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C6 Corvette ZR1 & Z06General info about GM’s Corvette Supercar, LS9 Corvette Technical Info, Performance Upgrades, Suspension Setup for Street or Track
I purchased a ZR1 out of state from a private party seller about a week and a half ago.
I spent the last week trying to get a reputable transport company out to the seller's address to pick up the car for me. I finally found a company 'The Finest Carrer' (TFC) that was able to take the job. I asked a million questions about safely getting the car onto the truck.
TFC told me that they couldn't get one of their main enclosed trailers out there for awhile but they did have a trusted partner they have given business to many times before who had a single car enclosed trailer that could take the job.
This made me a bit nervous but I asked all the right questions. TFC told me that this guy has a drop gate, not a lift gate, but will use boards and/or low ramps to safely get the car onto the trailer. TFC told me that the guy told them he has moved countless Corvettes with no problem ever.
I decided, based on TFC's great reviews online, that they could be trusted and they would not send any half *** to do the job, so I booked it.
This morning the car gets picked up and the seller calls me and says "dude they scraped the hell out of the front splitter while loading the car onto the trailer" Me: you are joking right? Seller: Nope, they were loading it onto the trailer and the entire time it was scraping the hell out of the front splitter.
So naturally I'm concerned. The seller's wife took a video of the driver and his spotter attempting, unsuccessfully to safely load the ZR1 onto the trailer. I guess they tried driving up the drop gate ramp forwards, but when realizing that was not going to work they decided to back the car onto the ramp instead.
(I know nothing about transporting or loading cars but isn't it standard practice to drive the car up and not back it up)??
In the video that was sent to me by the seller's wife, I see the guy backing my ZR1 up onto the drop gate ramp. As he gets about half way you can clearly hear the front splitter's bottom side start scraping against the asphalt of the street. The guy continues backing the car up higher and higher and you continue hearing the front splitter scrape more and more against the ground.
At no time during this ordeal is the driver using any ramps or even wooden boards to assist in getting the car safetly onto the ramp. As he gets 3/4 of the way back onto the ramp he lets off the brake and the car rolls forward a bit and you can hear a loud pop or snap. Then he drives the car off the ramp and you can hear his spotter say something like "you can't stop, just back it onto the ramp and keep going, don't stop".
So then the driver does exactly that and backs the car up quickly onto the ramp as the front splitter scrapes, until he finally gets it all the way onto the ramp.
After seeing the video, I'm extremely upset and pissed off. I call TFC and pretty much say "what the hell happened and who is this guy you hired to pick up my car"??
TFC calls the driver and then TFC calls me back and says the driver told him he got the car onto the trailer "no problem" and the seller doesn't know what they are talking about saying that the splitter was scraping.
After hearing this I send TFC the video of the car being loaded up back end first and splitter scraping on the ground and TFC tells me "I'm speechless, he is going to have to pay for any damage that happened".
TFC gives me the phone number to call the drive. So I call the driver and now I'm even more upset. My conversation with the driver is pretty much as follows:
Me: So there was a problem loading the car?
Driver: The car is very low and I got it onto the trailer...but the car is VERY low sooooo I don't know
Me: Did you use boards to load it up?
Driver: Well I have a drop gate, and the car is just very low soooo
Me: I have a video of you loading the car and the entire time I can hear the front splitter scraping against the ground.
Driver: Yea but the car is fine
Me: But I can hear the splitter scraping, which means at the very least on the underside it is scratched to hell. Are you telling me you didn't hear it scraping when you loaded it?
Driver: I heard it scrape a tiny tiny bit but everything else is fine
Driver then sends me two pictures of the car loaded onto his trailer. Both pictures show a very prominent white scrape on the front middle of the splitter. (this is all that is visible in the picture...I'm sure the entire underside of the splitter is toast). After showing me both pictures the driver then says "there is a small scrape on the front but that was already there before I even touched the car"
** At this point if it wasn't obvious before, it's obvious now. The driver is flat out lying to my face (over the phone anyways) and this is making me very angry.
I tell the driver, I have many pictures and videos of the car before you ever touched it and none of them show any damage at all to the front splitter. So if I show you these pictures and you can't see any damage then obviously the damage I see in your pictures was caused when you loaded the car, right?
Driver's response to this: "obviously, yea"
Then the driver's spotter chimes in and says:
Spotter: Sir, we tried driving the car onto the ramp and realized the car was way too low for that so we backed it on instead.
