Car At Panel Beaters

[soon2b33]

i dropped off my car 2 weeks ago at the panel shop, at a date we had booked in. i was told it would take 2 weeks to complete the repairs on the vehicle.

So i drop by today, and the car has barely been touched! i was pretty dissapointed as the shop had been recommended to me by a reliable source.

i dont want to hassle them as i wouldnt want them to "rush it" so to speak. if i gave them pre payment or something would they put my car on the 'top of the list'?

I miss the 'line.. and dont want it sitting there for another 2 weeks

[Big Rizza]

You could offer them a tip if they finish it before a certain date. Although you would then want an independent inspection to make sure it's not a dodgy job. Meh I don't know. The Liverpool Kiss seems to get things done for me.

[predator]

haha.. welcome to panel shops.

I had my old skyline in for "2 weeks at most".. was there for nearly 2 months.. same biz, got so pissed off, but what do you do? just wait it out, be nice where you can and hope for the best.

Often if your car is the one to do "after these paying jobs" - in the end you might get a better result, and at a cheaper price than if you keep hassling them for "today, today", and you're a nice guy about it.

I'd just go in an explain the situation in a calm manner, even mention you don't mind paying a bit more to get it back quicker. They'll like you for not being a typical ass.

[LO_R33]

Mate i feel your pain, my car sat at the pannel beaters shop for 2.5 weeks to get door, bonnet, and mirror painted.. he had a problem though because he had switched over to a new paint system, and had to get the specialist out there to try and mix a forumula, never turned out right so we had to purchase the paint from someone else and give it to him.... Took ages, not 100% happy with the job, but what can you do? I seriously hate getting my car painted, so next time it goes in i will make sure i get a large list going first, then get it all done in one hit.

Dayne

[Alfadog]

I had a car that was meant to be in panel shop for 2-3 weeks, ended up being about 10 weeks before it was all done. And it was a pretty mediocre job. If anyone wants to open a panel shop that doesn't lie, does a good job, doesn't smoke weed every afternoon and doesn't charge the Earth - PLEASE let me know!!

Edited December 3, 2005 by Alfadog

[ylwgtr2]

in defence for the trade....A,we most certainly dont get paid enough,especially by insurance company's they pay $23 an hour and this is supposed to pay a tradesman who works for say $20 and hour,his super, holiday pay ect and overheads and make a profit!B, after repairs have been done the job needs to sit for at least a week before painting for shrinkage of the materials C,unforseen mishaps that happens doing this sort of work ie previous dodgy repairs playing up....

also take into consideration that in an accident not only the body gets damaged also wiring,mechanical parts get damaged aswell so a panel shop has to play the part of being a mechanic and an auto elec.....and get paid $23 an hour where auto elec and mechanic will get $50....go figure that one out!

[Mavric]

Yea mate just sit it out my car has been in a repair shop for almost 4 months sure it's frustrating and i want it back but at the end of the day wasn’t the blokes fault.. we had trouble getting parts for example which again held up the process...

When you get it back and it's in fantastic condition mate trust me you will be saying it was well worth the wait..

[Guest Mashrock]

with all this nrma shit panel shops are going through at the moment shouldnt there be like alot of shops killing to get some work??

i have been told 4 days to get my car's front resprayed and repaired..

[Duncan]

Troy you are right, but surely if you are a professional in the trade you need to take those factors into account when quoting times.

I have never got a car back in the quoted time.

The price insurance companies pay, and the pressure that puts on the businesses to cut corners is disgraceful, resulting in worse quality work in many cases.

We are about to take the z back for the 4th time to fix poor insurance repairs, trim is falling off again...

[noise]

most trademen dont take pride in their work and do average to crappy jobs all day every day.

I have come accross some people who are good at what they do, but most are not.

[Archie@]

in defence for the trade....A,we most certainly dont get paid enough,especially by insurance company's they pay $23 an hour and this is supposed to pay a tradesman who works for say $20 and hour,his super, holiday pay ect and overheads and make a profit!B, after repairs have been done the job needs to sit for at least a week before painting for shrinkage of the materials C,unforseen mishaps that happens doing this sort of work ie previous dodgy repairs playing up....

also take into consideration that in an accident not only the body gets damaged also wiring,mechanical parts get damaged aswell so a panel shop has to play the part of being a mechanic and an auto elec.....and get paid $23 an hour where auto elec and mechanic will get $50....go figure that one out!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Haha crock of shit... sorry mate, i understand that the pay sucks etc etc... but why quote 2 weeks when it turns into 5-10 weeks... i've waited 6 weeks without a car before and i was quoted 2..... It's not that hard to give an honest answer regarding duration, plus it wouldn't piss people off half as much. Yeah we would all be anoyed at the lenghty periods quoted, but not half as pissed off as when we are lied too.....

[soon2b33]

Hi, thanks a lot for the responses. I'll definetly go an have a word with them on monday and see if i can arrange a kind of deadline.

i feel a bit helpless though when theyve got the car <_<

and yes, im definetly looking forward to it, but i dont know if its 'worth the wait' hehe..

cheers.

[RB30-POWER]

All i will say is don't pay in advance.

Wait until its ready, go over it as good as you can.

And if your happy, then pay your money.

As soon as you pay and there is a problem (almost always is) you will be way lower on the list.

[soon2b33]

ok kind of good news. i called him today, and said id sold my old celica that i'd been getting around in so far, and im in need of a vehicle.

so i managed to get him to say it would be ready friday. so at least there's kind of a deadline now.

i didnt offer to pay him early or anything, so i'm optimistically expecting to be boosting by the weekend..

[PHaT MR30]

recently just happened to a mate, the guy who sprayed it normally does show car jobs, but for some reason he rushed it as he has been flat out and did a shit job, now he gotta do it again...

definatelly don't rush them

[Ronin 09]

do it once do it right!

[Beer Baron]

yes a good panel beater is nice to have. i've been to a few shithouse places in the past that did very average work for decent money, and treated the cars like shit. i have now found a place that does great work ON TIME and on budget and so far their work has been flawless. I actually look forward to having to go in there.

i was so happy with the last car i made a point of getting out cash to pay the bill (so they don't have to wait for cheque clearance) and bought them a case of beer to say thanks.

[hayai32]

Every single bit of paintwork I have had done to my car I have needed to get redone and I'm far from a perfectionist. . . I just believe in getting what you pay for... (rant over)

Good to hear you have sorted something out though... Maybe in future it might be a good idea to discuss a deadline initially with the workshop and get it in writing (this would probly give them the impression that you aren't so keen on getting stuffed around)...

So say they quote two weeks and you go there two and a half weeks later and all they have done is some minor prep work... I would say that it would be well within reason to take your car and go somewhere else... I'm not sure about the legallities of this but as long as you recorded all the dates, kept the original quotes, and took pictures of the car when you took it I'd be happy to do this myself...

It sux hard that you cant get a paint job done well for a reasonable price without knowing someone in the business...

[Are_thirty_two]

Archie, with a Datsun 280zx, no wonder it took 6 weeks.