Okay...I just got back from the body shop and my car is now fixed. The rear and passenger side front seat had to come out, as did the carpeting. They were able to reshape the metal and smooth it out rather nicely.

Turns out there was a large black body plug about 6 or 8 inches away from the jack point The suspension shop mistakenly used the body plug rather than the intended point to position their lift pads.

I have a few pictures of the damage before it was fixed. There is a nice imprint of the checkerboard pattern of the lift pad surface at the highest point of the damage. Interestingly enough, this pattern matches the lift pads at the suspension shop.

The shop is still insistent they did not do the damage, despite the photos and my explanation.

The body shop didn't charge me for the work, as the shop owner is a friend and neighbor...and we usually barter back and forth. I do computer-related work for them and they in turn provide their body shop services to me.

Should I let it drop?

__________________
Lance Allison
Lance@LanceAllison.com

Current:
11 MB S550 4Matic, 55k miles, Designo Black/Black
14 Ford F150 XLT Lariat Crew, 73k miles, 5.0
Coyote V8 4x4. Black/tan.
09 GMC Envoy Denali, 5.3 V8, 4x4 SWB. 38k miles,
Jewel Red/Med Gray.

Gone:
87 MB 300SDL, 320k miles, Astral Silver/Blue.
98 VW Jetta TDI, 488k miles, Classic Green/Gray.
85 Olds 98 Brougham FWD, 4.3 DIESEL V6, 80k
miles, 3x Gray.

MBCA Member, Chicago Region