LANDERS AUTO BODY
About us
2 convenient locations 6301 S. University Ave. Little Rock, Arkansas Phone 501 570 4500 1804 Highway 5 North, Benton, Arkansas Phone 501 316 5291
Business highlights
Services we offer
Auto body repair We work with all insurance companies
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
---|---|---|
57% | ||
14% | ||
14% | ||
14% | ||
0% |
When the car was "ready", I went to pick it up and on my inspection, things looked OK, certainly the paint looked good. I didn't take as much time as I should have as I was ready to get the car out of there as I figured the sooner I could get away from a body shop the better as I was driving a particularly nasty rental car and couldn't wait to get back in my new car again. However, when I got the car home and had time to really look at it, that is when I realized that there were many, many problems with the repair. The right side outside mirror was loose and wobbly. The right rear passenger door woiuld not open from the inside. There was an ink stain on the right front inside door panel. The headliner had dark greasy hand prints all over it. The outside trim on the right front door had a crease in it. The new door skin was not properly adhered to the support structure of the right front door such that when you shut the door it sounded like a cheap tin can. Filler was used on a part of the car not even damaged in the accident and it was poorly prepped and left a very rough surface that shows in the new paint applied over it. There was missing weatherstripping on the right front door.
Since I do all the work on my cars (except body work) and was a professional mechanic in high school and college (part time) I set about repairing the problems myself rather than going back to Landers, at least initially. When I checked things I found the mirror simply wasn't tightened, which I fixed. The cable for the right rear door inside door handle was broken off and needed to be replaced. Numerous screws in both doors were either missing entirely, stripped, or the wrong ones used.
I called Landers and outlined my issues and concerns. To their credit they were professional and wanted to see the car again. I took the car back and we went over the problems. I said that I did not want them to do any of the required work as they had their chance and if they couldn't properly do the work the first time that I would rather do it myself to make sure it was done right. They tried multiple times to get the stain out of the door panel (multiple trips back required on my part), but couldn't. We eventually came to the agreement where they would supply me with a new door panel. They also supplied me with a new door release cable, and the missing weather strip for the door. The remaining missing/improper screws and miscellanous parts I went to my Ford dealer and ordered them and paid for them out of my own pocket. After about 3 weeks of fiddling around, gathering parts, and doing the repairs myself, the car was in about as good condition as it was ever going to be.
The bottom line is that the repair looked fairly good from the outside, but the sloppy work underneath is extremely disconcerting. Most people unfamiliar with the inner workings of cars would be unaware of the problems until further down the road when problems occur due to sloppy repair work. Even to this day I have discovered other issues with trim not aligned properly and another missing trim panel, but have given up as it is what it is. Landers did a good job of trying to make it right, but this type of stuff shouldn't happen in the first place and once that trust is gone to do proper repair of the hidden areas, it is gone for good. And once a repair is improperly done, much of the damage can never be un-done as is in the case with my car. The only thing you can do is make it the best that you can.
I will also say that at the same time my Father's Ford Fusion was in this shame shop for repairs after a major accident (about $10,000 in damage, but it was a brand new car as well so they had to repair it). After my experience I was afraid to even look very closely at his car when he got it back as he drove it very little and was at a point in his life when he really didn't care any more. The car looked OK from 10 feet, but let's just say the headlights weren't aimed properly and one of the horns wasn't working. After driving the car for a week or so he complained about a loud clunk in the front, took the car back to Landers, and they found that the engine mounts were broken in the accident and they failed to notice it during the repair (!!!!??!!). I shudder to think what other hiden problems there are. But that car is out of our lives now and is someone elses problem. (We sold the car to a dealer with full disclosure and Car Fax ... took a bath on that one!!)
Due to these experiences, I have to rate Landers Auto Body poorly. It is a shame as on the surface things look good, from the facilities to generally how the shiny new paint looks on the repair. I certainly understand that body repair is not an exact science and you can only do so much to repair damaged metal in today's complicated car bodies. But in my mind there is no excuse for loose screws, missing screws and parts, and damage such that you cannot even open a door from the inside of the car. Especially when I made it clear to them to take all of the time they needed to do the repair properly.
All I can say is buyer beware.
They made my car look like new. At one point they told me to come pick it up but then the manager found a couple of little spots that weren?t correct. It took longer than I expected. They were meticulous and they kept in touch with me by phone. It was a lot of work but my car looks really good now. It didn't cost me any more than my deductible.
Licensing
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