Twizt

My Z was recently involved in an accident (11/10). Other driver's fault, she cut my wife off making a left turn.

The front left fender and suspension were very heavily damaged.

I picked it up from the bodyshop on Friday night (12/5), almost a month later. I noticed some minor problems right away and pointed them out to the Bodyshop manager. I showed him the engine cover was badly scratched, the Nissan embem was scratched, the rocker panel was out of alignment, and there was still some tape stuck on the car in some places. I test drove the car and it drove well. Mechanically things looked pretty good. The frame seems solid and the car does not pull either way under any conditions.

These problems were minor in comparison to the original damage. So I figured I'd take the car home for the weekend and take a close look at it in the daylight.

The problems all came out in the daylight.

First. I have a Silverstone, what color is the underside of the hood supposed to be? I thought it was silver like the rest of the car. Mine is now gray.

When the fender was replaced it was painted after it was mounted on the car. When you get in the car you can see the inside of the fender and it matches the bottom of the hood.

Anybody complaining about orange peel should see the paint they put on my hood. Starts out bad on the drivers side and rapidly gets worse as you move to the right.

Not to mention the dirt in the paint, the missing film in front of the back wheel, the bondo on the door panel, the overspray in the engine compartment, the puddle of paint on the driver's side rocker panel, and the crappy masking job on the front grill.

Anybody got any good advice? I called the manager and gave him holy hell. He said to bring it back in, they'ed get it right. But the painter is on vacation for the rest of the week. Riiiggght.

Am I expecting too much out of the bodyshop? Should their work just plain suck? If they can't get this right, can I tell the insurance company I'm going somewhere else?

Twizt

Here's a link to the original post with some pictures of the damage.

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....threadid=49775

2003z

iTrader: (7)

only thing I can help you with for certain, is the underside of hood and inside of fender are supposed to be gray, so that part is correct.

Keep taking it back til they repair it to your satisfaction, if you get nowhere, have the insurance company take up your cause.

vic grant

talk to the owner of the body shop, tell him just make it right and you won't report to your Ins Co...got to be the owner, not the Mgr.

Twizt

I took the car to a dealership here in Orlando that has a bodyshop. Someone recommended it to me.

It's a family business and the manager is the son of the guy who owns the dealership. I've been treated very decently, but their paint work and attention to detail is really crappy.

Anyway, I've already mentioned it to State Farm, their reply was "Too bad, you picked it up, it's your problem now." I'm thinking real hard about a lawsuit right now. I don't see how they've relieved themselves of the their obligation to repair my car.

eddytsi

first off, i can't believe that state farm would say that. that is bad service on state farm's part.

yeah, you're being picky, just like me. bring the car back and have them do over the mistakes again.

my question to you is did state farm claim center or your insurance agent say that to you?

Twizt

That statement was made by the woman who is handling our claim. State Farm is the other driver's Ins Co, so we're the third party in the claim.

This lady has not been very helpful. She is very seldom in the office and usually leaves for the day before returning our calls.

vic grant

i would talk to dad still (if you haven't) he may not know what the boy is up to. after i talked to the owner (dad) my issues were fixed and i got a free home depot gift card, dadyo prob built the business and is still concerned about the shops rep. i was very polite and respectful with owner.

westpak

iTrader: (19)

Take it back and give them a chance to fix it, good shops will try to fix things and make you happy, if that doesn't work then get harder on them.

BFG10

Picking the right body shop makes all the difference. I always hesitate to use a dealer's body shop. Not sure why, just a gut feeling. Kinda makes you wish you took it to ZPRESENCE. Sorry

Twizt

Thanks for the feedback. I've been pretty low key with these guys so far. They are at least telling me they are willing to address the issues.

I'm just going to have to wait and see how they do when I take the car back.

peptidbond

iTrader: (2)

Perfect world = Get money back (yea right) and go somewhere else

Twizt

It occurred to me this morning that the bodyshop should have a serious interest in making things right. I would think they would not want State Farm to flag them as a bad shop.

Unfortunately, the State Farm agent doesn't seem to care one way or another.

2003z

iTrader: (7)

well, unfortunately, in my long past, I had lots of experience with body shops. The car never comes back without having to go back for some fixes. Im sure they will take care of you.

grounded

TWITZ
that really pisses me off to hear how they did you and your car. I am from a family of body shop owners and we dont do work like that but see it all the time I really feel sory for you and know the struggle it will be for you to get your car back the way it should be. i only can wish you the best luck .get that adjuster and remind him you are the claiment and the car repair is not satisfactory.

Blue04

Almost the same thing is happening to me right now. However, the only problem with my work is the paint doesn't match. But they are willing to fix it under their "paint warrenty". That's the catch here!!! State Farm is correct in telling you what they did, IMO, it's not their problem, they already paid for the repair. In my case they warrenty their work and are willing to stand behind that warrenty (knock on wood, still waiting for a loaner car for them to redo the job. I'd go after the body shop in some way, get them to make it right or take them to small claims.

Hope it works out for ya.

willpower

I work in a bodyshop, a good quality shop....even tho I do say so my self....The is no excuses for bad workmanship It sounds to me like your Z was never checked over before you picked it up....or if it was the guy must have been blind not to pick up on what sounds like a bad all round job......But I guess we all drop the ball once in a while and he is willing to put the problems right....So my advice is give the shop a second chance....Tell them that you want the hood wet sanded and buffed ( the less paint on the hood the better so you dont want it painted again ) and that you want all the scratched parts replaced, ( check your copy of the estimate they should be down for replacement ) if they are the bodyshop is ripping the insurance company...and you off,be cool tho when you take it back, If they &^*% up again refuse to take your car untill they get it right.....

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZyalater

Ralphus

If you work at a bodyshop you also know that people always see **** wrong that was already there. (dents, scratches, unaligned panels, etc.)

I know a body man, and if they did some things wrong on your car, these people that complain about stuff that's not the shops fault make it harder on you.

I think if you see it from their view (i.e. sympathize with them) you'll have a better shot at getting it fix. People resond better when you don't rip 'em up real bad.

Twizt

I plan to take the car back on Monday. They've agreed to loan me a car while they work on the Z.

I don't have a problem with giving them a chance to fix things up. I just hate it when a job is done badly. Why do it twice?

Thanks for the feedback. I'll let you folks know how it goes when I get my car back a second time.

BTW What is the right way to fix the orange peel on the hood? Will wetsanding fix it or even it out? Or is the wetsanding good for getting the dirt out of the paint?

willpower

Wetsanding will fix both problems...If they put enough clear coat on your hood it should look like glass when they have buffed it.