sluzynsk

It's always good to be friends with your body shop. The guys there will tell you what's up once they get to know you. My guy will always warn me if they are trying to dick me over with cheap third party parts so I can get on the phone and raise hell about it.

My wife's Civic is in there right now, someone rear-ended her. I asked my guy if he could take care of some other wear & tear scratches while he had paint mixed and he said that would be no problem.

FemmeFtle9

Honestly, I would go by referrals. My car has been a magnet and was in 2 accidents within a few months of each other. In October 2012, I was rear-ended with barely any damage to the bumper. Took it to a shop affiliated with the dealership (Pohanka). The service was ok, but nothing to write home about. They only touched up and repainted the existing bumper.
In February 2013, someone (in the parking garage where I work) rammed into the area right in front of my drivers' side wheel well. There was a lot of damage for someone who was just pulling out of their parking space. This time around, my dad referred me to a local body shop. They ordered only new, OEM parts and insisted the paint job cover surrounding parts to ensure the appearance of the car remained consistent. The person I dealt with advocated for me when my agent was trying to hold out on giving me a rental (even though the other party already admitted fault and were footing the bill). The total came out to $3k, and my car came back looking great. I would happily refer this shop to other people.

So all that said, ask around, check Yelp, etc. I wouldn't immediately go off a "list."

Here's a pic of the damage from the most recent collision:

optimus prime

Well, in my case, I ended up with 5 inputs on the shop I picked:

1) the Acura Locator
2) Yelp
3) Diamond Certified. This may be Bay Area only, I am not sure.
4) Dealer recommended
5) Inputs by other forum members on this thread

PaulAWD

Good Deal! If you are hit and it's the other parties insurance company you do not have to follow their rules for aftermarket parts. They will try to put A/M on but you the owner will have to call to get the OEM parts. The shop does not have any pull and it's real easy for the insurance company to tell the body shop no while hiding behind the phone.