Happy day - I finally got my car back from the MINOR accident I had in JANUARY! I could almost write a book about the past 13 weeks...and the worst car-repair experience I have ever had in my life!
...I took my car to a body shop that is considered reputable, and happily anticipated my car's return. The initial appraisal was for only $2,000 in damage. After weeks at the body shop and supposed 'more damage than initially seen' my insurance ultimately paid out over $5,000 in damage. I was so thrilled the day I picked my car up, I glanced at the front corner where the damage had been (looked OK), and got out of there as fast as possible! I was disappointed they hadn't cleaned the inside (any time I've had work done they clean the inside and I LOVE that!), but I shrugged it off as not a big deal. In reality it should have been my first clue.
After an uneventful ride home my husband, arriving home from work, pulled in behind my car and asked me, quite horrified, "What happened to your car?"
As it turned out, the whole side of my car was scraped and damaged, and the only place it could have happened was at the body shop. I didn't see the damage upon pick-up and had driven straight home. They never did a 'walk-around' as many shops do, but my advice to everyone - INSIST upon a 'walk-around' for any work done in the future. I also suggest you take good BEFORE pictures YOURSELF, not just your appraiser's pictures.
I was planning on bringing the car back to the body shop the next morning, but in the meantime, later that night, I had to go out. When I left my house it was light out, but when I attempted to return home - I turned my headlights on - I couldn't see a thing...they were pointed in the air and actually 'bobbing.'
This triggered my husband to take a closer look at the repairs, and without much effort, he could see the hood wasn't aligned, the seams were of different widths, and the hood opened a bit uneven.
In desperation we brought it to another body shop for a 'second opinion.' I was in for a shock indeed - my headlights were improperly installed, broken, my hood completely misaligned, and who knows what else was lying underneath the shoddy job they did.
We had to rally our insurance company - I don't want to say the word 'fight' because they were awesome to us (thank you Safety Insurance), but we did have to insist two things 1) we were NOT taking it back to the initial body shop, and 2) we wanted the car fixed properly! We got the needed approvals and my car was sent to another auto-body shop.
I have not said much about this until now - today - as I finally get my car back.
Today I got the whole story...
...the guy from the auto body shop said from the way the repair was installed, he didn't know how my fender didn't fall right off while driving. He said my frame was bent and never straightened, and he said they found "old parts" on the car, which I assume means they were paid to replace parts they did not replace. My headlights were junk and so was my hood and fender, all needed to be completely replaced a second time.
It has been 13 weeks...an absolute saga over something that should not have been much of anything. The body shop that returned my car to me today are so appreciated - they returned a clean, glowing car to me - both inside and out. They likely don't want to be mentioned in this post due to the tough position it puts them in - they expressed hesitation to get involved in the issue in the first place, because it is a shop-to-shop relations nightmare, and also an insurance and repair nightmare!
What I write this for is how upset I am at the initial body shop. They left me unsafe. They put my life in potential danger. Just the ride home that night was terrifying, never mind finding out the true state they left my car in and the scam they appear to be trying to run. They would have never let one of their wives or daughters drive off that lot. Everyone agrees on one thing - they had to have known, and they just didn't care.
I am done with them, and whatever my insurance company does to recoup their money is up to them, but I will tell people to beware. Franchi Brothers Auto Body lied to me, did an incredibly poor repair job, put me in danger, and it appears it is likely they scammed my insurance along the way...and probably slept quite well at night, too. I imagine the only thing they might lose sleep over is if my insurance company takes back the repair money paid to them - since it certainly seems the money is all they really care about.
I totally understand that people make mistakes, and I am not generally the type to set out to harm anyone's business, but when it is as bad as this experience was, and now 13 weeks after my 'minor' accident, saying NOTHING is not an option. Buyer beware read more
