Circuit City does $12k in damage installing a GPS

[DrumAnBass]

Ooops...! http://tinyurl.com/3e55w4

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMhUhJmBStg[/youtube]

[dgordon86]

damn, thats ---smurfy--- dude. I'm sorry.
It seems like you are in good spirits though.

Do you have a legal plan against circuit city?

[DrumAnBass]

Umm, thankfully that didn't happen to me...!

Just passing this along, before any of you guys consider having your factory system replaced by any of the big chains that don't necessarily specialize in auto electronics...

[FrizzleFried]

Twelve grand?  I think not.  Still screwed up none the less.

[ChadTower]

$12k on a $19k car... doesn't sound right here either.

[AtomSmasher]

Twelve grand?  I think not.  Still screwed up none the less.

It does seem like an excessive amount, but according to the invoice he shows, it has $4845 in labor and another $964 in tax, so it makes sense.  And since its a quality repair shop they're only charging him $500 to replace his blinker fluid.

[shardian]

Twelve grand?  I think not.  Still screwed up none the less.

I could easily see 12k. From what he said, the whole dash panel has to be replaced. In a brand new car, that could be several thousand alone. All of the wiring has to be redone. That is probably going to be almost $1k for parts, and another $500-$1k to install. The cut a frikking hole out of his ductwork - thus destroying it. All of that will be several thousand in parts and labor.

So yes, let that be a lesson to all: Never let a big box store touch your car entertainment/audio system. They do horrid work. Go to a REAL car audio place that has a solid street rep with the local competitive audio people.

And lastly, the dude should have just went with Tom-Tom and not ---fouled up beyond all recognition--- with his warranty!!

[protokatie]

And since its a quality repair shop they're only charging him $500 to replace his blinker fluid.

I replace blinker fluid for a mere $250 dollars, I also only charge $400 to replace the IPAC2 in the gyro clutch in the headrest. This is 100 dollars cheaper than DM charges for similar headrest repairs! Be forewarned!! (Andy Warne charges far less, but refuses to install them in the gyro clutches in headrests, also, I think he may have a monopoly on IPAC2's....)

[koolmoecraig]

Yeah I could see 12k at a dealership. The idiot melted the ventilation ducting and some of the wiring harness.  The whole dash will have to be pulled and rewired. 

Dealer labor is what like $90 a hour now?

[shardian]

Yeah I could see 12k at a dealership. The idiot melted the ventilation ducting and some of the wiring harness.  The whole dash will have to be pulled and rewired. 

Dealer labor is what like $90 a hour now?

Volvo dealership is $80 per hour.

[FrizzleFried]

$12K?  The car would be a "total loss" at that price.  No insurance would pay for that and anyone who'd cough that out out of pocket is a complete buffoon.   I used to work for Al & Eds Autosound when I was a teeny bopper.  There is no way $12K worth of damage there.  Even at a dealer $5K would be overcharging.  I can see realistically $1200 in damage,  but not much more.

What that estimate is...is a hit job on Circuit City.  Not that they don't deserve it or anything.  They knew this guy was going to sue the ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- out of CC and they estimated accordingly.  I went to 3 dealers to get an estimate on a single dent caused by a drunk teenager when I was younger.  I told them all 3 the story.  I got 3 estimates from $2,500 to over $4,000.  I presented them to the guy and said I'd take the least amount.  He coughed up the $2,500...I went down to a body shop and had the dent repaired and painted for $1,100 and pocketed the rest.

Thats $5K of damage at the most and $7K of "screw you CC" counted in.

[Xam]

Depends on what harnesses have to be replaced....12k is an easy number to reach.

Some harnesses alone cost around 5g's...with an install time of 12 hours at 85-100 per hour.

Long story short...do not cut into the factory harness!

Xam

[RayB]

"no insurance would pay that"

Keep in mind, when you file a claim, you waive your rights to sue, and transfer those rights to the insurance company. So it's not necessarily going to be $12k out of the insurance company's pockets. It's like to be end up covered by a settlement from Circuit City.

As for fire hazard... is 12v enough to start a fire?

[shardian]

As for fire hazard... is 12v enough to start a fire?

Yep.

One of my friend's mom was in a Corvette when the wiring under the dash erupted in flames.
Certain years of Ford Contours have been recalled due to faulty wiring insulation that resulted in fires.

[ChadTower]

As for fire hazard... is 12v enough to start a fire?

Maybe, maybe not, but a hacked open air duct could release heat in all sorts of places not designed for it.

[paigeoliver]

Feh, air ducts that have come apart in some way are pretty common on older cars. Only result is that the climate control systems work poorly.

As for fire hazard... is 12v enough to start a fire?

Maybe, maybe not, but a hacked open air duct could release heat in all sorts of places not designed for it.

[ChadTower]

Feh, air ducts that have come apart in some way are pretty common on older cars. Only result is that the climate control systems work poorly.

Coming apart at a designed joint is different than getting chopped off in the middle where heat can be trapped, though.

FWIW, I just got my wife's car worked on at the Hyundai dealer:  $91.10/hr.

[protokatie]

12V and fire, redux.

My grandfather on my father's side was driving down the highway when the power window/power lock panel burst into flames. Luckily he pulled over and found a way to extinguish the flames, otherwise the car would have been totaled. (Think of how much the interior of a car is flamable (Carpet is made of plastic, internal surfaces are made of plastic, seat cushion and covers made of plastic and cotton fibre... etc))

[Ed_McCarron]

As for fire hazard... is 12v enough to start a fire?

Maybe, maybe not, but a hacked open air duct could release heat in all sorts of places not designed for it.

Its not the voltage, its the current.  Pick a nice chunky wire thats not fuse protected?  Instant fire.

[lanman31337]

Update:

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/15/carsumer-advocacy-circuit-city-does-right-by-damaged-civic-si-o/

You may recall a Carsumer Advocacy post we published a couple weeks ago about an 8thcivic.com forum member whose new Honda Civic Si suffered $12,199.64 worth of damage after Circuit City employees botched the install of a $3,000+ stereo in his car. At the time, Circuit City had decided to only refund the cost of the stereo. The owner, who goes by the handle VTECnical, took his cause to the internet and once again, the internet came through. VTECnical has posted on 8thcivic.com that Circuit City has stepped up and will take care of the car. He told Autoblog in an email that he wasn't at liberty to discuss the matter further, but we've been in contact with some people repping Circuit City who told us that the consumer electronics store's third-party insurance provider covered $10,158.45 of the repair cost and the store itself paid for the rest out of its own pocket. On top of that, Circuit City gave VTECnical a brand new Pioneer AVIC Z2 valued at over $2,000. Congrats to VTECnical and props to Circuit City for doing the right thing.

[ahofle]

Update:

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/15/carsumer-advocacy-circuit-city-does-right-by-damaged-civic-si-o/

That's good news, although it's sad that it had to be escalated to this level of publicity for them to take care of it.