Ok, so here is the story ...
A guy at work came in today with his C5 2003 50th Anniversary Edition corvette to get some new wheels. It had 41,000 miles on it. We got the wheels put on, torqued it in the air due to aftermarket wheels + aftermarket lugs. We lowered the back end at the same time (it was on jacks) and when we lowered it, the left front fender cracked. Doors, Hood and trunk were open due to it being a uni-body. So, here is what I dont understand. Why is it that every corvette owner C5 + acts like their Corvette is gold? Do they not realise that the Corvette isn't rare and there are thousands upon thousands that are made and are in WAY better condition then theirs?? We are paying for the damages but this 60+ year old male threw a temper tantrum like a little girl, in which he ended up punching duct work (didn't even put a tiny dent in it).
WHAT THE HELL IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT CORVETTES!!!!!!!!!
dan
umm....people pay a decent amount of money for them. i would punch your @!#$ too if you cracked my fender while putting on wheels.
its not jsut about it being a corvette. if he bought it new he probably paid 50+K dollars for it. you would be pretty pissed if someone busted up your 50k dollar car
z yaaaa wrote:other than the nasty hood dent, steelies, 4X4 ride heidt, crooked front license plate, body color b pillar covers, 2200, lack of tint, and overall boringness of the car id say she's perfect!
I'd punch you if you cracked the fender on my Geo Tracker. It's a businesses responsibility to handle someone else property with respect and care.
They may not be rare but they ARE expensive. You'd be mad if i came up to your car and kicked a dent in the fender, why can't he be mad that you broke his car?
"Formerly known as Jammit - JBO member since 1998" JBOM | CSS.net
Understandable, but 100% of the cost WILL be paid for by the company. We lowered the Corvette so we could pull it out for a re-torque. And looking up on how many were sold, it was just over 35,000 50th Anniversary Edition Corvette's sold. He will pay NOTHING in order to get his car fixed, not a single penny. Please dont get me wrong, it's unfortunate that it happened, but still, why cry over spilt milk and why think your car is "rare" when thousands upon thousands are made?
dan
if someone broke down your door of your house, stole your tv, and stole your food, but then said hed pay for everything in full, you would still be pissed
z yaaaa wrote:other than the nasty hood dent, steelies, 4X4 ride heidt, crooked front license plate, body color b pillar covers, 2200, lack of tint, and overall boringness of the car id say she's perfect!
Ok, I understand the point of us taking care of other peoples things, but I guess my point is, why is that every corvette owner treats their car like it's gold? Corvette's are NOT the most expensive car that we have worked on. Just earlier today, we worked on a Brabus C class Mercedes, worth WAY more than a Corvette and more rare. But he didn't baby a damn thing. We work on Mercedes S class, CLS class, Jaguar XF Supercharged (2010), BMW M3, BMW 745i, Infinity Q45, Porshe Cayenne Turbo S, Audi A8 plus many other cars.
But I guess my question is, why do the majority of Corvette owners act like they have a rare car?
dan
That's what I ask on Mercedes-Benz, BMWs, every where around the world they use these cars as taxi cabs or police vehicles, what's more... they come with vinyl seats? From what I experienced, forget about the reliability, it's comical especially when they price them as if you're getting something as solid as a rock.
Corvette on the other hand, has the same background. Around the world Corvettes are more exclusive and combined with the exoticness, they become cherished. Here, well... it is nostalgic, has history, and in your case it was his toy. The man probably worked his butt off for his toy and so came in to get a simple tire change and wind up with a cracked car. Naturally you are going to get pissed-off.
Further more, who in their right minds opens up all the doors when on a jack? You are asking to deform the car's chassis geometry. I know the Corvette (I used to own a Z06) has specific locations where to lift the car, what's more, there were screw on pieces to keep the body/lift rigid. And this is not the only car, Mercedes strongly urges their mechanics to leave everything closed to prevent deformation, especially on the convertibles. Hell, the SLR has specific rules on how to lift.
