Here's my story. Two days before Christmas, I was rear-ended by a hit and run Pepsi truck driver. Thanks to a good samaritan, I got the info, and had my car repaired. My dad picked up my car for me on Wednesday from the body shop, as I was out of town. So I picked up my car from my dad today, and this is the 'quality job' the body shop had done on my car:







First of all the rear bumper DOES NOT line up on one side. You can clearly see this in two of the pictures. My dad asked them about this and they told him, "That's how it was (before the accident).", which is not true.

The second problem is the PAINT JOB SUCKS. I paid $1200 to have this repaired (I'm billing the insurance) and the paint looks terrible in my opinion. It looks like it has thousands of little divots in it, and the paint does NOT feel smooth! Not like rough, but like it has a million little dents. What is this from??? What do I do? I was going to go complain on Monday and see if I could get them to redo it but then...

I got rear-ended on the freeway tonight. Thank goodness it was lowspeed, but some dumbass in a Chevy Silverado didn't see me breaking until it was too late. There was a crash up ahead, so I was already going slow, but he apparently didn't notice the lights and everything. It's too dark for me to see exactly what happened to my bumper, but it *looks* minimal. The thing is, the front bumper of his truck was demolished, so I fear that there might be more damage underneath. I want a new bumper, but I know his insurance will try to just have it patched.

So now what do I do? Do I still go complain to the original bodyshop? Please help me out, I'm really stressed out about this. I don't know what to do

 

The third picture is pretty high-resolution. It is meant so you can see how the paint looks. Look at my hand in the reflection- it's all rippley. That's not from a change in photo format, that's how it really looks.

 

If I were you I would take the car back to the body shop and register my complaint/dissatisfaction with the work that was done. If my insurance company paid the bill, I would also get the claims department involved as well.

 

So sorry that these happend to you.

I hope you have pictures after the first accident to show what was due to the first accident and what was due to the 2nd. Also, go to a dealer to take pictures of how the bumper should line up with the car.

If you paid with a check, consider stopping payment with your bank if not too late. Show all your evidence to the body shop and the insurance company. I wouldn't want the shop to touch my car again. Just try to get your money back. Threat to report to the state and the insurance company about the sub-standard job.

Have the insurance company refer you to another shop which the insurance company would deal with if there was a problem. Some insurance companies have "preferred" shops that the insurance company will guarantee the work.

 

Thank you guys for the great input. I was horrified with the paint job when I saw it. I just don't know what the bodyshop will say now- I have pictures of how it didn't line up, but they might try and say it's due to the second accident. I'm so frustrated. The nearest dealership is two hours away, so it would be a pain to go take pictures. I don't even feel like driving anymore. Two accidents (neither of which were my fault) in three weeks has really made me depressed I just want my car to be like it was.

 

Very sorry to hear about the second one. I remember your original post about the Pepsi truck. It is all very unfortunate. Let's hope this is the end of the bad luck for you and the RL. I agree with what AcuraRLBlue said - do exactly what he said. You could, of course, go through your own insurance and pay the deductible but at least have it done right without too much hassle. Just a thought - not the best one, but if it comes down to it - you may have to go that route.

 

There may be the possibility that the insurance company or companies (including that of the second guy who rear-ended your car) will pay for both incidents, then you will have it repaired again being paid for by the insurance coverage. Hopefully the maximum out of packet payment for the repairs by you are just the deductibles. I would suggest going after all three insurance companies involved so that your deductibles and rental costs are covered.

Don't you hate people who are driving mindlessly or tailgate so close that they could not stop before hitting a car in front? I was just thinking today coming home that no matter what type of safty systems I have in my car, I still could not do anything about the idiot who was one car behind me when we were travelling at 70 mph if he could not stop in time in case of a hard stop or arrupt slow-down in the traffic.

 

Yeah, exactly... safety systems can't control others. Here is what happened tonight: I saw CHP lights from about a mile away on the freeway. I slowed to about 55 or so as I approached, and it was very wet and rainy. As I got closer I slowed to 35 or 40 ish. There had been an accident, and two cars had hit eachother. Then the two cars behind them had hit eachother trying to stop.

The car of me suddenly slammed on their breaks (almost hitting some of the already smashed up cars), but because I had been cautious, going slow, and keeping a distance, I braked easily and didn't even come close. Then I looked in the rearview mirror to see a truck bearing down on me and I thought "Great. No way he's stopping in time."

So he hits me, his truck is jacked, he looks at my car and says, "Ok, so we're good?" And starts walking back to his truck to drive away, and I say "No we're not good, you just hit my car, look at the damage!". He tries telling me it's fine, and then he gets frustrated. Then the CHP officer walks over and rips him a new one for driving so close to me, and gives him a field sobriety test.

We get off the freeway and wait for the CHP officer. The guy says something like "This isn't my fault is it? He braked too fast." And the CHP officer says, "It probably will be since YOU need to drive safely for the conditions. The guy acted pissed, but then admitted he was going 60 mph approaching the accident, and didn't see the CHP lights or me braking in time.

Anyways, this all blows, I'm tired, thank you all for your help and feedback!