I need to visit a body shop...

[Boongie]

My car has collected some door dings and a couple of scratches in the paint. The scratches are deep enough to catch my fingernail so I figure that using Scratch-X, 3M SMR, or a similar product is useless. I have not had a car in a body shop for years and that experience was rather negative. So a few questions occur:

1. How can I tell if the body shop is any good beyond the obvious, such as looking at finished cars or shop cleanliness?

2. Speaking of finished cars, should I expect perfection...that is, not being able to tell that the car was worked on? The reason I ask this question is that my neighbor recently had a quarter panel on his car re-painted. He was quite proud of the work but I could see a difference in the clear coat when the sun was reflecting off the repaired area.

3. Is a stand-alone body shop generally better than a new car dealer body shop?

4. Is paintless dent repair the way to go for the door dings?

5. Finally, can anybody recommend a body shop in the Chicago area? Feel free to send me a PM on this last question.

Thanks!

[BradE]

Paintless Dent repair is the best for door dings, no doubt.

I don't know about others, but my expierences with dealer body shops has been very poor. On the other hand, many of the best body guys have their own shops. As for finding a good shop, look for one that is ICAR certified, and one that works on high end cars/restorations often. They will be more expensive than other shops, but the extra $$$$ is worth it.

[Boongie]

Thanks for the I-CAR advice, Showroom. But how "perfect" should I expect the car to look after a body shop works on it? Am I expecting too much of paintless dent repair and getting the scratch fixed?

[BradE]

Well, "perfect" is different to everyone. If your super picky, I'd bet on something not being done to your satisfaction. That's not always a bad thing though. The shop should be willing to correct any of your concerns quicky. A tip for this is, don't pay the bill until the car is exactally they way you want it. If you pay, then complain, they won't be in a hurry to help you. If you don't pay until it's right, ehhhh, they will get it right.

I would expect it to be pretty "perfect", but be prepared for some minor things that might need addressed or touched up.

[tguil]

You can expect perfection from a body shop. However, sometimes you have to go back to get it. Use paintless dent removal wherever possible. I have to have work done on my new Ram pickup. Part has already been done with PDR; the rest will have traditional body work. Metallic colors tend to be harder to work with but they too can come out perfect. Check out the shop personally. Ask for recommendations from your fussy friends. The shop should be neat and orderly. The paint operation should be separate from the rest of the shop. Perfection is possible. Actually, your car can come from the shop "better than new". My new truck was less than perfect when it came off the transport truck.

Good Luck.

Tom

[NY detailer]

Originally posted by Boongie
My car has collected some door dings and a couple of scratches in the paint. The scratches are deep enough to catch my fingernail so I figure that using Scratch-X, 3M SMR, or a similar product is useless. I have not had a car in a body shop for years and that experience was rather negative. So a few questions occur:

1. How can I tell if the body shop is any good beyond the obvious, such as looking at finished cars or shop cleanliness?

2. Speaking of finished cars, should I expect perfection...that is, not being able to tell that the car was worked on? The reason I ask this question is that my neighbor recently had a quarter panel on his car re-painted. He was quite proud of the work but I could see a difference in the clear coat when the sun was reflecting off the repaired area.

3. Is a stand-alone body shop generally better than a new car dealer body shop?

4. Is paintless dent repair the way to go for the door dings?

5. Finally, can anybody recommend a body shop in the Chicago area? Feel free to send me a PM on this last question.

Thanks!

you can tell if the body shop is good by looking around at the other cars that are being repaired. If they are just layering on the bondo and pulling out dents with a drill gun then the are not
the ones i would be using. Look to see if the shop is I-car certified or ASE certified. You also want to see if the are working with any insurance companies. Insurance companies try to pick only the best, but some slip through the cracks

if they paint the vehicle correctly then you should not have a problem. they may need to blend an adjacent panel for a color match and may need to go into another panel so you dont see a clear coat line.

dealer shops suck most of the time. dealers look to have the work done as cheap as possible so they can get the mark up and make money on it. I would look for an indepently owned shop

paintless dent repair is always the best if it can be done. nothing is better then the factory paint. never paint unless you have to

sorry cant help you with the last question, but i know there are some good shops.