Mrs. Schnell's Mashed Jeep

Kalashnikov
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Re: Mrs. Schnell's Mashed Jeep

Post by Kalashnikov » Thu Mar 08, 2018 8:46 pm

Burn the car. The list of glaring issues you see are just visual and are right FUCKING there. Just imagine what is happening under the bumper covers and in the areas covered by interior panels.

At this point Dallas, I would try to dump the car. If accident is already on the Carfax try to work out some demonized value compensation.

In Russia, the wrecked car hustle is constant. Our 'masters' can turn off ALL warning lights on the car when there are no airbags present and other systems are disabled after the crash. Odometer rollback is 100% given as well on ANY late model luxury car.

There is a great channel on YouTube about professional Russian PPI guy. His videos show you how easy Americans have it and how fucked you can be even if you think you know what you are doing.


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Re: Mrs. Schnell's Mashed Jeep

Post by Flat6BlahBlah » Fri Mar 09, 2018 2:06 am

Oh boy, I'm really sorry to hear that you're going through this. It is beyond frustrating. Wanna' start a Caliber Collision fan club?

Here's where I'm at with mine: My wreck occurred 7/22/17. I had it on a flatbed and delivered to Caliber in Vista (maybe San Marcos?) the first week of August. Within a week or so they call and ask permission to send it to Costa Mesa, which is where they allegedly have Porsche certified repair technicians. I later discovered that it was a newly acquired location, and I suspect the call had as much to do with seeding that location with vehicles to work on, but that is purely speculation on my part that may or may not be accurate.

I FINALLY get the car back after 101 excuses on... 1/05/2018! And this was after it was discovered that my radar jammer went, you know, misplaced. They did replace that though. But the car suddenly had chips in the paint where there were none before, and nowhere near where the accident damage occurred, like on the passenger side A-pillar, the driver side mirror that was removed to blend the new paint into the door and even two on the rear wing. WTF?! They somehow lost some lug nuts and replaced them with ones that don't match with a promise that they'd be mailing me the correct ones soon. Still waiting for those to arrive :roll: . The front plastic underside suspension shields weren't fastened and were dragging on the ground by the time I drove the 70+ miles home. The fvcking frunk didn't even operate! That's right, would not open when I activate the switch. No noise, no nothing. The a/c didn't work after they replaced the condensers, and the a/c indicator on the temp control never appears when you activate the switch.

I called them and let them know about the issues and that I expect them to be remedied. They tell me to bring it back to be repaired. Fvck it! I pull the shields and drive the thing for two or three weeks before returning it. I missed the car and just wanted to drive it, defects and all. So I took the car back the 70+ miles to get repaired AGAIN.

After getting it back weeks later (last week), I tried the frunk switch before driving away from the shop and it worked. Score one for the home team, right? It has not operated since. Not once. The paint issues were taken care of. I was told that the freon was low, but has been filled. They said they tested but could not find any leaks. Interesting, since they're the ones that opened the system, replaced the condensers, and filled it when they did the repair. The condensers were bent but not broken in the wreck. I know because I limped it the less than a mile back after the wreck happened, a/c on and all. How does the system magically get low on freon if it was in fact evacuated and recharged with freon to capacity if it doesn't have a leak? The a/c is now functioning exactly how I explained to them before I took it in to be repaired the last time. Still not very cold, and still no 'snowflake' indicator appearing on the digital hvac control in the car, still no change in idle or click noise of the compressor activating when the switch is depressed and the temp set low. It was not like this before the wreck. And you know what else I've noticed? The interior lights now only work when the key is in the on position, not when you open the door. I of course called and alerted them to the still lingering problems. Now they want me to take it to their Riverside location... becuz Porsh teknishin thar. What?! Is that a defacto admission that they don't have one in Costa Mesa, or that they don't have confidence in him? Maybe vacation? I don't know, but I'm not digging any aspect of this. But to their credit, they've been calling this week and leaving messages, but I've just taken this week to decompress from this situation and focus on only work related items and having fun. Okay, and painting one wall in the garage.

So this will be their very last chance to make things right. After close to six months total in the shop, and after getting things back twice either damaged and/or incorrect, I've been more than patient. This is their last shot before I drop it off at the Porsche dealer to have all of Caliber's work assessed, any repairs made that were incorrect or incomplete, and start a whole new process with Caliber that neither one of us will enjoy.

Sorry for the long-winded post, but it's been a long and sh1tty experience with this outfit.

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32wildbilly
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Re: Mrs. Schnell's Mashed Jeep

Post by 32wildbilly » Fri Mar 09, 2018 6:01 am

Oh my! While I followed Flat6 wreck repairs, it has been so long I had forgotten it was with the same repair operators. I would avoid those guys as it appears they have "issues"!
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Re: Mrs. Schnell's Mashed Jeep

Post by Flat6BlahBlah » Fri Mar 09, 2018 9:39 am

Warning, Will Robinson! Warning!

