"Minor" incident with my Father's truck

[redlava]

Unfortunately I have no photos because they had it corrected before he was notified. But my Father took his Dakota (mine before the Vibe) into the dealership for a tire rotation and an oil change. And apparently it fell off of the lift. Thankfully nobody was injured, and not sure of the exact damage list, but it was pretty beat up. It was raised up about four or five feet, and somehow it was not on the lift properly (the lift was fairly new) and it ended up falling on the front passenger side. The front bumper, corner panel, and side were scratched and dented. And strangely enough the bedrail was also scratched by it hitting an overhead light as the (removed)-end was lifted. I am sure there is probably damage to the axel and suspension as well.More to come as more info is gotten.I wish I had pictures cause that would have been very interesting to see.

[redlava]

Thankfully it isn't destroyed. I would probably estimate the damage to 3,000 by the way it sounded to me. I'm sure it will go up if they find any damage to vital areas of the axle. He is driving a Chrysler Seabring now as a loaner.He was hoping to get a Ram SRT-10 to drive, but they didn't feel THAT guilty. LOLThe guys who own the dealership know him well so they will defiantly treat him right.

[gargoyle]

Quote, originally posted by redlava »...But my Father took his Dakota (mine before the Vibe) into the dealership... Hey, I had a Dakota too... traded it in on my Vibe just a month ago. It was a '93 with 178,000 miles. I had it since new so I definitely got my use out of it, but if you think the paint on the Vibes is bad.... whooooaa... that poor truck had the paint just jumpin' off it. It was the electric blue color originally, but after 3 years (when the warranty conveniently ran out of course) the paint literally started falling off of it. When I finally retired it, it was basically primer gray and rust... hardly any blue left. lol!

[remusrm]

i would rather make them buy it off... i bet the car would not drive.

[marlborocowboy82]

my wife works at the biggest ford dealership in kansas city and about a mounth after the 05 mustang gt's came out they totled on by dropping it off the lift it just rolled off the back or some thing along that line the replaced it i belive they even threw in some extras to gag him

[ToolGuy]

Very scary for all! This happens a lot more than you think!

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by MiVibe-ToolGuy »Very scary for all! This happens a lot more than you think! Yes it does! I know things like this are always on my mind when I see those guys putting mine up on the lift...Redlava, man that sucks! That really sounds about like my luck! I really hope the dealer can get a new vehicle for your father... They may get the truck all fixed up and it could be good for a couple hundred thousand miles, but the pessimist in me seems to be wondering about any underlying frame damage. Those issues can't easily be resolved sometimes, and I would hate to see him get the truck back only to find lots of problems down the road!Hoping that they get you guys taken care of!

[binary]

First, I'm glad nobody was hurt.But trucks are damn hard to lift using some of the in-ground X type lifts... sometimes it's the side lifts that work best - but they're a pain too.Anyway - I'm with the consensus - sell it soon or trade it in on something in THAT dealer's lot - bet you'll get a good deal.

[redlava]

He talked to them today cause he is going away for a few days. Most of the "visable" damage appears to be in the forward section ie: the bumper, corner panels, hood, and the radiator. I guess it fell almost straight down on the front. They are putting it on some machine later this week to try and see if the frame is twisted or bent. Will probably be several more days untill I hear anymore details.

[AKLGT]

wow! now i'm going to be super paranoid when i take the car in for oil changes or tire changes!

[Mavrik]

IMO trucks should never be lifted high off the ground on a four point hoist. I've never seen one fall but many had me going "(removed) if I hear a crash in the shop, its cause of that one..."at least it was not to badly damaged and no one was hurt.

[binary]

yep - I hear ya Mavrik.I worked in a 3 bay service station when I was a teen. I was going to do an oil change on this lady's old VW. But the frame was so rusted the car started bending in, I got out of there and dropped it so fast I swear the car bounced... Didn't even get a chance to dump the oil and sent her to a jiffy lube where they used a pit. Freaky stuff - even a bug can squash a grease monkey!

[redlava]

An update on my Dad's truck. He got it back from the shop yesterday and it looks pretty good. Thankfully the frame was not bent, they even said that they would replace his ball joints (not from the accident) for a very good price. So hopefully this story finally has a happy ending.

[ColonelPanic]

*whew!* Good deal! Here's to no problems down the road brough on by this unfortunate event.