Alloy wheel damage

Guyster1973uk · Feb 7, 2018

Hi guys I took my car to Arnold Clark yesterday for its first service and But I noticed when I got the car back one of my alloy wheels was chipped . I had the good sense to take pics of my car and the wheels in the Arnold Clark car park before I handed the keys and service book over. All wheels were not damaged or marked and there was no marks damage to the bodywork. The girl came out took video with a old iPhone . I picked the car up went home and noticed when I got home the wheel was chipped I went right back to the garage said to them and the service manager said the video showed it was chipped but the video footage was extremely blurry and I showed him the pics I took before I handed the car over which were brilliant quality and showed no damage . He ummm and arghhed. Asked me why I took the pics I said to cover myself In cases like this he had no reply for it . Asked me to email him the pics to look at and he’s Gonna phone tomorrow .

Anyone know where I stand if they deny the damage ? It seems to me Arnold Clark are trying to wriggle out of accepting responsibility and put the damage right

hitchygolf1971 · Feb 7, 2018

Guyster1973uk said:
Hi guys I took my car to Arnold Clark yesterday for its first service and But I noticed when I got the car back one of my alloy wheels was chipped . I had the good sense to take pics of my car and the wheels in the Arnold Clark car park before I handed the keys and service book over. All wheels were not damaged or marked and there was no marks damage to the bodywork. The girl came out took video with a old iPhone . I picked the car up went home and noticed when I got home the wheel was chipped I went right back to the garage said to them and the service manager said the video showed it was chipped but the video footage was extremely blurry and I showed him the pics I took before I handed the car over which were brilliant quality and showed no damage . He ummm and arghhed. Asked me why I took the pics I said to cover myself In cases like this he had no reply for it . Asked me to email him the pics to look at and he’s Gonna phone tomorrow .

Anyone know where I stand if they deny the damage ? It seems to me Arnold Clark are trying to wriggle out of accepting responsibility and put the damage right

The trouble is you did not flag the problem up when you went back for your car and only noticed when you had driven it home. They will more than likely say you did it driving home after you had picked it up.

Unless the video footage despite it being blurry can clearly tell it was there before you drove it home. They haven't a leg to stand on TBH and if they value there customers business and future buisness

Guyster1973uk · Feb 7, 2018

Yeah well it seems to be their trying to take the word out of a blurry video over crystal clear pics I took in their car park before I dropped the key and service book off . I told them as well all my pics have the time stamp and the location where the pics were taken .

It’s annoying me no end cos I’ve had the car for nearly 7 months and I’ve never marked them once they were like brand new and I would need to get the full set done cos if u do one wheel it will stand out from the rest cos u can never get the paint spot on to the manufacturer colour and I paid over the odds (189 compared to independent garageswho were only asking 80-90) for service to keep the warranty intact

Kempo · Feb 7, 2018

That is really frustrating that a garage have caused damage. They may have been unaware of actually doing the damage but in any case should be willing to accept it has happened with your evidence of the condition beforehand. I have often been worried about the same with my cars as I like to keep them immaculate too.
But, dent and alloy wheel repairers are typically pretty good at matching the colours, unless yours are a rare or specialist finish. I had Prodrive alloys on my Subaru and the dealers would not provide details of the paint code outside their network. So I used their recommended one but it was only £50 for a repair and couldn’t be spotted once done.
Hopefully the dealer will take responsibility and use their approved repairer who will match it exactly.

Guyster1973uk · Feb 7, 2018

Well according to the service manager he asked the technician who worked on the car and he denied all knowledge of damaging the wheel ( of course he did I thought ) it looks like somethings been dropped on it . Apparently they take wheels off to check the pads are wearing evenly etc etc. it’s just a pity I can’t post the pics on the forum

LouG · Feb 8, 2018

Depending on where the chip is, it should be easy to tell if it happened on the road, or if it had something dropped on it. Or. more likely, the wheel was dropped on something.

The moral is, trust no one, check the car before you leave the shop. I was in the trade, I well know how rough Techs can be.

Guyster1973uk · Feb 8, 2018

Yeah I got a idea what their like mate my uncle was a independent car dealer for 35+ yrs and some of the stories he told me...... It’s a single chip on the edge and surprise surprise the service manager never called back lol. I’ve been told by head office to email them directly with the pics . Got a feeling the branch are avoiding calling me back

LouG · Feb 8, 2018

Threaten them with social media. I just did that with an overcharging electrician, they folded pretty quickly.
This might not work as well in a big city.

