Automotive

Bad Repair At Body Shop How To Deal With This? {Pictures Inside}

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Deal Guru
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Mar 13, 2004
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poedua wrote: Good news. :)

But the lingering question in my mind would be why they didn't ' fix it right ' the first time to a much higher standard of workmanship - i.e only until a customer complains do they actually do the repair properly.
Yup exactly. My guess is that they wanted to rush the car out of there to work on other cars. They are pretty busy there so that could be.
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Jun 10, 2011
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Jackson7 wrote: Should have just taken it to CarStar... Number one, never had any problems whatsoever.

Since they're a Canada-wide chain, their reputation is something to be reckoned with.

My experiences, anyways

But that is unacceptable. Disgusting and sloppy job. You probably could have done a better job yourself, lol
+1 for CarStar too. I had my older car repaired at their facility 6-7 years ago after it was rear ended. After 4-5 years one of the rear quarter panels they replaced started to rust, it was repaired no questions in their lifetime repair warranty.
The problem is the car is a Mazda Protege... now it's not rusted where they repaired just everywhere around :D :D
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I emailed the body shop and they say my car is ready to be picked up. Going to go have a look tomorrow. I hope they fixed it properly because I'm going to be extra picky.

I will update this post once I check out the car.
Thanks
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Jun 9, 2007
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sickcars wrote: I emailed the body shop and they say my car is ready to be picked up. Going to go have a look tomorrow. I hope they fixed it properly because I'm going to be extra picky.

I will update this post once I check out the car.
Thanks
Good luck! I hope it's done right this time.
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So I went to go look at it around lunch time.

All they did was replace the decals & one 1 of the corners of the bumper where it was not painted properly they did a little touch up.

Other then that they did not fix the alignment issue, they did not fix the scratches on the other side of the bumper, they did not fix the bumper and the back door where it meets up and is not flush. The guy said he needed about 2hrs to fix the issue and would call me to come back and check it out.

Its funny because I told him you guys came highly recommended and all you guys have been doing it garbage work... and the manager turns to me and says well you dont have to be rude about it... im here trying to help and your rude. Well ***** if you guys would do your job properly i would not be out here wasting my time because of your ***** work! I don't understand some people. :@
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Mar 23, 2004
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sickcars wrote: From what i understand if we dont go to a body shop that was recommended by the insurance if we have issues like I do now they wont back you up and will complain its because it was not a recommended body shop and so on. We actually took the car here because we knew the tow truck driver and he recommended this shop but i do think it is a insurance recommended body shop either way.
Correct, if you use a shop not on their list you can't complain after the fact. However since it sounds like you did use a shop that's "recommended", then you can complain after the fact. So I would contact your insurer ASAP, as well as the shop. I dunno what kind of ghetto place that is, but yeah that's not looking very professional :S

As for the tow truck driver, "friend" or not, you do realise tow truck drivers get kickbacks from shops they "recommend", right?

I was in an accident not long ago and the tow driver was a pretty nice guy but he did keep trying to get me to take my car (which was a write-off anyway) to the shop he recommended. He actually went so far as to badmouth/trashtalk the shop I did take it to (which is quite well renowned and I'd been to before for body work), and I just laughed as I knew what he was trying to do. Again it didn't matter in my case anyway as the car wasn't repaired but the tow drivers will definitely go to lengths so they can get their kickbacks--same with rental cars though there it's not so bad since it's just a rental car. I understand they're just trying to make a buck but it kind of sucks when people believe them and they end up taking their car to a subpar shop just because the tow driver gets an incentive for giving them business.
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Yes I think if im not mistaken it is a Body shop that's on their recommended list but i dont know for sure.

I realize they get a kick back however I thought hey as long as the work is done right i dont care where it gets fixed. I even walked into the shop and they have a nice big place with some high end cars in there.

I guess now I'll just have to wait and see whats going on with this place.
ES_Revenge wrote: Correct, if you use a shop not on their list you can't complain after the fact. However since it sounds like you did use a shop that's "recommended", then you can complain after the fact. So I would contact your insurer ASAP, as well as the shop. I dunno what kind of ghetto place that is, but yeah that's not looking very professional :S

As for the tow truck driver, "friend" or not, you do realise tow truck drivers get kickbacks from shops they "recommend", right?

I was in an accident not long ago and the tow driver was a pretty nice guy but he did keep trying to get me to take my car (which was a write-off anyway) to the shop he recommended. He actually went so far as to badmouth/trashtalk the shop I did take it to (which is quite well renowned and I'd been to before for body work), and I just laughed as I knew what he was trying to do. Again it didn't matter in my case anyway as the car wasn't repaired but the tow drivers will definitely go to lengths so they can get their kickbacks--same with rental cars though there it's not so bad since it's just a rental car. I understand they're just trying to make a buck but it kind of sucks when people believe them and they end up taking their car to a subpar shop just because the tow driver gets an incentive for giving them business.
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Ok so I went there again and they now have fixed the alignment of the bumper and its pretty much perfect so I'm happy with that. However the parts/scratches on the side of the bumper are still there they did not buff it all off & I found some marks on the trunk. So I can tell they are getting tired of me & I even told them that I know I'm a pain in their ***** right now however I'm not happy with their work. So first they told me leave the car and call your insurance and they will send an appraiser... then after they said leave the car and we will have it all fixed for you tomorrow.

