Got rear-ended, dented rear gate and cracked bumper. Insurance directed to Caliber. The bumper was OK, the job in the rear gate was horrible. There were many broomstick brushes on the paint on the left side of the panel. I took it back to the shop and the manager told me the paint melted and that they would sandblast it. I was told it would take a couple hours and was told they could drop me off to a coffee shop or give me a ride home. The day I dropped off the car, I asked them to give me a ride home and was told the process would only take 15-20 mins so they asked me to wait at the shop. An hour later, I got my car back. The broomstick were still there, plus, some area didn't get the clear coat. I didn't want to waste my time so I left.It is choosing between do you want to fight a bad paint repair or losing more of my time = money.
The sides of the taillights got many mysterious scratches. I spent my own money purchasing a bottle of Mothers PowerPlastic headlight lens restorer to remove the scratches. I think Caliber might remove the inside plastic panel when painting the rear gate; the plastic molding has a big gap. I never told Caliber about the taillights and the molding reassembly. But they sure didn't fix the paint. Please reach out to me to get it a total repaint of the rear gate if Caliber wants to do things right.
P.S. as I was waiting at the shop, an older lady went in and said a part fell off as she was driving and the car was being repaired by Caliber before. So basically she was saying Caliber did not reassemble her car properly.
Updates 06/04
I took the car in for a repaint on 06/01. Caliber provided a loaner which was nice. I picked up the car on 06/03.
The lift gate is OK. When I got home, I further examined and found a few issues:
1) There were cracks on my driver side taillight. (It was not there before. They said they never touched it).
2) The 3rd brake light has some damages, a broken piece is inside the light. (Saw that after the original repair, but I didn't know what caused it at that time as I didn't factor in the workmanship).
3) I found some bubbles appeared on the bumper. I know it has nothing to do with the 2nd repair. But the bubbles pop up, probably due to the hotter temperatures.
4) There is an insulation foam sticking out from removing a part to repaint the lift gate. (Definitely has to do with the 2nd repair).
I contacted Caliber about the taillight. (I didn't mention other issues). The manager asked me to bring the car in.
1) The very first thing I showed him was the taillight. The manager told me "we did not touch it". OK, I know the repaint didn't require the removal of the taillight. But could it be damaged by an accidental bump? I don't want to imply the shop is careless, but after all these accumulated issues, I don't have confidence. I cannot prove but I don't remember seeing the cracks before I turned the car in. It is my loss.
2) I proceeded to show him the 3rd brake light.Seems to me someone tried to remove the light. I noticed the damage (chips from the underside) after the first repair but didn't know what caused it. The manager said the light was never touched and never removed. He said they only painted the lower part. I asked if it is possible that the light/ cord had to be removed/ disconnected to remove the lift gate. He said the lift gate was never removed for the 2 repairs. Now I am suspicious. The lift gate was dented. So the lift gate was never removed for sanding and repainting? I remember when the car was repaired after the collision, the rep called to update me the lift gate was removed and being painted. I know I have never removed the light.
3) I then opened the lift gate to tell him about the bubbles on the bumper. The manager told me it is the sticker tag. When the car was repaired the 1st time, I saw a rectangle shape and thought it was part of the plastic and I didn't see any bubbles; I thought it was weird cos the original bumper didn't have a rectangle line. So what happened is that there is a sticker on the new bumper that was painted over. I expressed to him that now I am afraid the bubbles can get worse. He told me "you can't see it (you cannot see the bubble, when the lift gate is shut). Of course, no one can see the bubbles when the lift gate is not open, I am very concerned that the bubbles would start to peel, I am afraid it would peel off to the part that is not hidden by the lift gate.
4) By this time, the manager has disregarded the 3rd brake light and bubbles so I don't see the point of telling him the insulation foam.
We can argue about the taillight but I have never removed the brake light. I was skeptical when he said the lift gate was never removed. I don't like it when the manager told me "you can't even see it (the paint bubbles). I echoed another customer on the review that Caliber does not take pride in its work (he found more damages then before he took his car in). read more
