a repair shop didnt properly install my lowering springs....

c1pinang · 10-13-2005, 02:17 PM

Hi,

Need your help: what do you guys suggest me to do?

Well, the story begins when I drop my car off at this local repair shop, near by our house, to lower & install the lowering springs. A friend of mine referred this shop to me, he had lowered his car from the same place and was satisfied with the job. The guy from the shop told me that it would cost me $340 to have the car lowered and aligned. I thought this price was reasonable, but stupid me, I didn’t get this in writing.

Later that day, my wife picked up the car for me because I had gone out of the city on that same day. After I came back from the trip, I started noticing that the car was pulling to the right. I then called the shop and asked them if they have aligned the car or not. And as expected, they answered yes. I immediately went to the shop and asked the repair guy to test drive the car to show how bad the car was pulling to the right. Then he told me that he would take care of everything. Then I asked him that this would not cost me anything would it? And the guy said it would cost me $120 again to do alignment. I tried arguing with him about the estimate that he gave me earlier, but stupid me I couldn’t do anything because I don’t have anything in writing. Then, I left and told them that I would give them a call back to schedule the alignment. And there is no way that I am gonna trust those suckers anyway to fix the car

So I called around, and found a tirerack preferred installer to align the car (this is what I should’ve done at first, I called this place first and got a quote for $450 to lower and align the car, but I went with a local repair shop near by my house because of I was tempted with lower price). The guy from this tirerack preferred installer was honest enough to tell me that an alignment would not fix the problem after all. He told me that the right front wheel is 0.25” lowered than the left front wheel according to the reading from the alignment machine. He said that 99% of the time this problem is caused by the spring seat not properly fitted, thus created the height difference

The guy suggested me to give the local repair shop a call and ask them if they would honor and repay me for what I will have to pay to fix the problem at the tirerack preferred installer.
My question: is it too much to ask if I ask the guy from the local repair shop to give the $340 back to me, or should I just ask them to give me partial refund for the mistake they made.

Is there some kind of consumer rights law that you guys are aware of that would protect consumers from faulty or poor repair service?

Your comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated, sorry for the long post. That’s what happened when you are trying to save money for a poor quality work, damned I’m so stupid 

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longtran · 10-13-2005, 02:25 PM

wow, the car looks great, maybe you should go back to them and tell them to re-check it. if not you can always take it to the place tirerack recommend you and pay for it and sue the guy for the difference on The People's Court show. lol.....i love that show...i learn alot watching that show.....your friend legal complaint letter sound good too.... let us know how it go. that is a really unbelieveable price for installation. over here in california, they do it for 300 installed, parts and labor.

c1pinang · 10-13-2005, 03:05 PM

Yeah, it's so expensive to lower the car here, the springs ($225) itself are cheaper than the labor

. I've called several places, and $300s seems to be the average cost. The labor charges in this country is just outrageous, back home where i am from, you dont pay any labor when you buy parts from the shop, you only tip the mechanic that's all. That's the advantage of a third world country

There is no way i am going back to the first shop, bunch of liars, i dont trust them anymore. I am having the car fixed at the tirerack preferred installer. My lawyer friend told me not to waste time calling the first shop to ask for money, we're just gonna send the first shop a legal complaint letter. I am gonna sue this guy i guess and take him to see Judge Judy

, check your local tv listing, i might be on the next Judge Judy show hahahahha LOL

longtran · 10-13-2005, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c1pinang

Yeah, it's so expensive to lower the car here, the springs ($225) itself are cheaper than the labor

. I've called several places, and $300s seems to be the average cost. The labor charges in this country is just outrageous, back home where i am from, you dont pay any labor when you buy parts from the shop, you only tip the mechanic that's all. That's the advantage of a third world country

There is no way i am going back to the first shop, bunch of liars, i dont trust them anymore. I am having the car fixed at the tirerack preferred installer. My lawyer friend told me not to waste time calling the first shop to ask for money, we're just gonna send the first shop a legal complaint letter. I am gonna sue this guy i guess and take him to see Judge Judy

, check your local tv listing, i might be on the next Judge Judy show hahahahha LOL

dude, do not go judge judy. plus she is in cali i think, go with The People's Court, judge marylin milian is much cooler. ahaaha...seriously let me know how it goes.

c1pinang · 10-14-2005, 09:27 AM

I take all this back guys. After having taken out the right front suspension, the tirerack preferred installer found out that the springs were properly installed. He told me that the spring did not sit flush on the right front strut plate. He showed me the parts, and I noted how the spring does not sit well on the strut plate.

