Roofskin repair

[eeprete]

Any idea what it should run to put a roofskin on a car if a good skin was supplied to the shop? regular skin, not t-top (Attached is a pic of the damaged roof).

This damage happened in transit while the car was transport, I'd assume the transporter is liable, and should be covered by insurance, correct? Transporter says the hatch opened up on the car and buckled the roof and broke the sunroof in the process.

The bill of lading does not detail any pre-existing damage to the roof.

I hope it doesn't rain now anywhere along RT 80 on its 7 day journey from CA to the east coast......

I'd say I need a shot of tequila right now, but I have GI ulcers already....

[fred414141]

i'd damn sure be talking with the transport company (not the driver) and a lawyer if need be. my first thought was why the hell was the car loaded on the truck BACKWARDS to begin with and if there is a good reason,then why would anyone with at least half a working brain NOT stretch a few bungees to insure hatch and doors stay shut? if i keep us up to date on this,please.

[83rsturbo]

Well the hatch has to be messed up too no pics of the hatch? and how did the hatch reach up to the sunroof

[negusm]

That's gonna cost you a bunch to repair.

Honestly, roof replacements are one of those things that afterwards, the car is just never right.

That car is more than likely totalled.

-Mike

[eeprete]

Thanks guys. I am actually more upset today than last night when I found out, but I still keep telling myself, "it's only a car and no one got hurt or killed either in it, or as a result of this carriers errors".

This is a car I located in northern cali that with the help of Capriman and Maverick, I had dreams of bringing it back to it's former glory back here in NY where we have barely any Capri's left.

I will agree on "why was the car loaded backwards??". As Jeff had mentioned, there are no safety latches on the rear hatch of a car like on a hood. So some very good points against the driver/owner who put this on his truck like this.

The shipper btw is Arizona Auto Transport and I am in contact with Ovi, their owner. he was equally as upset this morning as I was (but I did remain calm), and is contacting his insurance company on Monday morning and will be calling me back. The car as of right now is still being transported.

Yes, it bent back as far as the sunroof glass from what I am told and that is what shattered the roof glass. Obviously what is being delivered to me is not what is going to match the bill of lading, so what do I do on my end when the car finally arrives?

I've been a fox car guy my whole life and the car was a very clean starting point for the restoration I wanted to do. Unfortunately some major GI health issues are preventing me from undertaking as much as I would have in the past, so I tried to find a real clean foundation, of which this seemed to be.

[capriman86]

I am still in disbelief bro...man this sux

[Hissing Cobra]

Oh man, that's horrible. Because the car is so old, it may be totalled which means that they'll try to give you "blue book" value. That value may not be enough to fix the roof. Stay on your toes and fight them 'till the end. Remember, you hold the cards here and do not have to settle until you're satisfied, although this could take some time. Keep us updated and keep your spirits up.

[plumkrazy]

WOW!!! That SUCKS:eek:

What year capri? 85 or 86.?

I maybe able to help with a hatch and or roof

good Luck with the claim.

[mustang4life1985]

Sorry to hear about this Ed. This is just awful and I'm so shocked how the car was loaded on the car carrier.

I knew a guy that had a 82 mint corvette shipped from the West Coast and it was wrecked in transport and I thought it was covered and he didn't lose out. Good luck with everything!

[eeprete]

Hey guys,

Well I spoke with the broker this morning, who was shocked to hear of this and she was in contact with the driver/owner of the carrier, Ovi. They discussed it, and he is contacting his insurance today to start the claim process. She said even if they knock it down from his end, that she can still submit it from her end.

Best part of all?? The guy leaves me a voice mail message this morning saying the car will be here tomorrow, and "the balance due for transport is $XXXX.XX. Please have it payable in cash or money order or cashier's check."

Does not mention the damage once!!!!!

I was floored. So I am trying to get in contact with the Allstate Legal Department to see what they advise me to do. the car is not currently insured under my policy but all my other cars and homeowners is.

I am still trying to figure out

a) do I pay him, anything?
b) have him drop it off directly to a body shop?
c) are they going to reimburse me for car, transport, hassle or just car or what?
d) I actually don't have anywhere to store a wrecked or parts car. I made arrangements to keep the car at my dad's when he was done parting out his grand marquis (that he is still driving while he fixes his crown vic), but my wife and I live in a condo complex

This is all pretty bothersome to me. It took a long time to find an ideal candidate to save (9 months).

But if this falls apart, I have a couple of leads for another one or two..... so maybe this one wasn't meant to be who knows......

Lets keep our fingers crossed.