Quite frankly I'm quite surprised that you and your co-workers are alive to tell the story.
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-----The orginal Mr.Goodwrench on the JBO since 11/99-----
dubduce18s wrote:Understandable, but 100% of the cost WILL be paid for by the company. We lowered the Corvette so we could pull it out for a re-torque. And looking up on how many were sold, it was just over 35,000 50th Anniversary Edition Corvette's sold. He will pay NOTHING in order to get his car fixed, not a single penny. Please dont get me wrong, it's unfortunate that it happened, but still, why cry over spilt milk and why think your car is "rare" when thousands upon thousands are made?
dan
A car like that has a slightly exclusivity to it. 30 or 40 years from now that car could become rare and being an anniversary model it holds a premium. But not now because flunky kids at a tire shop damaged it and it's not original anymore. Maybe he just likes to take car of his car and is careful to not damage it and all it took was for someone uncaring like you to break it and it pisses him off.
And to blow a hole in your it's not rare when 1000's were made. Thunderbird SC's. 1000's of them were made too, but they are getting harder and harder to find and you rarely see them on the road that much these days. That's barely 20 years ago, the newest ones are 15 years old. But they are just getting rare now. in another 15 to 20 years they WILL be rare. so any car can become rare over time.
"Formerly known as Jammit - JBO member since 1998" JBOM | CSS.net
It was jacked up by the lift points with rubber blocks on the jacks to prevent any further damage. The car has NO frame which is why we cracked the doors open, hood and trunk prior to lifting the vehicle, which does the same as rolling down the window so it can relieve stress on the frame.
I guess I will never know the "importance" of owning a stock Corvette and only driving it a few thousand miles a year thinking that it'll gain value as time goes on. Trust me though, if I owned a really nice car, I'd be mad too but not over the top mad. I'd be happy that the company would be willing to pay for the damages. Heck, there are A LOT of companies are here that would have said it was previous damage saying that there was prior damage to the car before it being in our shop. And yes, I'm dead serious.
dan
Mr.Goodwrench-G.T. wrote:Further more, who in their right minds opens up all the doors when on a jack? You are asking to deform the car's chassis geometry. I know the Corvette (I used to own a Z06) has specific locations where to lift the car, what's more, there were screw on pieces to keep the body/lift rigid. And this is not the only car, Mercedes strongly urges their mechanics to leave everything closed to prevent deformation, especially on the convertibles. Hell, the SLR has specific rules on how to lift.
Quite frankly I'm quite surprised that you and your co-workers are alive to tell the story.
I'm surprised you and your co-workers still have a job. You opened Doors, Hood and trunk while lifting the car? And actually admitted that on a public forum? You should be lucky if he doesn't sue you guys for negligence. You obviously have no clue what you're doing, and just admitted to that on a public forum. He should be mad, he probably worked hard for that so called stupid car only to have it damaged by inexperienced, irresponsible idiots who could care less. It matters when you work hard for something...But i wouldn't expect you to understand being a minimum wage earning tire jockey.
2007 Corvette Z51 | Suzuki Swift GTi SCCA racer | 2008 Edge
dubduce18s wrote:It was jacked up by the lift points with rubber blocks on the jacks to prevent any further damage. The car has NO frame which is why we cracked the doors open, hood and trunk prior to lifting the vehicle, which does the same as rolling down the window so it can relieve stress on the frame.
Seriously stop talking. The CAR IS the frame moron. You opening all that actually weakened the cars structure. It is not the same as cracking a window. Don't act like you know, you're a poorly trained monkey that slings tires all day you are not an ASE certified mechanic and you CLEARLY have no working knowledge of corvette body structure. He has the right to be mad.
2007 Corvette Z51 | Suzuki Swift GTi SCCA racer | 2008 Edge
^You got me confused there. lol
dubduce18s wrote:Ok, I understand the point of us taking care of other peoples things, but I guess my point is, why is that every corvette owner treats their car like it's gold? Corvette's are NOT the most expensive car that we have worked on. Just earlier today, we worked on a Brabus C class Mercedes, worth WAY more than a Corvette and more rare. But he didn't baby a damn thing. We work on Mercedes S class, CLS class, Jaguar XF Supercharged (2010), BMW M3, BMW 745i, Infinity Q45, Porshe Cayenne Turbo S, Audi A8 plus many other cars.
