Truck falls off lift at GMC

Tealah Lovett · October 30, 2017

While that is the partial story from the dealership. I may have stated this in the 1st post. one our truck should have never been on that particular lift. much to small to be lifting a dually. I contacted 3 other chevy/gmc dealerships in the surrounding areas spoke to their service managers and asked which lift they would use for a 20ft dually. I have worked in service departments and body shops my entire working career and while the lift may have been weight rated it is not designed for a HD truck. All of the service managers I spoke to even the SM at the dealer that dropped the truck agreed that a larger lift that can handle such a large truck.

anyways the second point would be as soon as we got the call that the truck had fallen we heard "its okay we are going to fix it"

awesome that's what they should do right. The truck fell and all of the weight of the truck was on the driver side rear outer tire. the arm of the lift punctured our drive shaft and then caused all of the body damage to the driver side. So the dealership said they would put us in a rental immediately (which they did ) and said they had a drive shaft on the way (overnighted) and would fast track our truck through their body shop. The problem all began when I said ... don't do the work I want to take it to a diesel shop who I know and trust and also a body shop of my choice. The SM stated they had filed a claim with their insurance company and they would contact me once the adjuster came to look at the vehicle. I was advised it would take 24-48hrs. In the meantime I contacted a lawyer to see what our options were because by this time my spouse and I started discussing how many other issues could arise mechanically when we saw the photos of how the truck fell and all the weight that had fallen on left axle. So I find out that they never contacted their insurance to file a claim and wanted to pay out of pocket because their ded was 5K. We then discussed trading out of the truck and we all agreed on a particular truck and even though financially I wasn't in a position to trade and pay more for a truck I only owe 10k on my truck. However discussing convenience and peace of mind we would have a safe truck we chose to make the decision to trade and lose all the $ we had into our truck (engine) As the papers were being drawn up the owner calls the Sales Manager and says no deal they don't have their emissions. Now was I upset that they at the last minute after having our truck for over a week and agreed to trade then change their mind. yes. The emissions had failed us while traveling cross country and left us stranded we went to a diesel shop and was back on the road in 2 days vs the 2 week estimate the local GMC shop had given us along with paying 4k to replace the heater in the def tank. So since the dealer found no emissions they refused to trade. they stated by law they couldn't sell however they did admit they could dealer trade or sell at auction but they would didn't want to due losing $.

We leave with the owner telling us no deal and when we asked for more options he stated you let my shop fix your truck or we get lawyers because we had already spoken to one. he said you pay $ to a lawyer ill pay 5k to mine and we will be at this same position. Also he said we must return the rental by the next morning. We stated over and over we don't want lawyers why we cant handle this ourselves and choose our own shop.

So it came down to this... the owner REFUSED to turn the incident in on his insurance because he could get it done cheaper in his eyes. His service dept would do the drive shaft and then supply arts to the body shop and would pay 3k to the body shop. I voiced my concerns about the frame,axle,transmission all being damaged and the Owner began to tell me how simple this is. none of those things aren't an issue and were not damaged (without looking at it or affirming that to be the case) so we decided to have the truck towed off their lot to a frame shop and pay out of pocket to verify our truck was safe. Once the truck left the lot the owner said he didn't authorize us moving my vehicle and for all he knows the tow truck driver dropped our truck off the tow truck and caused damage. I was so shocked that the owner of the dealership started to play games and try to back out of responsibility. he told me to get estimates. not just one estimate from the shop I wanted to take it to but several and "we would talk". I asked him would he pay whatever it took to fix the truck and he said within reason and closeness to his estimate he received. meanwhile at this time I had not seen an estimate or been given a figure was just assured it would be fixed properly. I again voiced my concern over the possible damage of things that cant be seen and to diagnose you must tear into the rear end/put on alignment and frame machine to see if there was any damage. the Owner stated all these concerns were bogus this was a simple replace drive shaft and body work. and my truck would look better than before and to trust him. Again so if I wanted to use my own shop before he would agree to pay anything I must pay a tow truck driver to drive the truck and drop off at different shops to get estimates and then pay to get a diagnosis. I asked would he at least give me peace of mind and agree to pay for any supplemental damages found after they tore into the truck and if anything else arose or was missed. (Estimates are just that they are estimates and when a body shop actually begins work many times other things come up missed items) the owner said no I need a solid estimate and it has to be within the numerical value to the one he had already received. I left crying to be treated like this and be talked down to by words "little lady" and he was smarter than me.