Owen83 · Feb 9, 2018

The Problem is that you went to Arnold Clark!! why do people still go to them?!

Guyster1973uk · Feb 9, 2018

Cos that’s where I bought the car from and I went with them for the service to keep my warranty intact as they are a seat dealership

Owen83 · Feb 9, 2018

Guyster1973uk said:
Cos that’s where I bought the car from and I went with them for the service to keep my warranty intact as they are a seat dealership

They hold a SEAT franchise, so are no more a SEAT dealer than they are a Vauxhall dealer!

You can have your car serviced at any garage as long as they use Genuine parts and stamp the book your warranty is not affected at all.

My brother bought an Alfa Brera from Arnold Clark... they broke the bonnet release cable when they MOT'd it but then denied it was their fault so he left it abandoned blocking the entrance road and went home.....

Obviously they soon repaired it... you deal with **** garages, you need to be prepared to play them at their own game

pavarotti1980 · Feb 9, 2018

Owen83 said:
The Problem is that you went to Arnold Clark!! why do people still go to them?!

Awful garage. tried to tell me my Focus in limp mode was due to it requiring a service and not the obvious blocked fuel filter that i told them when dropping keys off

Caveat: Lease car and company had contract with Arnold Clark. Never through choice would i use them

Guyster1973uk · Feb 13, 2018

Hey guys just an update . Arnold Clark called me up Friday afternoon to arrange a date to get the wheel repaired ( after I kicked up hell with their head office)service manager got a bit lippy on the phone cos I went above him. the car went to the dealership on the 13th for the work to be done I went to collect the car and was told they decided not to take the chance of getting wrong colour code and swapped the wheel over from another car . The wheel they put back on the car is in worse condition than the one they took off ( it’s got a scratch and stone chips ) I’m going back tomorrow and to be honest I’m ready for losing my s**t with them .

Benmac · Feb 14, 2018

Jesus, that's shite, give em hell. For "we couldn't match the paint" read "we couldn't be arsed spending any more money than it would cost to swap a wheel from one car to another."

Guyster1973uk · Feb 14, 2018

Oh it gets better . I went down this morning showed them the damage on the replacement wheel and it Turns out Arnold Clark cancelled the wheel refurb guys yesterday and took the lazy option and swapped my wheel for another wheel . And Their gonna get my wheel redone and they said if it’s not an exact match to rest of the wheels their no redoing the other wheels to match. Getting seriously hacked off with them

SRGTD · Feb 14, 2018

If it was me, I’d ask them how they’re going to refurbish the wheel and who they’re using. I’m assuming your wheels aren’t diamond cut, in which case the originals will have been powder coated, which is a hard wearing, durable finish.

If the refurbishment they’re arranging to get done is a smart repair to the localised area of damage with just a quick rub down and spray over with an aerosol paint can with the tyre still on and masked up, I’d not be happy with that. Aside from the issue of possible colour mismatch, the durability of the finish will probably be inferior to the powder coated finish on the other wheels.

This is what I’d expect a proper refurbishment to involve;

http://www.lepsons.com/how-we-produce-stunning-wheels/

Guyster1973uk · Feb 14, 2018

It’s quite a deep chip mate so will need filled and sprayed . To be honest I’m fed up with the car it’s got a very hard ride and it ain’t good on fuel . I’ve been doing a bit of research on hybrid cars I might have start taking some test drives in next few months

Stevan · Feb 14, 2018

This reflects my experience with Arnold Clark, you think they couldn't get any worse so you trust them one last time and they manage to top their own list of screw ups. It's as if they actively want you not to use their garage services by ramping up their incompetence with every visit.

Get your old wheel back if it isn't already being proudly owned by the donor of your replacement, fix it somewhere else, never go back to AC unless you really have to (warranty repair).

Guyster1973uk · Feb 14, 2018

Stevan said:
This reflects my experience with Arnold Clark, you think they couldn't get any worse so you trust them one last time and they manage to top their own list of screw ups. It's as if they actively want you not to use their garage services by ramping up their incompetence with every visit.

Get your old wheel back if it isn't already being proudly owned by the donor of your replacement, fix it somewhere else, never go back to AC unless you really have to (warranty repair).

Don’t worry mate I’m getting my wheel back today and getting the full set done to match and never go near them again.

Big Col · Feb 14, 2018

I was going to reply earlier in the thread but I thought no, I'll give AC the chance to prove me wrong...

Alloy wheel damage

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