CTNYC

Got into my second accident today in my 2013 ILX Hybrid. Was going around in a traffic circle (Washington, DC) and was in the right most lane out of 4 lanes (Two were turning right). The red light was on, and the right most lane had no cars in it, and the second right turn lane had maybe 2 or 3 cars in it.

I passed the cars on their right, and a car pulled out into me, hitting me on my drivers side. Her front passenger corner impacted where my front driver side fender and door meet and scraped back all the way to the start of my rear bumper.

From what I can see, the dents are not deep, but they are on the drivers door, rear drivers passenger door, rear quarter panel, and the rocker panel. The fender does not appear to be dented, but there are some scuffs that looks like could be buffed out easily, as with a lot of the scuffs on the doors. Minimal paint damage really.

Anyways, does anyone in the DC area have any really good body shop recommendations? Willing to travel around 1 hour from DC to the very best. I went to Pohanka's body shop in Alexandria (now Caliber Collision) and was not impressed with what I saw. When someone messed up my rear bumper last, I brought it to Arlington Collision Center, and while I have no real complaints about their work, they just didn't have the "wow" factor for me -- small things like not giving my car a thorough detail and "stealing" my air fresheners. Nothing major, but I'm looking for that "WOW" factor body shop in the area. Alternatively, I can go to a trusted shop in Connecticut for the work

ceb

I've had very good luck at Cherner's in Rockville (Gude and 355). They've done both major and minor work for me and it was always spot on.

CTNYC

Hm - Looks like Cherner's got bought out by Caliber Collision. It also looks like Caliber Collision has bought out ALL of the Pohanka Collision Centers The fact that even in June 2015 when I needed to get my bumper repainted, I did not run across any Caliber Collision locations and now they seemingly bought out many body shops in the DC area (and according to their website, "coming soon" in CA, AZ, CO, FL, NV, NM, NC, OK, and TX) does raise some red flags to me with potential quality control...

ceb

There goes the neighborhood. Wagonwerks on rt 1 used to be good. I haven't used them in years though

CTNYC

I saw the Wagonwerks name get tossed around as being very good on several German car forums... Was Wagonwerks on Rt. 1 Alexandria? If so, from my googling and reviews, it appears that Pohanka Collision bought out Wagonwerks, and now Caliber Collision bought out Pohanka...

Brought my car over to Arlington Collision Center and Spectrum Collision Center today for an estimate -- in the upper $2000s/lower $3000s range. ACC did get me a print out quote, but the guy seemed to kind of half ass the quote and said it was a "rough rough" estimate and that insurance does their own thing... The guy didn't even check the paint or take more than an extended place.... and Spectrum didn't even get me a quote and gave me a "$2200 to $3000s range"

Granted the other party's insurance is paying for the repairs and the cost shouldn't be my concern, but when I get my cars repaired in Connecticut, they always seem to be a lot more thorough and less rushed, even when it's going through insurance (not to mention their "WOW" factor - An shockingly thorough detail job). Maybe it's a cultural thing with body shops in the DMV vs CT, but I didn't get the feeling that either shop wanted or valued my business - I may just end up getting my car repaired in CT since it'll take around 2 weeks for the repair anyways (not to mention my mileage is killing my resale value)