Me: But once you heard the splitter scraping like crazy why would you continue loading it and not correct the problem?
Spotter: Sir, the woman there (seller's wife) was watching us the whole time. I asked her if she wanted us to continue loading the car and she said "I don't care" so we kept loading it because she didn't have a problem with it.
Me: But she isn't paying you to load the car safely and get it to me safely. I am the one paying you. And that's not the point. You are supposed to be the professionals here. Even if she did tell you she didn't care, why would you keep loading the car if it was scraping and you knew you couldn't do it safely?
Spotter: Well the car is so low that if you are driving it around town and hit a pothole or go up a hill the splitter will scrape anyways sooo
Me: Who cares? I paid you to get it to me safely and from watching the video I can tell it's already damaged.
Me: At this point what is done is done. Can't take it back now. But how are you going to unload the car safely at my house when it's backed into your trailer. YOu are going to have to drive it off nose first, how is that going to happen without you damaging it more?
Driver: I won't damage it, I can get it off the trailer.
Me: ............... ? Okay I guess I'll have to wait until you get it here.
End conversation.
So that's my story so far. This all happened this morning. The car won't even be at my house until probably Thursday. I'm already sick thinking about it. I understand these cars are low and most ZR1 splitters on the underside are probably scratched to hell and who really cares as long as it's on the underside and you can't see it. But that's not the point. Also, it looks like there is a nice big scratch on the front of the splitter, not just the underside.
So anyone have any words that might make me feel better in this situation? Any ideas on how the guy can unload the car at my house as safely as possible with the nose of the car being the first point that will make contact with the road?
This is a picture the driver took after loading the car: If you zoom in you can clearly see a huge white scrape on the front middle of the splitter. And if you really look close you can see white scrapes on the entire underside of the splitter.
And this is the trailer and drop gate that he backed the car onto, with no ramps, no boards, nothing. How is he going to drive it off the ramp without damaging the splitter more?
Sorry to hear, but it can be rectified. You hired a company, they subbed it out. The company you hired has insurance for this sort of thing...they'll need to take it up with their sub, not you...its all on them.
Happens more than you know with these cars. Went through a similar process with transporting my car from SoCal to Oahu back in 2015. They guy that picked up the car in SoCal did a flawless job (I was there). The guy that dropped it off at my house here (loaded on a flat bed), I saw the splitter damage as he arrived, and witnessed him damage it further as he unloaded it in front of me. I took a couple pictures, said nothing to the driver...and opened a claim with my relocation company. Had to provide the photo evidence before the settled, but they eventually did. I was just pissed that they wouldn't let me go get the car down at the docks...they "had to deliver it".
im really interested to hear how this turns out. i bought my current car sight unseen, and believe you me....LOL ill never do that again
I wasn't too concerned about buying it sight unseen. I spoke with the seller many times. I got many pictures and videos. I know the seller was being honest with me. What concerns me is how everything has gone this morning.
TFC has great reviews but this guy obviously is just working for himself and TFC contracted him. He doesn't have any boards or ramps. TFC told me that he did and he would use them. TFC also told me when they called him and asked him about not using the boards or ramps to load the car he just said he would use them to unload the car.
But now I have video of the car scraping like hell being loaded. I also have the driver flat out lying to me telling me the damage was already there even though it wasn't. This means he's a dishonest guy and now I'm concerned about him unloading it, and what damage could happen during that.
TFC said the driver would have to pay for it but how does that work? If I file a claim, TFC is going to say "not our problem, it was the driver" you need to take it up with him.
What about removing the splitter when the driver gets here? Is the splitter something that can be easily removed without any lifts or anything on the driver's trailer before he unloads it? And then I can simply reinstall the splitter after the car is parked in my garage?
Sorry to hear, but it can be rectified. You hired a company, they subbed it out. The company you hired has insurance for this sort of thing...they'll need to take it up with their sub, not you...its all on them.
Happens more than you know with these cars. Went through a similar process with transporting my car from SoCal to Oahu back in 2015. They guy that picked up the car in SoCal did a flawless job (I was there). The guy that dropped it off at my house here (loaded on a flat bed), I saw the splitter damage as he arrived, and witnessed him damage it further as he unloaded it in front of me. I took a couple pictures, said nothing to the driver...and opened a claim with my relocation company. Had to provide the photo evidence before the settled, but they eventually did. I was just pissed that they wouldn't let me go get the car down at the docks...they "had to deliver it".
