jsquared94

Hey folks,

I bought a fiberglass roof panel for my 94 coupe off of a fella that I found through here, and after much conversing back and forth, I cut him a check for the agreed upon $100. What a DEAL for a perfect top! Cost me $50 to ship it here (NY) from Las Vegas, and man was I excited as the UPS man dropped it off. I opened the box, and what was inside, but a roof panel! Great! However, one thing was missing- packing! The guy I bought it off of was too busy/uncapable of packing it, so he took it to a packaging/shipping place. His instructions to them were to carefully pack it in bubblewrap and ship it to me. The muthersuckers did nothing of the sort- they literally threw the roof in a oversized cardboard box WITH NOTHING TO PROTECT IT!!!! If you can tell, I'm slightly annoyed. What dumb kisss run a professional packaging company, but don't pack!???!?!??!?!????!??!???

Supposedly the packing company is running an insurance claim now through UPS. Great. So now I can potentially get my $100 back. I haven't heard from them at all, and it's been a week. I don't think UPS will even honor the claim when they see there was no protection around the item. I wouldn't blame UPS for not paying out either- this wasn't UPS's fault; everyone knows that stuff takes a beating when shipped. It was the packing company's fault, as far as I'm concerned- they should KNOW better, for chrissake! Poor guy was never even given a chance at life in this world....

Anyways, sorry for the rant. I have pictures of this thing, but I have never posted pics before. All four corners of the fiberglass are smashed up, as well as the front and back edges. The front trim is destroyed, and the little metal "ears" on the front sides are pulled away some as well. The metal frame looked ok, and so does the headliner and mounting brackets. The weatherstripping is perfect. I guess my question is if the fiberglass can be repaired, and if the metal trim can be replaced. Any idea what this would cost? I was planning to get it painted anyways, so I'm not worried about the price of a paint job. It's just the damn fiberglass work that has me pissed, as well as the gross negligence! Is this thing even worth fixing? Can it be repaired to perfect again?

Thanks for the help, folks, and sorry for the rant- it's just that this place is the only one that can appreciate the ulcer this is giving me!

Jared :flag

Mr Mojo

I can tell you as a long time employee, UPS will not pay the claim if they discover no packing material is used.

I've discussed this many times before. The proper way would be to first wrap in bubble wrap, especially the corners, then finding a proper size box, then using that expandable foam to fill the voids.

Using packing peanuts is not sufficient either, they settle. I see stuff like this all the time, I don't know what people think. Then they blame us for the damage.

bogus

I went through this back in the spring... UPS paid! Mainly, cause the outfit DID ship with reasonable packing.

The 2nd one was REALLY packed!

However... these tops are still SMC... so they can be repaired. IF you don't have a host, email me a couple of pics and I will post them for ya. Then we can determine if repairs are in order.

If nothing else, you may have a claim against the shippers. They were the neglegent party in this mess. And I would try to sue them for damages, not just cost of the part, but the cost of REPAIRING the part!

AS84

Have you contacted the shipping co. who supposedly packaged it?

Southern Comfort

:nono: Never insure it for what costs....but what it would take to replace it.
Sorry for your loss. :sad:

jsquared94

It looks like this might be nothing more than an expensive lesson for me. Mojo- I completely agree with you and understand where you are coming from. Bogus- thanks for the hosting offer; I'll try to dig up those pics and email ya. At the moment, I'm gonna contact the seller, and then the shipping company! I'll let you guys know how I make out!

Thanks, all!
Jared :flag

BAM92

Happened to me too. I repacked it before UPS picked it up so they couldn't say anything about that. It takes along time to get paid by UPS. They pay the shipper and not you. Then shipper has to pay you. They usually ship the item to Salt Lake City to inspect item. If they don't agree it is there fault hold the seller and whoever shipped it for them responsible. You bought a good top not a bad top. Not your fault they can't pack. It took a few weeks with UPS and them cutting check for I got my money back. I feel for you. Also Ups doesn't reimburse shipping cost. Make shipper repay that to you since this is their fault.


[Modified by BAM92, 6:50 PM 9/2/2003]

Brimis

Any item shipped via UPS is insured for $100.00, even if you request no insurance. I would contact the seller, only he, not you can initiate a claim.

jsquared94

I spoke to both the seller and the shipper last night- it sounds like the shipper is going to make things right. We're gonna try a UPS claim first, but if that doesn't work, he's gonna pay himself. It turns out that the girl who packed this got the can; this wasn't the only thing she messed up. Anyways, I'm emailing pics to Bogus, so hopefully he can post for me, and then you folks can tell me if it's worth repairing.

Thanks everyone for your input!
Jared :flag

Opium

:iagree:
Hope everything works out for you

jsquared94

Here's pictures of some of the damage, graciously hosted by Mr. Bogus!





Thanks againg for looking, and a big thanks to Andy!

Jared :flag

bogus

Glad I could help!

however, the damage is not THAT bad... I looked at the original pics (they are bigger) and the damage is very simular to what was on mine... except, mine wasn't hurt on the back side.

I do think it is repairable, tho... whether you want to or not is debatable.

I would go after the shipper, not UPS. The fault lies in the shipper NOT packing it correctly.

jennykayes84vette

:iagree:

Send a quote for what a new one would cost vs. the cost of having that one repaired I figure the packing company will have no problem making a choice on which to do. Also, if you know an attorney have them draft a letter on your behalf. It does wonders for a companys additude. :thumbs: