Allright so back in last feb. while coming back from work my car was hit on the passenger side by a truck tire (off of a bronco owned by a dumb kid who obviously didnt know how to tighten lugnuts) So $6k in damages later and a whole month of my car sitting at the body shop I finally get it back at first I was just so excited to get out of the crappy cobalt rental they gave me I didnt notice alot of imperfections in the body shops work.

Now the only reason why I brough my car to this body shop was because it was recommended to me by my boyfriend and a few of his friends at his shop. My boyfriend works on some parts for this guy and in turn my boyfriend sends some business his way soooo I never really expected them to do a half ass job though I could trust them.

Within a week of having my car back I noticed a laundry list of problems;

bubbles in the paint
dirt under the paint
paint chips
headlight out of alignment
bumper clip (passenger side) still broken
grill was half assed the eblem was GLUED on and off center
my entire center console was out of line and my heated seat button refused to stay in the on position
multiple broken clips on the interior
large gashs on the center console where they apparently pryed it apart.

So ofcourse I brought the car back... first visit he said hed order parts and call me to set up an appoitment to have the car fixed RIGHT he apologized and that was it... almost 2 weeks go by no phone call... I call him he jerks me around with the paint and says come in and hell fix the heated seat button and center console for me. He did but barely the heated seat button started its shit again within a week. After almost 2 months of going back and forth to have everything fixed FINALLY he makes some room to repaint my car. I get it back theres indents in the paint on the bumper and apparently they just used touch up paint on the hood for the paint chips....

a week later I go back he has the car for 2 days and replaces all the broken clips and gives me a new grill this time without the glue I mention the indents and the paint chips AGAIN says he doesnt have time and I will have to bring it back!!

I wont bore you guys with the rest of the nightmare I dealt with for the following 6 months after that.

Finally they repainted the bumper the hood and the fenders 2-3 months ago but today I noticed something very strange... Im sitting in my car waiting for my boyfriend and I start to notice something odd on the edge of the hood on my car I get out and upon further inspections its MORE FUCKING PAINT CHIPS!

I really am at my wits end with this body shop... I dont know what to do anymore I already wasted nearly 8-9 months of my life trying to get my baby back to the way it was and now this AGAIN... What should I do is there a way that I can somehow get my money back for these repairs and take it elsewhere to be repainted? Should I call Statefarm (the other drivers insurance company) and say the body shop did insufficient repairs?

I just really dont want to go back there they apparently dont know what the fuck they are doing and its just making for more stress and a huge consumer of my time.

Sorry this is so long I kind of needed to vent too

 

oh and btw the body shop is R&U Auto Body located in Merrick, Long Island right between Merrick rd. and Hewlett off of sunrise hwy. I would suggest nobody bring their car there apparently all they do is half assed shit work even one of their own employees told me that half of the workers dont have a clue what they are doing and only care about getting the cars out not about giving the customers quality work.

 

that really sucks.
after all that I wouldn't go back to that body shop.

a friend of mine threatened a body shop that did a bad job several times to just give him back his money because he had an attorney.
they did.

 

...damn sorry to hear about this...

 

Maybe I should get a lawyer involved this is just absolute bullshit I have brang my car back there ATLEAST 10-15 times SINCE the accident AND STILL I have paint chips and an offcenter center console and a heated seat button that only goes in the high position... its just so aggravating

I mean honestly I can deal with a faulty heated seat button I dont really care but its just the principle that they just fucking refuse to fix it correctly *sighs*

 

just called them said to bring it by on my lunch break... Im going to ask for my money back atleast enough for me the get the car painted correctly if not I think I may call my lawyer and see if he can help me out wish me luck guys

 

Man thats lame. I'm sure if their a small business and you have/get a lawyer they'll just give you the money since they probably dont have the time or money to spend on their own lawyer.

 

sue. and next time go with your insurance body shops. its a lifetime guarantee

 

see thats im wondering..usually u have to go thru what the insurance recommends as far as a body shop but i dunno how she was able to go thru her own place...Hey remikinz did the insurance co. ask u for an estimate or did u jus tell them how much it would cost?

 

I'm not really sure the body shop really took care of the insurance end I just had to call to secure a rental car. they let me know the bodyshop was an approved shop and would send down an adjuster and they did let me know that the work will be garenteed so everything is free but its just aggravating and wish I could just get enough back to get the repainted so I can just go elsewhere

 

call your insurance company and ask them for a new body shop. be nice and polite and they should work with you

 

the insurance company must make sure you are satisfied with the work, esp. if it your insurance company. call them immediately to let them know about the problems if you haven't already.

 

you can pick any body shop of your choice to do the work.. no way does an insurance company tell you where to get your work done.. if they did, this is the result, half ass, cheap work..if you cant, you have some whack ass insurance.. I really dont know how they fucked up the center console, its all just bolt on, i donno how you can misalign that.. best of luck however..

 

For $6k I would get some legal help, get my money back and go elsewhere.

 

JDM radio + center console??


