****I have no pictures I apologize for this***

Hey Nam,

So the story goes, a few weeks back, I was in a parking lot with my MCSa and when I return to my car, I found that someone had lightly hit my rear bumper but managed to crack it, no metal was dented etc. So I call my insurance company, and my insurance covered it, they said to choose a body shop. I did a bit of online research, and found that since I'm in the Los Angeles area that there is a very high end bodyshop around my area. This shop is 20/20 Autobody Tech, they do cars for magazines like Import Tuner, and stuff like that. I went to check hem out first, they seem like a pretty good body shop, had a lot of nice cars in there, ex. a new BMW M6...there but thats irrelevant to the topic. So I drop my car off on December 6, 2007 and the guy came out did a walk around of any damage other than the bumper was on the car, and he only noticed that my front passenger wheel was curb rashed on the lip, this was pretty much the only damage, no dings, etc. He wrote this down on paper too, then I told him, that I didn't want the car washed, he said thats fine, (I just had the car completely detailed a few days prior to dropping it off)...he also agreed to storing the car indoors under the roof as much as possible since it was going to rain that weekend.

Here is where the chaos begins...

So I go back the same day to check on the progress and to get a estimate on a custom thing I wanted done to the car. So he took me to where my car was, and said that there is a bit of the paint by the bumper and boot where it was scratched! Surely it wasn't there before, but they said they'll cover it...at this point he also told me that they will go ahead and order a brand new aero bumper instead of fixing the old one. I wanted an estimate on how much it would be to paint the aero grill to get it color coded....I get my estimate and told him to go ahead and paint it, so I told him i'll drop by in a few more days to check the progress, he said that was fine.

A few days later...

I go back to check out the car, at this point they had my front bumper off, my aero grill off, my driver side, side skirts off, rear driver side arches off, rear taillight off, rear window molding off, and rear bumper off, this was all done to repaint that tiny scratch they did the front was taken off because they had to paint the grill. He told me the car would be ready in a few days...

So today...

I get a call saying my car should be ready in the afternoon. I arrive to pick it up, I check out the car and wow I was in shock! They had managed to crack BOTH side skirts, and break the tabs on the front bumper! Not only that but they also did a lousy job putting the rear arches back on. To top all of this off, the car is completely filthy, covered in wetsanding compound from other cars in the shop, and it still has polish residue everywhere. The interior is a completely different story, it's a mess just like the exterior of the car is. They didn't even bother to put paper mats or wrap my mats, my MINI OEM Rubber mats are not black anymore, they are basically white mats. They got this stuff on the carpet as well! I pointed out all the damage to the guy helping me, and he said that he'll use Epoxy to fill in the cracks and the broken tabs on the front bumper! I was annoyed by this and instantly I tell him, I wouldn't accept this. I told him that since I gave them a perfect car, I should receive the same in return. I should not be having a epoxy on my side skirts if I wasn't the one that broke them in the first place. Plus how do you have epoxy on the front bumper clips? Isn't that pointless? After seeing how much damage they already did I told them to just wash the car because it was really filthy and if they put any more damage in, I won't be able to see it...they declined to that, saying they don't want to put any swirls in...but I don't think I've seen my MINI dirtier than that I don't know what can be hiding under that layer of filth! The bodyshop said they'll call me tomorrow, but I highly doubt that they'll replace them, what can I do in a case like this? Am I asking too much? Or did the shop make a huge mistake?

So now it's down to...two cracked side skirts, a broken tabs on the front aero bumper itself, and who knows if there is anymore damage on the exterior since it's covered in filth! Ohh yeah...a super messy interior, and exterior in which I had it completely detailed, swirl free handing it to them...

Thanks for all the help! Take Care & Happy Holidays!

-Joseph

P.S. I tried calling my claims guy with my insurance company but he was already off work when I tried calling, I'll give him a call tomorrow to see what he thinks I should do.

 

Sorry Joseph you had to go through this. For anyone else in the SoCal area needing body work, you can avoid all this by using someone familiar with MINIs like my own shop...but as for your troubles, bring it up with your insurance company.

