Sorry, I don't have pictures, but I don't think it'd be necessary.


After replacing rear quarter panel according to repair manual, is it normal for C pillar to not sit flush between new panel and existing panel? I can see the little bump on the top side(edge) and also feel it very easily.


I already called insurance company (lifetime warranty on repairs) and waiting for a phone call, but I want to be sure that this is a problem.


Thanks.

 

Pictures are worth a thousand words. Pics would help...

 

def need pics...

 

ummmm, you cant replace rear quarter panel....
its all one piece.

 

^Not certain as to what you're referencing, the qtrs are avail @ $900 ea, but if damage is low, shops will cut the new qtr and piece it in rather than do a replacement of the entire panel that would require fitment into the roof line/ rear window.

Looks like the C pillar is part of the new qtr if it was all replaced and not pieced into existing panels. There should be evidence of any repair work as all panels should fit as new, no noticeable difference in body lines, in/out.

 

Normal? Of course not. But quarter panel work is very hard to get perfect especially since there's no adjustment like there is for the doors and fenders. Unless the shop you went to has a superb reputation that they want to maintain, I doubt they'll re-do everything for a slight gap. They'll have to cut out that piece, reposition it, weld, grind smooth, then repaint. So pretty much starting over from beginning.

 

I hope you were trying to say, "There should NOT be evidence of any repair work"

The C pillar is part of rear quarter panel, cut almost at the top of rear windshield.










Oh wow, I think they have at least told me it will be that way, or try to PDR it out, or ask me if I wanted to use putty. I guess I'm going to keep nagging at GEICO because they said they'll guarantee the work forever.

Given the unprofessional attitude they gave me last year (missing interior trim, dirty interior panel not cleaned, replacing one of the two trunk bolt with the one without flange, but lying to me that it was already in there), I don't feel sorry at all if it ends up having to re-do everything at their expense. They should've done it right the first time and not waste both of our time.



Do NOT go to Dick Smith Nissan of Columbia SC.


I will post pictures when the sun comes up tomorrow (May 14 Wed)

 

So, I just found out that a completely stock Canon 20D flash is good enough for decent pics. Here are the 1000 words for Late Night AZiners and west coasters.

THE PILLAR





Also,,, the bumper was damaged and does not fit properly, but they keep refusing to replace it or at least heat-gun it to fix it.

Here are the pics.

THE BUMPER FITMENT & DAMAGE






The yellow circle is where the 2 bumps of guard rail hit.
Perfect match

 

Undamaged Pillar






Perfectly Flush Bumper

 

Just curious, how did you choose Dick Smith rather than a body shop? I know some dealers have decent body shop reps, but I haven't heard much about Dick Smith.

Curious - do you live on a dirt road or is it just pollen? I'm in Lexington and the combination of dirt and pollen makes a black car a nightmare to keep clean!

 

Yup, omitted the NOT word.

Personally i wouldn't accept any repair that's not up to OEM specs. Any repair can be made flawless as long as the shop wants to spend the time doing the repair correctly, but most want the car in and out quickly to pocket the big bucks. Problem with insurance companies is that they only want to pay minimum monies to the shop, not the $125/hr they would like to recieve and the shop is also governed by replacement time manual, so quick shoddy job.

 

I also have a very minor imperfection on my rear bumper's fitment. The car was that way when I got it but every time I give it a wash, it annoys me a lot. I know there are several spacers that the bumper clips onto beneath/beside the tail lights, but they didn't appear damaged when I pulled the bumper off. Would like to see where this thread goes.

 

I think some clean daytime pictures would help. Between the darkness and the dirty car I can't figure out what's what.

 

I just moved back from Toronto.

I chose GEICO authorized shop based on the promise I could go to any other geico facility across the country if I happen to move and I found defective repair down the road. I guess you could say I learned the lesson the hard way.

Could you suggest me any reputable body shop in the area? I'm willing to check them out and make Geico/Dick Smith pay for my repairs at other facility (They actually offered me to go elsewhere if I didn't like the work they did. Very rude.)

Thanks for the confirmation. Well that's their problem, and I have voice recording of the manager saying "car will be returned to the state it was in before the accident" so I'm gonna see how they react this afternoon.

My bumper was fitting perfectly. After the accident, (even though I suspect the bumper being deformed) they claimed the clip under rear tail light was loose, so they tightened it(the metal piece) with pliers and the gap went from 1/4inch to where it is right now. Also the manager tried to give me BS that it's because of the heat. 90F isn't THAT hot. I'd believe it if I was on Venus and it was 250F. So at the time (about a year ago) I didn't have time to deal with that because I had to pack and move, but now I do.

My reason for bumper not sitting flush with tail light is because they replaced the passenger side flange bolt with non-flange bolt, broke the bumepr hole, and claimed "it was already in there when we received the car".

I guess I'll be using the word "haha nice try. NO!" a lot today.

Honestly, It could be because I know what to look for, but if you can't spot the flaw, I don't think it will matter to you that much, because daytime pic won't be much better unless you are actually looking at the car and moving around to check reflection. BUT, I will go snap some pictures in front of them and bring them back here.


Thanks everyone. I'll update with daytime pics within today.

 

Better check to see if a voice recording without consent is legal in the state, if not, it's a criminal offense.

 

South Carolina is one-party consent state Thank you. Uploading daytime pictures now.

"One party can consent to the recording of a wire, electronic or oral communication. Consent is not required for the taping of a non-electronic communication uttered by a person who does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in that communication."

 

S.C is a one party consent state. So he's good

 

I'd like to see how this plays out with your insurance. I know you want perfect work but most body shops can't do perfect, and I don't think insurance will just keep paying and paying until every gap is eliminated. But I'll check back on this thread and see what happens.

 

PICS WITH NO MARKINGS IS THE UNDAMAGED SIDE!!



Let's start with bumper.



















Quarter panel



















Manager and insurance adjuster(poor guy. He's a nice person. The body shop is just stupid) agreed the guard rail impressions and fitment issue should have been corrected and I made sure they said "We will look for ways on whether it is repairable or have to be replaced to correct the problem".
(instead of "we'll see what we can do" which results in "sorry we can't. you damaged it yourself")

Let me know if I missed anything.



Additional question : They said, the rear windshield has to come off again, to correct the top of the C-pillar problem. Technician said they need to figure out what they can do to fix it, but I think they are going to use putty. Will it stay on for 5 years?

 

Thanks for the better pictures, I can see whats going on now.

It does look like the shop could have taken better care in lining up the panel.

Looks like your adjuster is willing to work with you, so I hope you'll make good progress! I dislike body shops, they do a good job for 98% of the population, but the 2% who are car nuts always pick up these things.

 

That's a shit job if you ask me. There is no reason the untrained eye should be able to see these repairs. Putty should be used conservatively and not be the main "source" of the repair. They probably use the cheap filler too.

 

Call the nearest premium car dealers and see which body shops do repairs for their new cars-- a couple of those shops will probably be on Geico's list.

There is no reason to accept the car back in that condition.

 

Call your insurance company and tell them you do not accept the repair. That is sub-par and you took it to a preferred shop, which gives you extra protection against shotty work. Tell them to get you a loaner vehicle, and advise them you will not accept the car back until it's fixed properly. I work for a body shop, and that's what you call a rejected repair... Send it back.

 

He is nice guy. But I just have this gut feeling that the body shop manager is way up in the food chain over my Geico adjuster... The adjuster is always on the lookout and hesitant to bring things up with the manager. And leaves the arguing to me and always says "I'll get the manager so you can talk" -_-;

I dislike body shops NOW.... the other one I used to know did a perfect job even painting the insides smooth so "feeling" the inner edges didn't even give away the car was repaired.


I was slightly worried if I was being a b*tch, but now I know I'm not, but they are.

Small town, Geico only has one shop. I called the claims hotline but they said I can only go back to that same adjuster.

I am going to talk to them again on Monday in detail, and if they refuse, I will call Geico on the spot and request to change repair facility to nearest city (Charlotte NC probably)

Thanks for the insider tip. I almost forgot about the loaner. Dick Smith Nissan is being a dick about loaner too.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is how it went down the first time. (Last year)

* I dropped car off, was told it will take 6 business days.
* A day later, I get a call they'll need 2 more days for getting the quarter panel shipped. (You couldn't have foreseen that? very unprofessional) But I was okay with it.
* When I went to pick up the car the first time, it was a disaster
a. rear door handle cover (interior trim) was missing
b. C pillar interior trim was very dirty with grease
c. the broken bolt hole, had a non-flange bolt as opposed to OEM huge-flanged bolt
d. the taillight-bumper gap was literally dime-wide.
e. around the trunk, the chipped paint was not touched up, but was covered in something gooey black substance I could rub off with my finger.
f. the polish job on the newly painted panels, had more swirl marks than worn&torn 6 year old paint. GET A GOD DAMN DA RO polisher. and put down that grinder. It looked so amateur.
g. they stole my emergency air compressor -___- FFS they're $10 at Home Depot.

* I asked for re-do. Manager told me "But then we have to repaint the trunk" I said "That's none of my problem. You should already have it painted."
Manager said "We need the car for 2 more days"
I said "I want a rental car"
Manager tried to give me a Nissan Versa.
I said, I want a equivalent class midsize car.
They, said they didn't have it.
So I said, then do what rental car companies do. Give me next larger car.
But manager said "we can't do that. Look we're being nice to you giving you something to drive while your car is being fixed when you do not have rental coverage."
I said
"Look, if you did the job done right the first time, I wouldn't be needing to come back, you should also be paying for my time for coming here, NOT ONLY a rental."
But he never gave me a rental, instead I requested for a check for transportation. Got a check for $100. I could see the disgust in his face but, oh well I got the cash, and was hoping the job would be done properly.

So I got the trunk repainted, and had to leave because school was starting soon.

Thanks to the lifetime warranty, they're not getting away with this one. How is this place still in business??


So,,,, If anyone is kind enough to come back to answer my new questions,,,

1. Do I have the right to ask for a loaner even though I don't have rental coverage on my insurance?

2. How can I make sure they are not over-using filler to cover up the panel alignment problem??

3. Should I bring up the crappy part under the weather strip and make them fix that too? I honestly don't care but...


Fun Fact : I submitted a negative review about their dealership on google maps (DS Automotive Group) and , it never shows up and they're still a 4.9/5 rated

Thanks, and TIA everyone.

 

1. Well if you don't have coverage...kinda a grey area, take it if they'll give it to you...they don't have to.

2. There's no way for you to really know how much filler they use besides the general appearance of the repair...unless you want to be anal an get a paint depth gauge.

3. Heck yes bring that up, that's the pinch weld in the door frame. Go to the other side of the car and remove that rubber strip, that's what it should look like. With a crappy repair like they did, expect rust and a lack of structural strength. Make them fix it.

Also look at your interior trim around the repair area, ensure they didn't damage anything.

 

Woo! I'm going back on Monday to drop the car off. I'll just take the dealership shuttle back home and tell them to fix the welds but I won't have paint depth gauge. ugh why are some professionals so unprofessional these days?

 

They did fix the bump on top of the C pillar, hard to tell from the undamaged side.

But there's another problem ... I wanted to ask the forum before I go fight them again, because I do realize if you paint a new panel that's attached to the car, you get rough edges. But, this is visible "outside" part of panel too.... Pics

It's bottom of C pillar where it meets trunk lid.













I was very unhappy that not only I had to deal with technicians myself, but also their attitude.
"I was the one who got to order a new bumper for you nice and clean"
no shit. You should've done it last year.


Is this typical with repaint??

 

Sorry for double post, upon closer examination, I found this.. Is this what I think it is?
Smooth part feels smooth. dull part feels rough. And that's a very clean border




I'm not even mad lol. I just, give up on Geico express repair facilities chosen "based on their quality of work and reputation"

Filed another repair warranty claim.

 

what I can tell based on pics is overspray in the final pic. Which you can get off not to hard and the first pic is just a lack of coverage or roughness. They could buff and polish it. More full pics??

 

What kind of full pictures do you want to see? Faraway view of the rough edge of C pillar? Let me know and I'll go take it when it's brighter outside.

I don't think it's just buff issue. There are no clear coat or metallic flake visible. on that particular part but of course I could be wrong.

I do not want them to buff my car because when they buffed it after painting, they create swirl marks. And when I asked last time why the newly painted panels have swirls, the manager told me he will cut me a check to take it elsewhere if I don't like the work they do .-. When I asked the technician yesterday (which I did not like because of their attitude treating me like they were doing me a favor) he said they only buff it, but don't "glaze" it, and glaze is what needs to be done to get rid of swirl marks. I'm done with these guys. If a newly painted panel has more swirls than before.......... I don't think anyone would appreciate it.

 

jeez, I feel sympathy for you. That is some crap work, but relatively typical of dealership shops. Sadly this is the kind of work that alot of places do. You need to find yourself a small privately owned shop that isnt fed insurance work by the major insurance companies because they do it the cheapest and the quickest. Find a place that has to do great work to survive in the world of cheap and crappy shops.

it looks like they just back taped that inner c pillar section instead of using a hard edge windshield tape to insert and peel back the seal so that they could get color and clear in there. That looks like junk and Im glad youve made that clear. Id be ashamed of myself if something left my shop looking like that. Now that I have my own shop I refuse to do insurance work, I am more in the restoration/custom paint/ customer pay market. I hated insurance work at the shop I worked at previously, they never want to give you the proper time to get it done, and they never want to pay your rate. They want it done, cheap and quick and those two dont go well together in the body and paint business.