LOL.. Good luck with everything, just don't paint anything yourself like me

 

.......yea take advice from the professional painter...

 

You DO NOT have to go thru who your/other party insurance company recommends. Ins companies will ask for estimates from usually 2 to 3 places, they can "recommend" body shops but they cant force you to go to any one specific.

 

ahhhh..ok, i see now my dear watson...i jus kinda thought that since they are paying for the repairs..but thats good to know....

 

:thumbsdow

 

I think this is the route Im going to go Im getting quite sick of going back there over and over again just to be disappointed... I mean dont get me wrong they are pretty nice people and never once really refused to fix something but it just seems like their employees have no fucking clue what they are doing and I dont think even if I went there 100 times they will be able to do it correctly.

Im going to try to get the insurance company to compensate me for the extra repairs and go to Rallye Acura for the paint and center console. Its going to be expensive but oh well as long as Im not paying atleast I can trust them to do the job right.

 

Im guessing your familiar with them?

 

Okay figured Id update you guys on this situation. I contacted State Farm (the other drivers insurance company) and told them the issues I have been having BUT they say because I picked the body shop there is really no recourse I can take through State Farm she said if I feel the repairs are not up to par and Ronny (the owner of R&U) refuses to repair the car to my satisfaction I should contact a lawyer to pursue this further.

Ive seriously considered just paying out of pocket to get everything repaired correctly but Im not made of money and the chips are getting more and more widespread along the whole front end of my car... now the edge of the fenders (by the wheel wells) are starting to get paint chips.

I havent contacted Ronny about this for a good 5 months because he just kept giving me the run-a-round changing dates on when to bring the car in saying hes really busy etc. etc.

So what should I do now? Any lawyers around this forum that can offer some advice on what I would need to possibly sue?

I dont know what to do anymore... just the thought of having to go back there AGAIN makes me sick to my stomach

 

I would consider small claims court. if you cant afford an attorney. Thats bull shi..., they have wasted your time because of their incompetence. Sounds like you have made an honest effort to get the problems rectified and they have proven that they are not up to the task.

I say small claims or attorney! Good Luck

 

I had a similar experience so I feel your irritation 100%. The worst part about my story was that it was the shop of an azine member so I thought I could've trust him to do a good job. Had my entire kit painted 2x but still same problems almost identical to what OP' is posting here. Rock chips, dirt in the paint, fish eyes, cracking.

After 1 whole year, I've decided to just cut my losses and move on and leave it to a lesson learned. I paid for mine out of pocket so, it hurt even more. Now I've pretty much gotten my entire kit painted over again and its finally the way it should've been from the get go. I'm going to get my front bumper repainted and that will end the saga.

Few tips for next time:

1. Find out first if they have a spray booth/oven? - This will automatically tell you if this shop is crap or good.

2. Find out next what type of paint they use. If they say Dupont, not good enough, ask them what line, because they have lines ranging from shit to amazing.

3. Then proceed to ask them to see other cars that they just finished. Look for swirls, orange peel, and feel underneath the bumpers to make sure they painted under the bumper as well, because some shops paint parts on the car, which will result in tremendous overspray and unpainted areas.

4. Confirm they use 3 coats of base and 3 coats of clear. This is the reason for your paint chipping, they are not using enough clear or the clear they are using is shit quality.

Hope it works out for you. If you don't get your money back just go to another shop, and try to find a shop that uses either

1. BASF paint
2. Spies & Hecker
3. PPG

and make sure they have a booth.

 

no the booth says nothing.. i got my car done at a shop with a booth.. and they completely screwed it up, my FPR is now burgundy... I wanted FPR with a little red pearl and I got FPR with tons of green pearl... and a guy who can't paint pearl

My dad used to paint cars in his mechanic shop, no booth and it came out perfect

 

PPG


Spies & Hecker / Dupont
or
Lesonal

 

dupont ftw x50

 

x51 on the dupont

 

i know this is a horrible example.. but its as close to perfect as any paint will get ( at least for FPR Remikins)

i have yet to find anyone who could tell one bit.. even the tiny metal flakes in the paint are even througout the seperate parts...

back-up phone =/

 

Should have come to me raj. glad it worked out though.

 

PPG is actually pretty good. We use it alot. it only comes out because the person painting the car lacks skill. a good painter can make due with what he has. Trust me.

 

I have the skill, and i can spray it just fine. That said i dont like the paint, and i dont like the way it sprays/lays down. I can get a far better finish with less work out of Dupont and Lesonal.

 

True. to each is own though. I've seen good paint jobs with Matrix paint which is pretty wack paint. I guess its how you feel about it. we basically use what people want us to use. people want to pay little to no money to get their car fixed so we let them know up front, if you want a cheap price you'll get a cheap job. they usually agree with us and pay what we ask for.

do you use 2k primer?

 

Silva where are you located at? I'm getting a replacement front bumper soon and i was wondering how much it would cost to get it painted?

 

just walkup there one more time... if you get it back and its still not fixed. just say have a good day my attorney will be contacting you!!

 

im in Miami.