You can file a claim with the BAR (Bureau of Automotive Repair) which governs the body shop industry. They are an agency set up to protect the consumer from problems like this and they will help you find resolution.

Richard

 

no way are you in the wrong,

demand it all!!!!

 

They gave me a phone call back, they said all they will do is epoxy the side skirts and epoxy on new tabs on the front bumper, they will not do anything more than that... I told them to not touch the car, i'll give my insurance company a call tomorrow, highly avoid this shop, they originally told me they worked on a lot of MINIs before, and he knows exactly what to do with them, and it seems as if they can't take off side skirts or a front bumper without forcing them off.

 

Who are you insured with ?

Do they have a preferred-shop program ?

If so, is this shop on their program ?

If the answer to the either of the last two questions is "no", there is likely little your insurance company can do for you. They provided an estimate, paid you the amt of the estimate, you chose the shop. The shop does not work for the insurance company of vice versa. It's between you and the shop.

If the answers to the last two questons is "yes" then it's a different story. The shop has to maintain standards to maintain in the insurance company's program of preferred shops. The insurance company has leverage on them.

Either way, good luck and I hope the body shop does the right thing and puts your car back in it's pre-accident condition for the amt of the original estimate.

 

- I am insured with AAA

- The shop isn't on the list because, the shop they gave me to choose from either myself (with my other cars) or my friend had not have a good experience with them, and supposedly this shop was top notch reviews online.

 

They actually had my car at the bodyshop, AAA sent a claims guy out, to check it out, he gave the shop an estimate, and the work began.

 

That's why I fixed my car myself.

 

Then I will be surprised if AAA says they can do anything with the body shop.

But hey... maybe they'll surprise me. And if they do, let me know how they applied any leverage on the shop and maybe I can use their tactic on my job.

Sorry to hear they've F'd up your MINI and again, good luck in getting things made right !!!

 

When I took the car into the bodyshop, they had a guy come out and check for prior damage, and all they noted was that the front passenger wheel was curb rashed a bit. The guy at the bodyshop said he can give me this actual paper tomorrow morning when they open. Should I take these guys to court? All they are willing to do is epoxy it, I mean if you epoxy the bumper tabs isn't that pointless as it'll just break?

 

Like I said, the BAR is your best friend. We hate them because we've had unscrupulous customers try to get out of paying for work completed months ago and they will believe ANYTHING the customers says----you just go to the BAR and file a complaint, and they act on your behalf. Might want to let the shop know you will take it up with the BAR if you don't get satisfaction from dealing with them directly.

 

I told him that, he said thats fine, and he'll stop work on my car, and he won't touch the car, he'll only touch it if I get it epoxied if not, then i'll have to find someone else to pay for new side skirts and a new front bumper, then he'll paint and install them.

 

Might consider small claims as well. I doubt you're going to be happy with their work if they've done this much shoddy work already. They are obviously not competent. Why should you go get someone else to pay for the cracked pieces when it happened in their possession????

You can get the money to pay for the repairs from a competent place..I would remove it from the shop and not give them any more chances if it were my MINI.

Richard

 

I'm going to get the paper that they filled when they received the car that said that only damage was front wheel was curb rashed, and I'll go ahead and file a claim in a small claims court. Does anyone have any information on what I need to bring this into a small claims court? Do I have the current body shop write out a estimate for the work, 2 new side skirts, and a new front bumper, both aero, plus paint and install? I am planning on taking my car to a different body shop...

 

It's the shops responsibility to provide a written estimate of the work to be completed and you must sign off on it.

So get any documentation of what they were supposed to perform. Keep any photos and anything that documents the before condition and what you found at the shop. Log any phone calls, emails, etc..

Basically you just need to show that you took your car in to fix this small thing, and they shop messed up and made things worse and you've lost confidence in them to perform any further services.

I'm not a lawyer of course, there might be something that says you need to allow them to try to make good on their mistakes--but I think you should be able to make the claim that if they broke something, you have the right to demand it be replaced rather than repaired.

Richard

 

How long does a small claims court process usually take?

 

No idea, I've never done one myself. =) Maybe someone else will chime in. Small claims is and should always be a last resort if you cannot find satisfaction by dealing directly with the shop. Just my 2 cents.