AFFORDABLE BODY SHOP

Vehicle has been into and out of Affordable Body Shop multiple times since date of auto accident, which occurred approximately four months ago.  We were the victims, and it has been a nightmare.  Since our insurance is covering everything initially, we were hopeful this insurance agency-recommended facility would be THE place to take our very special vehicle.  First time vehicle was picked up, it nearly drove off of the road at speeds over 45mph.  Second time vehicle was picked up, there were obviously parts that had been modified and/or replaced with subpar parts, and the weld spots were extremely noticeable.  Maybe not to the average automobile owner...but they were there.  Oh, and the repaired rear door leaked.  The paint shades where things were allegedly "blended as good as it's gonna get," are very different than what is on the undamaged part of the vehicle.  These are minor things, right? Well...when aforementioned rear door didn't close properly, we were told by the manager of this shop, "it's a truck, not a Cadillac. You have to push on that door hard to close it." Chuckle, chuckle.

We are thankful that a) we weren't hurt in the accident; b) the issues with the vehicle's driveability have been addressed to the point where the vehicle is, indeed driveable (though definitely not in a pre-wreck fashion); and c) we aren't paying out-of-pocket for each of these flubs.

The real kicker is this: there was a rather expensive, off-roadish type aftermarket item that was severely damaged in the wreck.  (side note: vehicle really should have been totaled...but Affordable Body Shop SWORE they would restore the vehicle to its PRE-WRECK condition)  That aftermarket item was on "back-order," so we waited about 3 weeks to have it installed.  Upon getting the call that the part was in, and arriving at the shop, this is what we were told:

"Come see how we are gonna put this thing on your vehicle...might take 2 or 3 people to do it."

They proceeded to explain how they were going to shim something and DRILL HOLES in the rear door.  They'd ordered a subpar, vastly different part to replace the damaged one...which was sitting in the shop mere feet away.  Ummm...no holes, please guys.  We asked that the replacement part be one in the same brand.  Their response:

"Ooohhh...so you wanted the same brand that was on the vehicle. Well, I guess we'll have to order it from the manufacturer."

You think?!

So, alas, we wait another "couple weeks" for this part to arrive.  For the record, the proper part is CNCed with the brand name in the freaking metal, and requires no boring of holes into the body of our vehicle.

These guys are disorganized, arrogant, and unwilling to admit that their work is not as they guaranteed.  We are far from picky, I assure you.  But when parts are passed off as "the same," and repairs are not producing the results that Affordable Body Shop GUARANTEED...a simple acknowledgement of their seeming duplicity or flub-ups would be much appreciated.  Instead, the customer is treated as though they have absolutely no knowledge of basic automobile structure and performance.  I shudder to think what other customers have driven away with...because they thought "this is as good as it is goods."

Also, we had the vehicle appraised by a professional automobile appraiser.  Want to gander if HE thought it looked like an unwrecked vehicle?

We will update on here if things get better.  Or worse.

Update: We picked up the part mentioned above, and were told that the vehicle is as good as it gets. For a wrecked vehicle.