Bent Door Sill

[AurisHybrid]

Hi All, newbie on this and would appreciate you wisdom. 

took my car to a garage to get brakes checked and discovered this the next day. I can only assume they jacked it up using incorrect points which put pressure on the metal sill.    I have contacted the garage but do not expect a positive reply.   

any suggestions to sort this out?  It’s looks horrible!! 

many thanks 
 

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Moved to the Auris club.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Remember an old topic where this happened due to incorrect jacking. Luckily the tyre outlet responsible, paid for the bodywork repairs. Check whether the flange beneath has also been flattened.

[AurisHybrid]

Hi, thanks for moving..  underneath seems fine to me as far it looks the other side..  

 

[TonyHSD]

Hi, that car has been damaged and the damage is clearly seen on your pictures, this is a common issue with garages and these cars. Definitely garage fault 100%. If it’s me will pursuit till the end and get my car fixed. When you trade in the car will have £0000 of its price because of that damage. 

[AurisHybrid]

Hi TonyHSD 

I will follow up with a call tomorrow to the garage but I’m not hopeful.   My dash cam was on the car too and you can see that car tilted to the side in question and the car was lowered and then I can only assume the lifting anchors were realigned then lifted.  The guys at the garage were really friendly which makes it even more difficult to me..  I just don’t like arguments / confrontations.      Any suggestion on how I could get this fixed privately?   Is it a panel beater job?   This is only time I wish these parts were plastic and replaceable..  

[catnash]

This happened to mine.  I was lucky as my local body shop sorted it out believe it or not with a rubber mallet on the seam.  Try seeing what the garage will say first.

[AurisHybrid]

Thanks for sharing Catnash....  let’s see!! I like the sound of a mallet.  My insurance excess over the past 5 years has been £50... this year got my son insurance which meant I had to go with a specialist company to only have an excess of £600 ahhhhhh! 

[Mooly]

I've had this happen and fixed it myself. It needs the seam pulling back vertical which will pull the panel back into the correct position. That damage is usually correctable by brute force (strength rather than hammering) and suitable grips. Much easier if it is in the air on a ramp. I actually used a combination of mole grips and spanners (anything to lock onto the seam and allow lots of sustained pressure). The metal is strong. If you had the inclination I also think the wheel jack and something suitable to apply horizontal pressure could be used. The jack would be placed against a vertical wall and wound out exerting pressure on the flange of the seam.   

It needs the seam pulling back vertical which will pull the panel back into the correct position. Whenever you leave the car for work done anywhere other than Toyota pop a card on the dash saying 'Please use correct front jacking points as area where panels attach is not structural'.

 

 

[TonyHSD]

That’s right, if you look at auto trader adds  half of the Auris has that damage. 

[AurisHybrid]

Thanks Mooly, I wouldn’t have the heart to do this! But super cool that you managed to fix it yourself. 
 

As a way of update, the centre manager rang me today and to my joy said they would cover the cost of repair, I’m more than relieved.  I hate confrontation and always felt that I was to blame too as I did not check the car over when leaving the garage.   As mentioned previously the guys at the garage were really nice and I left with a smile on my face which made this conversation for me more difficult.   Honesty wins!!   Next steps for me is to get some quotes.   
 

thank you all for your invaluable advice, I’m a complete novice!    

[Mooly]

That's great news, do let us know how it works out. And yes, it is nice to come across genuine people. You will sleep happy tonight.    

[Bernard Foy]

1 hour ago, AurisHybrid said:

Thanks Mooly, I wouldn’t have the heart to do this! But super cool that you managed to fix it yourself. 
 

As a way of update, the centre manager rang me today and to my joy said they would cover the cost of repair, I’m more than relieved.  I hate confrontation and always felt that I was to blame too as I did not check the car over when leaving the garage.   As mentioned previously the guys at the garage were really nice and I left with a smile on my face which made this conversation for me more difficult.   Honesty wins!!   Next steps for me is to get some quotes.   
 

thank you all for your invaluable advice, I’m a complete novice!    

Great outcome Bill, but feeling blame for not checking the car for damage doesn’t make sense. Abused women have the same feeling. I would leave the car back with them and it’s their responsibility to get the repair done as they caused the damage in the first place and have admitted that responsibility. We all like to be nice friendly people, but we should still be able to stand up for ourselves.