But I guess my question is, why do the majority of Corvette owners act like they have a rare car?
dan
Was that list suppose to impress or represent exclusivity? If you remove those expensive daily drivers and replace them with maybe:
1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL, Bugatti Veyron, Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead coupe, Saleen S7, Vector W8, Ferrari 599GTO, Rossion Q1, Ford GT, 1957 Chevy Bel-Air, Lamborghini truck, etc.
Then we may take your view more meaningful.
>>>For Sale? Clicky!<<<
-----The orginal Mr.Goodwrench on the JBO since 11/99-----
Jookycola wrote:I'd punch you if you cracked the fender on my Geo Tracker. It's a businesses responsibility to handle someone else property with respect and care.
They may not be rare but they ARE expensive. You'd be mad if i came up to your car and kicked a dent in the fender, why can't he be mad that you broke his car?
agreed. you mess up any of my cars and the duct work aint gonna be feeling the wrath.
and ya know what... i think your a piece of @!#$ for not caring. you must not be a car guy because you sir just dont understand.
180hp in 1989 or 145hp in 2002, you decide. >
confused by Me?
The Corvette C5 has a central channel that is the basic frame of the car it goes from front axle to rear. it houses the transmission and drive shaft. like below:
This is the strongest part of the car.
The body's composite frame then sits on that and is not weight bearing at all.
By lifting the car up on the jack points and opening the doors hood and trunk you actually weaken the points of the bodies frame that actually are needed to reinforce the body as a whole. think of it as giant strut tower braces. the car is built to be lightweight and in doing so it somewhat delicate.
There may be 1000's of them made but that doesn't give anybody the right to be inconsiderate toward the owners anger in light of ignorance and damage by negligence by a kid in a tire shop.
2007 Corvette Z51 | Suzuki Swift GTi SCCA racer | 2008 Edge
I knew Evol would be here. Now where is Lowfire?
dubduce18s wrote:Understandable, but 100% of the cost WILL be paid for by the company. We lowered the Corvette so we could pull it out for a re-torque. And looking up on how many were sold, it was just over 35,000 50th Anniversary Edition Corvette's sold. He will pay NOTHING in order to get his car fixed, not a single penny. Please dont get me wrong, it's unfortunate that it happened, but still, why cry over spilt milk and why think your car is "rare" when thousands upon thousands are made?
dan
your not getting it. although not rare. the car is expensive new. as many have already established.
it does not matter that you are fixing it 100% and he wont have to pay a penny. its the fact that his prized
possession [his vette] was damaged by you. i would be mad wether u put a small scratch in some P.O.S.ford fiesta's paint,
or cracked a fender on a vette.....it doesnt matter, you broke something that ment alot to someone. and getting
something thats broken fixed is never the same as something that has never been broken, no matter how you slice it.
Mr.Goodwrench-G.T. wrote:dubduce18s wrote:Ok, I understand the point of us taking care of other peoples things, but I guess my point is, why is that every corvette owner treats their car like it's gold? Corvette's are NOT the most expensive car that we have worked on. Just earlier today, we worked on a Brabus C class Mercedes, worth WAY more than a Corvette and more rare. But he didn't baby a damn thing. We work on Mercedes S class, CLS class, Jaguar XF Supercharged (2010), BMW M3, BMW 745i, Infinity Q45, Porshe Cayenne Turbo S, Audi A8 plus many other cars.
But I guess my question is, why do the majority of Corvette owners act like they have a rare car?
dan
Was that list suppose to impress or represent exclusivity? If you remove those expensive daily drivers and replace them with maybe:
1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL, Bugatti Veyron, Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead coupe, Saleen S7, Vector W8, Ferrari 599GTO, Rossion Q1, Ford GT, 1957 Chevy Bel-Air, Lamborghini truck, etc.