My husband went back to dealership later to get the owner to put something in writing and to just ask why is he starting to play games saying a tow truck driver dropped our truck and refusing to pay 100% to fix the truck. The owners response as the convo got heated was to take my husband around back and settle things. The owner was very unprofessional and degrading to not only me but my spouse as well. calling him names such as a carny and me a bully. (far from the truth but what others think isn't of my concern my trucks safety for our family is and me not footing a bill for negligence) My husband recorded the entire convo and also video was obtained and sent to me. So we have that.

The moral of this all. Yes the dealership dropped our truck by using the wrong lift (look at the photos). yes they took responsibility in the beginning but refused to turn in on their insurance where I am protected and guaranteed the truck is fixed and safe. the only would allow their shop to fix it at their discretion on what needed to be fixed and how. (I have since obtained a copy of the items they were repairing/replacing and spoke to the owner of the shop) the truck did in fact have frame damage, bent axle, and we are currently hovering at 10k in repairs. so if a dealership damages your truck BELIEVE it is in their best interest to fix it for as cheaply as possible. In our case things such as frame damage and bent axles would have went undetected and unrepaired because the owner (who made remarks hes smarter than me) said it wasn't possible. Protect yourself as the consumer. Is this a headache for me? absolutely! Did a free rental and my truck would be fast tracked through a body shop sound enticing? with my experience no but to many who are clueless or trust dealerships they would choose this route. Protect yourself and your family. I will assure my truck is safe for me, my husband, 6m old son and two dogs. This is the whole story. I have nothing to gain, no hidden agenda but simply want what is right and having a safe truck and peace of mind is my goal

Tealah Lovett · October 30, 2017

3 minutes ago, grizzlyltz said:

I figured that was the issue as I asked the op that on post#10

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Don't know how to find your original post but I replied with it all just a moment ago. Its lengthy.We have documentation and recordings.

Tealah Lovett · October 30, 2017

Also wanted to add I don't wish bad juju on that dealership. I honestly have negative feeling towards the owner and service manager for lying. But the sales manager was very polite and understanding. we didn't ask for any of this simply want a safe vehicle but this is the game we were dealt. I didn't try to come ahead and trade up. It was financially not in the books this year to do any of that but we agreed. As I stated before though my family's safety will not be compromised by a dealers bottom line to save $. How my truck is customed to my family's needs is our concern and quite frankly how you drive your truck, pin stripe it, deck it out or modify in any way is your business. This could easily be you or someone you know. going in for simple oil seal leak and then get this. Would you opt for an easy fix on their word "trust me its safe"?

Be your own advocate, do your own research and I hope this post helps just 1 person.

KARNUT · October 30, 2017

I find it somewhat amusing that a reader would contact the dealer in this matter and expect anything but a self serving response. In that response basically stating some equipment was missing so a trade or buyback wasn’t an option. Who is better to buy the equipment needed than the dealer? If any vehicle of mine had that type of event, replacement would be the only option I would except. And a builders title should be applied to the damage vehicle.

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diyer2 · October 30, 2017

1 hour ago, Tealah Lovett said:

While that is the partial story from the dealership. I may have stated this in the 1st post. one our truck should have never been on that particular lift. much to small to be lifting a dually. I contacted 3 other chevy/gmc dealerships in the surrounding areas spoke to their service managers and asked which lift they would use for a 20ft dually. I have worked in service departments and body shops my entire working career and while the lift may have been weight rated it is not designed for a HD truck. All of the service managers I spoke to even the SM at the dealer that dropped the truck agreed that a larger lift that can handle such a large truck.

anyways the second point would be as soon as we got the call that the truck had fallen we heard "its okay we are going to fix it"

