Image Credit: Kelly Cook / TikTok.Kelly Cook's collision repair problem started with something body shops deal with all the time: a part that wasn't available. By the time her vehicle had spent months going back and forth to Caliber Collision, the delayed windshield was no longer the part she wanted people looking at.In a pair of TikTok videos, Cook says she temporarily got the vehicle back with an aftermarket windshield and found overspray, dust, debris, and mouse droppings inside. Later, she says she discovered something worse above the cabin: a water-soaked headliner containing more rodent contamination and a nest.When Cook and her fiancé removed the headliner, she says they also found one of the sunroof drains disconnected. Caliber had previously removed the headliner as part of repairing a dent in the roof, according to Cook, but the videos do not establish when the drain became disconnected or who disconnected it.AdvertisementAdvertisementThat missing piece is important because Cook herself stops short of claiming someone deliberately caused the problem. She says the drain could have been pulled loose accidentally when the headliner was removed. And despite plenty of commenters assuming otherwise, Cook isn't arguing that a backordered part by itself proves the shop did anything wrong.The Long WaitEmbedded media follows; please allow a moment to load.Cook said she originally brought the vehicle to Caliber for a dented roof and a windshield replacement. Repairing the roof required removing the headliner, she said, and the windshield was also removed.Then came the wait for replacement glass.AdvertisementAdvertisementCook said the original-equipment windshield was on backorder with no firm arrival date. She was familiar enough with the auto-repair business to understand that Caliber couldn't simply make the part appear."I get the backorder thing," Cook said. "That's not what I'm worried about."Eventually, she says Caliber proposed installing an aftermarket windshield temporarily so she could use the vehicle until the OEM glass arrived. Cook agreed and planned to return when the correct windshield became available.Her concern about waiting for original glass wasn't merely a preference for a factory logo. General Motors says it does not approve aftermarket or non-GM original-equipment glass for windshield replacement.AdvertisementAdvertisementGM says differences in materials, dimensions, and optical characteristics can affect vehicles and their advanced driver-assistance systems. The automaker also calls for the appropriate calibration or learn procedure when applicable windshield cameras or sensors are removed, reinstalled, or replaced.None of that means the temporary windshield caused Cook's later water problem. It does help explain why waiting for OEM glass was more than a cosmetic concern.When Cook got the vehicle back temporarily, however, she says she found another set of problems inside."There is overspray, there is dust, debris, mouse poop everywhere," Cook said in the first video.AdvertisementAdvertisementShe says she brought the condition of the vehicle to a manager's attention. According to Cook, the manager apologized and told her that wasn't how customer vehicles were normally returned.Cook cleaned the vehicle and kept driving it while waiting for the factory windshield.Above The CabinAbout two and a half months later, Cook said she got the call that the OEM windshield had finally arrived.Before that replacement could happen, she noticed another problem.Cook said she looked up and realized the headliner was wet. When she and her fiancé started examining it, she says they found extensive rodent contamination above it, including droppings, urine, and a nest.AdvertisementAdvertisementHer fiancé initially suspected a clogged sunroof drain, according to Cook's follow-up video.The couple ultimately pulled the headliner out through the rear of the vehicle. That's when Cook says they found a sunroof drain disconnected.Cook's theory is that it may have been pulled loose when Caliber removed the headliner during the roof repair.She doesn't claim to know that happened."It could have easily been an accident when they were removing the headliner," Cook said. "They could have just pulled it and never realized."That leaves a significant gap in what can be established from the videos. Cook shows and describes the disconnected drain after Caliber performed work that required removing the headliner, but that sequence alone doesn't prove when the drain came loose.AdvertisementAdvertisementCook also believes the vehicle's time sitting without its windshield contributed to the rodent problem. Her videos do not independently establish when the mice entered the vehicle.A Familiar TheoryThe comment section quickly filled with people claiming experience at Caliber or elsewhere in the collision-repair business, and many arrived at roughly the same theory: the shop probably wasn't trying to pass an unfinished vehicle off as complete.Some suggested the windshield or headliner was still on backorder and that Cook had agreed to take the vehicle while waiting for the missing parts. One commenter who identified himself as a former Caliber general manager said he could not imagine a vehicle leaving without the customer's approval under those circumstances.That theory isn't particularly damaging to Cook's account because she already says she agreed to a temporary arrangement.AdvertisementAdvertisementCook acknowledges the OEM windshield was delayed. She acknowledges accepting the aftermarket windshield so she could use the vehicle. Her complaint is what she says she found in and above the vehicle while that repair remained unfinished.Parts delays are also something Caliber acknowledges in its own description of the collision-repair process. The company says supply chains and parts availability can substantially affect repair time, particularly when a vehicle requires specialized or model-specific components.Caliber also says it will keep customers informed throughout repairs, restore vehicles to pre-collision condition, and back its collision work with a written limited lifetime warranty.Cook said she contacted her service adviser before pulling the wet headliner. According to her account, she was told the problem would need to be handled by a manager.AdvertisementAdvertisementShe said she left her number, called again the following day, and still had not reached the manager when she posted her follow-up video.If you want more stories like this, follow Guessing Headlights on Yahoo so you don't miss what's coming next.
