Bodyshops and perfection

MikeHiow

MikeHiow

MikeHiow

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Joined
26 Oct 2004
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Isle of Wight
Now, I'm not sure if I'm just being too fussy here, and I need to tread carefully as the Bodyshop in question was chosen because a very good friend works there, and they have done some bloody good work in the past. They also did some bits cheap/free whilst the car was in there.

When my car was returned the rear bumper had some alignment issues - the car went back to them, and they got it a lot better, but they are still there slightly. The panel gaps are perhaps 1-2mm bigger than before, and the alignment between bumper and arch on the near-side is about 1-2mm out. They claim they can't get it any better, and that's just how it fits (Genuine Ford item), and it can't be improved without modification. They also claim the arches were dressed to the bumper during manufacture.

Am I being too anal moaning about this? It was perfect before, I don't think its too unreasonable to expect it to be perfect now. That said, there needs to be a degree of compromise here, as I want to avoid having the wings/arches painted, or any work making it obvious its been rear-ended.

Suggestions?
 
Most people are happy if it's been painted mostly the right colour, and isn't dented or scratched to hell.

Unfortunately, most of the country have a "that'll do" attitude with stuff like this :(
 
I would love to get some bodywork done but the cost and risk really backs you into a corner. When you then get involved with mates rates family though, you're more in a corner becasue you're embarassed to be really fussy.

I can imagine getting refitment perfect troublesome, as well as removing, but if it was lined up before there's no way it can't be again. If I wanted the "it'll do" attitude I'd just do it myself. You pay the money for a decent job so you don't get these headaches!
 
Find a bodyshop that does work for the local Mercedes or Aston/Ferarri/Jag dealerships.

They dont mess about, and would lose custom immediately if they didnt do a perfect job.

I only get my tyres fitted and changed by a Rolls Royce garage, and you KNOW they wont damage your rims as they deal with 20" and 22" super expensive wheels, that if they damaged, would cost a fortune to replace/repair.
 
TangoSixteen said:
Find a bodyshop that does work for the local Mercedes or Aston/Ferarri/Jag dealerships.

They dont mess about, and would lose custom immediately if they didnt do a perfect job.
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Dont make 1 jot of difference.

If you are not coming from the prestige dealers they just revert to the usual that will do attitude.

They dont care if they lose your custom.
 
I hate the "that'll do" attitude too. Took my car to a few bodyshops to get a dent repaired which someone did while I was parked. One says "for what it is" he'll just put a cheapo patent replacement on. Yeah it might be an 8 year old 206 but it is otherwise in mint condition. I wasn't going to settle for crap. Went to a more professional outfit instead.
 
I've just been out and run over my back bumper with the buffer - the bodyshop did offer to do it, I said I'd rather leave as much clear coat on as possible rather than one of their monkeys hitting it with a wool pad, and I'd do it.

Huge improvement paint wise, and the paint is hard, but there are a few places where they've left slight blocking marks, or where they haven't rubbed it down at all - these are all discrete things, but ****ing annoying. I think I'm going to learn to do this myself, and just pay a local bodyshop for oven time.
 
DiamondMark said:
Dont make 1 jot of difference.

If you are not coming from the prestige dealers they just revert to the usual that will do attitude.

They dont care if they lose your custom.
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Well just like anythign in life. Some you win some you lose.

Ive never had a bad experience with these bodyshops, but have had with a rubbish local insurance crash repair place.

Never went there again after seeing the orange peel and shocking finish on my mothers car.
 
TangoSixteen said:
Well just like anythign in life. Some you win some you lose.

Ive never had a bad experience with these bodyshops, but have had with a rubbish local insurance crash repair place.

Never went there again after seeing the orange peel and shocking finish on my mothers car.
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Absolutely its the luck of the draw, but dont think for one minute that going to the Jack Barclay Bentley approved body shop with your private job Focus is going to guarantee you a good job.

The very best by a mile body shop i know is in a Railway arch in Deptford and specialises in restoring Morris Minors.
 
OK, slightly naive question here, but: exactly how accurate can panel gaps be on a car which has been rear-ended? I'm assuming that the OP has not paid for a re-jig, which would be very expensive. I'd expect factory fit after a re-jig, but without one to two millimetres seems pretty good.


M
 
Meridian said:
OK, slightly naive question here, but: exactly how accurate can panel gaps be on a car which has been rear-ended? I'm assuming that the OP has not paid for a re-jig, which would be very expensive. I'd expect factory fit after a re-jig, but without one to two millimetres seems pretty good.


M
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The OP was involved in a NON FAULT accident. It was completely beyond his control.

'pretty good' is not good enough.
 
If it needed jigging to get it right they should have jigged it, he didnt want an economy repair.
 
[TW]Fox;17095673 said:
The OP was involved in a NON FAULT accident. It was completely beyond his control.

'pretty good' is not good enough.
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Actually yeah.

If it isnt AT LEAST as good as how it rolled off the production line, then I dont think they deserve to be called a body shop!
 
I know people have differing standards, but without some serious work, 1-2mm seems like a pretty good job. I've seen brand new cars where the fitment of bits has been worse than that! I suppose it may depend on the colour of the car / lighting as to how noticeable this is though...
 
1mm does seem rather good, even 2mm out is hardly a big deal, especially if the car's black :p

If you're not happy, take it back. It wasn't your fault, after all.
However, seeing as a good mate works there.. your call :)
 
It's not unusual for panel gaps to not be bang on after an accident. Even genuine panels are not always perfect when it comes to fitting and can warp over time in storage. It's just that most people don't even notice and those that do generally are not that bothered provided the colour is a decent match. 1-2mm out is pretty good really.

As for the guy worried about a bodyshop taking a wool head to his freshly painted bumper, wool heads are only used for aged or scratch resistant jobs. I don't know any bodyshops who hit a freshly painted panel with a wool head because they have no need. Most are polished a few hours out of the booth and don't require anything as aggressive as a wool head. Foam ones are the recommended process so unless you are using a particularly clueless bodyshop you have no cause for concern.
 
Was speaking with the guy who is detailing the E60 earlier and he was saying how he has had to use a wool head, I had no idea what this meant and said 'ok'.

Now I am scared :eek:
 
mjt said:
1mm does seem rather good, even 2mm out is hardly a big deal, especially if the car's black :p
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1-2 mm that wasnt there before, so its not good is it, its not as the manufacturer intended

mjt said:
However, seeing as a good mate works there.. your call :)
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maybe his good mate should have cast his shaddow over the job, pulled out all the stops and got it to a satisfactory job the first time around
 
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