ARGH......My mechanic put a dent on my S2000.(PIC)

[kaerflog]

I'm beyond piss right now.
So the clutch pedal is pretty loose and its pretty hard to shift into gear so I took it to him to check it out.
He's a friend of the family and has been my goto mechanic for years.(He works as a mechanic and fix cars on the side, certified BTW)
He checked out the fluids and then drain out the old ones and put in the new ones and had me pump the clutch pedal repeatedly.
Seems to solve the problem.
So then he looked around to see if there are leaks.
Car is too low to the ground and then he grabs a couple of jacks to raise the car up.
He just home from work so hes fumbling around not really being careful at all.
To make the story short, he didn't position the jacks properly so the car kinda fell off from the jack.
I'm seeing it right before my eyes and I see that there is a dent already.(smoke is literally coming out of my head)
So he gets the car down and tells me I need a new cylinder or whatever and pretend like nothing has happenned.
I then gently(but so pissed) told him that theres a dent on my car now.
He realized that I notice now and then proceed to try and fix the dent to no avail.
He tells me know that he will give me the money to fix it.
I told him I'm going away for a week and I can leave the car for him and he can have it fixed.
He tells me he don't know of anyone and keeps telling me he will give me money to fix it.
He then try to give me $300 to have the dent fixed.
I drove away and told him I will get back to him.

Just so pissed right now.
I'm lift up my car many many times and I'm always super careful when I jack up the car.
I can't believe that a certified mechanic got so careless with my car.
When you do this for a living, it has to be a priority.

So how much to fix the dent ?? It looks pretty minor

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I can't even see the dent. I just got a quarter size dent popped out of my door for $75 at a paintless dent repair place.

 

[JackBurton]

Ooooo, that's not good. Looks like he didn't use the vehicle's lift points. I'd be pissed too.

 

[mvbighead]

I can't even see the dent. I just got a quarter size dent popped out of my door for $75 at a paintless dent repair place.

FYI, the bottom of the car is not flat.

I'd say either leave it with him and see if he'll fix it, or see about getting it fixed and then handing him the bill.

If he's a good guy, he'll take care of it. Sucks, and I am sure he didn't mean to do it. We all rush sometimes with one thing or another. Just see if he'll do right by you, and if not, pursue it however you feel the need to. Not sure insurance would be any help here, but it might be worth pursuing.

 

[JackBurton]

I can't even see the dent. I just got a quarter size dent popped out of my door for $75 at a paintless dent repair place.

That ain't a paintless dent repair case. It's not on the side, take a look at the underside of the car.

 

[SithSolo1]

Umm you might want to circle it in the picture. I assume its the bottom of the panel next to the frame rail and not that huge grey wave. If your car is as low as you say, 99.99% of people you know or meet probably won't notice it if you never mention it. 50% still won't if you do mention it. However I would make him put it right.

Of course I scuffed/gashed the rear bumper on my G35c since '05 and its still there. In my eyes its not worth $650+ to fix until I plan to sell/trade it.

 

[kaerflog]

I can't even see the dent. I just got a quarter size dent popped out of my door for $75 at a paintless dent repair place.

Its really not a dent per say but if you read the story of how the jack fell off you can it that the underneath panel is pushed up.
Yeah, you really can't see it just passing by but the point is its there if you look for it.
And if I do plan to sell it, you know people will instantly see it.
BTW, what was the paintless dent place called ?? I have a small one I'd like to take care off too when I get this fixed.

 

[ballmode]

Yikes! That's deep

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Meh, that doesn't even register on my scale of dents. Tell me, do you freak out when someone touches your computer screen?

 

[RavenSEAL]

DISLIKE D:

/caps

 

[waggy]

is he insured? if so turn it in. if not that's why you take it someplace that does.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Meh, that doesn't even register on my scale of dents. Tell me, do you freak out when someone touches your computer screen?

Wtf at this post.


