Damaged Rockers. Options?

[RavinJetta]

So bit of a rant but I was having some tire issues so took the car to my local Firestone to have a wheel balance. Should be easy enough right? Well all went well until after I left and walked away from the car a bit to notice my rockers looked different. Went straight back and they of course deny they did anything but I am 100% certain they were perfect when I dropped it off. I had just done the brakes on the car two weeks prior myself and it hasn't been lifted since. The tech in fact first loaded the car onto this lift but then for whatever reason (I was inside) ended up moving it to a standard lift. Looks like on either one of the lifts he damaged it but of course claims innocence. Some of the plastic underneath is cracked and the rockers are not much lower then the blades in some places. Pretty even on both sides of the car. Here are some pics of the damage.
Waiting on a call back from them next week as they said they are going to open a claim but he is going to deny they did anything wrong. So while that plays out what are my options here? I am thinking a body shop may be able to fix it or side skirts would cover it. Really annoyed how a tire shop was incapable of properly lifting a car.

[xpoweruk]

Wow that is quite bad,ya must be fuming.The front wing panel gap to sill is pretty odd now :(

Did you take ant pictures recently that show that they were OK before ???

[Oloung1]

you are brave to take your modded/wheeled car to firestone for a wheel balance but in between now and next week, i would start typing a letter, documenting everything that has happened up until this point. followup monday/tuesday on the claim number. if no response escalate to their corporate contact :http://www.firestonetire.com/customer-care/contact , certify mail, fax or email in letter to bridgestone corporate if needed.

in the meantime, some of your local repair shops might be able to give you an "internet estimate", you upload your pics, give description of the damage and contact info to wait for a quote to be sent back during the week. when i did this on my last vehicle repair, only 1 out of 4 shops that i sent an internet estimate gave me a repair price, the other 2 told me to come it - which defeated my efforts and the third never even responded past the auto mail responder that my submission was sent.

[RavinJetta]

Yes i am definitely fuming right now. I guess I was wrong about assuming that they would be able to balance a tire without causing probably thousands of damage to my car. I will see if I have any recent picture to show how it was but not likely within the last couple weeks.
Thanks so much for the advice on what to do next. Do you think I should contact my insurance company at all? Great ideas on documenting and writing up everything that happened and contacting corporate if it doesn't progress. I am not holding out much hope that the store manager is going to do the right thing as he was already complaining about having to spend $150 if he had to open a claim.

[Bordom]

Definitely inform your insurance company that damage was done to your vehicle. They'll be able to guide you through the process and make this much easier

Everything graciously mispelled by Android

[LYKUNO]

Those rocker panels do not look good, and cracking of the underbody plastic cladding also indicates that the car was improperly lifted. I wonder if it's possible that the lifts in the first picture do not have sufficient spread available on the arm extensions to reach the lift points on your S4, or that the tech didn't bother to extend them to the designated lift points. As can be seen in the photos, it appears that the car was lifted at points between the designated lift points, as can be easily discerned from the points of highest deflection. Good thing you were observant enough to notice that your car was moved from one lift to another - clearly they noticed there was a problem with positioning your car on the lift, otherwise, why would they have moved it to a different style of lift?

You aren't the first person to discover this kind of damage caused by a lift. Here's another example. Here's a second post with an entry by the same guy regarding improper lifting.

[Powderhound]

Had an issue with Firestone some years ago. If I remember correctly, the manager of a Firestone location is authorized only up to a certain amount, to write you a check for damages. So worth working with manager of that location first. Once it goes to corporate as a claim then they get an "inspector" involved and claim is settled, or possibly denied depending on what they decide.

[KnewJack]

You have to be very careful setting these cars on the lift. They should never have tried using an "X" style pole lift IMO. I only use dual stand lifts that have arm extensions. You have a very small area where the feet can sit properly. Most techs probably just kick the arms under the car and call it good. Most don't get on their knees and really check each arm and set the feet correctly before hitting that "Up" button. They probably give pause when they hear the crunch and then just keep going up, like "Oh well". I've heard that sound many times at some shops. Corvettes are worse, you have to crack open the doors and trunk before lifting the car, at least on the C4 LT1's.

Good luck getting this sorted.

[RavinJetta]

Yeah my guess is that they started to lift on the first lift without putting blocks and it cracked the plastic or the blocks were placed incorrectly. They apparently had a heck of a time getting it under that X brace lift as well as they had to manually roll it on it with no driver in the car and it barely cleared. I am sure that put some pressure on the underside as well. So frustrating. Going to take it this week to get a quote on the damage as well as I called and opened up a claim with Firestone Customer Service. I should here back in 3-5 days when my claim is officially opened and then they will investigate.

[timzcat]

I'd take that to the Audi Dealer, particularly if they have a body shop. They will understand that type of damage well and be able to provide an accurate estimate of the damage.