Also another thing came up... my mothers $200+ sunglasses have disappeared from the car. Dont know if it was them however my mother said she is 100% certain she put them in there. Now I dont even think there is a point in bringing it up because we have no proof at all and it will just be what he said & she said game.

Very annoyed with this Body shop & it is a recommended body shop from my insurance.
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May 8, 2005
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sickcars wrote: Ok so I went there again and they now have fixed the alignment of the bumper and its pretty much perfect so I'm happy with that. However the parts/scratches on the side of the bumper are still there they did not buff it all off & I found some marks on the trunk. So I can tell they are getting tired of me & I even told them that I know I'm a pain in their ***** right now however I'm not happy with their work. So first they told me leave the car and call your insurance and they will send an appraiser... then after they said leave the car and we will have it all fixed for you tomorrow.

Also another thing came up... my mothers $200+ sunglasses have disappeared from the car. Dont know if it was them however my mother said she is 100% certain she put them in there. Now I dont even think there is a point in bringing it up because we have no proof at all and it will just be what he said & she said game.

Very annoyed with this Body shop & it is a recommended body shop from my insurance.
Sorry to hear about all these problems you're having....a truly professional, reputable & honest body shop should take some pride in their workmanship and ' get it right the first time '.

There is absolutely no excuse for this shop putting you & your family through the hoops ( repeated visits to fix the same issues ) to deal with sub-standard workmanship this way.

It's as I've always been saying - it's in everyone's best interest to find their own body shop they trust. Insurance companies' ' preferred ' shops have the insurance company's best interests at heart ....your own shop has your best interests at heart ( i.e has ' 0 ' conflict of interest )

FWIW...you may find this body shop insider article from Edmunds of interest ...and certainly relevant to what you're going through........
Don't Get Pushed to "Preferred" Auto Body Shops

When an insurance company is paying for repairs, Neal says it often tries to steer clients to its "preferred" list of body shops. Insurance companies control these collision repair facilities by promising them steady work in exchange for corner-cutting, according to the insiders we interviewed....What most people don't consider is that the insurance company is trying to cut costs to the bone while still retaining policy holders
http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/confess ... -shop.html

This explanation of ' preferred / DRP shops...says it all IMO...

[INDENT]
" When a repair shop enters into a DRP agreement or contract they agree to give the insurance company certain concessions and to follow strict guidelines that often include lower labor rates, higher discounts on parts, the use of used and/or after market parts, lower material rates, strict time lines for completion and much more. This may mean that your vehicle was repaired in a manner where your best interest was not taken into consideration. These shops may have the best interest of the insurance company in mind due to the guidelines and restriction they've agreed to. Someone has to make up for the discount given to the insurance company and often times it may be you and your vehicle."
[/INDENT]

http://rowesbodyshop.com/FAQ.html
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Apr 23, 2005
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Why people leave 200 dollar sunglasses in cars being worked on in shops is beyond me.

I get an oil change I take my sunglasses, phone, loose loonies/toonies, GPS, everything out of the car with me.
You get lazy, sometimes you lose.
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broc wrote: Why people leave 200 dollar sunglasses in cars being worked on in shops is beyond me.

I get an oil change I take my sunglasses, phone, loose loonies/toonies, GPS, everything out of the car with me.
You get lazy, sometimes you lose.
Well it was not to much of being lazy. it was more of the shock of the accident and rushing and so on. It is our fault for leaving it there however it should not of been stolen.
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So I went again to have a look at the car today since they never called us on Sat to say it was finished so thought I would pass by. They still have not fixed any of the marks/scratches on the rear wheel well area, the tips of the bumper where it meets up with the fender still look about the same as the pictures posted above. I also notice what looks like pitting on the rear bumper, Im not sure if that could be due to buffing to much or just a bad paint job?

& now I noticed a new dent/scratch on the rear passenger door that was not there on Friday when I went to look at the car (Picture Below). I have had it and will call insurance and have them send out an adjuster so I can meet him there and show him the issues.

[IMG]http://i49.tinypic.com/nwiudv.jpg[/IMG]

This is just a Terrible Terrible body shop and they keep on trying to tell me its good & I'm never going to get the car 100% and so on and new cars are not perfect from the manufacture and so on.
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Mar 23, 2004
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sickcars wrote: Yes I think if im not mistaken it is a Body shop that's on their recommended list but i dont know for sure.

