Guess I'll start at the beginning. Set up an estimate for some damage to the back end of my vehicle (other guy was at fault, his insurance was covering). Estimate seemed fine, so I went ahead and set up an appt about a week or two out.
A day or two prior to my appt, I get a call from the shop. They want to push back my appt because they'd overbooked themselves. I would've been fine with that, but it had already been a headache to get the insurance and rental set up for that date. I asked to keep the date and the lady at the front desk said that'd be fine, as they were able to move some other things around. Great...drop my car off and grab the rental.
I don't hear anything from the shop for almost two weeks, so I reach out to get an ETA. The guy in charge of my repair says that the parts should be in on the following Tuesday, and that they hadn't begun any repairs. I think to myself, "that's odd, why not order parts and have me bring my vehicle in when they arrive, rather than have me paying for a rental for 2 weeks?". After checking their reviews online, it seems as though they've flat out forgotten to order parts for previous customers. Wow.
Okay, I ask that the guy that's in charge of my repairs reach out with an ETA on the following Tuesday when the parts get in. Nobody calls, texts, or even emails me. I give it a day, then I call on Wednesday. Guy isn't available to talk, so I leave a message for him to contact me. Never calls. I call back on Friday and again he's unavailable. He calls me the following Monday to let me know my vehicle is ready ($875 for the rental and another $700 in additional coverage later).
This is where it gets silly. He pulls my vehicle around and the new bumper clearly doesn't match the paint. 3 weeks and couldn't get the paint matched. Not only that, but he literally tries to convince me it's just the lighting and that they had, indeed, matched the paint. I'll include photos. At this point I have to ask for the manager to come take a look. I guess we need a third opinion. Manager skates around it a bit until I ask, just to be sure, "everyone here has eyeballs, right?". Now he confesses it doesn't match. They offer to keep the vehicle longer, and this is where I decline.
After having little to no contact from the shop for the past 3 weeks, arrive to a job not even done, and having not only Dino, but Scott, the MANAGER, lie through their teeth about the paint matching. They NOW want to offer to fix the mistake. I told them I would feel more comfortable going with a different shop at this point and that I'm happy to pay for the bumper, but I'm not paying for the paint. I'll get an estimate for the paint somewhere else and we can deduct that from the total bill that they have for me.
They agree and say they'll deduct that from the bill. 20 minutes later, they change their mind and tell me if I want my vehicle back, I'll pay the total. At this point, I reached out to the Non-Emergency line to see what my options are legally. The dispatcher tells me it's illegal for them to hold my vehicle for payment. They send an officer out to the shop and have me meet them there. I'm not sure what changed, but the officer said that I would need to pay first and then press charges later if I wanted to get refunded some of the money.
Paid the shop, I have my vehicle, and an estimate to get the paint done right. Now I am filing a civil suit against the shop for the amount it will cost to have it re-painted ($1,100). At this point, it's not even really about the money, but principle. I will now dedicate a lot of extra time to be sure this team of clowns pays for this mistake. Worth it in my opinion.
Great experience. Shop elsewhere, unless you love chaos and a team of unprofessionals lacking severely in customer service as well as technical skill in the shop itself.