How to choose the Auto Body Shop?

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Topic Author
mschurner
Posts: 122
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2018 11:33 pm

How to choose the Auto Body Shop?

Post by mschurner »

Dear BHers,
I would like to get some suggestions.

My Honda Pilot was just cut off by a deer as I was cruising down a rural road. I tried to steer away from it.  But I couldn't avoid hitting it. The bumper and headlights on the drive side were damaged.  I got an estimate of around $2200 from Progressive.

I have a few body shops around here closer to my home. Three of them are independent and another one is Service King. All of them told me they would work with progressive directly.  My understanding is I pay the deductible, they would bill Progressive directly for the remaining.

They have reasonable reviews based on my Google search.  I need to choose one out of them. 
I know I should ask about the warranty of the job they are doing. 
I'm going to check about the turnaround time. I was told it is hard to get Honda parts lately. I suppose it applies to any make, not just to Honda. 
Usually, I prefer independent shops. However, I can see that the Service King location has great reviews. 
What should I consider and what should I watch out for in this situation? 
Thank you.
Boats day
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Re: How to choose the Auto Body Shop?

Post by Boats day »

I just recently had a deer encounter and the body shop I picked did an excellent job.

My process:

Looked at ratings

Narrowed it down to the best 3 and went to them for estimates.

Based on how I was treated and the cleanliness of office and shop area determined my final choice.I asked if I could take a peek of the shop area and they let me .

My final results were excellent .


Boat
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SmileyFace
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Re: How to choose the Auto Body Shop?

Post by SmileyFace »

References from family and freinds along with checking BBB for ratings/complaints.
I did NOT use turn around time as an indicator - the best body shops are the busiest and may have more of a backup before they get to you - although I do understand the need to get your vehicle back ASAP (in our case we had a backup car at the time). The only body shop near me that could do the work right away was one I did NOT want to use due to back experiences from others.
Lastly - although all the shops they said would work with my insurance I made sure the shop was on my insurance's list of shops as well. The esitmate you got from your insurance is likely hundreds (or thousands) less than what it will cost and you want to make sure your insurance will indeed work with the shop. This might vary by state - I don't know.
carolinaman
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Re: How to choose the Auto Body Shop?

Post by carolinaman »

I have had body work done several times over the years and have never had a problem with any of the shops used. I mostly used shops recommended by a dealer. The last 3 times, we used a small independent body shop which has been excellent. He has identified issues not discovered by the insurance estimator and has been successful in getting those included in the repair.

This body shop was initially recommended by a dealership, but I liked them so well I have gone there with 2 other repairs since then. BTW, one of those was a deer running into my front fender.
Topic Author
mschurner
Posts: 122
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2018 11:33 pm

Re: How to choose the Auto Body Shop?

Post by mschurner »

Boats day wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 1:33 am I just recently had a deer encounter and the body shop I picked did an excellent job.

My process:

Looked at ratings

Narrowed it down to the best 3 and went to them for estimates.

Based on how I was treated and the cleanliness of office and shop area determined my final choice.I asked if I could take a peek of the shop area and they let me .

My final results were excellent .


Boat

Thank you. I'll ask whether I can take a look at the work area.
Topic Author
mschurner
Posts: 122
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2018 11:33 pm

Re: How to choose the Auto Body Shop?

Post by mschurner »

SmileyFace wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 6:45 am References from family and freinds along with checking BBB for ratings/complaints.
I did NOT use turn around time as an indicator - the best body shops are the busiest and may have more of a backup before they get to you - although I do understand the need to get your vehicle back ASAP (in our case we had a backup car at the time). The only body shop near me that could do the work right away was one I did NOT want to use due to back experiences from others.
Lastly - although all the shops they said would work with my insurance I made sure the shop was on my insurance's list of shops as well. The esitmate you got from your insurance is likely hundreds (or thousands) less than what it will cost and you want to make sure your insurance will indeed work with the shop. This might vary by state - I don't know.
Thank you. Glad to know about the turnaround time.
Out of shops I narrowed down, none of them are on the insurer's preference list. Progressive said I could choose any shops I want. They will work with them.
Why do I care about the estimate? It's going to be way over the deductible. I'll pay the deductible. The rest goes to insurance. I can choose the shop that could do the best work. What am I missing?
Katietsu
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Re: How to choose the Auto Body Shop?

Post by Katietsu »

Ask your mechanic for recommendations.

Be prepared for a long wait. Next appointment for the body shop I have previously used is August.

Is the car drivable? Does the headlight work? Can you use something like Gorilla tape if there is just a crack or small area of damage to keep headlight functional and intact? If the headlight is not working, can it be replaced independently (as you might have a shorter timeline for that)?

I have not found that the cleanliness above that necessary to perform the work to have any relationship to the work quality.
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Watty
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Re: How to choose the Auto Body Shop?

Post by Watty »

mschurner wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 8:33 am What am I missing?
With my insurance company they will guarantee the work as long as you own the car if you have the work done at one of their preferred body shops. There was a post a while back where someone had a fender repaired and then 10 to 15 years later the paint faded differently than the rest of the car. They were able to get it repainted for free even though they no longer had that same insurance company. Be sure to keep your paperwork.

