Little Body Shop of Horror....

[goldfive]

So, I took my used '06 Elise to a local body shop recommended by someone. I needed the left rear (basically under the tail-lights) repainted and "blended" because of some scuffs and scratches from the previous owner.

I also had some damage to the front winglets, so I asked them if they could build up the shape again and of course repaint them to blend them in.

I just picked up the car and I was HORRIFIED to see they painted OVER the Starshield behind the rear drivers-side wheel! Oh, they blended the color of the paint just fine, and got rid of all the stuff I pointed out when I brought it in--- but, the new paint/clearcoat caked up against the edge of the Starshield there, and now it's blantantly obvious that paintwork has been done to the car.

The nose was an even bigger disaster, again, because it was covered with Starshield and they didnt want to remove it. But since the area is so low and not easily seen, I can live with it. The guy must have felt guilty because he didnt charge me for the paint work on the nose, just $300 for the rear.

I am simply aghast that a professional body shop would be so stupid as to think painting over the clear film would turn out good. They had my phone number, they could have called to ask if I wanted to either A) paint over it, or B) remove the clear film and leave it off completely. I certainly would have gone with B) since that is the only thing that makes sense to me.

What particularly annoyed me too was that when I got the estimate, the guy was very confident in the skills of the shop and said "oh we won't let anything leave here until it's perfect" etc... all sorts of bravado statments like that. And then he hands me the car back like this??? Un-friggin-believable. So pissed.

[Shawn C]

Take it back, Have them re-do it. I have never heard of someone painting over starshield....Idiots...

[ritcci]

Originally Posted by Shawn C

I have never heard of someone painting over starshield....Idiots...

Sadly I have.

What are these people thinking.......

[Greenstreak]

Like said above, take it back. I wouldn't even have taken it from them in the first place with something that stupid done. How was the quality of the glass and paint work besides that major screw up?

[charliex]

Originally Posted by ritcci

Sadly I have.

What are these people thinking.......

hah yeah

sorry to hear it goldfive, i feel your pain !

[xxguitarist]

Take it back, no doubt.
I've had things re-done (for free) years after the fact due to excessive chipping, and the body shop I went to didn't complain one bit- they agreed that the paint cured too weak. Shops with lifetime gurantees are good for this kind of thing!

[goldfive]

Originally Posted by Greenstreak

I wouldn't even have taken it from them in the first place with something that stupid done. How was the quality of the glass and paint work besides that major screw up?

they really didnt have to do any glasswork except for the front winglets, which I haven't looked at again since I picked the car up. Too upsetting. They "couldn't" blend the paint there because of the Starshield getting in the way so it ended up looking just awful.

As far as the color goes, it looked like a good match.

I see what you are saying about not accepting the car back, but they had it for three days and F'd it up so much already that I just wanted to get her home and away from the idiots. Clearly they have NO clue what they are doing when it comes to "exotic" cars. The guy complained endlessly to me about how he's never seen a car with so much clear film (i.e., starshield) on it, and mentioned that his back was killing him from getting in and out of the car, and that the guys in the shop could not figure out how to jack it up, etc... He wasn't an a-hole about it, just sort of venting to me I guess.

I was just looking at the rear again and found to my added horror that he clearcoated the entire rear end, Lotus lettering and all. So now they are embedded inside the clearcoat. AND-- the other starshield section-- the one behind the passenger rear wheel-- is also covered in clear coat now.

I think I am going to throw up now.

[Amarao]

You get what you pay for? $300 seems kinda cheap to me. x_x

[charliex]

I paid quite a bit more than $300 and i still got a crappy paint repair and over the starshield, so i dunno if you get what you pay for, and i had way less to fix than the OP.

and mine was the dealer.

[akandok]

$300? I wouldnt do that in my garage for that price.. What were they thinking?

[21TonyK]

You'll be pleased to hear (or maybe not) that some of the body shops in the UK are just as bad. I had exactly the same happen to me after the company striping my car dropped a scalpel. The dodgy repair they had done first off was rejected and ended up being a complete clam off front end respray. Cost to them in the end was over £5,000 in repairs, loan cars etc

Now the back needs doing

[shay2nak]

wow...

[Pestodude]

Well , what value is this thread if you don't post the city and name of the shop so one of your fellow forum brothers don't stumble into the same place.

[goldfive]

Originally Posted by Pestodude

Well , what value is this thread if you don't post the city and name of the shop so one of your fellow forum brothers don't stumble into the same place.

...point taken.

To all Fellow Auto Enthusiasts: AVOID Black Oak Ridge Auto Body in Wayne, New Jersey.

[Pestodude]

Thanks! There's no other way that they're going to change the quality of their work ethic unless they are called on it in a public forum and they risk losing business.

[swistun]

Originally Posted by goldfive

they really didnt have to do any glasswork except for the front winglets, which I haven't looked at again since I picked the car up. Too upsetting. They "couldn't" blend the paint there because of the Starshield getting in the way so it ended up looking just awful.

As far as the color goes, it looked like a good match.

I see what you are saying about not accepting the car back, but they had it for three days and F'd it up so much already that I just wanted to get her home and away from the idiots. Clearly they have NO clue what they are doing when it comes to "exotic" cars. The guy complained endlessly to me about how he's never seen a car with so much clear film (i.e., starshield) on it, and mentioned that his back was killing him from getting in and out of the car, and that the guys in the shop could not figure out how to jack it up, etc... He wasn't an a-hole about it, just sort of venting to me I guess.

I was just looking at the rear again and found to my added horror that he clearcoated the entire rear end, Lotus lettering and all. So now they are embedded inside the clearcoat. AND-- the other starshield section-- the one behind the passenger rear wheel-- is also covered in clear coat now.

I think I am going to throw up now.

Take it back. That's just irresponsible. They have to accept they will take a (potentially huge) loss on this particular repair, but business is business, you learn from your mistakes, and customer satisfaction is everything in this country. If you smell anything rotten, call the Better Business Bureau. Next time they'll pay more attention, as they should have in the first place.

That's like a surgeon making an incision without anesthesia, to do a surgery he's not licensed on. They should know their limitations and pay attention to what they're doing.

Still, a $300 quote would have been my first clue to consider engaging in micromanagement, i.e. "see this line here? that's a piece of clear plastic you have to remove first, and replace later..."

[swistun]

Further, if they do not feel comfortable re-doing the work, they should now consider paying another shop with Lotus experience to help them out. For instance, if they now start to strip away all those layers of paint and plastic, and crack the clam in the process, they will just bury themselves even deeper...

[SweetDaddyD]

Don't these body shops know that they can just call me, and I'll send them computer cut replacement sections for the PPF so they can put it back on after the repair? lol.
Sorry to hear that.

[milehitom]

Originally Posted by goldfive

...point taken.

To all Fellow Auto Enthusiasts: AVOID Black Oak Ridge Auto Body in Wayne, New Jersey.

You know a body shop has to be bad when it derives its name from the combination of these two bands...Black Oak Arkansas and The Oak Ridge Boys...I woulda high-tailed it outta there right then!

Sorry to hear about your problem.

Tom

[glb]

well....it's a great thread title.