This Body Shop Sucks!

[Charger SXT]

I have had some issues with the paint on my black SXT, so I've had it in to my dealer to get it looked at and fixed. Dave, at First Team Dodge, has really bent over backwards to get my issues fixed, and fixed correctly. I am completely happy with the service that I have received from First Team, and, until yesterday morning, I was OK with the work that the body shop had done (with the exception of major buffer swirl marks left in the areas that they have already worked on).

Yesterday morning, I received a call from the owner/manager of Advantage Collision Center. To recap the jist of the conversation, he basically laid into me saying that I shouldn't be so picky with the paint because it was just a car and wasn't "a Lamborghini or anything like that," and that I should just deal with it because the paint job was to "industry standards on a production car." He also told me that with his 29 years (or something close to that) experience and his "multi-million dollar facility," he did not feel that he could adequately fix the problems that I have. Wow!

For some background, here are the problems that I have with the paint:

1. Trunk lid scratches the rear bumper - fix paint scratches on the rear bumper and the edge of the trunk lid.
2. Rough spot in paint on rear door sills - there were two spots in the paint that looked and felt like there was something (e.g., dirt, sand, grit, etc.) actually in the paint.
3. Paint chipping off around door handles - the paint is actually chipping off in the crevice (or whatever you want to call it) in the door around door handle. You could look in and see the gray coat under the paint. This is what the body shop had the most problem with and told me I should just deal with since, in order to fix this, they have to basically take the doors apart and repaint the entire door on all 4 doors.
4. Blemishes in the paint on the nose - you can actually see spots in the paint that are a darker color than the rest of the paint (And, no, they aren't chips, scratches, bugs splatters, etc.) This, I admit, is probably a bit too picky, but it is noticable to me and it bugs me.

I realize that I may be more picky/anal than most people, but it is my car and I don't really appreciate anyone telling me what is, or isn't, important when it comes to my car (except for, possibly, my wife). And I really felt that it was extremely unprofessional for the owner of the body shop doing warranty work for a dealer to call me, the customer/car owner, and tell me that I am too picky and that I should just deal with these things. And it wasn't just what he said, but they way he said it...I actually felt that he was chewing me out and belittling me over the phone, trying to get me to change my mind so that he didn't have to do the work.

Also, it should be noted these paint issues were brought up and shown to him months ago when he did some initial work on the paint (he didn't finish because he ran out of paint, or something like that, and he has been very busy ever since and is just now able to get my car in), and he never mentioned any of his concerns, etc. about these paint issues until yesterday (when he finally got around to looking at the car after having it for 2-3 day). At the end of our conversation, he told be that it would be 10-14 days before he could get to my car and have it done, which is MUCH longer than the 2-3 days that he told my dealer.

So, if anyone in the Hampton Roads, VA area is looking for a body shop, I would advise that you stay away from Advantage Collision Center. Just my opinion. Personally, I'd rather pay for any body or paint work that I may need to have done in the future before I let First Team send it to Advantage Collision Center again.

Thanks for letting me rant.

[FOHN_JARGO]

Ranting approved.

Post some pictures of the issues. I'm sure I'm not the only one that would like to see them.

I would also tend to believe a "multi-million dollar facility" would be able to fix any problems. Consider reporting Advantage Collision Center to both the Better Business Bureau and the local city's Chamber of Commerce.

Good luck. I hope you can come out with a satisfactory solution.

[thewagon]

BBB and I would stand outside with a sign denouncing their professional approach to customers.

[Magnum_Man]

Hey, great idea for a thread! Sorry to hear about your problems. I've had my share as well. If you post here, we should start the thread with the name and address of the shop. For example:

Florida Auto Body
2187 N State Road 7
Margate, FL 33063

Then the rant:

Had the Mag less than a month and some lady side-swipes me. I then made the mistake of taking it to a shop her insurance recommended. First, they couldn't match the bright metallic silver correctly. Kept gettung "blotches". (Maybe if their painter was worth anything, he could have done it right the first time.) After about three tries they finally ship it off to their main shop: 825 NW 61 St., Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309. Here's where everything really started F'n up.

First time they said it was done, I found runs in the paint, major overspray, and misaligned fender and door.

Second time they said it was done, they must have burned through the paint when trying to buff out the overspray. Needed to repaint.

Third time it was done, my brand new leather had grease, yes GREASE, all over it! (Grease? In a paint shop?!)

Finally got fed up and took her home after the fourth effort. Two months later, I find that both of the "OH SH!T!" handles in the backseat are broken off. Since I can't prove they did it, they won't replace them. A few more months later, I debage and de-trim her and I find that when they had to respray a door due to issues, they did it with the trim on it. Now, there's a big stripe where the door trim was. I took it back to them and showed them and they offered to fix it. I was going to let them but then I remembered that fire is hot and I only needed to be burned once to not let it happen again.

Good news is, I'm a custom painter and I am going to fix everything myself. The bad news is, I'm a custom painter and I have to fix everything myself. Florida Auto Body was incapable of doing a professional job. But just to be fair, they did pay out of their pocket for my crappy-a$$ rental car after the due back date had passed. Thanks for letting me drive that piece of crap for so long, F.A.B.

[midnight_blue_rt]

he basically laid into me saying that I shouldn't be so picky with the paint because it was just a car and wasn't "a Lamborghini or anything like that,"
Thanks for letting me rant.

Be glad it wasn't - the factory paint on some of those exotics make DCX's worst look like a 8 layer custom job. Seriously, I'm not sure I would have been able to handle this comment appropriately if it had been given to me directly or over the phone (think - Lou Ferrigno in the Hulk). My immediate response would be that it just goes to show how many clueless dumba$$ there are out there if he'd managed to keep himself employeed for 20 odd years with that attitude.

[402 Motoring]

Magnum Man,

I have to ask. As a custom painter why would you allow anyone else to work on your car in the first place? Even if you do just "paint" why didn't you make a deal with your boss to do the bodywork portion of the repair and then do the paint portion after hours?

[Magnum_Man]

Magnum Man,

I have to ask. As a custom painter why would you allow anyone else to work on your car in the first place? Even if you do just "paint" why didn't you make a deal with your boss to do the bodywork portion of the repair and then do the paint portion after hours?

Well Ernie, for a few reasons. At the time of the incident, I wasn't working for a shop. Currently my main profession is as a College Professor of 3D Animation, which is why I could afford the RT Magnum. Since I am a custom painter and not a collision guy, custom work in South Florida is sporadic, to say the least, and nobody wants to pay what it's worth. So because custom money in S. Florida is barely enough to keep me going, I followed in the footsteps of my mentor, Joe Spadaro, and pursued a career in 3D animation. Now, I do custom paint work as a "hobby" job.

So anyway, I had to let another shop do the work since I wasn't affiliated with a shop at the time. However, I now do custom work for Reflections Polishing in Hialeah, FL. We do custom sport bikes and choppers. I now have the facilities to repaint my baby and do it right this time. A two tone HOK Shimrin job with some nice murals is in store.

BTW... If you need any custom airbrush work done, PM me. I'm sure we can arrange something.