I love that, WildBilly!


Ok, so here's what I see as the main problem(s) with Caliber. It's about QC as much as it is about sloppy work. They lack adequate checks and balances throughout the repair process, so the car gets passed from process to process without being inspected by a shop foreman for an okay prior to moving forward. And lastly, they don't do a thorough final inspection prior to releasing it to the customer. I had a greasy boot print on the driver's side mat that I had to clean, so if something like that that's so obvious slips by, imagine all of the little things, like the air temp sensor that I found was just pushed through the hole in the front behind the bumper cover and just dangling there. Yeah, another small thing that I forgot in the above post. If I had to guess, and I'm admittedly speculating here, the guys get paid according to flag hours and are enabled by poor management practices to rush things through without fear of getting docked pay, or getting paid a lower tier if things don't go out right and need remediation after the fact. They're really not doing a good job of protecting their reputation, nor are they perpetuating future sales by building customer loyalty. A lot of missed opportunity on their end.

And as an aside, how do I know with certainty that my car was even repaired by a certified Porsche tech? And if it was, to what extent did he actually repair the car? All of it? Some of it? None of it? I saw his qualifications and name signed on exactly zero of the final paperwork.

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32wildbilly
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Re: Mrs. Schnell's Mashed Jeep

Post by 32wildbilly » Fri Mar 09, 2018 10:08 am

Flat6: Couldn't agree more. QC and adherence to standards are incredibly important in a business dealing directly with the end users. Return customers or lack there of and word of mouth can make or break(brake :roll: ) such a business. I appreciate you and Elschnell efforts to set standards on what is or what is not acceptable. Hopefully they will learn before they go under. I was lucky, my Indi recommended a body shop near him/me who does it right. The owner even called me one day when I had a car in to show me where they were, how they were progressing and what else they had found that needed to be done. When I pick my cars up, they go out for a walk around to make sure I am happy with the results. Makes me want to go back...if and when I have to.
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Re: Mrs. Schnell's Mashed Jeep

Post by Flat6BlahBlah » Fri Mar 09, 2018 11:13 am

Okay, so I just did a quick search. Their website claims that they're the biggest auto body repair business in the nation, which I'm guessing is determined by sheer number of locations and not just gross receipts. They accomplished that in about 20 years, which is no small feat. It also indicates a growth driven business model via both acquiring existing repair shops, as well as new. But what are the odds that two forum members were in need of body repairs, both went to the same company, and both had lousy experiences? I suspect these aren't isolated negative experiences. I'm guessing that they're a good company to work for, because everybody in the front office has been nice, friendly, polite and good about returning calls. I genuinely like the people that I've interacted with there, so this is nothing personal. What they lack is adequate shop oversight and company wide best management practices of checks and balances that would preclude incomplete/poor/sloppy workmanship from ever making it out the door and into the hands of the end user. They aren't maximizing profits by having my car take up real estate there for many months, nor by taking someone off of a new job by putting him on re-repairing a vehicle that they've already been paid for to make the repair. They only get paid once. This is a top down issue as much as it is a local issue at individual locations. Consistency is key, and it can only happen with a company-wide internal process set in stone that guarantees success with every project that rolls through the shop.

The lesson here is that in the future, only take your vehicle to the dealer for body repairs. My guess is that Porsche dealers do NOT want a P-car rolling down the road in less than excellent shape. And I'm guessing that no other dealer for other manufacturers would want that either.

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Re: Mrs. Schnell's Mashed Jeep

Post by Kalashnikov » Fri Mar 09, 2018 1:16 pm

I've financed a few Caliber repair facilities two years ago. This is the McDonald's or Walmart of the collision industry. They operate on volume and spread costs across the sheer number of vehicles they repair. Chances are high that your Porsche will be sitting next to the civic and the same body guys will be trying to fix both cars.

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Re: Mrs. Schnell's Mashed Jeep

Post by FRUNKenstein » Fri Mar 09, 2018 2:10 pm

Schnelly or Flatsix:
I've got a sweet little Audi A8L I'll trade you for either of your cars - even up, you don't even have to throw in any boot. No body damage. Just let me know.
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Re: Mrs. Schnell's Mashed Jeep

Post by 32wildbilly » Fri Mar 09, 2018 2:49 pm

KCA: Really? We remember your tales of woe about that Audi. Did I just say that out loud??
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Re: Mrs. Schnell's Mashed Jeep

Post by Kalashnikov » Fri Mar 09, 2018 3:15 pm

Like all "happy" Audi owners, he occasionally let's his despair shine through. Between forced smiles and accolades about the interior quality and superior Quattro AWD, depression and daily despair shine through the exterior of all Audi owners.

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