Thanks everyone!!!

btw, this is the car while still at the owners in CA...

http://www.pretedesign.com/data/images/gallery_images/user_id_10/85Capri003.xxl.jpg

[capriman86]

I would not pay one dime....and call the transport company now and let them know that
in advance

[Hissing Cobra]

I wouldn't pay either. You did not get what you paid for and it's their fault as to why.

[83rsturbo]

how could that hatch brake the sun roof and not the bubble?

[Hissing Cobra]

I'm assuming that it buckled the roof so bad, it twisted the sunroof glass and broke it. That's my guess.

[86capriASC]

Damn, that was a nice car too.

Mike

[86capriASC]

How did you get the pics of the damage?

[eeprete]

carrier sent them to John, and John sent them to Jeff and I...

I am at my parents now, but will write more shortly. Just got off the phone with arguing with both the carrier and his insurance company.

The fault lies in driver negligence when loading the vehicle, but he is not owning up.

[86GT2go]

If the carrier and his insurance settle up, I would fix that Capri..........way too nice elsewhere to just give up on it. I too would not pay a dime for shipping; and if the company does not do well by you, I would think about legal action against them AND the driver.

[eeprete]

Car is a great starting point without a doubt. Much of what I can do with it, will be dependent on the damage, and where I can locate a potential donor roof.

I just got a call back from my father (where the car is to be shipped to and wasn't supposed to arrive till the weekend) that the driver called my parents house and the car is to be inspected by an auditor tomorrow somewhere in NY or NJ en-route to Long Island.

So we shall see. I want to try my best to save the roof, but because of my own health issues I personally wouldn't be able to undertake such a project at this time (but we hope perhaps in the future I may).

[theemustangman]

Damn I have hauled hundreds of cars on trailers and always make sure stuff is tied down properly, and i am not even a professional driver, he should know better, i am sure he was trained how to load a car and obviously by the pics he reloaded the car Idiots.
In The Words Of The Punk Band NOFX "The Idiots Are Taking Over" & "Why Are All The Stupid People Breeding, Spreading Social Cancer..."

[chalkysexplorer]

BUMMER!!!!!

Get some more pics of the damaged arear when the car arrives. Swapping the roof skin isn't to hard, just a lot of spot welds to deal with, but if the structure underneath has been damaged as well it's a fairly major job.

Forced 4 Motorsports, forced4.com , did a re-sklin on one of their project cars. Look under "Risty Resto" on the projects page. I think it was page 6 & 7.

Pity you're in New York, I've got a good roof you could have.

[eeprete]

Well, today was the day for the car to be delivered. When speaking with the carrier earlier in the day, I advised him the likelihood of me taking the car and paying for his services was slim until I knew of a resolution from his insurance company. We spoke for a little bit and he said he'd like to speak to me in person and perhaps we could work something out.

Initially he proposed I pay half of the current shipping balance. I flat out refused and told him I'd be a fool to do so and I'd be losing even more money. I offered 200 for the fact that he had tolls and gas to pay coming across all our NY bridges. He said that would be an insult. I responded "and bringing my car to me like this isn't an insult?". I quickly told him my offer of $200 was $200 more than my insurance company said I should be compensating him for, but in reality it seems we were both caught in the middle and neither was budging. After hemming and hawing for over an hour, including having been visited by the local Lynbrook police force to find out what was going on, we were close to coming to terms on me taking the car.

He was going to mark the paperwork "delivered with roof and hatch damage, customer agrees to pay $200 now with the balance being paid upon satisfactory resolution by the insurance company". After looking in the drivers window with glass from the sunroof all over the seat, I then decided "no, take the car back to your depot/body shop in NJ you can take it to and have your insurance company call me". As I stood there, it came to me that once I deposited any check from the insurance company that is agreement to settle any claim. I would then be responsible for this tow bill.

I am hoping that I can at least get back what I paid for the car and perhaps even get the car. From my own observation it looks like a roof re-skin is in order, but also the framework where the hatch hinges on got a little twisted but from the looks it didn't look like the other bow areas got twisted, but I am not a bodyman. This would definitely be a good body man project or take about 2 solid weekends to fix.

I checked out the forced4.com reskin and learned a lot. Defintely something that could be done in this situation.

It saddened me to have to refuse the car, and I'll let it be known I am still hoping there can be some resolution. The paint on the car wasn't great 5/10, but it was the factory color which I liked a lot and reminded me of the 90 LX I sold earlier this year and regretted. I'd gladly take the car back if they fix the roof and locate a hatch and would then even pay the guy his transport fee.