awesome that's what they should do right. The truck fell and all of the weight of the truck was on the driver side rear outer tire. the arm of the lift punctured our drive shaft and then caused all of the body damage to the driver side. So the dealership said they would put us in a rental immediately (which they did ) and said they had a drive shaft on the way (overnighted) and would fast track our truck through their body shop. The problem all began when I said ... don't do the work I want to take it to a diesel shop who I know and trust and also a body shop of my choice. The SM stated they had filed a claim with their insurance company and they would contact me once the adjuster came to look at the vehicle. I was advised it would take 24-48hrs. In the meantime I contacted a lawyer to see what our options were because by this time my spouse and I started discussing how many other issues could arise mechanically when we saw the photos of how the truck fell and all the weight that had fallen on left axle. So I find out that they never contacted their insurance to file a claim and wanted to pay out of pocket because their ded was 5K. We then discussed trading out of the truck and we all agreed on a particular truck and even though financially I wasn't in a position to trade and pay more for a truck I only owe 10k on my truck. However discussing convenience and peace of mind we would have a safe truck we chose to make the decision to trade and lose all the $ we had into our truck (engine) As the papers were being drawn up the owner calls the Sales Manager and says no deal they don't have their emissions. Now was I upset that they at the last minute after having our truck for over a week and agreed to trade then change their mind. yes. The emissions had failed us while traveling cross country and left us stranded we went to a diesel shop and was back on the road in 2 days vs the 2 week estimate the local GMC shop had given us along with paying 4k to replace the heater in the def tank. So since the dealer found no emissions they refused to trade. they stated by law they couldn't sell however they did admit they could dealer trade or sell at auction but they would didn't want to due losing $.

We leave with the owner telling us no deal and when we asked for more options he stated you let my shop fix your truck or we get lawyers because we had already spoken to one. he said you pay $ to a lawyer ill pay 5k to mine and we will be at this same position. Also he said we must return the rental by the next morning. We stated over and over we don't want lawyers why we cant handle this ourselves and choose our own shop.

So it came down to this... the owner REFUSED to turn the incident in on his insurance because he could get it done cheaper in his eyes. His service dept would do the drive shaft and then supply arts to the body shop and would pay 3k to the body shop. I voiced my concerns about the frame,axle,transmission all being damaged and the Owner began to tell me how simple this is. none of those things aren't an issue and were not damaged (without looking at it or affirming that to be the case) so we decided to have the truck towed off their lot to a frame shop and pay out of pocket to verify our truck was safe. Once the truck left the lot the owner said he didn't authorize us moving my vehicle and for all he knows the tow truck driver dropped our truck off the tow truck and caused damage. I was so shocked that the owner of the dealership started to play games and try to back out of responsibility. he told me to get estimates. not just one estimate from the shop I wanted to take it to but several and "we would talk". I asked him would he pay whatever it took to fix the truck and he said within reason and closeness to his estimate he received. meanwhile at this time I had not seen an estimate or been given a figure was just assured it would be fixed properly. I again voiced my concern over the possible damage of things that cant be seen and to diagnose you must tear into the rear end/put on alignment and frame machine to see if there was any damage. the Owner stated all these concerns were bogus this was a simple replace drive shaft and body work. and my truck would look better than before and to trust him. Again so if I wanted to use my own shop before he would agree to pay anything I must pay a tow truck driver to drive the truck and drop off at different shops to get estimates and then pay to get a diagnosis. I asked would he at least give me peace of mind and agree to pay for any supplemental damages found after they tore into the truck and if anything else arose or was missed. (Estimates are just that they are estimates and when a body shop actually begins work many times other things come up missed items) the owner said no I need a solid estimate and it has to be within the numerical value to the one he had already received. I left crying to be treated like this and be talked down to by words "little lady" and he was smarter than me.

My husband went back to dealership later to get the owner to put something in writing and to just ask why is he starting to play games saying a tow truck driver dropped our truck and refusing to pay 100% to fix the truck. The owners response as the convo got heated was to take my husband around back and settle things. The owner was very unprofessional and degrading to not only me but my spouse as well. calling him names such as a carny and me a bully. (far from the truth but what others think isn't of my concern my trucks safety for our family is and me not footing a bill for negligence) My husband recorded the entire convo and also video was obtained and sent to me. So we have that.

The moral of this all. Yes the dealership dropped our truck by using the wrong lift (look at the photos). yes they took responsibility in the beginning but refused to turn in on their insurance where I am protected and guaranteed the truck is fixed and safe. the only would allow their shop to fix it at their discretion on what needed to be fixed and how. (I have since obtained a copy of the items they were repairing/replacing and spoke to the owner of the shop) the truck did in fact have frame damage, bent axle, and we are currently hovering at 10k in repairs. so if a dealership damages your truck BELIEVE it is in their best interest to fix it for as cheaply as possible. In our case things such as frame damage and bent axles would have went undetected and unrepaired because the owner (who made remarks hes smarter than me) said it wasn't possible. Protect yourself as the consumer. Is this a headache for me? absolutely! Did a free rental and my truck would be fast tracked through a body shop sound enticing? with my experience no but to many who are clueless or trust dealerships they would choose this route. Protect yourself and your family. I will assure my truck is safe for me, my husband, 6m old son and two dogs. This is the whole story. I have nothing to gain, no hidden agenda but simply want what is right and having a safe truck and peace of mind is my goal

The whole story.