I realize they get a kick back however I thought hey as long as the work is done right i dont care where it gets fixed. I even walked into the shop and they have a nice big place with some high end cars in there.
I see what you're saying but you should probably realise (or think about in the future), the places that do things like give tow truck drivers kickbacks or pay your deductible up to $xxx, they're usually the crappier bodyshops. For one thing what they are doing is relatively shady (in some jurisdictions also illegal, though I'm not sure about Ontario), for another thing you have to think about the fact that they are putting up $$$ to someone, to get your business. That money doesn't come for free, it comes in poorer materials, workmanship, corners cut, etc. Trust me, though you might say "I don't care as long as the work is done right", the truth is it's more than likely the work isn't going to be done right at a place that does business like this.

And also think about the sunglasses you mentioned. Now perhaps your mom left or lost them elsewhere, but let's say that they were in the car and are now gone. Well sure any employee can steal stuff out of your car, anywhere; but, where would you think is more likely for this to happen, at a place that has some shady business practices, or a place that doesn't involve themselves with that kind of thing?

Obviously it's up to you where you take your car, but I think after this experience you may think of it a bit differently than not caring what kind of business dealings the place you are going to takes part in.
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Jul 29, 2012
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They debadged your car for you? Lol, anyone know how much genuine jetta and tdi badges go for on the black market?
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even me, a pre-noob amateur car repair of my own, is better than that!
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sickcars wrote: So I went again to have a look at the car today since they never called us on Sat to say it was finished so thought I would pass by. They still have not fixed any of the marks/scratches on the rear wheel well area, the tips of the bumper where it meets up with the fender still look about the same as the pictures posted above. I also notice what looks like pitting on the rear bumper, Im not sure if that could be due to buffing to much or just a bad paint job?

& now I noticed a new dent/scratch on the rear passenger door that was not there on Friday when I went to look at the car (Picture Below). I have had it and will call insurance and have them send out an adjuster so I can meet him there and show him the issues.

This is just a Terrible Terrible body shop and they keep on trying to tell me its good & I'm never going to get the car 100% and so on and new cars are not perfect from the manufacture and so on.
What a bunch of BS. :rolleyes:

We had a family member get about $2,000 worth of non-insurance claim work done ( rework panels, redo paint etc. ) on a 2009 model year vehicle by our body shop this past summer and it came back looking like ' showroom ' condition...on budget and on time as promised .....it looked simply amazing.

Had mine into the same shop after I got rear-ended a few weeks ago as well - again, came back ' perfect '.

So, how many visits has it been now for you to go to this shop to just to try and get a simple repair done properly & to your complete satisfaction - 3 visits so far isn't it ?

NO excuse for the crap this shop is putting you though - very unprofessional IMO.
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Yup 3 times at least going to be 4 soon when I hopefully go in with an adjuster.

Last night I emailed another body shop I have dealt with in the past to get their opinion on the work these guys have done. Might be able to use their reply as leverage to get our car out of there.

poedua wrote: What a bunch of BS. :rolleyes:

We had a family member get about $2,000 worth of non-insurance claim work done ( rework panels, redo paint etc. ) on a 2009 model year vehicle by our body shop this past summer and it came back looking like ' showroom ' condition...on budget and on time as promised .....it looked simply amazing.

Had mine into the same shop after I got rear-ended a few weeks ago as well - again, came back ' perfect '.

So, how many visits has it been now for you to go to this shop to just to try and get a simple repair done properly & to your complete satisfaction - 3 visits so far isn't it ?

NO excuse for the crap this shop is putting you though - very unprofessional IMO.
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I have nothing but respect for the OP for basically keeping his cool through all of this. I would have seriously lost my mind on them after the second visit. No offence but your vehicle looks like it was worked on by a high school auto class. Ask them to put their best guy on it and fix these issues.
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kamilio wrote: I have nothing but respect for the OP for basically keeping his cool through all of this. I would have seriously lost my mind on them after the second visit. No offence but your vehicle looks like it was worked on by a high school auto class. Ask them to put their best guy on it and fix these issues.

haha thanks,

The problem is if I loose my cool and flip out on them its just going to be worse. What I need is my Insurance company to give me the OK to remove my car from these Amateurs and take it to another body shop and hopefully the insurance company will not pay them anything either. But I got a feeling its going to take a while before it gets to that point unfortunately,
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So I took the car back on Tuesday. Went to the body shop with the insurance adjuster, got there and the car was finally in a decent state. As for the new scratches and dents when I got there they were not as bad as they were on Sunday however the bodyshop owner said he had never seen that mark before and did not touch the car. So I guess it magically fixed itsself.... -_- anyways there were some marks still on the paint but he went and got some rubbing compoud and cleaned it up. Its not 100% but its close and the insurance adjuster I could tell was agreeing with the body shop now since the car was now in decent shape so I did not have much to argue about at this point.

Either way, in the end they did fix just about everything and now its decent quality however it took WAY to long and they just gave me to much of a hassle about all the issues when it should of been done correctly the first time. Well I'll never go to that body shop again or send anybody else that's for sure.

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