Then we may take your view more meaningful.
I never said anything about those cars being rare, I was just asking why do the majority of Corvette owners act like they have a rare car. Point being, why do they act like their car is rare? Thats it.
Evol...???: I didn't think there was a need to bash on somebody based on their profession. It's great that you chose a profession that you enjoy. It's just unfortunate that names had to be called in an un-called for mannor, ie. "inexperienced, irresponsible idiots who could care less","minimum wage earning tire jockey" and "a poorly trained monkey that slings tires all day"
And there are better ways about teaching somebody. For instance, you could hav said, "Hey, it doesnt sound like you know how to jack up a Corvette, go here and read up on it and share it with fellow co-workers, but instead you decided to call me out and rub it in my face that I am un-experienced on jacking up a corvette with floor jacks.
z yaaaa: I am a car guy, but not really too fond of American Cars that have a sticker price tag based on their engine and name. Don't get me wrong at all, I feel bad for the guy. I feel bad for any person that gets their car damaged one way or another.
Jookycola: Thank you for answering my question
Evol, I'm not "dubduce18s" read the thread in sequence again. I'm the one against his bad practice on lifting a Vette or any car for that matter.
lol
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-----The orginal Mr.Goodwrench on the JBO since 11/99-----
midlife crisis = POS corvette = waste of money = old pissed guy
i am gone from this forum
No, i know you're not dubdeuce, it just looked like you had an arrow pointed at my post. I know you Goodwrench, your cool.
And yes i name called DubDeuce, it just angers me to see someone so callous and oblivious to the fact they they broke someones property. And then rave on and on that it's no big deal. Then listen to you go on and on about how you jacked the car up incorrectly, and you seriously can't understand why the guy is upset? then you wonder how i could dare call you an inexperienced, irresponsible, poorly trained tire jockey who could care less?
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...well?
I'm sorry, you are darwinism at it's finest. The fact that you just don't get it just cements that.
2007 Corvette Z51 | Suzuki Swift GTi SCCA racer | 2008 Edge
dubduce18s wrote:Mr.Goodwrench-G.T. wrote:dubduce18s wrote:Ok, I understand the point of us taking care of other peoples things, but I guess my point is, why is that every corvette owner treats their car like it's gold? Corvette's are NOT the most expensive car that we have worked on. Just earlier today, we worked on a Brabus C class Mercedes, worth WAY more than a Corvette and more rare. But he didn't baby a damn thing. We work on Mercedes S class, CLS class, Jaguar XF Supercharged (2010), BMW M3, BMW 745i, Infinity Q45, Porshe Cayenne Turbo S, Audi A8 plus many other cars.
But I guess my question is, why do the majority of Corvette owners act like they have a rare car?
dan
Was that list suppose to impress or represent exclusivity? If you remove those expensive daily drivers and replace them with maybe:
1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL, Bugatti Veyron, Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead coupe, Saleen S7, Vector W8, Ferrari 599GTO, Rossion Q1, Ford GT, 1957 Chevy Bel-Air, Lamborghini truck, etc.
Then we may take your view more meaningful.
I never said anything about those cars being rare, I was just asking why do the majority of Corvette owners act like they have a rare car. Point being, why do they act like their car is rare? Thats it.
Read my first post.
Lastly, those cars you mentioned are not "rare." above average MSRP... yes. Rare? No.
>>>For Sale? Clicky!<<<
-----The orginal Mr.Goodwrench on the JBO since 11/99-----
here's an idea... put your own damn wheels on.
how much money into a car, the guy can't handle changing the wheels? GTFO.
Honestly. i kinda agree with you there. I know not everyone is mechanically inclined but if you're going to drop coin on a machine like a serious sports car you should have a clue on how to do the very basics. In that sense he got what he paid for.
2007 Corvette Z51 | Suzuki Swift GTi SCCA racer | 2008 Edge
