What do you look for in a Bodyshop

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pingable

New member
In continuation of my other *blending panel* thread, i wanted to start a new one that might be appropriate to the CORE topic at hand.



What do you look for in a Bodyshop



I have 1 Bodyshop of my choice.

They are easily one of the best in the regional area.

The shop is immaculate, and when I say immaculate, I mean you can EAT off the floor in which they do bodywork. 1 Floor Does Bodywork, another floor does Paint. Both are equally that clean. U don't see cars littered with Bondo dust like some shops do. The floors are heated to attract dust/static as well, etc, etc.



Their relationship is one I value. With appraisers, they have Never put a *refurb* part on any claims and cough cough, I find it somewhat amazing how ~much~ they always get approved from the appraiser. This ~much~ amount always Nets to a proper refinish. Color, OP, etc is always on point. Gaps are right, etc.
 
Just as picking a doctor, one sometimes uses what they learn from word of mouth, when in the office, look for up to date diplomas, certification, etc.

That said, it is still up to those who have such to actually follow and practice what they learned.

First thing to look for in seeking a qualified bodyshop is the I-CAR Silver or better, Gold Class signage.

Then examine the certificates posted, are they up to date.

Are there up to date certificates of various training course from I-CAR, paint suppliers, welding equipment, etc vendors?

When a shop sends employee's for training, they receive certificates, look at the dates on them.

Not fool proof, however these indicators that the shop is at least keeping up on new processes, procedures, materials.

Most of the automotive manufacturers back I-CAR and work with them to provide their latest procedures, the larger insurance companies back them as well and contribute to keeping this non-profit training up to date and operating.

However, there are always times that one runs into the "diva" who knows more in his mind than the people who build the cars, provide the materials, etc, and those are the ones to watch out for.

Grumpy
 
0. Parking lot is clean and neat, not littered with half fixed cars

1. Openess, if they don't give tours, they aren't proud of their facility, and certainly not their work

2. Cleanliness

3. Final results

4. Willingness to fix things if you aren't happy



Notice price isn't in that mix. Item 0 actually works the best to weed them out, you can use google maps to take a look.
 
I look for a super clean paint booth. Then after that I want the dirtiest guy who doesn't give a shiit about your time because he is to busy doing his thing. I would prefer an old guy with busted up hands and dust in his hair. Yes Im serious on this. These are usally the guys who have been there and done that.
 
Barry, clean booth, yes, and is a modern booth?

That said, some of those old guys, I fit that catagory of "old", don't keep up on the other areas of repair.

Do they keep up on the new metals used and such?

How do they handle the "B" pillar if it is made of boron steel?

Do they just get out the port-a-power and start pushing, then grab the welder to weld up any cracks?

I hope not.

As many as 9 different metal compositions are in vehicles today and they can not all be repaired by just one method.

Etc, etc.
 
In my experience, there are three things to look for. Price, quality, and timeliness.



Pick two that are important to you and you'll be lucky to get one. :juggle: :der:



(I've been soured by some of my local bodyshops. I think some have been painting too long without respirators)



Randy
 
Sometimes you get bad experiences even though you don't want too.



I remember following a painter after *my bodyshop* had closed and the owner retired to the desert...

The painter started at a different bodyshop. The local *car club chapter* reps also mentioned this bodyshop.



So aside from the recommendation, and this was the *painter* at my previous preferred shop - what a 8#$@$ nightmare.The front fender and 2 rockets - the idiots decided to paint OVER the PPF film.



-----



How about Transparency....



Do you guys get a nice itemized list/breakdown of what exactly was done to your car at time of pickup.

Or just a very bare invoice/bill of services with the usual disclaimers
 
You could have the crappiest looking shop produce some of the best, most consistent work. I wouldn't discriminate by looks at all.



You need to check out their finished product most importantly.



Are you requiring collision and/or refinishing repair done?
 
<p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:large;">If you're in the market for a new paint job and are looking for a Body Shop here are a few things to look for:
<ul>[*]Friendly courteous people that know what they're talking about
[*]Get an estimate of what the work will cost (verbal or on paper. Try to get them to write the estimate down on their business card)
[*]Tell them what you're going to remove before they give you the quote.
[*]Also tell them that you don't want paintlines. Be sure to stress this, you don't want the paint peeling later on.
[*]Ask if there's a warranty(most body shops are required to have a warranty), ask to see a pamplet to read it over later.
[*]Ask for a tour of the facility(some places are afraid to show you around, those places you stay away from)
[*]Be sure to ask questions like, "How long will it take to do?" and "Have you worked with Chryslers in the past?" stuff like that so they know you know your stuff.
[*]Look for a work area. There should be an area where the actual body work is done(sanding, stripping, primering, and fill work).
[*]Look for a paint booth. If it's not in use at the time you visit ask to see inside. There should be fans, heatlamps, and paint guns. It should also be relatively clean, not a lot of dust.
[*]See if there's a car that's being prepped for painting. Look at the way they mask it off. See if they remove mouldings and trim. If they don't, ask why. They should be able to tell you if the customer wanted it that way or not.
[*]See their work. If there's a car there that they painted, look it over. See if there are any tapelines, dripmarks, overspray, deep swirlmarks, bumps, dents, or scratches. If you see dust and dirt under the clearcoat, that means that they didn't use a paint booth. If you see and feel little bumps in the clearcoat, then they didn't wet sand it.
[*]Look for credentials!
[/list]<p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:large;">You need to show that you are very concerned with how your car is going to turn out. As soon as I told them my car was going to be a show car, they wanted to help me out and said that they'd work with me to get what I wanted (they know they'll get some free advertising out of me). Be sure to tell them that you're going to show the car, or tell them you want show quality. If you're having an everyday driver car or an old clunker painted, tell them you want 'factory' finish.
<div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:large;">


Hope this helps. It's what I did every time I went to a body shop for a quote.




 
 
David Fermani said:
You could have the crappiest looking shop produce some of the best, most consistent work. I wouldn't discriminate by looks at all.


You need to check out their finished product most importantly.


Are you requiring collision and/or refinishing repair done?


 


 


 
Click to expand...
<p style="font-size:12px;background-color:rgb(247,247,247);">while my shop isn't the best looking, we are small in comparison to some of the othe monster body shops. but we do dam good work. people probably wonder, how the hell do bentley's and aston's end up at that shop? haha
<p style="font-size:12px;background-color:rgb(247,247,247);"> 
<p style="font-size:12px;background-color:rgb(247,247,247);">word of mouth has been great for us.
 
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