Page 1 of 1
On top of everything, now this...
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 3:35 am
by ajflan
BOTH of my front extensions are completely broken. I came home to find my driver side extension dangling with pieces missing. I dont know what to do. I took them off the car, but I have no way of replacing them. I have no idea if they can be fixed, but I doubt it. Does anyone have any ideas as to where I could locate another set? I will post pictures of them in a few, when I get the stomach back to look at them again.
Re: On top of everything, now this... (ajflan)
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 3:49 am
by ajflan
Ok here are the pics. I feel nauseous just looking at them.
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 4:01 am
by AKLGT
you take out some curbs or something?and look on ebay, they seem to sell every so often there.
Re: (AKLGT)
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 4:03 am
by ajflan
No curbs at all. I have no Idea how they got this messed up. The driver side was fine this morning. Idk whatever I'm too pissed to even think right now.
Re: (ajflan)
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 5:10 am
by Merzbow
Try and get the state to pay for it. Say you hit a pothole and the cracked. Just locate a pothole and call MDOT. I think if it doesn't get fixed in 30 days, they are supposed to pay for damages....that's what they used to do anyway.I HATE Michigan so much.
Re: On top of everything, now this... (ajflan)
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 6:06 am
by BlueCrush
I say it is from parking. I can see marks that show you pulled up to a curb to park and you hit or rubbed it slightly....enough to crack/break it...especially in winter when plastic is even more brittle.BlueCrushCSI - Twin Cities
Re: On top of everything, now this... (BlueCrush)
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 6:09 am
by keithvibe
Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush »BlueCrushCSI - MinneapolisLOLthat stinks... man sorry to hear you can't park LOLI hit my front bumper not that long ago i forgot just how low I am to the ground and I hit the parking stop block. So I feel your pain.
Re: On top of everything, now this... (ajflan)
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 7:20 am
by shemp
Those are toast. I don't know how much a new set goes for, but I'm sure it's less than it would cost for someone to frankenstein those back together.Sorry to hear about your string of bad luck, bro. Hopefully you're getting it all out of the way at once.
Re: On top of everything, now this... (BlueCrush)
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 7:25 am
by ajflan
Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush »I say it is from parking. I can see marks that show you pulled up to a curb to park and you hit or rubbed it slightly....enough to crack/break it...especially in winter when plastic is even more brittle.BlueCrushCSI - Twin CitiesI actually noticed those marks after looking at the pictures after I posted them. The thing that tells me that thats not the answer is that A) I park ridiculously far away from curbs, and B) They were not damaged like this this morning when I parked at school. I almost always do a visual inspection whenever I get out of the car lol. During the day, I have not parked near a single curb. I did, however, visit a Mr. Muffler. The tech that looked at my exhaust drove it onto one of the lifts that you drive up a ramp to, not swing the arms under your car. I believe the angle was too steep for my car. That would explain the rust colored grooves, and the fact that they are not covered in salt, like the rest of the car. I called over there, and the person I spoke to admitted that the car DID scrape, but thats all he would admit. I did not check the car until I got home. Now the question of what should I do. I am thinking of going back there tomorrow with the pieces and calmly explaining my situation to the manager. I would only ask for the price of new extensions, not including the price of paint. I can get a new set, but it would set me back $300 that I do not have, considering that I am out of a job, and just bought a Magnaflow cat-back.
Re: On top of everything, now this... (ajflan)
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 2:49 pm
by 808 Vibes
Sorry to hear about that Just a suggestion: you could file your taxes really early...it would help you out right now. I'm going this Sunday (Feb 1). Last year I got my "e-file" refunds in my account insane fast! I'm doing some home improvement projects within the next few months and this will expedite funds to do it.
Re: On top of everything, now this... (ajflan)
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 12:56 am
by psiu
Quote, originally posted by ajflan »I actually noticed those marks after looking at the pictures after I posted them. The thing that tells me that thats not the answer is that A) I park ridiculously far away from curbs, and B) They were not damaged like this this morning when I parked at school. I almost always do a visual inspection whenever I get out of the car lol. During the day, I have not parked near a single curb. I did, however, visit a Mr. Muffler. The tech that looked at my exhaust drove it onto one of the lifts that you drive up a ramp to, not swing the arms under your car. I believe the angle was too steep for my car. That would explain the rust colored grooves, and the fact that they are not covered in salt, like the rest of the car. I called over there, and the person I spoke to admitted that the car DID scrape, but thats all he would admit. I did not check the car until I got home. Now the question of what should I do. I am thinking of going back there tomorrow with the pieces and calmly explaining my situation to the manager. I would only ask for the price of new extensions, not including the price of paint. I can get a new set, but it would set me back $300 that I do not have, considering that I am out of a job, and just bought a Magnaflow cat-back. No, they can pay for the painting. They should've known better, and looking at those pieces with the fresh rust grooves, little peely plastic marks...yeah. Don't make any legal mentions either if things don't go your way, just leave.Then take em to small claims court.What kind of jerk starts to pull a car up, probably hears some awful noise, and then keeps going? And you KNOW someone there knew about it before they gave the car back."Hey buddy, look at your new muffler! It's back here. Baaaaack here. Don't look at the front. Nothing to see there."
