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Old 02-21-2014, 03:34 PM   #1
PepFontana
 
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2014 Headlight / UPS

Hello,

Hope this is in the correct section, as I am new to the forum

I recently bought a 2014 2SS and I just love it as it is pretty awesome. It took me all of about 5 minutes to catch the mod bug and one of the things that I wanted most was to have the red halo headlight rings installed.

I took both headlights out so that I could send them to AAC for the install. I packed them up with a whole bunch of old newspaper and old t-shirts and sent them off via UPS. Ironically, while I was packing the box, I actually thought to myself that I was overdoing it with the padding.

AAC received my headlights on Tuesday and informed me that UPS had broken the passenger side headlight beyond repair. Not sure how they did it, but they managed to break an entire corner of the plastic housing off of the light.

I did purchase insurance when I was shipping them, but I only elected to insure them for $500 because dumb ass me didn't bother to look up the actual cost to replace them because I was in a hurry to get them shipped.

Turns out, this will be a very expensive lesson I am teaching myself, as they go for around $900 each!!

I've never turned in a claim with UPS before and I don't know if it is true, but I was told I basically have zero chance of recovering the insured amount as they nitpick and look for anyway out.

I know it is a super long shot, but does anyone have a 2014 passenger side headlight for sale and/or know of anywhere to buy one cheaper than the $900 I found it for?

I will post an abbreviated version of this in the for sale / wanted section as well.

Thanks in advance for any help.
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Old 02-21-2014, 03:39 PM   #2
Evil-Bee-NH
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Get what you can from UPS and buy an aftermarket pair. I have a hard time believing these headlights cost $900 but GM is known for inflating parts prices.
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Old 02-21-2014, 04:10 PM   #3
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That sucks! I had the same thing happen to me once although they weren't RS lights and not insured. If UPS doesn't work with you on replacing the full amount, your best bet is search ebay. I see them up every now and then for under $500 each.
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Old 02-21-2014, 04:16 PM   #4
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yeah UPS will claim you didn't pack them according to their standards..
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Old 02-21-2014, 05:05 PM   #5
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hope you got color changing lights as yes red lights on a vehicle are illegal in every state.
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Old 02-21-2014, 09:12 PM   #6
PepFontana
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. iNCREDIBLE View Post
yeah UPS will claim you didn't pack them according to their standards..
That's too funny, that is word for word what I was told by the person that said I have zero chance of getting anything from them. LOL.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Evil-Bee-NH View Post
Get what you can from UPS and buy an aftermarket pair. I have a hard time believing these headlights cost $900 but GM is known for inflating parts prices.
I almost fell off my chair when he told me that's how much they were. LOL. Any suggestions on where to look for an aftermarket one? I have looked around a little with no success.

Quote:
Originally Posted by christianchevell View Post
hope you got color changing lights as yes red lights on a vehicle are illegal in every state.
I did, they are able to go from the normal "white" color to red via remote control. Do they even make ones that don't go back and forth in color? I can't imagine anyone having a use for one's like that.

For what it is worth, Jonathan from AAC has been terrific to me thru all of this. From trying to find me another light, dealing with UPS and keeping me updated, he has been great.

Thanks for the replies!
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Old 02-22-2014, 04:22 AM   #7
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it looks like ebay might actually be your only option right now -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CHEVY-CAMARO...86ff35&vxp=mtr
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Old 02-22-2014, 12:54 PM   #8
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Here you go its repaired but says it works
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CHEVY-CAMARO...541d7e&vxp=mtr

nevermind you need the passenger side sorry.
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Old 02-22-2014, 12:57 PM   #9
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Yeah, when I saw my repair bill for mine with the lights listed at $967 a piece , blew my mind!
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Old 02-22-2014, 07:45 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OzzySS View Post
it looks like ebay might actually be your only option right now -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CHEVY-CAMARO...86ff35&vxp=mtr
Quote:
Originally Posted by CamaroAndrew View Post
Here you go its repaired but says it works
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CHEVY-CAMARO...541d7e&vxp=mtr

nevermind you need the passenger side sorry.
Thanks for the leads guys, I really appreciate the help.
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Old 02-23-2014, 01:29 AM   #11
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Thank God Oracle lighting has a place here in Houston that installs HALOs in about 3hrs, or less depending on how busy they are. I had the color shift with remote installed on my 2010 SS. Red is illegal at night. The HALOs act as day time running lights on the 2014, instead of fog lights like on earlier models. As long as fog lights are on, you can run red halos during day. Just check with a cop. Guy owns a Viper next door and he has green halos around head lights and fogs and runs them during day.
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Old 02-23-2014, 12:23 PM   #12
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Thank God Oracle lighting has a place here in Houston that installs HALOs in about 3hrs, or less depending on how busy they are.
Consider yourself lucky. LOL.

The ironic part is, Jonathan at AAC told me that he has seen packages come in packed with far less packing material inside (some with barely anything inside) to keep the lights safe.

I guess sometimes bad luck just finds you.
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Old 02-23-2014, 12:41 PM   #13
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Good luck with the lights. If i see any around ill let you know.
Also GO STEELERS
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Old 02-23-2014, 03:08 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PepFontana View Post
Consider yourself lucky. LOL.

The ironic part is, Jonathan at AAC told me that he has seen packages come in packed with far less packing material inside (some with barely anything inside) to keep the lights safe.

I guess sometimes bad luck just finds you.

its a matter of HOW they are packed, not how much material is in the box.

if you put a lot of newspapers, and towels/t-shirts etc. there really isn't anything there that absorbs the shock of the box being tossed around..

wrap an egg in some newspaper and drop it on the floor, chances are it is going to break..

--

Bubble wrap and bubble packing on the other hand absorb the shock of the box being tossed around..

wrap the object in bubble wrap (the medium to larger bubbles are better) so that it is at least 2X the size of the object, then put it in the box and loosely back newspaper or those plastic shopping bags around it, don't make it tight, it needs room to move around slightly to absorb the energy of the impact.


wrap that same egg in bubble wrap at least twice the size of the egg and you can toss that thing off the roof and it won't break.

(yes we did this as a science experiment in high school)
--

molded Styrofoam is the same idea, it is molded to the object, usually 1.5x to 2x the size of the object it is protecting, and it absorbs the impact.

--

The bottom line is, if you want to protect the item you need to pack it like it is a bomb; protect it so that will won't explode when the shipping monkeys touch it.


I know packing material isn't cheap, but to me spending $20 or so to protect a $1000 headlight is a no brainer..
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