Miata Mailing List: August 1994, Message #106
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   From: Steve Ling 
Subject: Bum (non)dealers
   Date: Thu, 4 Aug 1994 11:05:51 -0400

 Don't forget about independent shops! For example:

 On the way to IndyII one of my fellow club members was fiddling with his
radio. His foot slipped off the clutch and the front of his car met the
back of my trailer rather aggressively. His car was only slightly damaged.
To absorb the impact, the frame of my trailer bent, the hitch under my 
car bent, and the trailer pressed into the back of my bumper. (Don't 
worry, it has all been repaired for under $200).

 I went to The Body Shop in Garland, TX, because they had done a good job
repairing my bumper last year when someone else ran into it (once again I
wasn't moving when it happened). This time I thought I would save a few
bucks by removing the bumper myself and taking to them in my wife's car. 

 Three days later they came up with a lame excuse for why it wasn't ready. 
Four and five days later the same excuses. Six days later I pick it up. 
Looked good. I take it home and start installing it. Well, I had removed
all the clip-on nuts and light bulbs before taking it in, but when I went
to install them, the bumper already had them. I noticed a VIN sticker
inside the bumper and it didn't match my car. 

 Back to the body shop. They do some checking while I'm waiting and
wondering if the reason it looked so good was because they made a
"midnight acquisition"  from another black Miata. Turns out they had
another black Miata in for the same repair and they swapped bumpers. They
attempted to convince me that the bumpers are all the same so it didn't
really matter. Being type A personality, I demanded my bumper back. I
left, keeping the bumper they gave me. 

 Next day they say they have my bumper. Turns out the other car was owned
by fellow club member (not the one who originally ran into me) and when
they find out it's for another club member, they bring their car back to the 
body shop so they can swap bumpers. 

 So why did I tell you all this? Oh, to add independent shops to the 
list. BTW, this is the shop that my dealer uses for all body work. They 
had 8 Miatas in various states of destruction.(Gruesome to see.) Yet they 
didn't know that the body parts have the VIN on them.
                                [][][]
  Steve Ling              /                      1993 Mazda Miata 
  sling@netcom.com        \ --- /\ \  / /\       Lone Star Miata Club
  Plano, Texas            /  |  \~  \/  \~       Texas Region SCCA