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 1:04 am
by ajflan
Yeah I was just in there for a quote. My dad wanted me to check prices before he helped me buy the Magnaflow. The only reason I have to replace the exhaust asap is because it is beginning to get REALLY loud lol. I ended up buying a Magnaflow for 375 shipped, which isn't too bad at all.
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 2:05 am
by hskater26
damn that sucks
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 2:18 am
by Tonyk27
Did you or them pull the vibe up the ramp?
Re: (Tonyk27)
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 5:12 am
by ajflan
They pulled the car up the ramp.
Re: (ajflan)
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 5:15 am
by kevera
So,what are you gonna do?To be honest,those front extensions are a PITA for lowered Vibes.I can't imagine driving in winter with them.
Re: (kevera)
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 5:32 am
by ajflan
I'm not sure how everything will go down as of now. I went back there today with the extensions and talked to the owner of the shop. He was the biggest jerk I have ever talked to. I basically told them that I expect them to fix or replace the front extensions. If they were to replace them with new ones, which I gave them the information as to where they could locate a set, the most I would be willing to compromise is that I would take care of the painting. The manager tried to tell me that they were like that when the car was brought in, so I asked him if he lied on the ground and inspected them before he drove the car onto the lift. He had nothing to say to that. They already admitted that the car scraped when they drove it up the ramps. He basically tried to tell me that snow caused this damage, so I asked him what kind of snow leaves rust colored grooves on both extensions. Once he realized that I was not going to back down to him, he calmed down a little bit and said that they will check to see if Collex can fix them. So at least they are taking a step in the right direction. We will see where this goes on Monday, when he said they will get back to me.
Re: (ajflan)
Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 3:51 am
by 808 Vibes
Quote, originally posted by ajflan »talked to the owner of the shop. He was the biggest jerk I have ever talked to. I know what you're going through...don't let them get away with it!
Re: (ajflan)
Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:21 am
by NascarXprt
so AJ any news yet?
Re: (NascarXprt)
Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 1:28 pm
by ajflan
Well Monday has come and gone and no word yet. I will give them until 5 o'clock tomorrow (Tuesday). If I dont here from them before then, they will receive a nice little phone call or perhaps a friendly visit from me. It turns out that this exact shop royally screwed my good friend over a while back, so I will not lie down on this one. I will not rest (besides, with no job, I have nothing else to do lol) until this issue is resolved.
Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 1:36 pm
by ou.grizzly
I do not know if small claims court is an option. But I would also contact the BBB.
Re: (ou.grizzly)
Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 1:46 pm
by ajflan
Yeah I don't think court is an option as well. But I will definitely contact corporate as well as the BBB if they do not fix or replace them. I told them that the most I would be willing to compromise is painting them, because I have a hook up through my dads work that could help me out with that. But the extensions should be like new, or brand new, when I get them back. I don't care how they do it, but thats what I want.
Re: (13Vibe03)
Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 11:58 pm
by ajflan
To be honest, I really don't think that I have enough proof that the shop is the cause of the damage. I know that they are, but I would need more than that for court I would assume.
Re: (ajflan)
Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 12:21 am
by prathman
Civil court (incl. small claims) is based on the 'preponderence of the evidence' rather than the much stricter 'beyond reasonable doubt' standard of criminal court. If photos of the ramps show a good match to the spacing of the marks on your broken parts that would be pretty good evidence in your favor, especially if the shop agrees that there was at least some scraping.
Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 1:29 pm
by ajflan
I called the shop today, and they are ordering a new set of front extensions for me. I agreed to paint them, thats no big deal to me, because honestly the paint wasn't perfect, they had been scratched before. So it all worked out in the end.
Re: (ajflan)
Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 2:44 pm
by 808 Vibes
Wow. It didn't have to drag on like my case. At least you have closure...Good for you
Re: (ajflan)
Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:16 pm
by NascarXprt
congrats on getting everything settled on that.
Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 2:11 am
by ramenboy...
damn andrew. sorry to hear about the damage, glad its getting worked out..i've always wonder what the vibe would look like with the front and rear extensions from a matrix...
Re: (ramenboy...)
Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 2:50 am
by NascarXprt
im trying to find a wrecked trix with the rear extensions, i think they just might work.
Re: (NascarXprt)
Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:11 am
by ramenboy...
yeah i really like the rear extension for the matrix. and with the rocker panels we have, it should look pretty good.
Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:22 am
by ajflan
That might look good. I wonder how hard it would be to get it to fit though...
Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:26 am
by ramenboy...
for the rear bumper, i don't think it will be a problem; both rear bumpers look really similar, if not the same. but the front extensions... i think the front would be a challenge...
Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:30 am
by ajflan
Yeah the front would definitely require extensive fabrication for any kind if decent fitment.
Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 2:52 am
by Tonyk27
Any updates?
Re: (Tonyk27)
Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 8:55 am
by ajflan
Still waiting for the extensions to arrive. Then I will just have to get them painted before spring and I will be good to go.
Re: (ajflan)
Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 6:17 pm
by Blanco_Diablo
Sorry if I missed it, but where did they order the extensions from, thought those were hard to come by. Thx.
Re: (Blanco_Diablo)
Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 12:48 am
by ajflan
Lol no you didn't miss it. They are VERY hard to find. I had to do a ton of digging to find some. You can find a couple on gmpartsdistributor.com as well as gmpartsdirect.com. They aren't cheap though.