I really hope you can get this issue resolved at another shop who actually cares what people think of their work. The sad truth is 95 % of people in the world give a crap about what their paint looks like and if the panels line up perfectly, they just want their cars back.That is how all these crappy shops survive, and they have no idea what to do when someone who knows what to look for or someones just a little more picky than the average person, to me their " fixed " version looks worse than the previous. Best of luck to you man.

 

your username

According to claims report including original repair and this week's re-repair, they got paid $4200.

And about the timeframes... I was okay with them taking their time, until they had this excuse the 2nd time. The manager is just so professional.
1st time : was gonna take 7 business days. ended up being 9 "because we had to get the quarter panel shipped"
2nd time : was gonna take 2 days. took 3 because "they had other cars in the shop"
3rd time : was gonna take 2 whole days. took 4 1/2 days and not a single word on why.

I'm going to shop around privately owned shop and ask to see their most recent work, and be smart of where I get my body work done from now on........ I only went to that place because GEICO offered lifetime warranty across the country, and I will be moving every couple years. I think, now that I realize, if you get it done properly in a good shop, there shouldn't be any need of lifetime warranty.

 

Well, your repairs still look better than mine lol

 

So... BBB has proven itself useless and GEICO showed me they can't really control their own employees.


At this point... is there anything I can do to get my car repaired somewhere else??

 

Been a while since I read the threadm but take it to a body shop and have them write up an estimate for fixing the problem areas, show it to Geico/Shop and if no response, institute a suit.
Problem is, small claims max in your state?

 

If I were you, I'd sell that car as fast as possible. That car was hit HARD. And body shops can't do magic work. I agree those repairs are pretty terrible, however, now you're left with driving a compromised product, even if it is fixed a little better. Those pictures make me cringe.

It's a base 07-08 TL (I believe anyway). They're a dime a dozen. Why don't you pick up another one and never fret about poor repair work or having to see misaligned body panels ever again? I would be so upset if I had to see that stuff every day.

The re painting looks terrible. The 'orange peel' is just bad in some of those pics. And I can't exactly tell, but behind the weather stripping looks like garbage too and looks like a future place for rust to start. That car is in a world of hurt.

Also, you may have also slightly twisted the frame. Still think it's worth keeping?

 

I agree. I've been through this several times and each time began with me getting an estimate from a different bodyshop without telling the insurance.

I had my rear quarter replaced from a welding truck backing into it in a parking lot near the gas cap back when it was just a year old. You can't tell it was ever replaced from the outside. If you pop the trunk they got a little crazy with the sealant. I was out of state while the repairs were being done and the ex picked it up for me. Unfortunately I couldn't inspect it. The good is the panel lines up perfectly. The bad is they only put back together half the interior and my car smelled like stale beer. I took it back and had several things redone the next time I was in AZ.

If my panel looked like those pictures and I was able to inspect it before taking delivery of it, I would never have taken it out of the shop.

 

Funny thing guys.. I just came to this thread to say I found the WHOLE upper side of trunk lid was covered in thin overspray only to be found out after handwash and feeling them.

I was just looking up lawyers and small claims. Thanks for the point to the right direction.

Well.. I wish I could show you pictures of the car before any repairs started. There was no noticable frame damage (the first thing I did was take it to alignment shop striaght after the hit lol) and I don't expect a production street car to have perfect chassis alignment.. I was just concerned that their weldings might have compromised it more than it should.

I would sell it, but I don't want to take time to remove iPod integration, tranny cooler, front and rear camber kits, can't remove sound deadening, also my car is in top condition to run way past quarter million miles. I doubt I'll be able to
1. sell mine
2. find such car
3. not lose money (not counting the mods) on replacing my car.

Lastly, I can't sell this piece of shit repaired car to some unspsecting buyers. I can't do that, unless they are aware but don't care. But thanks for a fresh insight into another option.


Hey I wanted to PM you but it was full. How's your Lapua shooting?
The thing is... like everyone knows, I'm not a real expert. So it was hard for me to tell on the spot (especially 2 giant fat ass guys watching my every move) so I always got confirmation I will return or call if there are problems since you have lifetime warranty. Taking my time in comfortable environment, I was able to discover these nonsenses.

I think it's pretty easy to get compensated for overspray, but not sure about C pillar stepping off and coarsely smoothed out. I shall find out at other body shops and contact insurance (since it's their preferred facility anyway)


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you everyone I'll be scooting around getting quotes and calling lawyers and stuff. This is not enjoyable. Wonder if I can get compensated for suffering lol

Quote I like that I found while searching for suing options.
"An attorney friend pronounced in all capital letters, “The only thing wrong with the collision repair industry as you describe it is you just haven’t had enough lawsuits yet!” "