body shop wait
 

i brought in my s2000 to a local body shop on monday morning, may 12 for repair on various damages incurred by another driver. according to the estimate, all work would be completed by thursday, may 15. however, i informed the service advisor that i would be unable to pick up my car until monday, may 19. perhaps as a friendly gesture, the technician working on my vehicle called me on thursday, may 19 to inform me that the car would not be ready that day because the body shop had subletted repair on my passenger side wheel to another company and that company was not finished yet. the technician also informed me that the wheel was expected to be available on friday, may 16 and he said the vehicle would be ready on monday.
as of this post, my car is still not ready. i contacted the body shop on monday to confirm vehicle pickup and the technician told me that the contracted company needed more time because the s-02s are polished wheels. to clear up any confusion, the technician claimed he completed all other body work needed for the car so the shop was just waiting for the wheel. is this the typical wait to have one wheel repaired? all suggestions are welcomed.

body shops are ALWAYS slow when you NEED your car!!! i wouldn't think that there is anything special about the s2000 stock wheel, it sounds like they're just backed up. fyi-my favorite body shop, usually has a two to six week wait to any work. they won't release the car unless it's perfect. their hourly rates are well about insurance reimbursement levels so the difference is paid by the customer.

a good shop will be worth the wait. i hope all turns out well.

well....sometimes with wheel repair it can take a while, esp considering our wheel is polished on the lip and spokes, but the inside edges of the spokes are not polished, Im sure they want to get the wheel to look as good, or as close to new as possible.....In a situation like that, i would not rush them, since they may turn around and send you a fixed wheel that looks like crap!

Did you get a rental/loaner car? If not, ask for one from the body shop, and get the INS to cover the cost of it....if only for a day or two should only be $100-150 at most!

Good luck,
John

ace-10, johnny--2k, thanx for the suggestions and support. it's not the wait that upsets me, i feel betrayed because the shop said the vehicle would be "definitely" finished on monday. i would have appreciated it if the shop called me on friday and said there would be a delay so i wouldn't have taken the day off from work. i do have a rental car from enterprise due to an agreement between it and my insurance company but the coverage expires this friday. i've been driving a rental since april 23 on the recommendation of my adjustor based on the estimate. hopefully, the car will be ready before my allowance ends.

If it's any consolation, my wife's '03 CR-V is done at the body shop except for the spare wheel (full-size alloy, but not polished) that was sent out to be fixed. (That's what got hit, although total damage is $2600.)

In general, body shops, like remodeling contractors, don't keep to schedules very well. However, the wheel is due back late today and our promise was "middle to the end of the week." This is a first; however, I got the recommendation from this forum.

Tom Peters said it well: "Underpromise and overdeliver."

i know exactly what you are feeling. my car went into the shop over a month ago becuase i hit a deer. over the past month, i have been given about 7 or 8 target dates for it to be ready, and numerous excuses why it isnt ready. they have ranged from the same wheel excuse you have gotten, to backordered parts, wrong parts ordered, and they even blamed me once because they forgot to order the tires. the body shop called and asked me what tires i wanted to put on, and i told them i wanted the OEM s02's. about a week later they called and asked when i was going to order the tires because they needed them before they could go any further with the car. it seems that somehow they got the impression that i was going to supply my own tires. i have no clue how this happened, but oh well. the current deadline they have given me is the end of this week. so i guess they have 2 days for that one, but ill probably get a new deadline tomorrow when i call. that must be the price to pay for letting my insurance company take it to their body shop.

simple solution... don't EVER use the insurance company's source for ANYTHING. you don't have to, and there is probably a $$ reason they are feeding their business to a particular shop versus a QUALITY reason.

solicit shop recomendations from people who have nice cars similar to yours who have had complex and/or major body work done. don't be afraid to go outside of your immediate area to find a good shop!!! if a shop gives you a HUGE runaround, then they have probably given other people the same routine.... you aren't going to give a glowing review of this shop in the future, thereby saving the next guy.

good luck with everyone's body shop issues.

thanx gents for the stories. your personal experiences have provided wonderful insight. the insurance company actually didn't recommend the body shop in my case. i selected it because i purchased my car from the body shop owner's honda dealership and i figured they would be experts in repairing products they sell. my father also had an accord repaired there in the past and received glowing service but that may be a different story. i haven't seen the repair quality on my car so i can't comment but i'm beginning to regret my decision.
brerspidur, i can relate to your story. i called the shop on wednesday and the mechanic working on my car informed me that the company performing the wheel work painted the wheel with the wrong color so the body shop requested a repainting. due to this incident, i have put extreme pressure on the body shop by calling constantly and demanding satisfaction. the mechanic says the shop will pick up the tab for my rental car if the wheel doesn't arrive by friday. most likely, i will "strongly request" free service (i.e. oil changes and such) if picking up my s requires me to miss work ( i work in manhattan but the body shop and my residence are in allentown, pa). has anyone used similar techniques to hold a body shop accountable for their irresponsibility?

i think i would take the free rental and leave it at that. if this is the experience you are having with the body shop, do you really want to put your car back in there for a free oil change or something like that,. . . anything could happen. although it is doubtful that they could screw up an oil change, but i still get a mental picture of my body shop draining the oil out of my car, and then telling me that the new oil is on backorder and that i will have to wait a week.:rolleyes: but anyway, ..i just got off the phone from the shop where my car is, and i guess the deadline of friday has now turned into tuesday or wednesday of next week because they still have to "button some small stuff up" . i asked several times what it meant to button some small stuff up, but couldnt get a straight answer.

brerspidur, the body shop and the service department of the dealership are at different locations so i wouldn't return the body shop for oil changes or any other service work. i appreciate the concern though.