Replaced tailgate around Christmas after a collision, and now noticing condensation inside a taillight. Body shop says they’re not responsible and are quoting $250 to replace. Please advice.

Edit: Thanks for all your advice. I’m going to ask my insurance if they’ll cover this as part of the original collision claim. btw, I posted the same thing to /r/mechanicadvice at the same time, and haven’t received a single reply there till now. Happy to see lemmy doing great as a reddit replacement.

Update: Thanks for all your advice. I spoke to my insurance and asked them if they would cover it as part of the original repairs, and they’ve agreed to do so!

  • _stranger_@lemmy.world
    46·
    1 month ago

    Those things are supposed to be sealed. Even if they did nothing wrong installing it, they’ve installed a faulty taillight with a busted seal.

    Id argue with them along those lines “It’s no one’s fault, but I didn’t pay for a broken tail light”.

    Unless you replaced it with a used tail_gate_ they pulled from a junkyard, in that case you’re on your own.

    You can get a new tail light for not a ton of cash.

    • nieceandtows@lemmy.worldOP
      17·
      1 month ago

      That is a factory light. It’s a 2022 CRV. They’re saying they only pulled it out as a unit and put it back in, and this seal failing has nothing to do with them.

      • RattlerSix@lemmy.world
        10·
        1 month ago

        It’s not on them. They don’t pay to fix your wreck, it’s the other way around. It’s part of the wreck that wasn’t noticed when it was being fixed. It happens, and it can’t be helped unless they park it outside and let it rain and then check it and nobody does that.

        If insurance paid for the wreck, get with the insurance company to pay for a new one. If you paid for the wreck, you could have paid for it when it was fixed but it wasn’t noticed so you pay for it now.

        • nieceandtows@lemmy.worldOP
          1·
          1 month ago

          Yeah the other party insurance paid the bill but through my insurance. I’m going to ask them to include this as well.

      • _stranger_@lemmy.world
        4·
        1 month ago

        I’m with the other people here saying the same thing, that’s a salvaged tail light that was damaged in a wreck. That it was your tail light before it became salvage doesn’t make it ok.

        And just because I know how those shops work, if at any point they said something like “we’re gonna reuse your old tail light” and you signed off on that, you might be out of luck.

        Maybe your insurance company might be able to cover it under the same claim? It’s worth a phone call or email at least.

        If you don’t want to DIY, definitely shop around for a better quote, but you might not find a cheaper total price. I wouldn’t burn a bridge with that shop.