** would need to approve any supplemental repairs and may want to look at the vehicle first hand*** *** then sent out a staff appraiser who reviewed our findings, approved replacement and installation of the left front seat belt assembly which has an internal supplemental restrain sensorThis addressed the supplemental restraint system light
At this point *** would not pick up his completed vehicle and return the supplied rental due to an attempt to get *** *** to cover replacement of the worn out ball joints*** *** ultimately declined replacement of the ball joints and the rental was returned 4-days later
Response to customer complaint:
Unfortunately there are a number of inaccuracies in regards to the course of events, timelines, and recollections of the vehicle driver *** ***As *** mentions, the date of loss on the claim was 11/27/and the vehicle was towed to our
facility shortly thereafter*** *** Insurance inspected the damaged vehicle on 12/4/We contacted *** *** on 12/9/to confirm that liability had been accepted and once verified, ordered parts, scheduled the repairs and updated *** as to the statusThe vehicle was completed and available for pickup 1/10/
During this time frame the vehicle would not start consistently on its own accord due to a combination of previously modified battery cables and a weak batteryThe cables were originally designed for a ‘side’ terminal battery connection but at some point were incorrectly modified to accept a ‘top’ terminal battery connectionInstead of the replacement ‘top’ terminal connectors being connected directly to the cable someone attempted to connect them directly to the existing side terminal connectors resulting in a ‘loose’, poor connectionDue to the poor connection the vehicle would not consistently turn over and start while at the facilityThere were numerous times while at the shop that we were required to jump start the vehicleWe attempted to contact *** and left a voice mail on 1/2/at 10:02am regarding this problem along with an estimate amount to replace the battery terminal connectors correctly*** returned the call shortly after at 1/2/at 11:10am and declined the recommended repairs due to a lack of moneyWe continued with the insurance repairs and called him on 1/7/3:02pm to make him aware that he had pre-existing loose, worn ball joints and that we would not be able to perform an accurate front suspension alignment due to the looseness of the suspension partsWe explained that we would make the suggested alignment adjustments as close as possible to the factory specifications but the alignment would in effect ‘go in and out of alignment’ as the vehicle was driven due to the worn partsThis end result was acceptable to ***At this time I reminded *** of the battery terminal issue and he once again declined the repair suggestionThis poor battery connection issue would cause any potential stored codes to be erased and thus reset any potential warning lightsWe called *** on the scheduled delivery date of 1/10/at 2:30pm to let him know the vehicle was completed and also warn him that he should not shut the vehicle off unless he had a jumper pack or cables available as the vehicle may not restartIt was at this time that he became more concerned of the situation and approved the replacement of the battery terminal connectorsWe immediately installed the terminal connecters so *** could return the rental as previously scheduled and pick up the vehicle at approximately 4pm 1/10/which he didThe vehicle exhibited no warning lights of any type at the time of deliveryOur Final Invoice stated the following, “Found SRS light out and workingVehicle has poor connection from battery cables to battery; discussed with owner that battery problem will need to be corrected to diagnose any future codes”Apparently, unknown to us, a supplemental restraint light and tire pressure monitoring light came on at some point after delivery of the vehicle on 1/10/
It wasn’t until 2/28/at 11:18am that *** called us with a drivability complaint he described as a suspension noiseWe reminded him of the very loose ball joints and explained that could cause the suspension noise he was hearing when hitting road bumpsI told him we would be happy to look at his vehicle and explained that based on our prior experience if the problem(s) we found could be attributed to the accident *** *** Insurance would most likely cover the diagnostic and repair of the problemWe also explained to him that if the problem(s) we found were not accident related that he would be responsible for any diagnostic charges (ranging from $37.50-$in this case) and he would be responsible for the cost of any repairs*** elected to schedule an appointment for 3/5/but failed to make his appointmentTo reiterate, *** said nothing during this conversation about the tire pressure monitoring or supplemental restraint lights being on only suspension noise
On 4/14/*** and his brother stopped in with the vehicle upset about the tire pressure monitoring system and supplemental restraint lights being onThis was the first time we were made aware of these issues*** also indicated that he has had to add air to the right rear tire every other day recentlyWe explained to him that the tire pressure light is designed to illuminate in the event that the tire pressure becomes low on one or more tires*** insisted it was due to the wheel we replaced because it wasn’t like that before the accidentI pointed out to him that it was the right front wheel and not the right rear wheel that was replacedAt that point I explained that we could repair the right rear tire but it would not be covered by *** ***. *** declined to make the tire repairI also explained at this time that *** *** had paid us previously to calibrate the tire pressure monitoring system which was performed at the time the new right front wheel was installed and that is why the system worked as designed
As a courtesy we offered to check for any codes related to the supplemental restraint system and explained how the system workedWe explained to him that the system may not perform as designed if the warning indicator light was onWe also explained to him that we had a full day of scheduled appointments that day and we would need to complete that previously scheduled work before looking at his vehicleWe explained to both he and his brother that if we couldn’t look at it the 14th we could definitely look at it the next*** then repeatedly called both us and *** *** throughout the day every hour or so checking on the vehicle status sometimes hanging up in mid-sentenceWe were able to look at ***s vehicle towards the end of day 4/14/and then left a message for the *** *** claim handler with our findingsWe then contacted *** and updated him also as to our findingsWe explained to him that *** *** would need to approve any supplemental repairs and may want to look at the vehicle first hand*** *** then sent out a staff appraiser who reviewed our findings, approved replacement and installation of the left front seat belt assembly which has an internal supplemental restrain sensorThis addressed the supplemental restraint system light
At this point *** would not pick up his completed vehicle and return the supplied rental due to an attempt to get *** *** to cover replacement of the worn out ball joints*** *** ultimately declined replacement of the ball joints and the rental was returned 4-days later