Rocker panel+ pinch weld crushed by tire store!!!!

[Vizzy]

I went into (omitted) to have four new tires installed and was hoping to get the old tires prorated because they were almost totally worn (16k) even though the tire is rated for 40k.

Usually I keep a pretty good eye on my car in case of a potential problem ...but this time I'm not paying attention...so the guy goes to lift up the car (96 VW Golf GL) in excellent condition BTW, and places the front lift claws on to the PINCH WELD. Needless to say that upon lifting the car the pinch weld is bent over and the lift arms proceed to dent my rocker panels as well.....

The rude service lady proceeds to tell me that they can only prorate one tire because they are not quite worn down to the tread wear bars (fine) so I indicate that I will buy the new tires at the sale price and return to have them installed when I get the prorate in a few more thousand miles...she looks at me like I'm crazy and hesistates to sell them to me...I figure it isn't worth the trouble so I go to simply get my car and leave...as the tech is lowering the car I was fortunate enough to see the lift arms contacting the rocker panels and now irritated get under the car to look ...wow nice large DENTS on each side of the panels and a nicely flattened and bent pinch weld as well....the young tech was actually very nice and took responsibility and apologized, saying that " I was trained to lift the car that way". I actually believe him, he was very young (19 or 20) and he was very earnest about the situation....So I return to the service writer and request that she note the damage on the RO, SHE TRIES TO REFUSE!!!! Claiming that the manager will contact me...tomorrow. I firmly stated that I wasn't going ANYWHERE until the damage was duly noted on the RO....

I received a call the next day from the SM and they will be paying for all repairs to the car at the body shop of my choice...

OWNER BEWARE!!!!!! ALWAYS keep an eye on your car while it is being put up on a hoist if possible especially if you are not familiar with the tech working on it.

 

[bdcardinal]

for the most part that is how you are supposed to lift a car on a twin post. unless there are clearly marked alternative lift points.

 

[Vizzy]

I agree with that comment because commonly today MOST unibody cars can be lifted that way, but not all.

My car and most anything VW before 1999 could only be lifted at the front at the specified lift points slightly underneath the pinch weld there are embossed squares where claws are supposed to go. Interestingly the rear points are on the pinch weld.

 

[sciphi]

Heh, I crushed my car's pinch-weld jacking points already. Guess I'll have to tell the techs tomorrow to lift the front by the engine subframe and not the pinch welds.

 

[Vizzy]

Even though you can lift most cars by the pinch weld today often times there are much better lift points directly under the floor pan, usually right near the front wheel well like on VWs usually the owner's manual will specifically tell you where,as when you lift with this point you will do NO damage to the paint or pinch weld itself...

I think the issue of proper lifting of a car by hoist is way under discussed on most car forums, it is one of the most potentially dangerous and damaging things involved when working on a car in a professional environment...

There are plenty of hoists out there that have the small, round pedestals that sit atop the lift feet where you can properly, and safely place the car shop points and do no damage.

 

[daves87rs]

Ouch!

 

[eljefino]

That's how we find rust here!

The rockers are made of thin gauge non structural metal, while the pinch weld is a vertical chunk of thicker stronger metal, IMO associated with the floor pan which is also thicker.

Water hides out in the rockers, surface rusting the pinch weld support, until the outer rockers get holes and ventilation gets in. There is often not that much metal to spare and even the surface rust weakens things.



The vertical supports I've seen have little bracing, so if you get them exactly right you're good to go. If you're using a wheeled jack, say, and the wheel hangs up on a pebble, the geometry of the jack makes it pull outward on the pinch weld and I've seen them crinkle and bend.

I've watched my own unibody cars get hoisted; they like to put big pads under the floorpan itself near the firewall, about where the front seat passengers put their feet. Have seen minor dents from the process.

A good reason why I do my own oil changes with ramps!!!

 

[fdcg27]

Hi Vizzy,

This is the type of senseless damage that makes you sick.
When you pay someone to do something, you expect them to know what they are doing.
On the three ocassions that we have had tires mounted on the Aerostar, I have always made sure that the people doing the work understood that the van cannot be lifted by the sills.
When I have lifted it myself, for brake replacement, I made sure to use the proper jacking point, which is no sweat at all.
Next time you are out and about, take a look at any Aerostar.
Most will have crushed sills as a result of having been improperly lifted.