Fortunately, I havent made any complaints or sue the repair local shop yet

Anyways, the tirerack preferred installer called tirerack in regards to this issue, and tirerack forwarded him to the Eibach tech department. Eibach told him in order for them to deem that the springs are defective, Eibach wants him to swap the spring from the right front strut to the left front strut to determine if this will cause the same height problem.

This is what I dont get at all, there are no difference between right and left front springs right? The spring should have worked in the first place anyways, right? and it should never have created this height difference

i am guessing Eibach wants to find out if there's something wrong with my suspension. Eibach told the mechanic, that the springs may not be the correct springs for a 2006 E90 BMW 325i!! It's absurd, how can they say that? Eibach advertised that the kit will fit an E90.

This is a brand new car! it has only 200 miles on it! :mad: Car was driving fine when it had the factory springs and factory 16" wheels. Ohh man, what are the chances that I get a bad set of springs from Eibach. Hopefully, if this is the case, and am hoping that Eibach will cover the labor cost to fix this.

I am pretty confident this is a rare occurence for Eibach, but i am pretty sure that there is nothing wrong with my suspension, just because the car is brand new, and was riding fine with the stock ride. Anyway i'll keep you updated with this.....

c1pinang · 10-14-2005, 12:45 PM

Oh man o man,

just got a call again from the tirerack installer. He said that the height difference was caused by the improper installation by the first shop, so back to sending the complaint letter

NPinUK · 10-14-2005, 02:21 PM

When u buy a newcar like a bmw its best to get every thing you want put on when its factory made e.g. suspension, lights (the only exception alloy wheels). That way u have a piece of mind and of course the warranty.

BrunoT · 10-16-2005, 11:05 AM

1. Well, you got the legal advice you paid for (nothing). It never hurts to demand restitution from a business you got bad service from. I am self-employed and if someone demonstrated to me that we did something wrong, we'd gladly make it right.

2. If you paid via credit card, which you ALWAYS should with repair shops, you can ask for a written report from the 2nd mechanic and use that to dispute the charge with your credit card company. When they see the money whisked out of their account at least temporarily while it's being investigated, they may be more willing to negotiate. But ultimately, you have a pretty good case anyway.

3. There's a reason immigrants like yourself come here. They get paid more for their hard work and skills. I notice in my dealings with many immigrants that I sometimes have to educate them about the fact that Americans, especially skilled ones, don't work for peanuts here. We don't have a rigid class system. If you provide a valuable service, no matter how dirty or unglamorous, you get paid well for it. There is a distinct bias in some cultures against those of the "working class". Professionals are respected, anyone with dirty hands is seen as not worthy of a nice living. Some come here and never get it. And they have a hard time finding people to work for them. Many businesses avoid dealing with them, not out of any bigotry, but because they're tired of this attitude.

So please. It's not "outrageous" for a shop to charge $340 to put on a set of springs. They have costs, risks, and just look at your situation. They often have to make adjustments after the install or even pay for damage they do. Those who don't run businesses only see the time spent by the mechanic, they never realize that there are costs and there is friction in business and that we don't all just line up jobs for 8 hours a day that go smoothly. The mechanics who did the work may not be able to afford a BMW. The owner of the shop faces great risk. There are tons of automotive shops that don't make it.

NaTuReB0Y · 10-16-2005, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by longtran

that is a really unbelieveable price for installation. over here in california, they do it for 300 installed, parts and labor.

I agree!

c1pinang · 10-16-2005, 07:53 PM

Thanks for the input Brucec32,

1. I am going to ask the 1st shop nicely to reimburse what it cost me to fix the problem at the second shop. Seeking legal help is my last resort.

2. I did pay with credit card at both shops. And have something in writing from the second shop noting that a work was performed to fix faulty installation by the first shop. Didnt know i can dispute charges with the credit card company until you told me. I will do as you told me, thanks for the tips!

3. couldnt agree more with you

haha sorry for the word selection, didnt mean to offend anyone here with the "outrageous" installation cost

I am just comparing this to what it would have cost me back home. This is just something i can't control, and have to learn to accept it. Well actually, where i am from, cars are way more expensive! we pay almost double on cars (because of roughly 100% tax and tariffs that we have to pay). A 2006 BMW 325i (with steptronic) costs approx US$62k!!! Nevermind about the "outrageous" labor ha ha ha, i took my words back since cars are a lotttt cheaper here in the US

do you guys mind helping me with this, please click this link to see my other posting
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5739

