Recommendation for Jimmy Buffit in Indianapolis

perry · 06-13-09, 04:42

I haven't posted on Autopia in a few years, but my car recently got quite a bit of hail damage. After the storm cleared, I immediately started thinking of how I'd get the car fixed. I got in touch with Jim at Jimmy Buffit and got things going.

Jim said my car was one of the harder cars that his PDR guys had worked on, but you couldn't tell it. I picked it up today, and the car looks absolutely perfect. They got all the dents out and put the car back together and you'd never know anything happened to it. And Jim had my car freshly washed when I picked it up!

Overall, this has been my most painless dealing with damage to my car - from the insurance company to car rental to having the damage repaired.

Based on my experience, Jim does Autopian quality work and I'd recommend his shop without reservation. In fact, I have a coworker going to see Jim this coming week to have his car fixed from the same storm. Yes, this is completely unsolicited -- I'm just a happy camper!

Setec Astronomy · 06-13-09, 05:03

Perry...great to see you posting!!!

perry · 06-13-09, 05:39

Unfortunate damage that brought me back.. but all you usually hear about are the bad experiences, so I thought I would share a positive one.

Scottwax · 06-13-09, 05:48

I met Jim at a Meguiars event 5 years ago. Really cool guy to hang out with and I know he does amazing work.

perry · 06-13-09, 06:11

Funny, that. He had on his Meguiar's shirt when I picked the car up.

Jim is a true professional, a rare breed, and one that anyone should feel comfortable handing their car over to. I know that Jim is very proud of his rating on Angie's List, but being on "Perry's List" is probably a bigger accomplishment

David Fermani · 06-13-09, 09:01

Glad everything worked out for you with Jimmy; he's a legend in the Autopian community for sure. I'm wondering why you decided to have a detail shop do the PDR work (or actually sub it out) instead of taking it directly to the PDR person in the 1st place. I can't see an insurance company recommending this workflow.

perry · 06-14-09, 06:18

PDR is just another service that Jim offers in his shop. I knew that Jim wouldn't be the one poking the dents out, but his name is the one on the door, so the work would be done to his liking. That was the important part to me.

My insurance company had a PDR company that was working with them on estimates. The adjuster told me I could use them or go to "my guy". The estimate was sent back to the corporate office and they did a direct deposit in to my checking account minus my deductible. Worked out fine.

Scottwax · 06-14-09, 06:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Fermani

Glad everything worked out for you with Jimmy; he's a legend in the Autopian community for sure. I'm wondering why you decided to have a detail shop do the PDR work (or actually sub it out) instead of taking it directly to the PDR person in the 1st place. I can't see an insurance company recommending this workflow.

I know Anthony Orosco and Ron's shop does PDR too, since that is Ron's specialty. Probably the same deal at Jim's shop, PDR guy on site.

David Fermani · 06-14-09, 06:57

I'm sure Jimmy works with reputable as well as experienced PDR techs. People have to realized that if you get PDR done outside of the insurance network and all the dents don't come out, your insurance company might deny paying for a second attempt or conventional body repair. I'm not hinting that this occured in this case, just making people aware.....

perry · 06-14-09, 03:30

Here's the car. I think they did a great job of getting everything put back together straight.
http://webmasterp.com/gallery/d/4356-2/IMG_2724.JPG
http://webmasterp.com/gallery/d/4332-2/IMG_2711.JPG
http://webmasterp.com/gallery/d/4325-2/IMG_2706.JPG

Jim guarantees the dents won't come back. The insurance adjuster and the guy he was working with told me that it could all be done paintless and that was how they wrote their estimate. Cars that were less than a mile from me have had to have body panels and glass replaced.

Jimmy Buffit · 07-13-09, 02:13

Perry, thanks for the kind words.

As it turns out, we did 17 cars from that single hail event! Over $40,000 in gross income for the Shop. PDR is an everyday process in our Shop. Altho we do subcontract the work to a highly qualfied technician(s), all of the work is done in our Shop, under our supervision.

David, regarding the 'out of network' aspect, we do a very large amount of work for several ins companies, with PDR being only one aspect. We get over sprays, flood/water damage, traffic paint, interior only cleanups, and (mostly) swirl removal from body shops that just can't seem to get it right.

Supplements, when necessary, are handled in a straight forward, matter of fact manner.

Progressive has a Claim Center just two blocks away, and we are their preferred vendor for these types of issues.

Anyway, Perry, thanks again for the kind words.

Jim

Jakerooni · 07-13-09, 03:28

$40,000 for only 17 cars!!!! Good lord Jim I need to follow you're business plan. That's what about $2500 a car give or take... Here I feel guilty charging $250/per