To the op. I would be pissed. That will be a pita to fix properly. I would check the rest of the underbody for dents as it doesn't look like he was using the jack points. Do not let him touch your car again.

 

[kaerflog]

Meh, that doesn't even register on my scale of dents. Tell me, do you freak out when someone touches your computer screen?

You gotta be joking right ???
You can clearly see the underneath panel is pushed up.
2 people already said its not minor.
You compared this to touching a computer screen ??
Its a beautiful car. Not a $500 item.
You must not value your personal belongings that much.

 

[kaerflog]

is he insured? if so turn it in. if not that's why you take it someplace that does.

This is a family friend that I've been going for years.
I'm just pissed that he was so careless.
And I'm standing right there the entire time too.

 

[waggy]

This is a family friend that I've been going for years.
I'm just pissed that he was so careless.
And I'm standing right there the entire time too.

so you are 50% to blame.

this ain't a used escort. no matter how good a friend i wouldn't let them work on such a car.

nothing personal. just business. now your friendship is strained. or you ignore it and drive the car. shrug

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

You gotta be joking right ???
You can clearly see the underneath panel is pushed up.
2 people already said its not minor.
You compared this to touching a computer screen ??
Its a beautiful car. Not a $500 item.
You must not value your personal belongings that much.

I was trying to explain that not everyone is anal about the appearance of their vehicles. In the above picture, no damage can be seen. Sorry you're upset.

 

[kaerflog]

so you are 50% to blame.

this ain't a used escort. no matter how good a friend i wouldn't let them work on such a car.

nothing personal. just business. now your friendship is strained. or you ignore it and drive the car. shrug

Lets be real here.
Everyone has somebody that they go to for things like cars, plumbing, housing, etc....
I didn't just look up this guy in a phone book.
Hes been working on all my cars since I was a teenager with my first car.
Hes a friend of my parents, not me.
Pretty much all of my immediate family go to him for car repairs.

 

[kaerflog]

I was trying to explain that not everyone is anal about the appearance of their vehicles. In the above picture, no damage can be seen. Sorry you're upset.

SO you don't think when I go to sell the car, noone will notice ??
What if the jacking up point is damaged and I need to jack up the car the next time ??
But hey who cares, no one can see it.....shrug.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

SO you don't think when I go to sell the car, noone will notice ??
What if the jacking up point is damaged and I need to jack up the car the next time ??
But hey who cares, no one can see it.....shrug.

Again, sorry you're upset. In my opinion, this is a non issue. Feel free to disagree.

 

[Throckmorton]

Yes it's a real dent and yes he should pay

 

[Throckmorton]

I think the lesson is to only go to the mechanic at their workplace, so their insurance covers stuff like this

 

[waggy]

Lets be real here.
Everyone has somebody that they go to for things like cars, plumbing, housing, etc....
I didn't just look up this guy in a phone book.
Hes been working on all my cars since I was a teenager with my first car.
Hes a friend of my parents, not me.
Pretty much all of my immediate family go to him for car repairs.

yes. and now you know why most don't. i don't allow people who are not insured work on my house. Same issue here. your car is nice. i would fix a dent in it.

by that token i wouldn't take it to the "family" mechanic i would take it to someone with insurance so if something happened its covered.

 

[alkemyst]

They did something like that to my 240SX. Fortunately the rocker panel addon's hid it.

Unfortunately by the time I found out, I didn't know which mechanic to really blame.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

you could make him pay for it, but dont expect him to ever fix anything on your cars again.
I mean, if I worked as a mechanic and at the end of my day one of my friends' kid kept coming to me with his car (thats probably worth more than I made in a year) and expecting a discount for my work, I'd be like "eff this, lets just get it over with" too.

Ask your parents what to do - see what they say. If they say, make him pay, then go get some estimates.
Shitty it happened.

 

[manimal]

You go to a certified shop if you want warranties and guarantees. If you want a deal you take risks.


Sucks that it happened but even using a lift can cause that type of damage. Cant tell you how many side skirts ive seen damaged from guys being careless with lifts.