My impression is that when a body shop is on the preferred list you may also get priority since if the work is delayed they do not want you calling up the insurance company and complaining. The same goes with the quality of the work if there is a problem. The insurance company may not get directly involved with a complaint but the body shop knows that if they get too many complaints they could be dropped from the preferred list.
Broken Man 1999
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Re: How to choose the Auto Body Shop?

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

Watty wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 12:30 pm
mschurner wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 8:33 am What am I missing?
With my insurance company they will guarantee the work as long as you own the car if you have the work done at one of their preferred body shops. There was a post a while back where someone had a fender repaired and then 10 to 15 years later the paint faded differently than the rest of the car. They were able to get it repainted for free even though they no longer had that same insurance company. Be sure to keep your paperwork.

My impression is that when a body shop is on the preferred list you may also get priority since if the work is delayed they do not want you calling up the insurance company and complaining. The same goes with the quality of the work if there is a problem. The insurance company may not get directly involved with a complaint but the body shop knows that if they get too many complaints they could be dropped from the preferred list.
I have always used the insurance recommended shops as I figured the insurance company had more leverage over the repair shop than I did.

Over the years any body/paint work I needed (sadly more than I wanted when DDs were drivers in my household) was done to my satisfaction. A couple of times additional work was needed after work had started, and the insurance company didn't push back.

Obviously my experiences are mine alone, YMMV.

Broken Man 1999
“If I cannot drink Bourbon and smoke cigars in Heaven then I shall not go." - Mark Twain
Topic Author
mschurner
Posts: 122
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2018 11:33 pm

Re: How to choose the Auto Body Shop?

Post by mschurner »

Katietsu wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 8:46 am Ask your mechanic for recommendations.

Be prepared for a long wait. Next appointment for the body shop I have previously used is August.

Is the car drivable? Does the headlight work? Can you use something like Gorilla tape if there is just a crack or small area of damage to keep headlight functional and intact? If the headlight is not working, can it be replaced independently (as you might have a shorter timeline for that)?

I have not found that the cleanliness above that necessary to perform the work to have any relationship to the work quality.
Thank you.
Car is drivable. The headlight is working okay, but not the signal. I have a backup car as well.
Topic Author
mschurner
Posts: 122
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2018 11:33 pm

Re: How to choose the Auto Body Shop?

Post by mschurner »

Update.

I have finalized the shop. I got an estimate from Progressive. The body shop believes that it is way under-estimated with a lot of OEM parts. The estimate shows "Aftermarket New" and "Aftermarket Certified." Progressive said it will only cover OEM parts if the vehicle is over 12000 miles, not Honda Genuine parts. If I need Honda parts, I have to pay for them myself. Is this common practice?
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firebirdparts
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Re: How to choose the Auto Body Shop?

Post by firebirdparts »

Sure. Why would it not be? Money doesn’t grow on trees and they obviously spend an enormous amount of it telling you their prices are low.

There are some issues with it, and it’s a big industry, so they do a decent job of getting through the issues. A good body shop will keep after it until they get the car nice and they’ll also hassle the company for any extra money they need, which is basically happening every time. They probably know if they have fit problems for a certain front end part for a Honda, for instance.
This time is the same
Chardo
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Re: How to choose the Auto Body Shop?

Post by Chardo »

If you have an agent, they will have relationships with body shops and other vendors.
mnsportsgeek
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Re: How to choose the Auto Body Shop?

Post by mnsportsgeek »

I ask my local dealership. They have always been able to recommend a great body shop that specializes in my make and model.
sport
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Re: How to choose the Auto Body Shop?

Post by sport »

mnsportsgeek wrote: Tue May 24, 2022 9:52 pm I ask my local dealership. They have always been able to recommend a great body shop that specializes in my make and model.
The last time I got a body shop referral from a dealer, the body shop cheated me. So, YMMV.
Barsoom
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Re: How to choose the Auto Body Shop?

Post by Barsoom »

I've always used the body shop near the dealership that sold me the car. I believe there's a reason why related businesses cluster together. Toyota dealership, body shop familiar with Toyota vehicles. I can't imagine that a bad body shop would survive next to a popular auto dealership. The space is too valuable.
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Candor
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Re: How to choose the Auto Body Shop?

Post by Candor »

mschurner wrote: Tue May 24, 2022 11:08 am Update.

I have finalized the shop. I got an estimate from Progressive. The body shop believes that it is way under-estimated with a lot of OEM parts. The estimate shows "Aftermarket New" and "Aftermarket Certified." Progressive said it will only cover OEM parts if the vehicle is over 12000 miles, not Honda Genuine parts. If I need Honda parts, I have to pay for them myself. Is this common practice?
You are mixing up OEM and aftermarket. OEM is Original Equipment Manufacturer parts (Honda genuine parts).

This is a common practice unless you have an endorsement for oem parts only on your policy and you go through your insurance company. Check with the body shop to see if they can price match the aftermarket parts with OEM. That is also fairly common but depends on the extent of the price difference and the willingness of the dealership parts dept to work with the shop on the price. Some are more accommodating than others.
The fool, with all his other faults, has this also - he is always getting ready to live. - Seneca Epistles < c. 65AD
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