Kandyman

My car needs to go into a body shop for ~$2,700 of damage (per insurance estimate) on the front end. I live close to a dealer with a body shop (Acura of Turnersville). Is a dealer body shop necessarily the best place to take a car to, or should I keep looking?

Tripp11

I'm sure it's all on a body shop to body shop basis - my dealer might have an excellent body shop while yours might have the worst one ever. For example, my Saab Vert was involved in an accident and I was convinced by my salesman to let them do the work (and what the hell did I care since insurance was paying for it)...long story short, my car didn't come out as expected. In the end, I took it to a regional body shop outlet and they repaired my car to my satisfaction. Thus, I'll never take my car to that specific Saab body shop again.

My advice would be to ask around and see if you can find some folks who have had luck at that particular body shop or ask co-workers to see where they take their cars to get repaired.

kosh2258

Any body shop is only as good as the people staffing it.

There are no guarantees an Acura dealer's staff are superior to an independent shop. The best way to find out is ask around in your area and see what people have to say. Also see if the body shop will provide you with any references and don't be shy to ask to look at work in progress in their shop either.

Contivity

and also if you know any bodyshop that has done some show car quality although expensive, go ahead and do it.

Yoda117

I couldn't agree more with previous two posts.

The amusing thing is that one can often find a superior body shop that is cheaper, much cheaper than the dealership's.

ElmerHiggins

Word to the wise: just show up at the bodyshop and ask to see the facility and some of their finished and in progress work. You will be able to see the quality or lack thereof at that point. Good luck

jmichaelp

I went to an Acura dealer's body shop because I thought they'd have a vested interest in doing it right & I'd have an advocate in case of problems. Bottom line was a huge disappointment in the repair of my new car. Go check out as many as you can & get testimonials from people you know...

gochan

No, i woudn't say that. i say a dealership based which bodyshop to use base on craftsmanship and ALSO THE COST TO THE DEALERSHIP.

subinf

This is probably common knowledge but also make sure that the dealer doesnt third party your car to a local body shop. Dealers do this quite a bit, from body work to some mechanical repair. Service departments are all about getting the work done while incurring the least amount of expense. As has been said before, check around with local body shops and get a feel for what they tell you, and look at work in progress to gauge whether or not they seem able to do a job that meets your specs.

AA7483

I live near acura of turnersville too. Where u from? Thats where I bought my car. My car is in the shop for 15k of damage but I decided to take it to sussman

Kandyman

I live in Clayton (10 mins away). Bought my car from Acura of Turnersville also. Why did you decide to take your car to Sussman instead?

AA7483

Just b/c I heard some good stuff about their shop. I live in Hammonton so im about 20 min from turnersville and 25 from sussman in pleasantville