Finding a Good Body Shop is Impossible!

[Les Paul]

So I get the call to pick up my car. Great! The paint job is done and now it's time to enjoy. I go to the shop and see the body guy washing it for the presentation. Everything looks great. The hood looks nice and I think, OK, job well done. Hand over the rest of the cash and drive off. I get a cup of coffee and I figure I'll enjoy the sun and appreciate the new hood. Well I look at the front bumper that was part of the deal and I notice a scratch that I filled awhile ago still there. I see a blob of touch-up paint that I put on a nick last summer. I notice that the edge of the bumper there are hacks that were there when I bought the car.

So I call him and I tell him that I'm coming down because there is a problem. I get there and I show him the evidence and he has the nerve to say that he sanded the bumper. Tell me how the **** you can sand a bumper and not sand down touch-up paint? Tell me! I told him this is no good and I had the bumper done because I wanted to have it look good. It so obvious that this bumper was just buffed out.

So I have to call them Monday and set a day or two to have it fixed.

This is probably the wrong forum for this post.

 

[jeff1414]

Looks good man. I can't tell what's wrong with the bumber???

 

[Les Paul]

Thanks!

I would have to do some close-up shots to see the work that was not done. I think the hood looks good but the deal was to pull off the bumper and get it back to new. I know the bumper was off because I saw the car during the job. I guess they just gave it a quick coat of paint and buffed it out. I did not go into this shop looking for a deal. I told them what I wanted and they did not do it and they still charged me.

 

[jeff1414]

Yea that's not right. Have them fix it.

 

[JonJon]

stupid people ripping people off

 

[Les Paul]

stupid people ripping people off

The thing that gets me is all the people out there who have their cars fixed who are not like us who know there cars very well. I mean I know every single nick and scratch and how I got them. I can guarantee that people are going in for big ins. jobs in these places and the work is not being done right.

I guess they thought I was a fish. If I didn't pay cash for this job I would be putting a stop payment on the check right now.

I am going to demand that the bumper comes off again, that it's sanded, primed, painted and has a clear-coat put on and if I don't like the work I want my damn money back!

 

[jeff1414]

The thing that gets me is all the people out there who have their cars fixed who are not like us who know there cars very well. I mean I know every single nick and scratch and how I got them. I can guarantee that people are going in for big ins. jobs in these places and the work is not being done right.

I guess they thought I was a fish. If I didn't pay cash for this job I would be putting a stop payment on the check right now.

I am going to demand that the bumper comes off again, that it's sanded, primed, painted and has a clear-coat put on and if I don't like the work I want my damn money back!

If it were my car I would of turned right around...

 

[Les Paul]

I did go back right away but I did not feel like leaving the car there over the weekend. Monday I'll call and he better be prepered to take it Mon. night or Tuesday morning.

I'll keep you posted.

 

[Blakers01GT]

good for you, get what you paid for, make sure you leave 100% happy, let us know how it goes!

 

[Les Paul]

This paint job keeps getting better by the day!

Today is a good day for detailing and when I looked at the fenders where they blended in the color there is a ton of debris under the clear-coat. What a joke. Tomorrow is going to be a banner day for me because I am going to let of so much steam in the direction of this bozo that calls himself a professional that it will alleviate a lot of tension. I just hope that I can control myself.

 

[CottonBurnerz]

Wow, what makes you chose this shop?

Next time, take a day off and watch them. That's what I did.

 

[Les Paul]

Wow, what makes you chose this shop?

A valid question. Well, this is the fourth shop I have used to do different things on my car. The first in the four was the best. They come highly recommended but I still have had problems with them, mostly pricing. The first shop wanted $1,500.00 for the hood and bumper. Kid of crazy, eh?

The others were pretty good but the service sucked so I decided to look for a new place that would get all my business if they did good work. The place that I had the hood done at have been around for a long time and they're in my neighborhood. I talked them first before I ever brought the car down so I gave them a shot.

Finding a good body shop is impossible. As far as I'm concerned they're all skunks and rank somewhere between car salesmen and Insurance companies.

 

[LouisianaZJ]

This paint job keeps getting better by the day!

Today is a good day for detailing and when I looked at the fenders where they blended in the color there is a ton of debris under the clear-coat. What a joke. Tomorrow is going to be a banner day for me because I am going to let of so much steam in the direction of this bozo that calls himself a professional that it will alleviate a lot of tension. I just hope that I can control myself.

fyi, you are not supposed to wax a new paint job (even blended areas) for like a month.