These splitters cost around $2,000 new right? So did the company just reimburse you $2000 so you could buy a new one and replace it?
Like I said, I know that due to these cars being very low and having the front splitter on, I know they are prone to get scraped on the underside. It can't be avoided over time and I get that. But my beef is that I'm being lied to by the driver, pretty much saying "nope, there was no problem at all loading it" and only after I say I saw the video he is like "well yea it did scrape but not a big deal" and now I have him telling me the damage he sees in his picture was already there, even though I know it wasn't.
If the splitter has to be replaced then so be it (it sucks but what else can I do), but I just want to make sure there was no other damage to the car. Just want it to get here safely and get unloaded so I can have it in my garage and deal with it myself.
Take a deep breath and relax. That white scrape might just be a bit of dust that can be wiped off and you'd never know it scraped (if it did).
BTW, there are plastic/rubber pieces under the car that direct air up to the radiator. Those are the lowest point and are designed to withstand scraping from time to time. I have a splitter on my Z06 and I haven't scraped *it* once, but I have ground those plastic/rubber pieces *many* times.
How many miles are on this car? It is a used car, so I bet you can find _some_ imperfections on it already anyway.
Take a deep breath and relax. That white scrape might just be a bit of dust that can be wiped off and you'd never know it scraped (if it did).
BTW, there are plastic/rubber pieces under the car that direct air up to the radiator. Those are the lowest point and are designed to withstand scraping from time to time. I have a splitter on my Z06 and I haven't scraped *it* once, but I have ground those plastic/rubber pieces *many* times.
How many miles are on this car? It is a used car, so I bet you can find _some_ imperfections on it already anyway.
I understand it's not going to be perfect (it's got 24,000 miles on it) but believe me, none of the scratches I see in the driver's pictures were there before.
Maybe if I post up the video that was taken of the car being loaded you can understand why I'm feeling this way. Let me try to post it.
These splitters cost around $2,000 new right? So did the company just reimburse you $2000 so you could buy a new one and replace it?
My '09 C6Z doesn't have the ZR1 splitter...just the regular plastic one. It however had to be shipped to Hawaii, which added a couple hundred dollars to the part itself. I got a written estimate from the local GM dealer for parts and labor, and the ins co sent me the check. I ordered the part, installed it myself and pocketed a few bucks for my troubles.
In no way shape or form should the company you hired leave you holding the bag. They subbed the job out, they need to make it right. The onus is on them.
I understand it's not going to be perfect (it's got 24,000 miles on it) but believe me, none of the scratches I see in the driver's pictures were there before.
Maybe if I post up the video that was taken of the car being loaded you can understand why I'm feeling this way. Let me try to post it.
Uploading to YouTube is usually the easiest way. You can use something like Google Drive as well.
I don't clearly see any scratches. I do see some white in the middle of the splitter like you mentioned. But I'd hold judgement until I saw it in person. Like I said, it could have been dust from scraping on the concrete. If it's not dust, I'd be more worried it would be cracked. If they cracked it, I'd be worried about the fascia spider webbing also. BUT.. like I said.. just try to remain calm and wait for it arrive. Take a good look at it and lots of pictures when they deliver it.
You can get a replacement splitter from someone like RPI Designs for about $650. Only the most scrutinizing and trained eye would be able to tell the difference from eye level.
Uploading to YouTube is usually the easiest way. You can use something like Google Drive as well.
I don't clearly see any scratches. I do see some white in the middle of the splitter like you mentioned. But I'd hold judgement until I saw it in person. Like I said, it could have been dust from scraping on the concrete. If it's not dust, I'd be more worried it would be cracked. If they cracked it, I'd be worried about the fascia spider webbing also. BUT.. like I said.. just try to remain calm and wait for it arrive. Take a good look at it and lots of pictures when they deliver it.
You can get a replacement splitter from someone like RPI Designs for about $650. Only the most scrutinizing and trained eye would be able to tell the difference from eye level.
That's ultimately what I'm concerned about. If the underside of the front splitter is scraped up then so be it, it's bound to happen from driving anyways. But if the splitter itself is cracked...that's a damaged $2,000 piece right there. And then just like you said I'd be much more concerned with the front nose having damage to where it'll start spider webbing. Hopefully I'm making way too much out of this and it'll all be okay.
