Michael. 2312 Report post Posted September 3, 2015 I just picked up my Soarer form being at a panel shop for 5 or 6 weeks. It was to have some guard damage between front right door & guard fixed via insurance ...and extra work I was to pay for as follows: Repaint the following panels: Front bumper Bonnet Roof Rear Boot Weld antenna hole Rear 1/4 panel and paint. Reapply pin stripe Here are all the issues I've identified with the Job, I'm going to see the owner tomorrow morning about my findings having had time to look at the car up close. What are your personal thoughts - am I being too nitpicky? Both front fenders missing pinstripe at forward end between lights and wheel cavity. Excessive gap between high-beam light and bumper on RHS. Should be flush (left side is) RHS headlight has considerable scratches on the lenses. This had a UV spray coating recently applied ($50 PER light) and has been damaged, it would need to be sanded and reapplied. Pictures don’t show scratches easily. Overspray found on top of sunroof corner (attempted to remove it, some remains. Primer overspray found around corner of boot / rear windscreen Double sided tape is poorly applied for ‘SOARER’ badge, roughly cut and exposed all over the place. Damaged guard and door repair is fairly substandard, significant panel gaps are easily visible. Top Arrow points to large gap, lower arrow smaller, correct panel gap Damaged guard and door repairs show the panels are not flush, Note the inconsistent level. The reflection on other angles also shows this. Top of repaired RHS guard bent downwards at the top, not flush. Wrong & unnecessary number plate holes drilled, the black plate holder was not used, and left in the passenger footwell, there are now two white holes in the sides of the plate holder. Forward edge of guard damaged when headlight fitted (RHS) New scratch found between yellow arrows on LHS guard, looks like a craft knife cut for masking tape or similar. It has cut down to the primer level. New pinstripe on RHS sits too high at 5-10mm off from fender line Old pin stripe at correct level LHS (slightly above fender line) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
e30ftw 393 Report post Posted September 3, 2015 Lack of attention to detail really. The "good enough" attitude that lingers across a lot of trades. 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
B.M.W Ltd 950 Report post Posted September 3, 2015 The cost of the repairs may reflect the result... no offence intended... this also has a two sided storey with only one side presented 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KwS 2372 Report post Posted September 3, 2015 unfortunately being in the trade we see a lot of this kind of work with various panel beaters. Its really hard to find people with good work ethic now. As said, the "good enough" attitude is rampant. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark 178 Report post Posted September 3, 2015 (edited) I have taken cars back repeatedly to panelbeaters after insurance jobs. I think part of it is if they don't deem it a "nice" car or they think the owner is not an enthusiast they will do a half-arsed job. Also, panelbeaters load themselves up with too many jobs because insurance work is easy money and they want to take as much of it as they can (to the detriment of a quality job) Be their most annoying customer and they will sort out the issues. EDIT: Don't forget to report their quality of work to your insurance company... they take notice of it and will take them off their preferred repairer list if many people complain. Edited September 3, 2015 by _Mark_ 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kulgan 1042 Report post Posted September 3, 2015 Honestly I wouldn't even call that a half arsed job. Thats terrible now matter which way you look at it. Hope you can get this resolved. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4015 Report post Posted September 3, 2015 (edited) The cost of the repairs may reflect the result... no offence intended... this also has a two sided storey with only one side presented Not true. The other side is there in plain view for us to see. This is a shitty job period. Mike, did you pay ask for a shitty job or a reasonable one? Edited September 3, 2015 by M3AN 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
B.M.W Ltd 950 Report post Posted September 3, 2015 All I see is a job unprofessionally done by someone that dosen't give a f**k because they are on a sh*t pay scheme from an employer under pressure to do a job for 50c an hour with unqualified staff = most of Aucklands preferred insurance repairer's. All the professional repairers doing quality work won't do work for most of the dominant Insurance companies now 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmw335i 16 Report post Posted September 3, 2015 Being a panel beater myself , that's some sh*t work, they may see it as " an old Toyota " or whatever. looks as if it's been done in the back yard of someone's house. Try get the probs resolved at another shop. Chances are if the original shop have to redo it, it won't get much better. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charles28 117 Report post Posted September 3, 2015 Also, panelbeaters load themselves up with too many jobs because insurance work is easy money and they want to take as much of it as they can (to the detriment of a quality job) Actually its not quite that simple, they make very little money out of insurance work and the insurance companies mess around and take months longer to pay than they should. Its a heavily regulated industry, they only allow a set amount per hour for labour and often the insurance companies won't pay for genuine parts (also only allowed to make a tiny margin on these) (depending on the insurance company). A load of the average work is a result of the insurance companies not being willing to pay full price. But in this case, the panel beater was being paid for extra work and they have no excuses at all really and I'd be taking it back too. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
euroriffic 593 Report post Posted September 3, 2015 Thought that was just typical Toyota build quality? 7 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andre3000 55 Report post Posted September 3, 2015 (edited) f**k that's shocking. Insurance policy usually have a lifetime repair guarantee, it has to be up to scratch by contract. My first port of call would be to talk to owner face to face and show him the shoddy work. Give him a chance to make it right. Failing co-operation I would be notifying my insurance provider and have their independent assessor view how sh*t their work is, ie prevent payment till done properly or elsewhere. The cost of the repairs may reflect the result... no offence intended... this also has a two sided storey with only one side presented That's a crock of sh*t Glenn, if you're not going to do the job well don't do it at all. Having met Mike a couple of times and knowing his work ethic i can say with certainty that he didn't request a half ass job. When accepting a request of work to be done it is expected that the job will be done, not half done, as his car is... If the final repair isn't up to standards take em to small claims. Edited September 3, 2015 by André3000 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
