My 2006 ES330 was rear-ended and I took it to a body shop which is supposed to be the best in my area. I went there to pick it up today only to find that the trunk lid was misaligned. That is, when closed, the lid is noticeably higher than the body and slightly aligned to the right side. The shop is working on it.

My questions are:
1. Is the trunk lid completely well-aligned on a Lexus? I never paid attention to it before and don't know a few milimeter misaligment can be viewed as normal.
2. What should I do if the shop cannot fix the problem to my satisfaction? The insurance company of the person who hit me is paying for all the expenses.

 

The body seams/lines on a Lexus are very good, nearly flawless. You should not see any deviations at all, check around the rest of your car to get an idea how the seams should look, such as between the hood and fenders, fenders and doors etc.

Hopefully you can get the car fixed properly at this body shop, if push comes to shove you can always force the insurance company to take your car somewhere else to get it fixed properly. Never sign off of the repairs until things are to your satisfaction. If they tell you that you can bring it back at a later time to "adjust" etc. refuse! Don't sign anything until it is fixed properly.

 

Dang. This was my first accident (I was lucky for a long time)! The insurance co sent me a check payable to me. So, I deposited it to my bank and paid the body shop with my credit card (I didn't immediately notice the misaligned trunk lid). Should I have my credit card company hold the payment?

 

I don't know if you should hold the payment or not, my gut feeling is no, the good faith argument applies. I assume you already have the car, which makes it more difficult. Contact the body shop right away, if they give you grief then contact the insurance company. If the body shop still gives you problems, you can always use the power of the Internet to shame the body shop into doing the right thing.

If it was me, I would take detailed photographs of the problem before it goes back to the body shop.

 

My car's at the shop and they are working on it. I hope they'll fix it but am not too hopeful.

 

Yeah, my 02 ES, everything is perfectly aligned. Make sure they fix it properly. But I must say no matter who's working on it a car will never be the same after it has gotten in an accident. If you didn't, than it just wasn't put on right.