OK, here it goes...

June 1st, my girlfreind and I were on our way to a wedding. Before we got there, I was low on gas, so I decided to pull off the highway to fill up. I find myself in a construction zone that was reduced down to two lanes and slow moving traffic (~15 mph). I put my turn signal on, slow down gradually to pull into the gas station. Suddenly, someone in a Lexus decides to pull out of the same entrance, totally blocking my way. I stop. WHAM! I get rear-ended by a Sonoma pickup.

I motion to the driver to pull into the gas station. He admits it was his fault, blaming it on his wet rotors from a carwash and ABS. At least I wasn't getting a bad attitude from this guy. I get his information without any problem. I contact Allstate; again no problem.

I schedule an appointment with one of the best reputed bodyshops in the area on Friday. I drop the car off on June 10th. I am called on Thursday and am told that they were not happy with the color match and it was being resprayed. I go in Friday to pick up the car and inspect it before delivery.

The color matches and the orangepeel is no worse than the factory finish, however...

I find: dirt, drips, and gouges. To boot, the paint was still wet!!!

"Not acceptable, I want it fixed."

I call the insurance company, they send a guy out Monday to check out the work. The bodyshop "fixes" it. I get a call Tuesday to pick it up.

I find: dirt, sanded-off drips (unfinished, no clear coat), gouges, and touched-up gouges from a brush.

Again, I refuse to accept the repairs. I call the insurance representative. He'll get back to me. I call the bodyshop. They get snippy with me and inform me that there is as much dirt in to factory finish as there is in their work. They also complain to the insurance agent that this will cut into their profit margin!

I followup with a telephone call to the insurance representative. We both come to the conclusion that it needs fixed.

As it stands now, the bumper is being completely sanded off with a DA sander, and will be completely resprayed. To quote the insurance guy, "Perfectly."

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll do it right this time.

Has anyone else had problems getting quality bodywork done? I've done some bodywork myself and I don't have unrealistic expectations. I wonder if these people working on it are thinking "It's just a Honda..." and are doing sloppy work?

 

No way you should back down! The finish on the S2000 is one of the best I've had the pleasure to examine thoroughly - only 2 super-minor blemishes on mine - you almost need a magnifying glass and bright sunlight to see them.

About 2 months ago, a friend of mine took delivery of his 2002 Civic. We Claybar'ed and Zaino'ed it, and I can't count how many paint defects I found - discolorations, mostly. The S2000 finish is pretty flawless - I'm sure there are undamaged areas that you can show the shop to indicate what you expect. Keep at 'em!

JonasM

 

I feel your pain! I had my Si keyed on one side, then hit by a pick up on the other. The insurance company was dicking me around with payment and I was without my car for 2 weeks! It looks pretty good, but what a nightmare it was. I hope I never need to put a car in a body shop ever again. I hate body shops. Most of them are crooks and make their living stealing from insurance companies and other poor schmucks. My first car was crashed up by my sister, another body shop nightmare. My mother got hit by a 18 wheeler,. another body shop nightmare. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A GOOD BODYSHOP!

 

Had both side of my s2k scraped 2 months ago. I was on deceleration for a red light and a bus tried to pass between the right side of my car and the sidewalk....He was accelerating on a yellow light !!!.... Unfortunately he scraped the right side and push me on the car that was on my right so both side were dammage so i went to the dealer and talk with the body shop director that no matter how much time it will take i want it perfect !!....I told them, no masking tape so they took everything off !! It took a month ( Door back order ...I did not want putty on the door but a new door ) The job is perfect...No orange peel, no dirt, no drips, they call a guy for the paint match ( The bodyshop director told me that if you want a perfect color rending on the bumpers you have to change the color a little bit because of a different reflection angle )
I'm sure that if i didn't told them : no matter the time it will take !!! The job didn't have been so perfect !!!

 

If a body shop repairs a car and repaints what needed to be repaired, does it come with some sort of warranty? My friend got his Integra repaired and the part that was repaired was also repainted. Now almost 10 months later, the clear coat has started to peel off. Is there anything that my friend could do about this?

 

A bus accelerating on a yellow light, in Montreal, who would've thought? lol Driving around here is always fun!

BTW, I hope I never need it, but, which body shop did you go to??

 

he should have gotten a certificate from the body shop that said their work carries a 12 month 12k mile warrenty. have him take that certificate back to the body shop and have the work redone.

 

My old GSR got hit while it was parked at work, the guy did about $3000 in damage. The body shop screwed up the orange peel, and clear coat four times, and finally got it right the fifth time. Body shops are the worst to deal with, very shady.

 

LALLIER HONDA ( Repentigny )
Body shop is number 1............But don't go there for mechanical service, they did the tsb 55 and my trans. seized when i was driving the car home !!!

 

Most body shops leave a great deal to be desired. Part of the reason is that insurance companies are a bit tight-fisted, and they must be willing to work to a modest hourly rate to be 'approved' by the referring insurance company. It is difficult for a local shop to duplicate the million dollar type dust-free paint booths in the factory, so minute specks of dust in the finish can be common.
Since the bumper is being refinished, it is quite important to be sure that the shop uses a so-called 'flex' polyurethane additive in the paint. Otherwise, months from now you may be seeing hairline cracks in the paint film due to flexing of the soft bumper material.