teamstealth

okay heres the deal.

I wrecked my car a month or so ago. Messed up passenger corner of the bumper, passenger front fender, underneath the passenger door, and the passenger quarter panel. I go in there today after a MONTH, and the car is finally painted and being prepped to return to me....i check out the fixed fender/bumper, and i notice that it sticks out, and doesnt come straight down like the unaffected drivers side. I didnt say anything at the moment, but when i go back up there i am definitely going to mention it because it is quite obvious to me.

Now the problem....what should i ask of them to fix it? I personally would want them to order me a NEW unbent fender, and reimburse me for w/e it costs to get a new front bumper so i can buy a replica GTC instead. Reason being is its obvious they couldnt bend it to match, so why give em a 2nd chance to screw that up again. Plus, with getting new parts that are off the car, they can order them and get them painted OFF of the car, so that way i can drive it for the time being and have the paint match, instead of them painting them on the car and trying to "blend" them in which wont work on a MB.


*phew* opinions?

-Zach

rynberg

Was this work done under insurance? What kind of gaurantee does the shop offer? Did you research the shop's reputation before taking your car there?

Take pictures, go back to the shop. BE POLITE, but point out the flaws and tell them they are unacceptable and should be fixed. See how things go from there.

My car is in the shop right now. I took it to one of the best shops in the area. It's getting fixed under Allstate, after much teeth pulling.

While I was there, a car came in that had just been fixed by an Allstate "Pro Shop". The frame on the car was still so badly bent that the new fender had buckled from the strain of the mismatched bolt locations. The gap between the fender and the hood varied from 1/8" to over 1/2".

Most body shops are crap. You need to spend time researching who is the best in your area. It's very depressing to see the lack of pride in their work that most shops have -- a trend in society in general.

rex u.k

Most bodyshops are crap-true,what was your arrangement with them before hand as far are re using buckled bits? did you specify this to save money,thats if the insurance is not paying for it and you have to pay yourself?
I run a bodyshop,if the customer insist i use the old bits so he can save money then i will,but i will let them know beforehand whether i'll be able to make it look right or not dependant on how far gone the buckled bits are.

If your bodyshop said "yes we will be able to straighten it all out for you" then they don't,then they should be held responsible for the BS job they did.

rynberg

I love the difference between english and English..."buckled bits"....I like that...

FormerPorscheGuy

If its covered under insurance complain to your insurance company. Call the better business bureau to find a body shop in that has been in business for a long time and has few to no complaints. They are out there.

adam c

iTrader: (2)

If the body shop did a lousy job, you need to let them know. Show the problem to the owner. If it is a reputable shop, they will fix it. If it's not a reputable shop, you will probably have to sue them.

It's not the fault of the Insurance company unless they sent you to the shop.

teamstealth

i went back there and took pictures. They will be up shortly after i resize them. Yes the work is being done under full insurance coverage, and i suggested they get new parts, but they said they could easily pull the dents back out, as bad as they were. The reason i took it to them is they are very reputable and i have seen their work in person. My dad took his BMW 540i for a bumper replacement after someone hit him in a parking lot, and to get some SERIOUSLY bad curb scrapes fixed on the side skirts. it came back FLAWLESS, and same deal with my uncle's miata. That car has been hit a good 5 or 6 times, and it still looks perfect a year afterwards.

teamstealth

and the owner specializes in buying TOTALLED vipers (90-100mph crashes) and reparing them. Ive seen the timeline on one...what he fixed is undetectable.

FormerPorscheGuy

Complain to everybody you can.

Please tell me you didn't take it to Plaza. They are crap and f*cked me on my BMW.

teamstealth

nope, the shop is X2 Collision in Maryville, IL right on highway 159.

do you think they should get me a new fender and front bumper since they messed it up by "pulling it back out?" What im hoping for BEST CASE SCENARIO is this: They offer to get me a new fender and front bumper, xcept i take the cash from the bumper and get me a GTC replica ( ) , then drive the car and take it back to them once they get the new parts all painted and ready to bolt up and line the gaps up in one day.

teamstealth

btw, the estimate was $8400 last time i saw it....they had headroom for up to $10,000 to spend according to state farm.

teamstealth

picture time...1

teamstealth

EDIT: forgot to add the image

teamstealth

2

teamstealth

drivers side for reference..this side was unaffected and what both sides looked like before the crash. (not saying that every1 on this board hasnt looked at an FD front end before )

Meiogirl

iTrader: (2)

i think i told you what White Auto did for my rear quarter when it was dented up. They could not replicate the curves so they ordered a whole piece and applied new sheet metal all the way up to the door handle. i dont think asking for a new piece is unreasonable.

rynberg

I guarantee you they pocketed the difference....it should have been an alarm bell when the shop estimate was lower than the insurance estimate...

Why the hell would they try to fix the fender? A new fender is easily bolted on and is less than $200. Something seems fishy to me.

teamstealth

plus i cant imagine what a new 93spec front bumper will cost, so maybe once they pick their jaw up off the floor, a GTC replica for $550 wont seem that bad as a replacement haha being a little optimistic, but it cant hurt

teamstealth

well no...the insurance company ALLOWED them to spend up to $10,000 before totalling the car, so they didnt pocket anything...yet.

teamstealth

but yea, i dented that fender up GOOD, same with the rear quarter...and i couldnt imagine them pulling those out, i mean they were like craters....the rear quarter matches the drivers side perfectly tho.

FormerPorscheGuy

Complain to State Farm directly or to your state farm agent, they have to fix it right and to your satisfaction. Take it to your agent and explain why your not happy with it. They will take pictures, send it to your home office, and then fix it right.

teamstealth

*bump* nebody have opinions on the pictures?

adam c

iTrader: (2)

Those pics don't show anything.

teamstealth

look at the ones that are looking on from the side. The outside curveature of the fender in front of the wheel. Its easier to see/feel in person, but on the drivers side, the curve comes down nice and tight, into a reverse curve, where on the passenger side, the panels dont line up on a flat line, and that curve is much wider out.


also look at the under lip of the fender, the drivers one is all nice and square, where as on the passenger side it flexes out because of the angle the panels are bent at.

teamstealth

im looking at the way the fender curves, and they way it joins up to the bumper, outlined in red now....

Or am i just being too **** about the fact its not perfect cuz i thought their job was to replicate the curves or replace the parts so it comes out looking the same way it did before the crash...