Here are some pics of the damage:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f336/eeprete/Capri%20wrecked/IMG_5984.jpg?t=1217984590

(thats my dad, not the driver)
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f336/eeprete/Capri%20wrecked/IMG_5985.jpg?t=1217984616

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f336/eeprete/Capri%20wrecked/IMG_5986.jpg?t=1217984638

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f336/eeprete/Capri%20wrecked/IMG_5989.jpg?t=1217984680

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f336/eeprete/Capri%20wrecked/IMG_5994.jpg?t=1217984718

[capri650]

WOW that sucks need a roof a hatch lucky the bubble didn't break and hindges, you can skin ( roof) that and not worry about it I would have it put a frame rack and have them check then weld in some subframe connectors before cutting the the roof off thou. the car wasn't hit so I wouldn't suspeak any frame damage but before you skin it I would check just to make sure nothing shifts once you cut off the roof. I would tell them that you will seatle for the shipping and repair of damages. if you push it the insurance company will total it and give you book value for it then the title will show as salvage title. I would look for a shop that does restoration work to do the roof skin should be able to get a roof from the junkyard easy with or without the sunroof , the hatch will be a bit more difficult to find. good luck it's going to be a battle to get a resolution in your favor.

[Hissing Cobra]

Man, that's horrible. Hopefully the insurance company decision makers won't be idiots (but they probably will be). It would be nice for you to get it but remember, there's plenty of other ones out there.

[negusm]

You're right, don't cash any checks from the insurance company. Get one check for the correct amount.

I'll have to remember to make sure I add any car I plan to ship to my insurance BEFORE it goes on the truck. This is probably good advice for anyome. That way you can tell your insurance company to fight it out with the shipper if this crap happens.

IMHO, I would see what the estimate is and what the insurance says they will do. If at the end of the day you can get it fixed minus the cost of the shipping fee, then I guess its not a total loss.

The fact the guy even asked for his shipping fee amazes me. I would have laughed in his face and told him to call me when his insurance company figured it out. If he didn't get it done I would sue him for the cost of the car. Let him keep the car and eat the shipping charge. The car was wrecked on his watch and not yours. Its called the cost of doing business and he just has to suck it up and fix it.

-Mike

[donutbandit]

Sounds to me like the actual shipper was a contractor and was just trying to save some of his own ass after not knowing what the hell he was doing to begin with.

[Zap's 85 GT]

After doing a roof reskin myself I gotta tell you, there is going to be a lot of work involved in fixing that. The roof frame is quite strong under that sheet metal and it would have needed to be under extreme force to buckle the roof and break the glass like that. Did it pull the hatch strut mounts off or did they just pop off the studs?

[eeprete]

Well, its now been two days since they attempted delivery of the vehicle. Since I denied it, they told me the car was going to be taken to NJ to some storage facility. The driver was supposed to call me Tuesday with this info. I have not heard from the driver since I left him with the car.

The brokerage company I hired has been only marginally helpful.

Found this out last night:
The claim is in and an adjuster has been assigned from Oklahoma, so I am sure its going to wind up getting reassigned to someone closer.

Found out today:
I did speak with an adjuster who faxed paperwork to Arizona Auto Transport to be completed. Once completed and sent back, the adjuster can begin her interview process with all parties involved.

Also spoke with the broker today who said "oh yeah, we found out the car is in NJ, but we don't know where yet". I'll get that for you and call you right back.

Surprise! No call backs yet.

These people really want to keep me out of the loop it seems on MY car!

[At1Maverick69]

I haven't seen this thread, and as for being the helping hand in getting this car to you, I still feel quite guilty and extremely depressed that this had to happen to you and the car. Like one poster said, woulda been a good idea to have secured the hatch with bungee cords or what not, but then again, I didn't know he was gonna transport it back end facing forward, nor do I know anything about transporting a car, period.

Anyway, as we spoke about over the phone, keep me posted, and good luck with handling this matter, and thanks for being so cool about the matter.

[eeprete]

I just wanted to bump this to the top to keep everyone informed as I just got off the phone with the adjuster.

Car is as we speak sitting in a lot in NJ awaiting an adjusters inspection. A claim has been filed with the insurance company and the adjuster is waiting for the driver to fax some paperwork back to them, which is supposed to happen today. So it's likely I will get called and interviewed in the next couple of days and hopefully there will be a positive resolution to this.

[capriman86]

Fingers crossed for you bud

[Hissing Cobra]

Me too! Hopefully you'll win out in this battle. Don't give up!

[samickguy15]

What a bummer man...Hopefully it's not raining in the car during all of this...

[gdniel]

That sucks.

[eeprete]

Well, the adjuster and I spoke today and she interviewed me. next step is for the car to get inspected by an appraiser. I also got a rough estimate from a body shop on doing the roofskin if supplied and they quoted 4K. So, we shall see.