why is it so hard to find a good body shop?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jun 25, 2009
Messages
4,085
Location
Chicago, IL
Years ago I had two different friends in the business; and their work was flawless. now? I can't find a good shop; the last two cars I had fixed needed rework. (big run in the clear coat on a Honda; on the Nissan they put on the wrong grill, bumper was crooked, headlamps not aimed; after re-doing the bumper, now one edge of the good is 3/16" higher than the fender)

wife's car just got hit while parked; I'm afraid to take it in!
 
Have you looked on Yelp?

When I got rear-ended in the Sonata 2 months ago I found a highly rated shop 2 miles away. They did a fantastic job.
 
We don't have the problem here. There are many good shops. I would suggest using the reviews that are online. Google reviews/Yelp, etc.

Either your experiences are isolated or your area has a real problem hiring people that care. Equipment is state of the art-but there still has to be a caring employee operating the equipment.

However-insurance companies have driven down what they are will to pay to have body work done-perhaps this has something to do with it as well.


One has to inspect the car before picking it up. Don't sign off until your happy. Getting something corrected after sign-off is difficult.....at best.
 
Last edited:
One thing to try, stop by some of hte local car dealers and ask the parts department who they use. I say parts since we are the ones that write the purchase orders. That being said we use one that is cheap and does alright work, but I tell people if they want it done like show quality, go to certain places.
 
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
One thing to try, stop by some of hte local car dealers and ask the parts department who they use. I say parts since we are the ones that write the purchase orders. That being said we use one that is cheap and does alright work, but I tell people if they want it done like show quality, go to certain places.


Very few family cars warrant that.
 
I always take my car to a high-end body shop. Whoever repairs BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Aston, etc... gets my business.
 
Unfortunately, the business has changed, and not for the better.

Sadly, it's like healthcare now; instead of old family practitioners whom you knew and trusted with generations of your family, things work line an assembly line now -- impersonal, get people in/out as quickly as possible, most importantly for what the insurance company is willing to pay.

Due to an inattentive driver (texting), last year was the first time I had the need for a body shop in over 15 years.

I had expected to go back to a shop I had used earlier -- well-known by enthusiast/club members for quality work. They weren't cheap, but despite that, appointment books were full, and there was some waiting involved.

It turned out that, like a lot of formerly independent, family-owned businesses, they had sold out to a larger chain, Caliber, in this instance. Between partner retirements, and the loss of a valuable referral stream, the 45-year old business was having a hard time, and selling out became an attractive option. The shop was now a "preferred" provider for an insurance company.

I had them write a quote anyway, which was high, and it didn't help that the estimator was generally dismissive, if not condescending.

So, I went in search for a new shop, and must have visited 10 or so. Most were obviously production-line shops, doing "good enough" insurance company work on frequent visitors like rental cars. That, I wanted to avoid.

I finally narrowed it down to three -- a one-man shop, and two still independent shops with a family or employee lineage. I think the one-man shop would have done good work, but when dealing with sole proprietorships, it can work out good or bad when things go wrong, depending on the person involved.

I didn't want to chance that, so it came down to the two indies, and I had a hard time choosing. In the end, I chose the one that had more Yelp reviews (50+, almost 100% 5-star FWIW), and "nicer" cars in their shop. The other shop had the most fantastic estimator I encountered (who was in line to buy the business once the owner is retired), but since I happened upon them late, the comfort level didn't quite match that of the other.

The result -- disappointment. Despite the work being confined to the replacement of the rear bumper, it was poorly aligned, and clear coat had surface contaminants.

The owners had been great, and worked with me to ensure OE parts, and allay my OCD fears. In the end, the work was let down by sloppiness and lack of quality control. They had no problems working with me to rectify the issues, and in doing so probably cost them money on the job, but that could had been entirely avoided if they had a better handle on the work their employees were producing.

I do wonder how the other shop would have done, but at least I know I've found a good candidate should I need body work in the near future. I hope I don't.

Like a lot of other businesses, indies are selling-out, or disappearing. Personal attention, time, and pride/quality of work are the victims. The insurance companies can guarantee a steady stream of referrals, but at their fixed costs, allotted labor periods, and whatever parts they can get cheapest. That's how things run now.

The other thing that struck me is the sheer volume of work that takes place. I've only had to make use of body shops three times in all my years of driving, and all were the result of someone else's actions. W-T-heck are people doing?
 
Last edited:
That's how business is done nowadays.
Most people want cheap. It doesn't matter if the job is c##p, it's cheap c##p, that's what counts.
Noticed how many dollar stores have shown up everywhere?, selling junk, but it's cheap junk, stores that want to take pride in their products and services are going to the wall...

Roger.
 
Quote:
Sadly, it's like healthcare now; instead of old family practitioners whom you knew and trusted with generations of your family, things work line an assembly line now -- impersonal, get people in/out as quickly as possible, most importantly for what the insurance company is willing to pay.


Yep and the low paid guy doing the work only wants to slap things together and move onto the next car.
 
My experience pretty much reflects Carmudgeon's. Spend a bit of time trying to choose an indie shop, only to end up with mediocre results and wondering if the other shop would have been better.

Maybe ironic, but the best work I had done in the past was by dealer body shops. It's like shopping for a Dr., surgeon, or dentist. Very difficult to collect good information.
 
1. Most people don't care as long as it will start and go
2. When a deer ran into our car the insurance co payout was $1000 under the body shop estimate. Insurance only wanted
To pay for used/refurbished parts. I did most of the work and had the best local shop to do the paint. They sucked on bondo work and paint finish. They were highly recommended by other body shops. Oh well
 
Last edited:
The place closest to my house is excellent. It's run by two brothers who know good work and know how to run a business.

A car of mine was hit in a parking lot. Took it to the shop and they fixed it fine. A few months later I noticed the wheel well plastic liner had come loose and was hitting the tire and tore a few little holes in the wheel well. I took it back to the body shop and have them reattach it so it wasn't getting hit by the tire. I was hoping they wouldn't give me a hard time about. Nope. They wanted to order a new one and replace it for free.
 
I had a pretty good friend who did show quality work, both on collector cars & regular vehicles, he got so tired of being screwed by the insurance companies he sold his shop and quit the business-and he was one of the TOP east side (of Cincinnati) body shops.
 
Had a local shop fix the Malibu recently. They were bought out by Fix it. They did such a nice job. I was really worried because the Malibu is a weird color.
The buffed the whole car painted the bumper the rear passenger door. Looks better then it did new.
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
I'm guessing the majority of car owners aren't as picky as most enthusiasts so the shops get by with what the can most of the time to save money


You are exactly right; before I retired I'd have coworkers who had their cars repaired after an accident ask me what I thought of the repair work. I'd point out overspray, dirt in the paint, misaligned emblems/panels/stripes, and other flaws. Almost always the response would be, "Well, it looks fine to me."
 
I asked around. I got a glowing recommendation for a particular shop so I went to them. I had to wait two months. It came out perfect. I shy away from the places that advertise discounting insurance deductibles as I see them as shady.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top