AgentDSS

Hi,

I just got back my '03 CL-S from Chevy Chase Cars Bodyshop in Bethesda, MD (partnered with Chevy Chase Acura & it's service dept.) and a little bit disappointed. I slammed into the back of a car, crushing my bumper, hood, headlight brakets, and some other frontal parts. I paid out of pocket for these items to be replaced and it was in the shop for about a week. Since I am only 18 yrs. old we had to pay a crapload to get a rental from Avis.

When I first looked at the finished car, I noticed the hood/grille piece was not aligned well with the top/middle of the bumper. I told the bodyshop tech about it and he corrected it to some degree.

During the past several days, I've noticed some other issues. The paint the shop used on the replaced pieces (hood/bumper) did not clearly match my car's Nighthawk Black Pearl. Their paint looked more like flat black (ie. Honda Accord Black) without the "blue pearl sparkles". I've had a problem with this bodyshop b4 about matching paint when they resprayed a scratched-up gas filler door cover. They had to respray it like three times, and even with the sparkles, it did not look the same shade as my color. They wound up jacking an OEM gas door from another car they had there

Should I have them repaint my pieces again? Or should I face the truth that this shop sucks and make THEM pay for another shop (ahem, D&V Autobody) to repaint it and supply me w/ a rental car? The paintjob itself was not that super too, as there were several dried paint drips around the grille area and many dimples throughout the surface. I would have hoped my $3000 repair bill would have warranted a decent job!

I also noticed some of the contact parts between bumper and fender were not totally aligned to each other and my headlights were kinda a little loose and were sticking OUT a centimeter or so beyond the usual position (ie. I can feel about a CM of the bottom of the headlight..which I assume is not normal). Not to mention that, I had another headlight that was fogged up before my accident, which supposedly was replaced (casing/bracket), and now fogs up again.

I would appreciate if anyone who is knowledgeable about bodyshops and procedures (Jens?) and advise me about what I can/should do.

Bluto

JZ had good results with Zamora's on Gude Drive, hail damage. Same color as your car.

http://www.acura-cl.com/forums/showt...hlight=Zamoras

I would get an independent professional opinion before going back to Chevy Chase Cars Bodyshop. Even pay for a written one.

There may be much more wrong than you can see.

CL P Diddy

First of all, glad to hear you are alright.

Now. When a car returns from a body shop (anywhere) it will never, I repeat, never be the same.

Body shops usually "fix" body panaling instead of replacing it (as recommended by an OEM). That is how they make their money. Here is where your problem starts. They will do anything to make parts realign to cosmetically (sp) look okay. Almost never will the alignment and gapping be back to original specs, why?

I believe it is because they repair the panaling and leave the actual structure bent. Again, cosmetically repair only. On top of that if they do replace the part it is almost always an aftermarket part. Aftermarket parts do not align very well either.

A bodyshop would never make any money if they actually fixed the car (ie replaced damaged internal components). Because they don't, you "fixed" car is inherently unsafe. If you get hit(or hit) anyone again in the same place the structure will not protect you and it could mean you will get hurt.

Now as far as the paint goes it can be easily matched. All they have to do is read the code. It does not sound like your bodyshop cared enough to do this and assumed your car was black. Or maybe they were to lazy to match it. Either way it is unexeptable.

If you have the time, patiences and motivation, get angry and demand the job be done correctly (not by them) because they are obviously not up to par.

You're still young and this is a valuable lesson for later on. The advice I give to anyone who has had a major accident such as the one you had is to get rid of the car because it will never be the same again.

my

Good Luck

AgentDSS

I've heard that Zamora's is backed up for weeks, so that may be an issue. Do you guys think my bodyshop would find it a problem to reimburse me for mistakes they caused? How should I approach them for this.

AgentDSS

CL P Diddy: Thanks for your concern. I'm sure my shop used OEM parts (as I specified that to them) and I'm don't think they had to repair paneling (at least externally) as the only affected exterior parts were the hood and bumper.

They replaced (as per the estimate) many parts and only fixed things like the hood lock, radiator, etc..

I brought up the paint issue several times to the manager, since I had problems before with them. He assured me that they have done other NBP's since my "respray of gas door" and they SHOULD have learned the proper procedures. They obviously have been inputting the paint codes, but the machines are just not working right I guess.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

This must be true with only the shops you have used. It's illeagal to do that. You have the right to have your car fixed the correct way, & they have to use OEM parts if you, or your insurance company specifies. I had body shop work before,(not the CL) & found shop practices are very different between shops.

Fat chance the body shop will pay for another to fix it. They will try to fix it themselves. Also if you had bad work from them before, why did you go back?

AgentDSS

I got to know the ppl there plus the estimate was cheaper The location was also convienent for them to send my car over to service for warranty/recall work.

Chen

:thumbsdn: That suck mang, sory to hear you had such a bad experience.
I just sparyed a '02 Civic bumper today in nighthawk black prl/met. There was like 6 grams of blue, and violet pearls in that formula, def. not straight or flat black. and there were only 1 or 2 variations for that "american production" code. Usually there are several variations of one colour, and it's easier than you think to mixup the wrong variation, and end-up with a poor match. If it's a close call, they'll let it pass. Only if the customer says anything will they re-paint, or blend elsewhere. and they def. won't pay another shop to fix their mistakes. Sounds like your dealership bodyshop doesn't give a shit, like all the ones I hear about.
goodluck