So I had my car towed to Van Collision Center after the accident I back in early March. It’s been 7 weeks since I dropped off the car, and my car is still not even half way done yet.
As soon as I had the car dropped off, I told my estimator the Z is my only car, and it would cause a lot of inconvenience if there’s any delay. He agreed and said he already have the parts ordered and will have my car being worked on right away.
During these 7 weeks, I called my estimator and asked the completion date. He initially told me the car would be finished by the first week of April, and then pushed to second week of April, then pushed to the end of April, and then yesterday, they told me to wait until a couple weeks after May.
I tried to be patient, but this is getting so ridiculous and Van Collision is blaming on the parts they are waiting, which they should have ordered 7 weeks ago. I tried complaining to their assistant manager, but he gave me the same BS again, blaming on the parts that still hasn’t come.
There is no way I am just sitting at home doing nothing, I just filled out a complaint to Better Business Bureau, but doubt that would help me to get the car back soon enough.
I am so desperate to get my car back, but apparently, I can’t do much.
Should I start contact an attorney or should I wait?
Please help me out.

Thanks, Mike

 

Have you checked this shop's record with the BAR (Bureau of Automotive Repair)? I once learned a very expensive lesson by not verifying a shop's BAR status before getting automotive work done....

 

Maybe they should have overnighted the parts from Japan....LOL

I would talk to your insurance and see if they can light a fire under their a$$.

 

do you know if they have gotten the parts in or not?

 

Wow you're worst off than I am. Got into my accident in early March and will finally get my car out of the shop tomorrow. At least the shop gave me a rental free of charge but yeah your situation is pretty ridiculous!

You should contact your insurance agency and see what you can do. Attorney should be last resort since they don't come cheap.

 

Couple of things:

Is your insurance company paying or is there another party involved in paying for the repairs?

Since the Z is your daily car, are you using a rental currently? If so, who is paying for that?

If your insurance company is paying for the repair, I would definitely notify the claims adjuster who is working on your claim. If he/she doesn't help, ask for their boss........

If your insurance company is paying for the rental, let them know you've been in a rental for seven weeks now. Most insurance companies go beserk over having to pay for a rental that long. I've even seen some insurance companies force the body shop to pay for the rental if they haven't fixed the car in an expected period of time. Beleive me, my first job out of college was with a rental car agency & body shop usually got things done quicker when it was one their dime.........

It doesnt take seven weeks to get parts, that for sure.......even by boat from Japan......

 

Hey Mike I wish I was in your situation. My car was hit on Christmas Eve and I still have not got my car back yet!!!Going on 18 weeks brother. My insurance company quit paying for the rental after 4 weeks So I have been paying for it out of my own pocket.14 weeks at about 200 dollars a week. It was the other persons fault so my lawsuit should even my back account back out. Be patient .Remember you could be me

 

holy shitz..... 18 WEEKS? jesus....... better rape that company. we could have built you a brand new Z from the ground up by hand in that amount of time......

 

18 weeks????!!! OMG i can't believe it! 7 weeks is already a long time for all cases. My rental coverage ran out in the first 4 weeks also and I have been w/o a car for the rest of time. Too bad the insurance company act like they don't care.

Kamz-Congrats for getting your car back, it would be a very emotional moment if i were you.

I am taking a day off from work tomorrow, rent a car and go the the body shop tomorrow (15 miles from work, 30 miles from home). I have been taking buses and riding a bicycle because renting a car out of my own pocket is gonna hurt, and my insurance adjuster wouldn't extend my rental car coverage.
I've been so stress out lately because of this, just hoping this is ending soon (again and again).

Thanks guys.

 

Ouch . . . I feel lucky. I get my car back tomorrow and it was hit on February 25th. The parts arrived within a week and the only delay involved installing my custom body kit and awaiting the Volks to arrive from Japan. The other insurance company paid for a rental with no questions asked AND they know that I'm filing a claim for diminution of value, which may go anywhere from 2500-6000.

If it were the summer time, I might be a little pissed, but hey, I've got a rental that gets good gas mileage (Camry)

G

 

When my Z was hit it took over 2 months to get the parts in.

They ship the parts to distribution centers, and you get ranked as to your need or some crap.

2 hatches that they sent were damaged. I had to call, email, and do all kinds of complaining to Nissan to finally get it going.

 

Mike, van collision is usually good at that stuff.. they work quick to repair and paint and all that.. so i am guessing that they are waiting on the parts.. but wouldnt hurt to get your insurance on their ***...
Out of curiousty... did u just order the stock parts, or were u able to put the $$ towards custom parts?

 

Whoa, hard to believe how this body repair industry works.
Similar cases like this has never happened at my old man's body shop in Asia.

As far as the parts, the estimator who works for me always uses the same BS such as "we are still waiting for some parts to come in....", I've been hearing a couple guys telling me that. Too bad.

 

I just regret I haven't had Mike West at Van Collision take care of my car. In stead, they send an old fart named Wayne to work for me, and then nightmare starts.
I used to believe they were waiting for the part in the first 2-3 weeks, unfortunately, this lie just doesn't work for me anymore.
To answer your questions, all stock parts are used for the repair.

 

How come you didnt get mike west? I think ive talked to that old fart before.. i didnt like him . I only go to Mike West now whenever i call.

 

When you told me about Mike West on the phone, I thought you are referring to a guy at Van Chervolet dealership, and I called Nissan and they told me to get a guy named Wayne
I never liked that old guy from day one, he never returned my calls and always give me half @ss info

 

Customer Service my

 

Ya man i understand.. damn that really sucks... so have they given you a final date yet of when you will be getting the car back? You need to come back to pavillions with us!!

So after you get your car back, whats ur next mod?

 

What happened to your Z? How bad was it?

I did 10k worth of damage to my old 2k2 Maxima and it took them 3 1/2 weeks to fix it....all front end.

 

Update Info: Went to the body shop today, had a long talk with their assistant manager, loudly yet rational, and he agreed to get me a loaner car until they finished my car. I also had them paid for full insurance coverage. He said the car will be finished on May 13th this time, so we will see

Cloudy--I already have a Titon Street Setup sitting in my living room. Pioneer Avic-N1 with back up camera is on their way in UPS truck.

DrVolk: I had 13k damage on the car, which doesn't look as bad as it sounded. They did charged like 1.5 hour labor to remove the antenna, as written on the damage report It's definitely a high end body shop, so I am hoping they are not doing me an half @$$ job just because I had them speed up the process.