$2,000.00 vantage 400 radiator??

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Hey guys, got a good story for you.  My company has been out of state doing a pretty decent sized job for about a year and a half now. Normally when we roll into town we bring most of our own gear, but if we need any extra machines we just rent them from local vendors, as well as purchase our consumables through them as well.  Our welds are bieng UT'd so if there are any problems with rented machines obviously we dont want them on the job. I get a call from one of my guys and he tells me one of the rented Vantage 400's is "fluctuating" on its own between 24-32. Okay , no problem, call the weld supply shop and have them pick it up and send us another one. The truck driver comes into my office to have me sign the paperwork  to switch out the machine, right at quitting time. Then he says the sheetmetal has got a little ding in the back. I vaguely remember seeing a ding but it was so minor I didnt think anything of it.  Long story short I get a call two weeks later telling my some radiator fins were bent and they had to swap out the radiator and we owe them $2,000!! Holy Crap! I'm not saying we shouldnt owe anything, and I understand they have to keep there equipment looking and working good(which it wasnt welding right anyway-not my problem), but I cant help but feel they are trying to stick it to us.  I dont have any exact numbers ,but the last job of comparable size we paid the company that supplied us consumables somewhere around $300,000.So I would kind of think that they would want to keep us happy. Bent radiator fins?? (not leaking mind you). I remember when i worked for caterpilliar if you bent any fins they were pretty easy to straighten out.  Pigs get fed but Hogs get slaughtered.2011 Dodge 3500 diesel duallyLincoln SA-200Lincoln SAE-300LN-25'sLincoln Idealarc R3RMiller Trailblazer 302
Reply:ouch!LeighLincoln Classic 300DLincoln SA 250Red d arc 300 dieselRanger 305Miller 302 Trailblazer12V Extreme SuitcaseMiller 200 DXVictor O/A torches3 dodge dually cummmins
Reply:If it came to it, I'd find another vendor, even in another town. I bet they don't even have a jar of vaseline in hand!!!                                    MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:Next time snap some pictures when you take delivery with date and time stamp.
Reply:Originally Posted by transitNext time snap some pictures when you take delivery with date and time stamp.
Reply:Ouch!I feel for you on this. I got hit on a rental car recently the same way. There was a ding in the roof of the car that I couldn't even see til it was pointed out on return. NO WAY that I could have put it there. "You must have hit a garage door that wasn't open, or maybe a tree branch" is what she said. "Not possible" I said. "I can show you where the car went. No garages. No tree branches." The agency was next to the highway ramp. I got on the hwy, drove where I was going by another ramp, and drove back. In the end, cost me a couple grand, even though I d the insurance. My ins co got word of the claim and I lost my discounts for three years.The rental agent walked to the car and pointed to the ding before she could have even seen it when she walked to the car.I wonder if the same situation holds for you?  Big customer, can eat the repair cost on damage that they already knew existed?
Reply:Sounds like a jam-job to me.I'd go (or send someone to) inspect the repairs and to get copies of the invoices for the new parts. It'd only be reasonable for an insurance company to want damage and repairs completely documented. If I went on the inspection myself, I might even ask to use the phone book, and maybe get directions to the new place the company is considering taking future business to, if this isn't settled more amicably. Wouldn't hurt to have a summary of the previous $300,000 in purchases with you, to use as a scratch pad. Good Luck
Reply:Everything denrep said plus include a back charge ivoice for $2000 for job delays due to unsatisfactory machine performance.  It would be about as legit' as their claim it costs $2000 to straighten a few radiator fins with a $10 fin comb.MM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110Save Second Base!
Reply:Originally Posted by duaneb55Everything denrep said plus include a back charge ivoice for $2000 for job delays due to unsatisfactory machine performance.  It would be about as legit' as their claim it costs $2000 to straighten a few radiator fins with a $10 fin comb.
Reply:I asked to have the radiator that was removed to be put on a pallet and shipped back to me so I can inspect it.  What irks me is its likely three or four years old now, just ballparking it's worth 6kish, then they give us a bill for 1/3rd of the value of the machine. I feel like I went in for an oil change and am getting charged for a new engine Any of you guys know the actual cost of a new radiator(which it didnt need in my opinion)? Figure even an expensive shop is around $100 hr/maybe 3 hours being generous to R&R radiator, maybe 30 bucks in fluid=1670 for the actual radiator?? Probably charged for new sheetmetal?? Anyhow, Monday you guys know what I get to deal with.Last edited by pilebuck; 03-14-2010 at 12:32 AM.2011 Dodge 3500 diesel duallyLincoln SA-200Lincoln SAE-300LN-25'sLincoln Idealarc R3RMiller Trailblazer 302
Reply:I don't know who you are using, but are they part of a bigger cooperation?Often individual branch managers couldn't give 2 F'ks if you aren't a regular, and sometimes even if you are. Regional managers usually take a look at the bigger picture. With a fairly good sized account and a decent history to back it up, it shouldn't be too hard to get the Regional Managers attention when you start talking about changing vendors in this economy.Usually the big fish don't like it when their larger customers start having issues with the small fry at the local level and they start to take the heat, especially for something thats BS. It's often amazing how fast things can get resolved when you put in that call to corporate..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWOften individual branch managers couldn't give 2 F'ks if you aren't a regular, and sometimes even if you are. Regional managers usually take a look at the bigger picture. With a fairly good sized account and a decent history to back it up, it shouldn't be too hard to get the Regional Managers attention when you start talking about changing vendors in this economy.
Reply:Just a quick update. It seems they forgot to send the radiator back to the sattelite store for us to inspect. Strange? -  Wow, I can't believe they would do that. They only had a weeks notice, I guess thats not enough. Well, maybe next week...2011 Dodge 3500 diesel duallyLincoln SA-200Lincoln SAE-300LN-25'sLincoln Idealarc R3RMiller Trailblazer 302