theheff Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 i took my car and my ep racing carbon front lip to the bodyshop today. went to pick it up and it looked like this at one end. the other end fit flush. they have also cut, yes i said cut the bumper where it hooks over the wheel arch and curves under the car. apparently me telling them that rtperformance advised loosening the 10 bolts holding the bumper to the under tray loosened everything enough to be able to get the lip on, fell on deaf ears. they have also used black windscreen sealant to fit the lip to the car and filled the gaps in with that. is that up to the task? now im not saying that carbon fibre is easy to work with but surely they shouldnt have a, needed to cut my bumper to fit it and b, done so without my permission. when i challenged this their reply was "well you wanted it fitted so i fitted it" "i couldnt have got it on without doing that" they also seemed mightily pi**ed off that i had challenged what they had done. i left them to sort it and there was still a gap where the lip meets the bumper. the gap disappered when you pushed the lip in so it is possible to fit it properly. i have left it with them. they are going to clamp it and leave it over night as the windscreen sealant will apparently set and hold it in. i wish id have manned up with the cold and done this myself now. what should/can i do about this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Well, you could show them pics from EPRacing website and show them how it's supposed to fit, without cutting. They should be doing their best to put things right, and if you cannot accept their standard of work, you should not pay them and ask for compensation for any damage caused. The corner bits looks proper bodged, I have a Varis front Lip that has the edge go round the back, and I managed to fit it without cutting chunks out of any body work. If it was me, I'd name and shame and if they were unwilling to put things right, take them to court. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theheff Posted December 6, 2012 Author Share Posted December 6, 2012 how would you go about proving it though. its my word against theres at court. if they deny it then where do you stand. there is no written order for the work. i suppose i could demand a reciept but would they provide one if i refuse to pay? i called nissan earlier and they said a new bumper is around £410 i have no idea what painting would cost, plus i think they've cut into the lip in a way they shouldn't have to trim it. see picture 2. ill email ep racing and ask them wether they have ever had to trim a bumper before. also rt performace, i suppose if i have something written from another bodyshop stating that it is bad practice to cut someones car up with out asking. from a legal point of view, me asking them to fit a lip to the car doesnt mean they fit it at all costs, surely common sense dictates that if it doesnt fit they should speak to me before proceeding? i dont have to specify "dont hack my car up if it doesnt fit" do i? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Always difficult these issues, but I have to say cutting a part of the car up even with the intention of fitting something correctly should warrant a call and confirmation from the owner... Hope you get it sorted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theheff Posted December 6, 2012 Author Share Posted December 6, 2012 cheers mate, ive drafted a statement and im going to get the photos printed and date stamped at work tonight incase i need them. whats annoyed me the most is the fact that twice they tried giving me the car back with a massive gap. i was told i shouldn't drive the car until it was set, so why try and give it back, why not try clamping the lip to the bumper over night and seeing if the holds. i had to suggest that to them how some people get by in business is beyond me. i want to start my own business soon and wouldne dream of leaving someones stuff in a state that i wouldnt like to get it back in if it were mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taras Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Looks like a pretty poor fit to be honest. Did they cut the carbon lip also? We have had to modify some lips previously to make them fit, but not carbon ones. Carbon fibre is made of layered materials and will not cut neatly. If they had to cut anything and you were happy with the result on collection then fair enough. Unfortunately that's not the case. Did you try asking the body shop to rectify the problem? Or at easy asking if they think they can try to do a better job? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theheff Posted December 6, 2012 Author Share Posted December 6, 2012 theyve got the car still. the gap between lip and bumper was about 2mm. they are trying to hold it together with a clamp and see if the sealant will hold tight. if it is then no buggy. just my cut bumper to deal with. would you ever use winscrean sealant to hold a front lip on? is it suitable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Well, I'd have to add that when i fitted my lip I didn't need to use any sealant or boding material at all. Did they remove the lil OEM wind deflector spoiler under the car before attempting to fit the new CF one? And did they seal the edge of the CF part that they cut to stop water ingress? The more I read about this, the more it sounds like they didn't have a clue what they were doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 If the part didn't fit, they shouldn't have made it fit without your explicit instructions. Now they have to make good, whereas before your quibble would've been with EP Racing. I wouldn't be satisfied now until it was 100%, and if that means they need to supply a new bumper and lip then so be it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theheff Posted December 7, 2012 Author Share Posted December 7, 2012 They managed to get the lip to fit the car properly by bonding it and clamping it over night. Looks ok now from what it was. I just wish I'd have done it myself. I gave the bloke £20 quid as I've had a @*!