[RavinJetta]

I'd take that to the Audi Dealer, particularly if they have a body shop. They will understand that type of damage well and be able to provide an accurate estimate of the damage.

Not a bad idea. Definitely going to get a few quotes on this one. Already opened a claim with my insurance as well in preparation for the battle with Firestone.

[Crucible35]

Yup....I've seen this many times. These cars seem to be very tricky to position correctly on the lift. I've had two friends with A4s that have had this exact issue and neither of them were able to get the shop to admit it....... from this, I always take pics of my car specifically in that area prior to drop off. One of the many reasons why you should never take an Audi to Firestone, Jiffy Lube etc. I even get nervous when going to an indie Audi shop.

[KRS Aaron]

My dealer did this to my car sometime around me taking delivery but I never noticed until the following spring when I was putting my summer wheels on and was checking for a jack point. Both sides have it but I was never able to prove the dealer did it because it was too long after the service that I noticed. I just left it because it's pretty hard to see and if I decide to sell the car, I may take it to a body shop to see what can be done.

[RavinJetta]

Yup....I've seen this many times. These cars seem to be very tricky to position correctly on the lift. I've had two friends with A4s that have had this exact issue and neither of them were able to get the shop to admit it....... from this, I always take pics of my car specifically in that area prior to drop off. One of the many reasons why you should never take an Audi to Firestone, Jiffy Lube etc. I even get nervous when going to an indie Audi shop.

I don't usually take my car to these type of places but a tire shop should be able to lift a car properly to fix a tire. Would be a nightmare if every time I need to get a tire worked on I have to pull them all off and put the car on stands.
Anyways going to get a quote on the damage today and also am thinking about possibly getting caractere side skirts as one potential option as well. Kind of hate to lose the side blades though.

[Lbsigman]

This thread reminded me of a thread on 6speedonline.com that I stumbled upon where a different Firestone tire shop caused damage to the underside of an Austin Martin in San Diego; coincidence that both Firestone's are in So. Cal?? The car ended up being salvaged out by the insurance company.

http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/a...firestone.html

[S4Flyer]

Rockers damaged, options?

I'd go with the open-hand slap.

[RavinJetta]

So got two quotes so far. $2500 and $10k to fix. Still waiting to hear back from their claims department as apparently it is their busy season of messing up cars. The $10k quote is the most detailed thorough job I have ever heard of. Entire front end and doors removed. In the oven several times for each of the different coatings etc.

[bhvrdr]

Shoot, go grab two more quotes in the 10K dollar range and then you are good to go. See if theyll cut you a check for 10 grand and then decide what you want to do with the damage.

Mike

[RavinJetta]

Shoot, go grab two more quotes in the 10K dollar range and then you are good to go. See if theyll cut you a check for 10 grand and then decide what you want to do with the damage.

Mike

Yeah for sure. If I got them to cut me a check for $10k I would be stoked. Going to get another quote next week and see how that comes in as well.

[Dr GP]

I am getting tired of reading about owners taking their cars in for service to shops that are definitely not qualified to treat the cars and wheels properly and without damage. IMHO, you cannot just take your S4 to any standard wheel and tire shop. You need to make sure the shop has the proper equipment and expertise to do the job without damaging the car/wheels. It sad.

[bhvrdr]

I am getting tired of reading about owners taking their cars in for service to shops that are definitely not qualified to treat the cars and wheels properly and without damage. IMHO, you cannot just take your S4 to any standard wheel and tire shop. You need to make sure the shop has the proper equipment and expertise to do the job without damaging the car/wheels. It sad.

I hear ya but you'll read about these mishaps at Audi dealerships as well. Nothing wrong with Firestone. They "should" be able to change a tire just fine and they have the same lifts a dealership has so no special equipment needed. The problem is employees who dont take the time to do something the correct way. Unfortunately this can happen anywhere. I just went to a world renowned tuner that has been published in a ton of magazines for my other car and it was unreal the stupid things they did like not tightening the intake back down and mounting a hose right next to a pulley that it rubbed through. Sucks

Mike

[Dr GP]

Incompetence is rampant

[TikKToc]

Incompetence is rampant

That really sucks, but if it is any consolation my local Audi dealer did the same thing. They ended up replacing rocker and modeling vs trying to repair. Only difference is they immediately owned up to it put me in an new Q7 and fixed it, which was a pleasant surprise


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[JD S4]

So got two quotes so far. $2500 and $10k to fix. Still waiting to hear back from their claims department as apparently it is their busy season of messing up cars. The $10k quote is the most detailed thorough job I have ever heard of. Entire front end and doors removed. In the oven several times for each of the different coatings etc.

Have them fix the orange peel paint on your doors while they are in there!

Good luck man. That sucks. I'm freaked out now to pick up my S from the shop this afternoon.

[RavinJetta]

Just got my third and final quote which came in at $4k. Now if only the claim department would call me as they say 3-7 business days as it is their busy season of damaging customer cars.