Automotive body shops ?

Richard · Jul 29, 2004

The wifey & I were out looking at new/used cars yesterday.

By time we got home, she said she still loved her Volvo and what if we just fix it?

(she's hit a deer out our way, needs front left fender, air dam and it can use an overall paint job)

Sooooooooo, having never dealt with bodyshops before, any pitfalls I need to lookout for?

Just go get 3 opinions/prices?

I don't mind paying a decent dollar for decent work, I just don't care to get taken, because of my ignorance.

/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Bird · Jul 29, 2004

Richard, I can remember a time when getting 2 or 3 estimates was the normal thing to do, and then show them to your insurance agent (if it were insured); however, a few years ago, we had substantial hail damage to a car, so I first went and got 2 estimates at body shops, then called the insurance company. They said estimates weren't necessary since their own adjustor would handle it. Well, he came to the house, inspected the car, and wrote up an estimate that was right in between the two we had gotten from body shops (and those two were very close together). Then another time, we were cruising along the highway when another car, in another lane, hit a large chunk of concrete which promptly flipped a chunk of concrete the size of a basketball right into the front end our our car. It then went under the car and, overall, did a considerable amount of damage. When I called the insurance company, they said if I used one of the body shops they normally did business with, they wouldn't even need to see it; they'd just use the body shop's estimate and deal directly with them. So I took it to a body shop they recommended. It used to be that I could look over almost any vehicle that had been damaged and see where the repairs were made, but that body shop fixed that car, and I even got under it to inspect and could not find any sign that it had ever been damaged. They did a great job.

So . . ., I'd recommend starting with a call to your insurance company. Even if the car is not insured, I assume you have liability insurance and would expect that insurance company to know of good body shops in your area.

MikePA · Jul 29, 2004

I've had the same experience as Bird. My insurance company (Liberty Mutual) told me to go to one of several body shops they contracted with and they'd fix the car (deer) and, a few months later, my truck (deer again). No need for estimates.

Richard · Jul 29, 2004

hmm.. hadn't thought of calling them, as the car has liabilty only.

Nice ideas!

I told her that I personally didnt' mind driving a dented car, because I didn't really want to put $$ into a car for cosmetics, and then whammo, hit another deer, dear /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

seems I'm losing that argument, imagine that /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Junkman · Jul 29, 2004

My wife had an accident with my car a few years ago and the car went to a shop that was on the insurance companies list as being "approved". When the car was "fixed" the hood wouldn't latch and there was all sort of alignment problems with the sheet metal, not to mention the wheel alignment. That shop had charged $6500 to do the repair. I called the insurance company and complained. There response was to take it to any shop of my choice and they would foot the bill. I took it back to the Mercedes dealer and their body shop took the car apart, replaced everything from the windshield / firewall forward, and charged $13,000 to fix the additional damage done by the first shop. Just because a shop is "approved", doesn't mean that they do good work. Some do, and others don't. The problem with the shop that first worked on the car was that they had no experience repairing Mercedes, so they just didn't know how to repair it correctly. My advise is to look for a shop that specializes in the brand of vehicle that you own and then look at their work in progress and the cars that are finished waiting for the owners to pick up. If you look at a car in the bright daylight, you will see the difference between old and new paint, if it wasn't done well. Also look at how the body panels fit from one side to the other. How do I know this?? I was an insurance adjuster and worked in a body shop while in college. Body damage repair is difficult to detect if the work has been done properly. Sloppy work always shows and gets worse with age. Remember that if you spend $2000 restoring your car to "like new" condition, it still won't be worth much more than it is now. Depending on the value, you might consider looking for another similar car of the same brand, but of newer vintage. There are a lot of good used cars on the market as a result of leasing. Many people just don't keep a car as long as they used to. I bought mine when it came off lease and 3 years old. It had 8000 miles and looked like new. I also paid a little less than 40% of the original window sticker. The best time to purchase a new / used car is before the old one dies and you are in a bind to find a replacement.

Bird · Jul 29, 2004

I certainly agree that just because a shop is on the insurance company's list isn't a guarantee that it's a good shop, but if you don't know anything about the shops in the area, I figure it's a good place to start.

MikePA · Jul 29, 2004

The 'Liberty Mutual approved' shop I used is also used by the local MB, BMW, Porsche dealerships. I figured if they were good enough for them, they were good enough for our Geo Prizm. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

8561 · Jul 29, 2004

Junkman - sorry to hear you had a bad experience with a recommended shop. I, too, am a former adjuster and am now in company management. Sounds like your company stood by you and made it right, although I'm sure you would have rathered the first got it right the first time. As a manager, we want to hear if preferred shops on our list are not competent to make repairs. It only ends up costing us more in the long run to make it right. In spite of what you may have heard (or experienced), most good companies want to make you happy and make it right.

hennydamule · Jul 30, 2004

Richard,

First, I would ask around locally, for places with good reputations. I know here in CT that just about everybody has hit deer, so everyone has had to use the bodyshop at one time or another, get opinions.
Next, check the places that people tell you about with your local Better Business Bureau. If they're clean, they're probably good.
Finally, go and check out the shops. I like a clean, orderly shop where they don't mind you looking in at the work. In fact, the place that I go to has a big fat window right in the office, so that you can see everything. They have a few really nice, classic restorations going on, that I like to go and watch sometimes.
If you don't want to spend much on the car, I suggest you use a part finder on the internet, and get used parts from the scrap yards. A good shop will let you do this, just bring in the parts with the car. You may even find the right color.
car-part.com

Good Luck,
Hen