Well, I finally got my car back after 2 months, $12000 in repairs, and a $1700 rental car bill on a cobalt.

I'm not completely satisfied with the work done by the body shop. Not all the panels line up. The headlight on passenger side isn't sitting right within panel and there are two spots of paint buildup in the creases of the front panel...not too mention paint chipping around the vents on front panel probably from when they put the vents back in. This is only noticeable if you are looking for it but still.

Also, my air conditioner seems to be loud as **** outside the car while the car is idling and I swear my door lock sound is off. Car still drives great and everything inside is working great right now. Though the shoddiness of the body work gives me concern for the internal work that was done.

I guess most of these problems are pretty minor but my car was 8 months old and in prestine condition. So, I'm going to call my insurance company on Monday and ask them about a plan of action. The body shop that did the work is 3 hours away and I don't want to take it back there anyway so hopefully my insurance will let me take it to a local shop and fix up these small issues.

Right now I'm reserved to the idea that my 8 month old G35S will never be the same. Such a shame for a such a beautiful car. I wish people would learn how to drive.

 

Hopin' you come out whole on this.

 

hey sorry to hear that man, I was wondering what color is your G?
because my ivory pearl was hit in the back and everything looks good except I can see the color match is not perfect.its only noticeable in certain street lights or in the shade but the back panel is just a little more ivory than the front.
my point is look for color matching issues because it could get worse with time.

 

Mine's Ivory Pearl. The color match seems to be pretty spot on. Atleast I couldn't see any differences. The panelwork is not very good though. The seams just aren't matched consistently.

 

Call the insurance and tell them about your concerns. Be firm on your actions you want taken because insurance people are d**ks. They think they know all about cars. Especially on a new car like yours everything should be almost as good as new. Little minor things you can do without but as far as fitment on panels and gaps, I wouldn't tolerate it at all. You can have that shop fix everything wrong, if you trust them to still or I have seen cases where people send it to another place and find out that their car had been hacked out like holes reamed out bigger, washers and shims put in so fenders will fit you know. If you are not happy address your concern and hope everything goes well for you.

 

Thanks man...yeah I don't trust the shop...not to mention they are 3 hours away. Hopefully, my insurance will work with me but I suspect they are going to tell me to work it out with the shop.

 

The shop should continue to do the work until it meets your specifications. My car was hit a year ago on the rear quarterpanel and they brought it out with that orange-peel effect on the paint...said something about "it won't look the same as stock, they magnetically charge the paint onto the car."

5 minutes later (and a bit of reserved colorful language by me) they took my car back in the shop, did some more buffing/sanding or whatever, and brought it back looking like glass.

 

Well, I talked to insurance and they said I have no recourse with them since the shop wasn't an Allstate shop. So, basically I'm going to have to deal with this ****ty body shop to get it fixed.

I'm thinking of taking it to another shop and possibly the dealership to see if the repairs meet industry standards (which I know the repairs do not entirely). Then, I'll talk to the shop that did the work and figure out what steps to take.

Anyone deal with a situation like this before? Do I have any rights to have the car fixed at another shop and have the bill paid for by the original shop?

 

Well, I took the car to a local reputable body shop today and I didn't even have to open my mouth before the mechanic started finding flaws in the job done. Unfortunately, he wouldn't give me a quote...basically saying the car had to be torn down to get a quote.

So, I talked to the shop that did the work and they were open to fixing all flaws and paying for rental car, etc. I think they're good people, but I just don't have confidence that they are competent enough to fix my car right. They swear the frame is set right but it's obvious with how the panels are off that something isn't sitting right. So now I have to drive another 3 hours to drop the car off.

 

good luck! at least they offered to fix it. they deserve at least that. if they cant fix it the second time they should cover having someone better fix it.

 

why wouldn't you go with an Allstate shop if Allstate is your insurance provider??

 

I ****ed up...what else can I say. I was in unfamiliar territory and when I talked to the guy at the shop where the car was towed, I trusted when he said he could do the work.

 

This is a little off topic from your body shop issues, but if you have a new car that has been in a serious accident and did not get totaled, then you need to file for a DIMINISHED VALUE claim with your insurance company. Your resale has taken a hit with the accident and repairs, you are able to get some of that money back since they didnt total your car. GL.