Thanks

As I said before, sorry it happened.

diyer2 · October 30, 2017

20 minutes ago, KARNUT said:

I find it somewhat amusing that a reader would contact the dealer in this matter and expect anything but a self serving response. In that response basically stating some equipment was missing so a trade or buyback wasn’t an option. Who is better to buy the equipment needed than the dealer? If any vehicle of mine had that type of event, replacement would be the only option I would except. And a builders title should be applied to the damage vehicle.

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As I said, I wanted a response, the dealers side of the story. I guessed it would be a CYA B.S. reply.

I also said I may need service in the future due to my age and this dealer is close to me.

They proved to be a place to avoid.

As Frank said"I did It my way"

KARNUT · October 30, 2017

As I said, I wanted a response, the dealers side of the story. I guessed it would be a CYA B.S. reply.
I also said I may need service in the future due to my age and this dealer is close to me.
They proved to be a place to avoid.
As Frank said"I did It my way"

You did get clarification that maybe this is a dealer to avoid. Or at least own up to their mistakes and apologize. I come from a family business (retired) that sells and repairs equipment. It’s very rare because of oversight, employee mistakes happen nothing is more important than costumer satisfaction.

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diyer2 · October 30, 2017

6 minutes ago, KARNUT said:

You did get clarification that maybe this is a dealer to avoid. Or at least own up to their mistakes and apologize. I come from a family business (retired) that sells and repairs equipment. It’s very rare because of oversight, employee mistakes happen nothing is more important than costumer satisfaction.

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Agree

I was a small business owner in the construction industry myself.

Tealah Lovett · October 30, 2017

1 hour ago, KARNUT said:

I find it somewhat amusing that a reader would contact the dealer in this matter and expect anything but a self serving response. In that response basically stating some equipment was missing so a trade or buyback wasn’t an option. Who is better to buy the equipment needed than the dealer? If any vehicle of mine had that type of event, replacement would be the only option I would except. And a builders title should be applied to the damage vehicle.

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Oh and I forgot to add we offered to put the truck back stock and the reply in text "no deal"

SMiller · November 23, 2017

The dealer cannot sell a truck that has been deleted, it is against the law, dealer should have allowed for truck to be put back to stock and traded.

Sorry to hear about this deal, I would have hired a lawyer and sued.

redwngr · November 23, 2017

Sued because they don't want your trade??

There's lots of reasons dealers refuse to take a vehicle on trade besides missing emissions equipment.

Waaazooo · November 23, 2017

I think that the letter from the dealer to a third party is fishy AF. If they sent it, scan it.

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Tealah4u · April 10, 2018

On 10/30/2017 at 3:02 PM, diyer2 said:

I have no affiliation with either party.

I thought there was more to the story. The dealers side.

I may need a dealer some day for service as I'm in my 60's. I do all the maintenance now but the future may change things. This dealer in one by me.

I emailed the sales manger, Mark at Ferguson about this issue.

My email

Hi Mark,

I may be out of line sending this email.

You are the only one with an email address on the dealer web site.

I belong to an online truck forum. I’ve been a GM vehicle owner for over 50 years.

Recently, there was a post on the forum about a truck falling off a lift at this dealership. I understand things happen, but according to the truck owner this accident was handled unprofessionally.

With the internet and social media of our world it’s easy to give businesses bad reviews that can be seen by large numbers of people. True, they are not always accurate or truthful, but the result can be harmful.

Maybe in the future this dealership could provide better customer service to avoid negative publicity.

This was my reason for contacting you.

Mark's reply

Steve,

Thank your for the email.

I am aware of the incident.

It was an accident and is being handled by our insurance company.

We tried to trade the customer out of the truck and they had all of the federally regulated emissions equipment removed from the truck.

We cannot sell a truck without this equipment. The customer was not happy to hear this news.

Customer service is the most important aspect of our business. We strive to give every customer the best customer service.

Please refer to our over 700 google reviews to get a better snap shot of how we treat our customers.

Have a great day.

Mike Bartko

I have no desire to ruffle feathers over this but felt the dealer had a right to their side of the story.

Do you still have the email available? I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the dealer Still Has NOT paid nor have they ever turned this over to their insurance company. My Insurance company has been attempting to collect from them since December with not a single return letter/call. I'd like to have this email if at all possible