10-13-2005, 02:17 PM	#1
c1pinang Private First Class 25 Rep 119 Posts Drives: e90 325i Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Philadelphia, PA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2005 Audi S4 [0.00] 2006 E90 325i [0.00]	Problems with Eibach springs..... Hi, Need your help: what do you guys suggest me to do? Well, the story begins when I drop my car off at this local repair shop, near by our house, to lower & install the lowering springs. A friend of mine referred this shop to me, he had lowered his car from the same place and was satisfied with the job. The guy from the shop told me that it would cost me $340 to have the car lowered and aligned. I thought this price was reasonable, but stupid me, I didn’t get this in writing. Later that day, my wife picked up the car for me because I had gone out of the city on that same day. After I came back from the trip, I started noticing that the car was pulling to the right. I then called the shop and asked them if they have aligned the car or not. And as expected, they answered yes. I immediately went to the shop and asked the repair guy to test drive the car to show how bad the car was pulling to the right. Then he told me that he would take care of everything. Then I asked him that this would not cost me anything would it? And the guy said it would cost me $120 again to do alignment. I tried arguing with him about the estimate that he gave me earlier, but stupid me I couldn’t do anything because I don’t have anything in writing. Then, I left and told them that I would give them a call back to schedule the alignment. And there is no way that I am gonna trust those suckers anyway to fix the car So I called around, and found a tirerack preferred installer to align the car (this is what I should’ve done at first, I called this place first and got a quote for $450 to lower and align the car, but I went with a local repair shop near by my house because of I was tempted with lower price). The guy from this tirerack preferred installer was honest enough to tell me that an alignment would not fix the problem after all. He told me that the right front wheel is 0.25” lowered than the left front wheel according to the reading from the alignment machine. He said that 99% of the time this problem is caused by the spring seat not properly fitted, thus created the height difference The guy suggested me to give the local repair shop a call and ask them if they would honor and repay me for what I will have to pay to fix the problem at the tirerack preferred installer. My question: is it too much to ask if I ask the guy from the local repair shop to give the $340 back to me, or should I just ask them to give me partial refund for the mistake they made. Is there some kind of consumer rights law that you guys are aware of that would protect consumers from faulty or poor repair service? Your comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated, sorry for the long post. That’s what happened when you are trying to save money for a poor quality work, damned I’m so stupid  [IMG][/IMG] Attached Images Last edited by c1pinang; 10-14-2005 at 12:38 PM..
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10-13-2005, 02:25 PM	#2
longtran Lieutenant General 1473 Rep 16,625 Posts Drives: E90 M3 Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: CA iTrader: (105) Garage List 2006 325i [0.00]	wow, the car looks great, maybe you should go back to them and tell them to re-check it. if not you can always take it to the place tirerack recommend you and pay for it and sue the guy for the difference on The People's Court show. lol.....i love that show...i learn alot watching that show.....your friend legal complaint letter sound good too.... let us know how it go. that is a really unbelieveable price for installation. over here in california, they do it for 300 installed, parts and labor.
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10-13-2005, 03:05 PM	#3
c1pinang Private First Class 25 Rep 119 Posts Drives: e90 325i Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Philadelphia, PA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2005 Audi S4 [0.00] 2006 E90 325i [0.00]	Yeah, it's so expensive to lower the car here, the springs ($225) itself are cheaper than the labor . I've called several places, and $300s seems to be the average cost. The labor charges in this country is just outrageous, back home where i am from, you dont pay any labor when you buy parts from the shop, you only tip the mechanic that's all. That's the advantage of a third world country There is no way i am going back to the first shop, bunch of liars, i dont trust them anymore. I am having the car fixed at the tirerack preferred installer. My lawyer friend told me not to waste time calling the first shop to ask for money, we're just gonna send the first shop a legal complaint letter. I am gonna sue this guy i guess and take him to see Judge Judy , check your local tv listing, i might be on the next Judge Judy show hahahahha LOL
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10-14-2005, 09:27 AM	#5
c1pinang Private First Class 25 Rep 119 Posts Drives: e90 325i Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Philadelphia, PA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2005 Audi S4 [0.00] 2006 E90 325i [0.00]	a repair local shop messed up on lowering my car I take all this back guys. After having taken out the right front suspension, the tirerack preferred installer found out that the springs were properly installed. He told me that the spring did not sit flush on the right front strut plate. He showed me the parts, and I noted how the spring does not sit well on the strut plate. Fortunately, I havent made any complaints or sue the repair local shop yet Anyways, the tirerack preferred installer called tirerack in regards to this issue, and tirerack forwarded him to the Eibach tech department. Eibach told him in order for them to deem that the springs are defective, Eibach wants him