Expectations of body work

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Mine's been like that for about two years before anybody hit it. Smack it back in and it pops out before the day is over.

Damn! That would bug the living crap outta me and I am not all that picky. Mine sits nice and firm way down in the joint. Even lower that his other picture.

[B-R-Z]

The shop corrected the paint issues but body panels still are not perfect. Is some damage not repairable or should I push them to fix these issues? They make it sound like some things cannot be fixed after an accident like this but I cannot tell if they just don't want to put the time in, or if it's not possible to realign things (I know nothing about body work). Mainly the hood is slightly off and each fender has issues. Please educated answers only, not just "go back and tell them f*ckers to fix it!". Thanks in advance.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by B-R-Z

The shop corrected the paint issues but body panels still are not perfect. Is some damage not repairable or should I push them to fix these issues? They make it sound like some things cannot be fixed after an accident like this but I cannot tell if they just don't want to put the time in, or if it's not possible to realign things (I know nothing about body work). Mainly the hood is slightly off and each fender has issues. Please educated answers only, not just "go back and tell them f*ckers to fix it!". Thanks in advance.

Go back and tell them fuckers to fix it!
No really. That is not an acceptable repair. The hood is canted a bit to the right and that is what is causing the gap in the bumper and the different sized gaps at the fender. It is a relatively simple adjustment.
The inserts really are not that bad and probably within spec though.

[B-R-Z]

Thanks. I'm trying not to be a pain in the ass, the car already went back once and I didnt look close enough at things when I picked it up. I know if I dont get these things fixed they are going to bother me forever. They are being cool about it, just surprised they are ok letting the car leave the shop like this, and it was worse the first time I picked it up.

[Yardjass]

If you don't like the quality of the work, then tell them to fix it. You're justified in being suspicious. Pretty much everything that's wrong there is a direct result of poor prep work, poor masking, and inattention to proper cleanliness. That all directly relates to them not taking the proper amount of time to do the job. I'm not a professional and I'm not saying mine would be great but I can confidently say I could do a better job than that with a rattle can.

[Summerwolf]

Why do you keep saying you're not trying to be picky or a pain in the ass.

Be as picky as you need to be, and be the biggest pain in their AND the insurance companies' ass until the car is fixed correctly. Have a spine, man. This has obviously been going on far too long and now it is going on longer. What is your time worth and how much does the car mean to you?

[Capt Spaulding]

When mine was damaged and the repairs didn't meet my expectations I told the shop (as politely as possible) that I intended to be a pain in the ass. That the car was in showroom condition when it got hit, and I wanted showroom condition after it was repaired. I told them I was sorry if that was a bother, but their job and that of the insurance company is to make it right, and it's not. If they needed more money, call the adjuster. If he says no, call me.

[B-R-Z]

You guys are right. I was almost to the point where I was going to say if they aren't up for the work to make it right I will call my adjustor and ask for another shop to correct their mistakes, even if it resulted in some out of pocket expense. At this point I just want it to be perfect again and done with.

Fortunately the owner is being cool about it and willing to take it back to fix it. The first time they took it back they sanded down the drivers side windshield support opposed to painting it and I can still see minor indents in the paint. The hood also already has a small chip which is crazy after only a few weeks of being freshly painted. I mentioned these things so in addition to re-aligning panels, they have some paint work to do. Hoping they re-spray the entire hood since on the first bring back to resolve what looked like dirt in the paint they wet sanded the hell out of the paint which I think was dumb. It was shiny, but nervous about the longevity of the paint, and where did those dirt specs go? It also looked blotchy under florescent light at certain angles, I forget what the word for this is but I believe its from not letting layers of primer/paint dry enough between coats.

Car goes back in next Tuesday. I need to look it over good when I pick it up, trust is gone.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by B-R-Z

You guys are right. I was almost to the point where I was going to say if they aren't up for the work to make it right I will call my adjustor and ask for another shop to correct their mistakes, even if it resulted in some out of pocket expense. At this point I just want it to be perfect again and done with.

Fortunately the owner is being cool about it and willing to take it back to fix it. The first time they took it back they sanded down the drivers side windshield support opposed to painting it and I can still see minor indents in the paint. The hood also already has a small chip which is crazy after only a few weeks of being freshly painted. I mentioned these things so in addition to re-aligning panels, they have some paint work to do. Hoping they re-spray the entire hood since on the first bring back to resolve what looked like dirt in the paint they wet sanded the hell out of the paint which I think was dumb. It was shiny, but nervous about the longevity of the paint, and where did those dirt specs go? It also looked blotchy under florescent light at certain angles, I forget what the word for this is but I believe its from not letting layers of primer/paint dry enough between coats.

Car goes back in next Tuesday. I need to look it over good when I pick it up, trust is gone.

The chip isn't their fault. The misaligned panels however are.

[B-R-Z]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

The chip isn't their fault. The misaligned panels however are.

I think it was part of their prep work. After 4.5 years my hood had no paint chips at all. Possibly coincidental, but suspect to me. It was actually a surface crack/blemish in the paint that I nicked with my finger nail that turned into a small chip. It's literally 1-2mm, but it's a chip.

[B-R-Z]

I think this is finally done. In my 2nd bring-back (2 weeks ago) I initially asked them to just fix up the fender gaps/hood gap and a part of over-spray that was not done correctly the first time I brought it back. After dropping the car off I ended up sending an email asking them to repaint the hood since the car should look nearly new when leaving the shop (the painted parts at least) and I knew I'd be disappointed forever if it was not corrected...I even offered them money for parts & labor. I heard nothing back from them after sending that email. 1.5 weeks later my claim adjuster leaves me a voicemail and said an appraiser is going out to take a look at the car and asked me for specifics about what was wrong; I explained and sent her a ton of pictures. I wasn't sure if he was trying to get more money or to deny fixing it or what. Today I get a call that the car is done and he tells me they took everything apart and fixed all gaps and repainted everything (hood, bumper cover, fenders) which I was not expecting. I get there and the car looks awesome and the owner was super cool about it.

I think he realized through this that his quality control is going downhill and he is going to work on how they handle things better. He was really apologetic and cool about it. So glad I pushed to have this stuff corrected. I will post some pics when temps are half decent.