Body Shop Recommendation
05-01-07, 06:40 AM
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Body Shop Recommendation
I'll try to make this short....
So about about a month ago I was washing my car and I was kinda annoyed to see some rock chips in the front. Now some of you guys know how "****" I am about my car. My neighbor owns a car dealership down south and I was talking to him while washing the car. He told me, "I can take that to my guy that does all my body work, have the whole front bumper re-sprayed for 150" which is an un-heard of price so I jumped on it. So a week goes by and my neighbor said that the guy wants to charge 200 since he wants to take extra time since I'm so particular...no big deal....well my car finally arrives and guess what? The paint doesn't match! I understand that 1CO is one of the hardest colors to match, but if your a body shop and your taking "extra" time it should be no problem with test strips, etc. So I made him take it back which my neighbor agreed with. Long story short...the guy had "way" too many other cars to do and didn't charge me which I was totally cool with even though I was going to have to take it somewhere else.
So the next day I call up our friends over at Car Medics...Ed is the highly reccomended painter over there and has done work for me before and a very reasonable price. So I call, "Ed isn't here, can I help you with something?" So I tell the guy the problem and he says he can do it next week. I ask him for the total and he says 350! I said, "350!" I've had the same thing done there for WAY cheaper...he said not here. I've heard that they have this new mananger there and the guy is a total *****. Needless to say, I do NOT reccomend this place anymore! It's too bad too because Ed is an awsome guy......
So by this time I'm kinda flustered....I'm on the computer checking my craigslist listing when I see an "Automotive Services" link at the bottom of the page. I opened it and starting looking through the listings...Mechanics doing work on the side, auto restoration, etc....it's actually kinda nice if you are looking to get something done. Then I read one that said, Auto Painting and Bodywork (Naperville)...I decided to write this guy an e-mail asking him about his credentials, where the work is done, etc. The guy writes me back and tells me that he does work for Bill Jacobs BMW, Honda of Joliet, etc..I give this guy a call (Peter) and stop out at his shop last Monday. He just opened this garage in February with his buddy Dave (they are about my age, 25) and gave me a quick tour of the garage (which could only fit about 4 cars, no paint booth...i mean the guy is just starting off) and shows me the equipment that he uses. I basically just shot the sh_t with the guy for about an hour...talking about cars, etc...he was totally cool. He said that since he opened the garage he's pretty busy with dealership stuff, etc. He took a look at the car and was dissapointed in the color match and a few other things that the other guy did...he was giving me tons of compliments on the car itself which not only gives me respect but also tells me that Peter is going to respect the car. He tells me that he would use the highest brand of paint of clearcoat and paint on my car(He uses some high end paint called standox? I don't know that much about paint) and told me that he would take on the work as his own and wouldn't let anyone else touch it. He said, "This car will be covered every night in the shop, we have cameras and security, and I'll take the keys home every night" By this time, I'm like, Whoa this guys really respects my car and isn't messing around. So finally we talk price....he says 150 for the whole front bumper...PERFECT!!!! I said, "I'll pay cash" So fast forward...I pick up the car Saturday and the car is absolutely PERFECT!!!!...paint matched perfectly and he even did some extra stuff that I didn't even ask for....so in short I HIGHLY RECCOMEND PETER...I TOLD HIM I WOULD PASS THE WORD ALONG TO ALL THE CL GUYS...It's hard to find stand-up body shops out there these days at a reasonable price...this guy is just starting off (but has lots of experience), works very hard, and does fantastic work!!!....I don't know if CL rules allow me to post his # so PM me for details.
So about about a month ago I was washing my car and I was kinda annoyed to see some rock chips in the front. Now some of you guys know how "****" I am about my car. My neighbor owns a car dealership down south and I was talking to him while washing the car. He told me, "I can take that to my guy that does all my body work, have the whole front bumper re-sprayed for 150" which is an un-heard of price so I jumped on it. So a week goes by and my neighbor said that the guy wants to charge 200 since he wants to take extra time since I'm so particular...no big deal....well my car finally arrives and guess what? The paint doesn't match! I understand that 1CO is one of the hardest colors to match, but if your a body shop and your taking "extra" time it should be no problem with test strips, etc. So I made him take it back which my neighbor agreed with. Long story short...the guy had "way" too many other cars to do and didn't charge me which I was totally cool with even though I was going to have to take it somewhere else.
So the next day I call up our friends over at Car Medics...Ed is the highly reccomended painter over there and has done work for me before and a very reasonable price. So I call, "Ed isn't here, can I help you with something?" So I tell the guy the problem and he says he can do it next week. I ask him for the total and he says 350! I said, "350!" I've had the same thing done there for WAY cheaper...he said not here. I've heard that they have this new mananger there and the guy is a total *****. Needless to say, I do NOT reccomend this place anymore! It's too bad too because Ed is an awsome guy......
So by this time I'm kinda flustered....I'm on the computer checking my craigslist listing when I see an "Automotive Services" link at the bottom of the page. I opened it and starting looking through the listings...Mechanics doing work on the side, auto restoration, etc....it's actually kinda nice if you are looking to get something done. Then I read one that said, Auto Painting and Bodywork (Naperville)...I decided to write this guy an e-mail asking him about his credentials, where the work is done, etc. The guy writes me back and tells me that he does work for Bill Jacobs BMW, Honda of Joliet, etc..I give this guy a call (Peter) and stop out at his shop last Monday. He just opened this garage in February with his buddy Dave (they are about my age, 25) and gave me a quick tour of the garage (which could only fit about 4 cars, no paint booth...i mean the guy is just starting off) and shows me the equipment that he uses. I basically just shot the sh_t with the guy for about an hour...talking about cars, etc...he was totally cool. He said that since he opened the garage he's pretty busy with dealership stuff, etc. He took a look at the car and was dissapointed in the color match and a few other things that the other guy did...he was giving me tons of compliments on the car itself which not only gives me respect but also tells me that Peter is going to respect the car. He tells me that he would use the highest brand of paint of clearcoat and paint on my car(He uses some high end paint called standox? I don't know that much about paint) and told me that he would take on the work as his own and wouldn't let anyone else touch it. He said, "This car will be covered every night in the shop, we have cameras and security, and I'll take the keys home every night" By this time, I'm like, Whoa this guys really respects my car and isn't messing around. So finally we talk price....he says 150 for the whole front bumper...PERFECT!!!! I said, "I'll pay cash" So fast forward...I pick up the car Saturday and the car is absolutely PERFECT!!!!...paint matched perfectly and he even did some extra stuff that I didn't even ask for....so in short I HIGHLY RECCOMEND PETER...I TOLD HIM I WOULD PASS THE WORD ALONG TO ALL THE CL GUYS...It's hard to find stand-up body shops out there these days at a reasonable price...this guy is just starting off (but has lots of experience), works very hard, and does fantastic work!!!....I don't know if CL rules allow me to post his # so PM me for details.
Last edited by cHiTwNGS43; 05-01-07 at 08:07 AM.