# morning. Getting home off of a night shift to find my bed saturated with dirty water from the building work upstairs, and was in no mood for a row. I think I'm going to claim through them for a new bumper, the damage to the lip and painting the bumper. Probably looking at about a grand all in. If taken photos of what they've done and written a statement which I've date stamped. I need to get something from ep racing in regard to the fitting and not needing to cut anything to fit it. Also hopefully from rt stating that its not standard practice to be cutting people's cars without express permission from the owner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 If you want to claim, you're going to have to give them time to sort it and it all needs to be in writing. State what you want, a reasonable time period (14 days should be sufficient) and make sure any responses from them are in writing too. Personally I wouldn't accept the car back until it was fixed, and I certainly wouldn't be paying them a penny until it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theheff Posted December 7, 2012 Author Share Posted December 7, 2012 I need the car though and to be honest with there attitude and quality of their work I don't want them touching it anymore. I need to draft a letter then? post it recorded special delivery? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyBoy Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 If you need the car back then you can pay 'under protest'. You need to make it clear (and ensure there is an irrefutable record) that the payment is under protest and does not act as settlement of the contract between you and the garage. This will allow you to get the car back and then put in a claim without giving them a get-out clause. DB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 I need the car though and to be honest with there attitude and quality of their work I don't want them touching it anymore. I need to draft a letter then? post it recorded special delivery? You still need to give them a chance to make good. If you don't, then any claim in the SCC under the SOGA will fail. I know exactly what you mean about not trusting them, but sadly you have little choice. Special delivery will be fine, or even hand deliver it and get them to sign a bit of paper saying they've received it. Anything that gives you proof, basically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyBoy Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 I need the car though and to be honest with there attitude and quality of their work I don't want them touching it anymore. I need to draft a letter then? post it recorded special delivery? You still need to give them a chance to make good. If you don't, then any claim in the SCC under the SOGA will fail. I know exactly what you mean about not trusting them, but sadly you have little choice. Special delivery will be fine, or even hand deliver it and get them to sign a bit of paper saying they've received it. Anything that gives you proof, basically. That's a bit of a simplification. The OP needs to have exhausted all reasonable measures before taking it to SCC, but he does not have to give them the chance to re-do the work themselves. Just taking back your car and then summonsing them is unlikely to go well for you, but you don't have to give them a chance to re-do it themselves if you have good reason not to, which I think you do in this case. What you would still have to do is ask them to cover the cost of someone else rectifying their shoddy work, and if they say no, then you can issue a last letter before action, and then go to SCC if you feel the need. DB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 I would disagree. If they had made the car undriveable then perhaps you may have a point, but all they've done is nick a smidgen off the bumper and now they've even made it fit almost perfectly, so not giving them a chance to rememdy isn't going to look good in front of a SCC. I agree with your reasonable measures bit, but I would include letting them make good in that. If they choose to do it in-house then fine, likewise if they out-source it. You have to give them that chance, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyBoy Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 I suppose it centres around the definiton of resonable measures. Personally I would count allowing the garage that botched the original job without really acknowledging their work as sub-standard to have another crack at it an unreasonable measure. However I accept your point that whoever is hearing the SCC that day may be of a different opinion. I guess it's a balance between leaving yourself watertight if it goes to court and how much you're prepared to risk further bork caused by the original garage. As this is cosmetic rather than mechanical then I'll concede that perhaps giving them the chance to do it properly might be the way to go. DB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 That's the trouble: We all sit here and look at it and know it's a complete f*ck-up of a job, but a judge who doesn't give a toss about their cars could sit there and think "So? It still drives, doesn't it?". I guess it's all who you get on the day, assuming it went that far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theheff Posted December 7, 2012 Author Share Posted December 7, 2012 Well the bumper comes off, so i could just take them the bunper. i wish id have manned up in the cold and done this myself. Has cutting the bumper not compromised the structural integrity of it. And with the lip. Cutting it will weaken it. Would it not be that the only way they could remedy would be to replace the parts. If not any repair they did to the bumper would surely not be as strong as before and therefore prevent the lip being refitted. If the lip didnt need replacing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 I'd need to see the finished article in person (tomorrow, then!) but in terms of structural integrity I very much doubt there'll be any issues. Aesthetically it's another matter, but if you're happy enough with the end result if not the method used then at least that's one smaller thing off your mind perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theheff Posted December 7, 2012 Author Share Posted December 7, 2012 Was gonna say ill talk to you more tomorrow. You seem to know a hell of a lot more about this than i do. I can do criminal @*!#, just know nothing about civil stuff. Massivly complicated area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 No probs mate, we'll have a catch up then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.