to swap the spring from the right front strut to the left front strut to determine if this will cause the same height problem. This is what I dont get at all, there are no difference between right and left front springs right? The spring should have worked in the first place anyways, right? and it should never have created this height difference i am guessing Eibach wants to find out if there's something wrong with my suspension. Eibach told the mechanic, that the springs may not be the correct springs for a 2006 E90 BMW 325i!! It's absurd, how can they say that? Eibach advertised that the kit will fit an E90. This is a brand new car! it has only 200 miles on it! :mad: Car was driving fine when it had the factory springs and factory 16" wheels. Ohh man, what are the chances that I get a bad set of springs from Eibach. Hopefully, if this is the case, and am hoping that Eibach will cover the labor cost to fix this. I am pretty confident this is a rare occurence for Eibach, but i am pretty sure that there is nothing wrong with my suspension, just because the car is brand new, and was riding fine with the stock ride. Anyway i'll keep you updated with this..... Last edited by c1pinang; 10-14-2005 at 12:39 PM..
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10-14-2005, 12:45 PM	#6
c1pinang Private First Class 25 Rep 119 Posts Drives: e90 325i Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Philadelphia, PA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2005 Audi S4 [0.00] 2006 E90 325i [0.00]	Oh man o man, just got a call again from the tirerack installer. He said that the height difference was caused by the improper installation by the first shop, so back to sending the complaint letter
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10-14-2005, 02:21 PM	#7
NPinUK Private First Class 7 Rep 199 Posts Drives: E90 325i M Sport Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: UK Midlands iTrader: (0)	When u buy a newcar like a bmw its best to get every thing you want put on when its factory made e.g. suspension, lights (the only exception alloy wheels). That way u have a piece of mind and of course the warranty.
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10-16-2005, 11:05 AM	#8
BrunoT Second Lieutenant 9 Rep 242 Posts Drives: 2012 F-150 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA iTrader: (0)	1. Well, you got the legal advice you paid for (nothing). It never hurts to demand restitution from a business you got bad service from. I am self-employed and if someone demonstrated to me that we did something wrong, we'd gladly make it right. 2. If you paid via credit card, which you ALWAYS should with repair shops, you can ask for a written report from the 2nd mechanic and use that to dispute the charge with your credit card company. When they see the money whisked out of their account at least temporarily while it's being investigated, they may be more willing to negotiate. But ultimately, you have a pretty good case anyway. 3. There's a reason immigrants like yourself come here. They get paid more for their hard work and skills. I notice in my dealings with many immigrants that I sometimes have to educate them about the fact that Americans, especially skilled ones, don't work for peanuts here. We don't have a rigid class system. If you provide a valuable service, no matter how dirty or unglamorous, you get paid well for it. There is a distinct bias in some cultures against those of the "working class". Professionals are respected, anyone with dirty hands is seen as not worthy of a nice living. Some come here and never get it. And they have a hard time finding people to work for them. Many businesses avoid dealing with them, not out of any bigotry, but because they're tired of this attitude. So please. It's not "outrageous" for a shop to charge $340 to put on a set of springs. They have costs, risks, and just look at your situation. They often have to make adjustments after the install or even pay for damage they do. Those who don't run businesses only see the time spent by the mechanic, they never realize that there are costs and there is friction in business and that we don't all just line up jobs for 8 hours a day that go smoothly. The mechanics who did the work may not be able to afford a BMW. The owner of the shop faces great risk. There are tons of automotive shops that don't make it.
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10-16-2005, 07:53 PM	#10
c1pinang Private First Class 25 Rep 119 Posts Drives: e90 325i Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Philadelphia, PA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2005 Audi S4 [0.00] 2006 E90 325i [0.00]	Thanks for the input Brucec32, 1. I am going to ask the 1st shop nicely to reimburse what it cost me to fix the problem at the second shop. Seeking legal help is my last resort. 2. I did pay with credit card at both shops. And have something in writing from the second shop noting that a work was performed to fix faulty installation by the first shop. Didnt know i can dispute charges with the credit card company until you told me. I will do as you told me, thanks for the tips! 3. couldnt agree more with you haha sorry for the word selection, didnt mean to offend anyone here with the "outrageous" installation cost I am just comparing this to what it would have cost me back home. This is just something i can't control, and have to learn to accept it. Well actually, where i am from, cars are way more expensive! we pay almost double on cars (because of roughly 100% tax and tariffs that we have to pay). A 2006 BMW 325i (with steptronic) costs approx US$62k!!! Nevermind about the "outrageous" labor ha ha ha, i took my words back since cars are a lotttt cheaper here in the US do you guys mind helping me with this, please click this link to see my other posting http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5739 Last edited by c1pinang; 10-16-2005 at 08:22 PM..
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