Has anyone here in the forum had any (and i mean any) experience with Larry over at BodyWerks on Niles Center Road in Skokie? I'm planning (thinking) about taking in my car there for repairs and a replacement hood. I'm just wondering if they do a lazy job...any feedback would be great. thanks!

btw...this is pookie0744

 

i got rear-ended and they fixed the bumper pretty quickly for $600. they did a great job, the match is perfect.

 

They do great work but you pay for what you get there, it's pretty expensive

 

I got my car painted there. he did a good job.

 

My friends prelude took forever, and they dicked him around a lot.

 

Back in 2000 when I bought my 00 accord v6 coupe, I had a 3 piece spoiler put on there a week after I bought my car. A day later, the car comes out dirty as hell, and then they sprinkle water all over it. Not a car wash mind you. Just a hose with water doused over it. So I get home and wash the car, to find, a nice inch sized deep scratch mark about 6 inches below where the spoiler was installed. Looks like a drill rubbed against the car, never going there again. I don't think Larry was there that day. I think it was his brother. All in all it was expensive and I got a nice scratch on my new car. And the worst part was that they tried to cover it up. Other than that. the spoiler has stayed on since, although the paint they use is definitely a much thinner coat than the body of the car. My 2 cents...

 

you have 2 sn's??

 

For every "good" story listed above, I can forward you to 20 bad stories. I think they do absolute horrible work, they take too long, and have been known to drive customer cars as their own.

My suggestion is to stay away from them as much as possible. If you need something fixed, there are a handful of great experiences with regular body-shops.

If you want/need any custom work done, there are two/three other shops that do great custom work, specializing in the import market.

As for the opinion stated by hecash about getting custom work done perfectly and inexpensively, I have contrary thoughts. The opinion about the work being inexpensive I can't comment on due to that being something that's a matter of perspective and relativity.

However, I do remember when the hood was originally done and there were quite a few things wrong when it was picked up. I remember that the car wasn't done on the day promised, even the day that it was to be picked up it wasn't yet ready. In the light, the hood was supposed to be red, yet it was more pink and orange. I believe there was a repaint after that.

About that job, the only other thing that I find fault in was the actual custom work. They added venting into the hood by customer request, unfortunately instead of getting aluminum vents/fins and frame made, they cut the hood and used bondo to make the vent enclosure. This added significant weight to the hood and I question the longevity in life of this mod seeing that bondo doesn't have long life with temperature changes (summer and winter) over the test of time.

The only reason I pick apart this one situation is because it comes to mind. I really despise the Body Werks "outfit" and their business tactics. They have taken advantage of many young import enthusiasts many times. That is a business that needs NOT to be frequented; I put them in the same category as I do with Crystal Lake Honda, O'Hare Honda, and Honda-Care (ask JohnnyS2K about that one).

 

Easy....check over the horror stories and bad dealings with Larry over at MWIR.net, check with old TCL members, Ronin members, and quite frankly anyone that's been in the import show scene here in Chicago for a while.

If you want a personal character reference from the owner himself, just do a search on this board for him. I think his username is/was "BodyWerks". Needless to say, he definitely didn't win over many friends on this board back in the day once/when he bought Greg Steven's wrecked S2000. In fact, when the Bodywerks S2000 was featured in a magazine article, there were many lies that Larry told that translated very badly into the article.

Hell, check with the "Team BodyWerks" car owners....they'll give you a piece any prospective Bodywerks customer a piece of their minds. In fact, Driver's Image shop cars used to solely go to Bodywerks for years, and now they don't. If you care to investigate, you may even find a few pending law suits going on simultaneously. Also keep in mind that defamation deals with non-truths and damaging character; I've simply stated my opinion.

As for your hood, I wasn't suggesting using a pre-fabbed vent. I was suggesting fabbing out of aluminum a vent, and then welding it onto the hood skin. Aluminum welding is a bit more of a pain than steel weld, but would have saved much time and effort than using bondo. Oh yeah, it'd save alot of weight as well.

As for the photo, it's not showing up. It is the same photo that was taken the day you picked the hood up and met Greg Stevens and me up at my parent's house in Schaumburg, I remember it well.

Many people that know me and my passion, know that I am fairly well-versed with the shops, vendors, and enthusiasts in the import tuning industry in the Chicago market. I've always networked well and have kept an informed ear to the ground. My credibility in the scene needs not be questioned, but if you so choose to...by all means go for it.

**Edit for an additional reply regarding hecash's response/reply from another thread**

[QUOTE=hecash,Jun 1 2005, 10:25 PM] As the weasel said to the fly.............I didn't mean to bite you.

As to drama, to a very, very high degree, I don't post any opinions on threads where you post first.

 

you guys should make ur site called "stay away from bodywerks NOW!"
























also, if i ever need any promoting work done...i will definetely run to Urmil and Harry!