m325i 704 Report post Posted September 3, 2015 (edited) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjSmNuVGFrY&t=0m20s Edited September 3, 2015 by Nick G 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2312 Report post Posted September 4, 2015 Appreciate everyone's thoughts on the matter. So today I printed all those images off with the details noting the issues. 10 pages worth to show the repair shop. The boss was not there, today, but the workshop manager / repairer was . As soon as I said I found issues with the work done he got his back up. This is what he had to say, of course he didn't admit to the work being questionable, it was more attacking my list of issues etc. "how many pages is this??" "how long did it take you to print this, don't you have a girlfriend or things to do" (suddenly made it personal, I stated cars are my hobby) "this is beyond pedantic" "In 20 years I've never seen anything like this" re the stretched headlight "we never put lights face down, they go straight into the back of the car" (then how did those scratches get there?) "You can leave the car here and take the courtesy car" - I declined given the WOF was out. Further more, I wouldnt want to leave the car there when the was no discussion of how the issues would be remedied. Next week I'll speak to the boss about it further as he is the one I want to see over the matter - It will be interesting to see what he says. The next step will be to talk to my insurance provider, I know the guy who runs this niche company whom is also an ex-panel beater / painter by trade so it will be very interesting to see what he can advise. Ultimately the door repair done via insurance is what I'm most pissed about, it looks half done from various reflections. The related during repair headlight damage and poor pinstripe placement are also the issues that should have never been issues in the first place too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kulgan 1042 Report post Posted September 4, 2015 "In 20 years I've never seen anything like this" Yup, I've never seen crap workmanship like that before either. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2122 Report post Posted September 4, 2015 That's a crock of sh*t Glenn, if you're not going to do the job well don't do it at all. Having met Mike a couple of times and knowing his work ethic i can say with certainty that he didn't request a half ass job. When accepting a request of work to be done it is expected that the job will be done, not half done, as his car is... If the final repair isn't up to standards take em to small claims. Mikes case may be different sure, and true many of our own opinions would be the same as Mikes But your 1st statement above is not true. There are plenty of cars on the road that would prefer a good enough job with a low bill than a perfect job. I think Glenns statement is very fair. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zero 1160 Report post Posted September 4, 2015 What a terrible job, and what a terrible response from the 'manager'. How much did you pay for this? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2312 Report post Posted September 4, 2015 Door damage / front guard damage was insurance claimed @ $250 excess. I had extra work commissioned being resprays of the following: boot, roof, rear 1/4 panel antenna hole welded up, bonnet front bumper LHS mirror = $1452.00 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zero 1160 Report post Posted September 4, 2015 Door damage / front guard damage was insurance claimed @ $250 excess. I had extra work commissioned being resprays of the following: boot, roof, rear 1/4 panel antenna hole welded up, bonnet front bumper LHS mirror = $1452.00 Ok, for $1452 I would definitely not be settling for that quality of workmanship. I'm surprised they are an insurer authorized repairer. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Breaker 980 Report post Posted September 4, 2015 Good work Mike, keep it real to the issues you have and not the personal sh*t that they are on about. Remember the squeaky wheel always gets attention, in these guys case not because they care but because they want you to go away. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2122 Report post Posted September 5, 2015 $1400 is pretty cheap for the amount of panels being repaired. Particularly if its going through the books. IMO Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zero 1160 Report post Posted September 5, 2015 $1400 is pretty cheap for the amount of panels being repaired. Particularly if its going through the books. IMO Don't forget that the $1450 doesn't include the panel beating and painting of the front door and front guard, as insurance paid for that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2122 Report post Posted September 5, 2015 Don't forget that the $1450 doesn't include the panel beating and painting of the front door and front guard, as insurance paid for that. I understand that. I would be expecting $300 for the larger panels (roof, bonnet, boot lid, bumper) $100 for the mirror, weld up antenna hole and paint blend over rear quarter would be more like $400 maybe a bit more. I would have expected that amount of work to be more like $1800-$2k. There is a lot of time spent removing panels, preparing them for paint, painting, baking, refitting. its more than half way to respraying the whole car. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olaf 3235 Report post Posted September 6, 2015 agreed. I spoke with the repairer who did the mirrors on my e46, after they were nicked. Insurance job. I wasn't entirely impressed; however, fixed price from insurance company, used parts from down south, freight costs, painted mirrors, installed - one didn't work. needed to get another mirror, another call out for the auto sparky to fit the mirror. No extra money from the insurers. I asked him about his business sources, and the margins. I asked him how he made any money - he said they didn't. Hard to make money as an approved insurance repairer. No car-yard business (too low margin). They're trying to survive on low-margin insurance work. Where they make their money is on the walk-ins, and return business. It's a 13 year old car; yes, I'm an enthusiast... no, they're not. I won't be engaging them for the additional work I had them quote on (bumper touch-ups/repaints, small dent in guard, a few minor items); no repeat business there from me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2312 Report post Posted September 7, 2015 Spoke to the boss about the job, he agreed it was not up to scratch. Turns out one of the guys went on holiday part way through the job and it was finished by someone else... presumably with less skill. Car is going back in next week.... Zzzzzzzzz 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