 

[Les Paul]

fyi, you are not supposed to wax a new paint job (even blended areas) for like a month.

Thanks but I wasn't waxing the car. I should have said washed the car and was detailing the interior.

To be honest, I am so disgusted with the car right now that I don't want to even look at it.

By the way, do you think this bozo will be able to buff out the crap in the clear-coat? Should I even bother having them do anything and should I just fight to get my money back? I know that will be a miracle but I need some advice.

Thanks!

 

[LouisianaZJ]

if it is like dust UNDERNEATH the clear, he should wetsand it down to the color layer, then re spray it with a couple coats of clear.
if it is ONTOP of the clear or overspray form the hood, he should be using some bodyshop clay, then buff it out after claying.

edit: btw, where did you buy your hood?

 

[Les Paul]

Thanks!

I bought it from Cervini.

 

[Stangston]

Yes, finding a good body shop does seem impossible. My car got screwed up around the right rear wheel molding a couple years ago, and it needed to be reshaped/repainted. Well, my mom had this friend who owns a body shop, and she of course said he's one of the best around. After it was done, at first glance it looked great, especially considering how I had remembered it. But after I got it home, I noticed the lines around the wheel lip were not distinct like the factory job. You could actually see some brush marks around the crease. I was so pissed and wanted to take it back, especially for the $1500 or so they charged. My mom got all bitchy, said nothing is ever going to be perfect, and to get over it.

This has bothered me ever since. A couple of questions: Is it unrealistic to expect a body shop to be able to paint a part back to original factory specs, meaning perfect edges, lines, curves, etc.? Secondly, do you think $1500 was a rip-off? Like I said, the wheel lip was damaged and needed to be reshaped/repainted.

Regardless, next time I get damage, I'm going to either:
1. Locate a factory take-off on Ebay.
2. Order a new OEM part and have it painted.
3. Locate the part I need through a junkyard.

That should solve some of the crappy body shop stress.

 

[Les Paul]

I just called the moron and told him that I have some major problems with his work. I told him that the bumper was not touched except for maybe being buffed. He said he personally shot the paint. I said don't insult my intelligence and tell me that the bumper was worked on when touch-up paint, that I put on, is still noticeable. He couldn't answer the question. I said OK, let's say you shot the bumper, did you sand it or did somebody else? He said he wasn't the guy who sanded it. I gave him an out. He said if you want me to take the bumper off and personally sand I will. I said yeah, I paid to have the bumper painted and painted right. So tomorrow morning I drop off the car at 6:30am. Here we go again and now I have an angry painter working on my car.

Who wants to take bets this will be a total **** job and I will getting my car painted somewhere else in the coming weeks?


Stangston,

The best shop that I have come across and used in the past wanted $1500 for the hood and bumper. I could not bring myself to spend that kind of cash for just a hood and bumper. And even though this place is good they have done some crappy work on my car and even scratched my front bumper when I had them fix my rear bumper. So finding a shop that will do up your car like you would do it is next to impossible. As far as I am concerned a good body shop should be able to do better work than the factory. I know if I brought it to the expensive shop I was just talking about they would have done a better jog but it would not be perfect.


I guess my question is when you guys have parts painted for your car are you looking for perfection? Are my standards to high? I mean I look at my hood and I see a little divot on the corner and it pisses me off. It's small and no one will notice it so am I being a pain when I say this should be perfect?

This car is going to kill me . . .

 

[cold96snake]

I just had my side skirts painted and
1) no itemized bill (quoted me 200-250, bill was 250)
2)said i needed a pint of paint (seemed like a lot, so after i asked if there was any left for touch up use, reply was no) it shouldn't take a pint just for 2 stock side skirts right?
3)Gave him the paint code but it didn't match, although i have heard white is hardest to color match
I suspect he had some white left over from another job and used that, it would explain why theres no leftover paint and why it didn't match.

Maybe i'm off-base and the eight year old paint wouldn't match in color a fresh paint job?

 

[Les Paul]

Update

Well I picked up the car today after having them fix the bumper and the paint job sucks and I don't think I'm being too picky. There is a good size drip on the fender near the fog-light and lots of crap and imperfections in the clear coat. After washing the grime off today I even noticed little spots on the hood where he must of ran into some problems so he touched it up and then clear coated over. I think it looks rotten. I can understand that it will not be perfect but there is just too many problems for me to forget about it.

I know I can't live with the car like this so I am going to end up having it done right somewhere. I really want my money back but I guess I would have a better chance at getting hit by lightning tonight.