Coleman

So, first of all, I take full responsibility of this situation because of my laziness.. When dealing with tires, I usually take the tires off my 993, put them in the pick up truck, take them down to a good place near boston (if I've got all day) or a local Sears if I don't have that much time..

In the past, Sears has done a good job of dismounting, and mounting and balancing tires I have brought them which have been purchased from TireRack.. 6 months after the mount, I noticed that I was getting some vibrations. I went to have them balanced, as Sears offers free balancing, so I brought the 993 into Sears and had them remove the tires and balance them.

After getting the car back home, I noticed that the bottom of the front bumper cover had been damaged- approximately 5" x 5" was hanging at 60° angle, it looked like it may have caught on part of the lift-

I returned to Sears and spoke to the guy and they said that yes, in fact it did catch on the lift because the car was so low- they didn't have a lift that was the right height. He told me to get me an estimate and he would see what they can do-

I went to my autobody place and he looked at it and said "since the plastic is broken off we can't just glue the plastic back on, it's going to require a new painted front bumper cover," (I have a Euro turbo S front bumper from Gert)

I went back to Sears and gave them the estimate from the body shop, which clocked in at about $3000, including remove paint and install.

Obviously, the manager from Sears wasn't happy with this, in fact he said that he considered a $3K bill a "joke", we got into it a bit and I explained that the bumper cover was perfect when I brought it to them, and then after having them service the car, now it's messed up... and we argued for a while, and he said he could give me $200 towards the repair, I accepted this.. I figured I wasn't going to get any more money from him and arguing more about it was useless... I signed no document saying that I considered this issue closed-

I decided I can do a few things:

I thought that some rennlist people may have been through a similar situation and have some guidance on how to deal with this.

Thanks, Coleman.

goofballdeluxe

I love the fact that even though they knew the car was damaged on the lift, they didn't say anything to you until you came back

It's up to you and how much your OCD kicks in, but if it were me: they broke it, they fix it. You'll probably need to get Sears corporate involved, but $3K isn't pocket change, and since they already admitted fault, get the names of both the tech who did the damage, and the manager who admitted fault and see if you can get Sears corporate to make it right.

Good luck

Martin S.

You may or may not have this venue. If you do, sue the bastards.

BTW, they have insurance...they just don't want to make a claim. Personally, I always take my wheels in...lucky to have several sets.

I hope this works out for you.

vincer77

Good call to get your insurance involved.

OverBoosted28

Stay away from Sears!!!!

nine9six

Lol...Hindsight^^^ Just take the wheels off like before.

But yes, I'd get your insurance involved, who will go after Sears insurance.

KMASS993

They have insurance for this. I would go after them 100%. Start by calling your insurance co and discuss your options. If you file with them they will likely go after Sears for reimbursement.

Georj

Your biggest mistake is accepting $200 and walking away. I am not an attorney but it implies you were satisfied and settled with Sears. Why did you agree to $200 when you had an estimate for $3000?

Your best bet is to contact your insurance company. Most likely this will be covered under your comprehensive policy. Since Sears is at fault, let the insurance company deal with Sears. They will recover the money from Sears. But accepting the $200 makes your case complicated.

goofballdeluxe

I'm not sure about this.

Manager has no proof he accepted any monies, unless it was a check? I assume it was cash.

Also, just accepting $200 doesn't imply you were made 100% whole, or that it infers satisfaction. Could be just a 'here's $200 we screwed up and here's a token gesture' until Sears corporate steps up.

I don't think accepting the $200 will make any difference at all, personally

Georj

They may have videos ........ I would not recommend denying receiving $200. May be it can be used to prove Sears's guilt.

NP993

You should also check your lug nuts -- guarantee they were put on with an impact gun at three times the recommended torque.

You just can't take a special car to a place like Sears. It's almost not fair to the guys who work there.

nine9six

That's just Bullporky! All vehicles have torque specs for lug nuts. Shoddy workmanship, no matter what one calls it, is nothing more than what it is!

Yes, I know you said, ALMOST, but I'm saying not even almost...
If one takes a turd and rolls it in powdered sugar; it's still nothing more than a powdered sugar coated turd.

mongrelcat

There's a reason Sears is just about gone from the landscape forever. I wouldn't hesitate to take any car to Costco or Discount Tire for tires, but Sears? No.

NP993

Son, let me give you a little life advice. If you don't want your 993 to get damaged, don't hand it over to the boys at Sears.

That concludes this lesson.

six gun

You put a claim in on your insurance, it goes on the car fax?? If so it will effect the re-sale value.