Here is the video. Let me know what you guys think. The sound you hear at the beginning is just the seller's kids playing with toys outside. But about 50 seconds in you can start hearing the splitter scraping bad and what concerns me is at about the 1:22 mark when the driver lets the car roll forward you hear a loud crack. I'm not sure if that's the splitter cracking or if it's the wood of the trailer shifting weight and cracking.
Uploading to YouTube is usually the easiest way. You can use something like Google Drive as well.
I don't clearly see any scratches. I do see some white in the middle of the splitter like you mentioned. But I'd hold judgement until I saw it in person. Like I said, it could have been dust from scraping on the concrete. If it's not dust, I'd be more worried it would be cracked. If they cracked it, I'd be worried about the fascia spider webbing also. BUT.. like I said.. just try to remain calm and wait for it arrive. Take a good look at it and lots of pictures when they deliver it.
You can get a replacement splitter from someone like RPI Designs for about $650. Only the most scrutinizing and trained eye would be able to tell the difference from eye level.
Is it the same carbon fiber pattern as the stock pattern? If so, I would be interested in doing something like that. I know the splitter will get damaged at some point. I'd feel better knowing I damaged a $650 replacement than a $2000 original. Maybe keep the replacement on there and keep the original in a box in my garage or something.
Hate to hear about this. That trailer looks bush league and has a very short ramp. Unfortunately, I think you should have waited for the professionals to transport it like what we recommended such as Reliable and Intercity. They have special loading trailers that this would not happen on. I believe the ZR1 has a fiberglass front splitter and they are right in that if it is cracked it will need to be replaced. I rubbed my front splitter in my Z06 over a curb last week while trying to park the car to get new tires. I scrapped up the bottom of it, but this splitter is just a plastic piece and not a big deal to replace like yours. But it happens with these cars a lot since the are so low. Hope you get this fixed one way or the other as I know this had to be a stressful situation.
That white scrap is definitely from when they let the car roll forward. Try and get pictures before the car comes off the trailer. Your best bet is to stay calm during the rest of the transaction and when you are trying to deal with the original company.
Again OP, congrats you found your car and its on its way. These mishaps can unfortunately happen. I have faith it will all work out. Frustrating yes, but dude...your ZR1 is en route.
Hate to hear about this. That trailer looks bush league and has a very short ramp. Unfortunately, I think you should have waited for the professionals to transport it like what we recommended such as Reliable and Intercity. They have special loading trailers that this would not happen on. I believe the ZR1 has a fiberglass front splitter and they are right in that if it is cracked it will need to be replaced. I rubbed my front splitter in my Z06 over a curb last week while trying to park the car to get new tires. I scrapped up the bottom of it, but this splitter is just a plastic piece and not a big deal to replace like yours. But it happens with these cars a lot since the are so low. Hope you get this fixed one way or the other as I know this had to be a stressful situation.
The Finest Carrier has good reviews online. The problem is when he said he didn't have any company drivers in the area but they could send another guy they have worked with before. I specifically asked "do I still get the same white glove service" and they said absolutely yes. And he has ramps and boards to help load it up there. But as you can see in the video, there are no ramps or boards being used and I bet if he had them he would try to use them. That makes me think he just flat out doesn't have anything on his trailer period, to assist with loading and unloading. I'm curious to see what happens when he arrives because TFC called him and he told TFC he would use boards when unloading the car. But how can you use something you don't have?
I'll admit, I should have just waited for an actual company driver but then again when I'm assured that he has all the right equipment and it'll be "white glove service" that made me feel better.
Again OP, congrats you found your car and its on its way. These mishaps can unfortunately happen. I have faith it will all work out. Frustrating yes, but dude...your ZR1 is en route.
Yea, I'm trying to tell myself "in the game of life something as minor as this shouldn't even be stressed over" but let's be real. We are all car guys and we would all stress about this. But me probably more so than others.
Nothing I can do now though, except deal with it when it arrives
Here is the video. Let me know what you guys think. The sound you hear at the beginning is just the seller's kids playing with toys outside. But about 50 seconds in you can start hearing the splitter scraping bad and what concerns me is at about the 1:22 mark when the driver lets the car roll forward you hear a loud crack. I'm not sure if that's the splitter cracking or if it's the wood of the trailer shifting weight and cracking.
05-01-2018, 03:33 PM
Shipping damage to my ZR1