 

[Vizzy]

I feel for you fdcg27!

The most annoying part is that even a CHILD, if they have an IQ bigger than 50 should know to ASK if they are in doubt. My guess is that many techs SEE PREVIOUS damage to the area yet they STILL insist on lifting the car at the same point!!!!! And even IF they lift at an incorrect point in most ALL cases if they are WATCHING THE CAR AS IT IS LIFTED WILL START TO SEE the beginning of damage so they could stop the damage before it gets too serious!!!!!!! Grrrrr! Many times if you don't SEE the beginnings of damages you WILL hear it. Stress of metal groaning!!!!

Note to techs...... you should ALWAYS BE WATCHING THE CAR (at the lift points) AS YOU LIFT IT FROM THE GROUND TO SEE IF THERE ARE PROBLEMS!!!!!

 

[fdcg27]

I have never had our Aero hurt, simply because I always made sure that those lifting it knew where to put the pads.
I feel for you Vizzy.
Why should you have your car damaged simply because a tech upon whom you relied didn't know what he was doing?
We live in an age of service mediocrity.
You get it from your bank, your grocery store and your airline.
I guess we shouldn't expect anything more from those we entrust our cars to.

 

[Vizzy]

Indeed fdcg27!

The only reason I am not seething is because the very young tech (probably less than 20 yrs old) was honest and forthright when he stated that he WAS trained to lift all cars that way. It isn't so much his fault as the company. It is clear they didn't provide adequate training.

I have another question concerning this. The dents are obvious though not severe (no creasing in rocker panel bottoms) of course the pinch welds are bent over to the point of being flat, but no severe gouges either. My question is would it be better to just repaint and reseal the painted surface area and not try and pull out the dents or bends or should I have the body shop attempt to return the panels to original.

I thinking I'd rather let them alone because my thinking is that bending and drilling into the panels to restore them will actually weaken them further. Is this correct?

 

[fdcg27]

I would probably talk to a trusted body shop and ask them how they would do the repair.
It is most likely something they've seen before.
The only problem I can see with just leaving it be is that the rockers may not be able to drain well, which could lead to rust down the road.
I admire your discretion in containing your anger.
You were right to do so, since as you say, you shoudn't blame an inexperienced tech for doing what his bosses taught him to do.

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
for the most part that is how you are supposed to lift a car on a twin post. unless there are clearly marked alternative lift points.


This is clearly a "it depends" situation and the person lifting the vehicle better know for sure before doing it.
If you lift a Taurus there, no problem. If you do it to an Aerostar, you have just dented it and it will accelerate the rusting where it won't drain moisture. On the Aerostars that I have owned, I finally gave up trying to tell them how to do their job and I have four separate rims that I bring in to the tire jockeys and I install the mounted wheel/tire combination myself.

 

[Paul56]

This reminds me of something that happened with my dad's car when I was about 14.

The car was parked in a garage and space was very tight. The car immediately behind was lifted at the front... the rear of our car was pretty tight to the lifted car.

Suddenly out of nowhere the lifted car drops down smashing into the bumper on my dad's car. The garage covered all repairs; however, can you imagine how much more serious this would have been had someone been making their way between the cars when the lifted one dropped?

 

[fdcg27]

Our last mechanic at work actually dropped a car off the lift.
Thankfully, nobody got hurt.
It was a Camry, and it sustained about $4.5K in damage.
The owner, who reported to me at the time, was having unauthorized work done by our garage, so we had zero liability.
She actually tried to pretend that she had no idea why the car had been lifted. Could it have had something to do with the new brake pads she had in the trunk? I'm sure the owner's insurer was not amused.
This was some years ago, and the owner also failed to follow my pre-BITOG advice of using M1 5W-30 on 3K intervals, given the short trip use the car primarily got.
This was my practice at the time, since I always figured that oil was cheap and engines were expensive. Of course the M1 could have gone longer, but I didn't know that then.
The owner subsequently paid for an exchange engine, presumably due to sludge.
The owner also failed to follow my advice in obtaining an exchange engine, and went as cheap as she could.
The Camry is currently sitting, as the owner decides whether she should put yet another engine in it or not.