“Calibur is the Walmart of Body shops.”
A West Virginia woman says she took her vehicle to a Caliber Collision for a dented roof and a windshield replacement. Months later, she says she was pulling down the vehicle’s headliner and finding mouse droppings, urine, and a nest above the cabin.
The fix-up horror story comes from creator Kelly Cook (@kelly.cook22) in a pair of viral TikTok clips in which she shares her dissatisfaction with Caliber. What started off as a frustrating windshield waiting game only escalated and devolved over the course of a handful of visits.
“We’re now going on month three that my vehicle has been sitting in the shop,” she said in a clip where she detailed the shop debris she had to clean up after picking up the vehicle. Turns out that was the least of her concerns.
“I look up and I realize my whole headliner is filled with water… It is full of mouse poop. It is full of mouse pee. There was even a nest.”
Cook said she originally brought the vehicle to Caliber Collision because of a dent in the roof and the need for a windshield replacement. Fixing the roof required removing the headliner, she said, but the shop also removed the windshield before the replacement glass was available.
That detail is central to her whole problem. Cook said she has worked in a shop herself, while her fiancé has spent 13 years working in one, so she wasn’t surprised by the possibility of a delayed part.
“I get the backorder thing,” she said. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”
With no estimated arrival date for the OEM windshield, Cook said Caliber eventually recommended installing an aftermarket windshield temporarily so she could take the vehicle home.
The concern Cook expressed in the clips about using aftermarket glass is supported by General Motors. In a windshield replacement position statement, GM says it “does not approve” the use of aftermarket glass that’s not genuine original equipment-grade.
The automaker says replacement glass can differ in its materials, dimensions, and optical clarity from the glass engineered and tested for GM vehicles, particularly those equipped with advanced driver-assistance systems. GM also argues that a calibration or relearn procedure should be performed whenever a windshield or front-view windshield camera or sensor is removed or replaced.
That doesn’t mean the temporary aftermarket windshield caused any of Cook’s later problems. But it does explain why she was waiting for OEM glass and why installing a temporary substitute was a serious matter.
She eventually agreed to the temporary fix, with the understanding that she would bring it back once the OEM windshield arrived.
The first pickup, however, brought some unpleasant surprises.
“There is overspray, there is dust, debris, mouse poop everywhere,” Cook said.
She said she complained to the manager, who apologized and told her that wasn’t how the shop normally left customer vehicles. Cook cleaned the vehicle herself and moved on.
About two-and-a-half months later, Cook said Caliber called to say the OEM windshield had arrived. But before she could get that replacement installed, she discovered the soaked headliner.
Cook said her fiancé initially suspected clogged sunroof drains, but after the couple removed the headliner through the rear of the vehicle, they found a sunroof drain disconnected.
Cook stopped short of accusing anyone of deliberately causing the problem.
“It could have easily been an accident when they were removing the headliner,” she said. “They could have just pulled it and never realized.”
Cook said she called her service adviser before removing the headliner and was told the issue needed to be handled by a manager. She said she left her number, called the following day again, and still couldn’t reach the manager.
The clips don’t establish when or how the drain became disconnected, so Cook’s belief that it happened during Caliber’s work remains her allegation.
Through it all, Cook came away with three substantial complaints, starting with Caliber removing the windshield before having replacement glass available. She believes the sunroof drain was left disconnected during the headliner work, and said leaving the vehicle without a windshield contributed to the rodent problem.
The story prompted its own argument among viewers. One commenter identifying herself as a Caliber employee disputed the idea that the company would simply release a vehicle in an unfinished state, saying a customer would more likely have agreed to take it while waiting on parts. Another commenter, who identified herself as a Caliber technician, said that vehicles are reviewed before they leave the shop.
Others said Cook’s account sounded plausible based on their own experiences. One commenter said a Caliber repair was returned with overspray and unfinished interior work, while another claimed a vehicle came back missing controls from the driver-side door.
Motor1 reached out to Cook via direct message and comment on the clips and to Caliber Collision via email. We’ll update this if they respond.
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