I hit a deer in my 2004 PW/B MCS and need some minor bodywork; will involve painting the entire left side. MoS recommends Royal Auto Body and Ashburn Collision Center, both on Cedar Lane in Sterling. Any experience or recommendations? TIA

 

The front end of my MINI was sideswiped earlier this year (back when I was still living in the DC area); pics available in my gallery. I ended up taking it to Royal Auto Body since they were the outfit recommended by MoS. While it was there, in addition to the repairs I ended up having them install the full Aero Kit and an R53 bonnet with scoop painted flat black to match the Aero grill work (pics of the mod also in gallery).

Positives: They were flexible and easy to work with; willing to entertain creativity in the re-work; good communications with me and with the insurance company's site appraiser; excellent attention to detail in the fit of the new components (e.g., consistency in gaps of the different panels); obviously cared about the appearance of the final product; excellent paint match (PW is particularly tough); took responsibility for a front end alignment conducted at MoS prior to delivery; relatively quick turn-around time; provided a take-away bottle of touch-up paint from same batch used on the car; prices not cheap but fair.

Nits: Several weeks later (with the MINI in bright sunlight after a wash) I discovered several really microscopic spots of blue on the passenger side that I suspect were overspray from another job (easily removed); air was not fully bled out of cooling system after the radiator was replaced; window washer jets on new bonnet not properly adjusted (hit the windshield wipers at highway speed).

Overall and despite the nits, I was satisfied with their work and would consider using them again.

 

Thanks; anyone else with experience at either of these shops?

 

J A Blazer - just a suggestion, do a couple of searches here within the DCMM forum for those two shops - you'll probably find some good posts & info from others without having to wait for more responses.

 

Oldest To Newest Autobody
14712 Southlawn Ln
Rockville, MD 20850
(301) 279-5969
Ask for Mark

He's done work on my car and Sherwin's.

 

We took our MINI to European Auto Body in Old Town Alexandria when the right rear quarter panel needed to be repaired. If you're looking to have the metal worked back into shape rather than just replacing whole panels, Wayne and his guys do that work well. The paint looks great, too.