[neuro]

some bozo rear-ended my widebody on the freeway. the car had a great paint job and great fitment, which isn't easy to do but not impossible to find.

after taking some advice from some board members of shops that dealt with MR2 widebodies in oakland, i brought it into auto world body and frame in oakland. don't be mistaken, there are two similarly named shops, this one is located near lake merritt. i couldn't afford the time to bring it down to san jose to Apex.

they quoted me $1200 for the total repair. there was some frame damage and i was required to order the bumper (which was included in the quote). results:

1. poor paint job. very poor IMO.
2. they did not reconnect my tail lights. i didn't notice until it was too late and i got a fix-it ticket for them.
3. they rolled my rear fenders back instead of cutting/shaving the bumper to fit the fender. it's noticeable if you spend the time to look.
4. Instead of $1200, i ended up paying close to $1600. when i went to pay, he charged me $1700, until i notified him that i had on paper a $1200 quote from him, and that was down to the fasteners that were going to be used. i payed for the bumper that he did not deduct from the $1200 quote.

now if anyone is more familiar with bodyshop work, and knows that i'm over reacting feel free to correct me. i just can't understand why a recommended shop would not pay close enough detail.

 

[lilrocket2]

you do realize that the quote was an agreement to only pay $1200 right? you can go back to the shop and demand the money back. that quote is a contract saying that you agree to only pay $1200 the only way to get charged more is that they tell you that its going to charge more and you agree to pay the extra amount. raising the price on you is a breach of contract.

 

[neuro]

hmm good point. but at this point in time, i feel it's a little too late for me to proceed with your suggestion, although you're right. The work was done about a month and a half ago. i can't figure out how i'd call him now and tell him i paid more.

On top of it all, i don't feel comfortable dealing with the owner anymore. it may be less trouble and more beneficial if i provide everyone here with my accounts and let it be.

thanks for your suggestion though.

 

[lilrocket2]

just call the owner and tell him that you had some legal advise and that he has 2 options. 1.) either return the extra paid money, or 2.) tell him you will bring him to a small claims court and have his business reputation available to the public. $500 is still alot of money in my book...

 

[Siccished]

you do realize that the quote was an agreement to only pay $1200 right? you can go back to the shop and demand the money back. that quote is a contract saying that you agree to only pay $1200 the only way to get charged more is that they tell you that its going to charge more and you agree to pay the extra amount. raising the price on you is a breach of contract.

I would have to disagree with you on one point. The quote is an estimate for work to to be done and is NOT a contract. A contract is a contract & an estimate is an estimate.

However, i do agree with you on the point that the shop should have called you the minute they found out there would be more work required making the dollar amount of the estimate go up.


1600 is mucho money to spend while not being happy

Other than that i would say $1200 could have been cheap or overpriced depending on how much damage u had. No pics= no ghetto amatuer opinion . Did you bother to take a look at other cars being worked on before handing over your car to them right?

 

[neuro]

references for the shop came from a couple of the members on the board, they had work done to their mr2s widebodies. they were all happy with the paint jobs.

i called the shop and he said he'd call me back about the extra cost. he offered to reconnect my lights but i told him i had already done so. i forgot to mention that the $1200 was paid by the insurance company and that the extra cost was paid by me, which was primarily the bumper.

so we'll see.. but i doubt he's going to give me any kind of credit. for now, i'm done venting.