body shop pissing me about - advice please?...
 

Grrrrr.......

Bodyshop rang me today (car's supposed to be ready to pick up today) "Car's not ready Sir, won't be until Thu/Fri, we have to order some new parts...." -even though I told them not to book the car in until all the parts were in!!

Anyway the bloke has told me after getting the car (I dropped it off last Tuesday) that when they took the front bumper off and stripped it down, the rear panels (?) behind the bumper that hold the headlights etc was all bent, so they've had to order some bits that are arriving today... Fair enough, but they could have told me last week not today when I'm picking the car up! *******s! Their customer service is ****e and I told the manager this. I have lost all faith in this body shop as all they have done is pissed me about for the past week, never returned my calls and made no effort to contact me to let me know the status of my car.....

I also enquired that I was slightly worried that the front end will look out of place with new paint compared to the rest of the car, he told me "Don't worry Sir, the new paint will fade over a couple of months and it'll match up.... You should also polish each panel when you get it back to help it match up more..."

What the f**k?.... Surely all this should all be done by the bodyshop themselves?... I'm expecting my car to look mint when I pick it up, like it's never had a crash and all the paint work should be immaculate. Wouldn't you?.............

He also said they'd take the car out for a road test and I told him there was absolutely no reason too, and if my car has any more than an extra mile on it there will be hell on!... (a couple of my mates work in bodyshops and i've heard horror stories of them taking cars out from the bodyshop and ragging the tits of them - one of my mates crashed and wrote off a vx220 on a test drive!...)

They're also supposed to be doing a 4-wheel alignment, but I doubt they'll do it, we'll see when I ask them for the print-out..... I can see it now "sorry sir, we've misplaced it..."

Anyway, I'm after some advice. If I'm not happy with the car when I go to pick it up, eg, paint doesn't match, front looks out of place cos of faded old paint, extra miles on the clock (millage noted down when I left the car), interior full of dust, or any extra dents?... etc. What Should I Do?...

Do I just leave the car, say I'm not happy with it, leave the car at the bodyshop. go back home and contact my insurance company? What would be the best course of action?...

7 Days without a car now, it's like losing my legs, still it helps us appreciate things a little more!....

Matt.

Is this the same garage that wouldn't let you put the new front end on?

you will never know they have test driven it, if you tell them you have recorded the milage they will just didconnect the speedo and take it out anyway, lots of thrashed miles and no record of it!! try and prove they took it out!!!!!!

But if they diconnect the speedo scoobs go into limp mode don't they?

If you’re not happy with it, tell them that you’re not accepting the car and that you will be contacting your insurance assessor and also the AA or RAC for them to do an independent inspection.

Yeah it's the same garage/bodyshop that wouldn't put the new front end on - but I got them to in the end by contacting my insurance company directly and telling them it was cheaper to fit MY00 parts than MY98 parts - so they bollocked the bodyshop and it's having a complete MY00 front end fitted. Result!....

My insurance company is Tesco which have been really good with me, and the bodyshop is a very big Ford (arghhhh) dealership.

Guess I can't do much about them taking the car out with the speedo disconected, just hope I don't get the car back and the turbo/clutch is shafted!....

Anyway if it's not up to scratch I'll do what Jasoon says and not accept the car, walk about and contact the insurance company.

This matching paintwork thing is bollox. Any decent bodyshop should be able to match a new colour onto an existing one, even if aged/faded.

I took my MY98 in to have a dent repaired/resprayed, and I honestly can't tell the difference - I was very sceptical that it would be right, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Bottom line is, if you're not happy, don't accept it.

T

I have to admit being without a car is a bit of a nightmare, but over the past week I've got used to it and going without one of life's pleasure's for a bit only makes you appreciate it more.

Anyway I get a lift to work and back, walk to the gym and back on a night (why the hell did i ever drive to the gym - doh!) so it's doing me good and it's saved me £50 in petrol so far!.....

So if the cars not up to scratch then I'm not desperate to get it back, I'll leave it at the bodyshop and contact my insurance company.

All good things come to those who wait...

Matt.