First, a disclaimer: I've never needed/wanted an auto body repair service. I've been lucky, and…read morehave never driven anything so fancy that required this kind of work. But back in 2018, I made a somewhat questionable decision of leasing a car. It made sense at the time: short commute, job future was somewhat uncertain. I needed a low monthly payment and car to get me back and forth. Things are (I think) more stable now, and the lease, back in March, was maturing. Over the last couple of years, it had incurred a little bit of damage from shopping carts, other car doors, and possibly another bumper in the back panel.
I needed to get these problems solved before returning it to the dealership; which leads me to my next questionable decision, well, actually, it was a lousy decision. While out for groceries, and a friendly, young guy drove up and said that he was starting his own dent repair service, and that he could fix my dings and dents for a reasonable fee. His name was Cody, and I called him a short time later to talk about his dent removal service in greater detail.
We met again so he could assess the job, and came to find he lived right around the corner from me. I had no reason to think he was a scammer, or even just a bad repairman...but I'll get to the point: he was one or both. I just didn't know it at the time. He did everything right: he told me about his family, and thought it was interesting that we were neighbors, and he peeked in the driver's side door frame for info on the paint color, and said he'd run out to his store to get it, and he'd meet me in my driveway to fix my cosmetic issues.
He showed up a short time later with his dad, John, and they began work. A short time later, I peeked out and gasped at all the body filler all over the car. It was excessive for all but one of the dents. They painted the car and called me out to take a look, and I felt massive remorse. I could still see the sizable dent in the rear (it was about the size of grapefruit), and the paint on all of the dings on the side clearly did not match the existing paint of the car.
I mentioned this to them, though I am not great in these sorts of scenarios, and the father, very crankily said, "it will dry just FINE, ok? We're done here, Cody, let's go." I was floored.
It did not dry fine. It was dull and lacked dimensionality. So I called Cody and told him I was unaccustomed to complaining, as well as body work, but I had to return the car in a couple of weeks, and I was worried. He said that he wanted to have a good relationship, since we're neighbors, so he came back a few days later on his own. And for the love of god, he actually made all of the problems worse. It was bitterly cold that day, and he blamed the weather, and I'm sure that didn't help. But the bigger issue was that Cody sucked at this particular task. He promised he'd be back when the weather broke.
Weeks went by, and I called for a lease extension to cope, and Dent Boy and his Dad finally showed, to "finish." I was preparing dinner while they worked, and after a short amount of time, Cody texted me: they were done, and I ran out to look. Both men were gone without a trace. They spray painted all over my license plate and windows, and actually left fingerprints in the wet paint, which was still the wrong color, and lacked any kind of shine. The ding in the back was still clearly visible.
I was sick to my stomach. I got scammed. If you meet a guy named Cody who seems sweet and who says he can fix your minor body work, just call Duie.
Anthony had me come in later that week, and took a look at the car. The estimate was higher than I'd hoped, but I had already paid Cody a few hundred dollars, and I felt the sting of shame. But I agreed to Anthony's price because Honda would come in for the kill if I returned the car the way it was.
They took a few days longer than expected, but Anthony (and his son, Anthony) kept me posted along the way. They had some issues undoing Cody's damage. Some nice perks: Anthony Jr. drove me home the day I dropped off the car, and picked me up the day it was ready. Even though I would be returning the car in a few days, I was thrilled to see it as we pulled up to the shop, good as new, and they even cleaned up the interior of the car. A huge help, since I have a kid and two dogs. Anthony Sr assured me it would pass the final inspection at the dealership and it did.
A strange but happy epilogue: No, I haven't found Cody. Some day, haha. The lease contract's fine print spelled out a litany fees I'd be responsible for, and they'd send a final invoice. The dreaded day arrived. With some stress, I opened the envelope. Somehow, it was a check for $64. The car was in great shape, and they had applied a $500 credit, which covered the rest of the lease end fees.
Anyway, I hope I never need body work again. But if I do, I'll call Duie, and only Duie. Cody: eventually you'll screw over the wrong person. Good luck with that.
