Minton Body Shop is a superior auto-body repair company. My experience from initial estimate to picking up my repaired vehicle was exquisite. I highly recommend them to everyone who needs auto-body repair.
My story:
My vehicle was t-boned while parked downtown Bloomington on a Saturday eve. I was enormously lucky that the individual who hit my vehicle left a note and was very generous and paid for all my repairs with no concern of cost. This being said, I searched out a quality repair shop and was objective in my choosing for money was no object in my situation. Although my vehicle is six years old, I purchased it brand new and it's the nicest I've ever owned. I bought it with the hopes it would last me for some time, so I take good care of it.
I got six estimates for repairs from different auto-body shops in Bloomington. There was a significant range in cost, and admittedly I know nothing about car repair so it would be easy to convince me that unnecessary repairs need to be done. I wouldn't know any better.
There are several reasons why I chose Minton:
My initial impression was great. The office of the shop is clean, welcoming, and the gentlemen (Gordon and Brandon) were very personable and friendly. They were happy to look at the damage on my vehicle and explained all the repairs necessary. This was a first of all my estimate acquisitions. Sure, I know nothing about cars. However, I'm not an idiot. No other shop took the time to tell me simple things like how they could just put a new shell on the outer part of the front door and re-mold the metal on the back door, new paint, etc. Gordon and Brandon wrote up my estimate and explained their flexibility with payment, insurance, repair schedule, etc. They weren't pushy at all, and seemed genuinely wanting of my business. There was no "we're better than everyone else" vibe; more of one in confidence of ability.
Reason #2- I noticed a couple IU vehicles in the lot when I first went for an estimate. I am familiar with how IU vehicles are treated, for my fiancé has taken them to field sites before. They are very well cared for, so my thoughts were: IU would not do business with someone who does poor repairs. My trust increased seeing that. I just moved here three months ago and it's almost impossible to know who you can trust for certain services until you have been in a community for some time.
Reason #3- When it came down to choosing who would do the repairs, I really had nothing more to go on other than the estimates. Every estimate had pretty much the same amount of material cost. What differed greatly were the labor hours needed to do the repairs. Minton's estimated hours for each task were always lower than the other five estimates. I interpreted this as efficiency, skill, ability, and confidence. The lesser hours equated a lesser bill as well. Minton had the lowest estimate of all the others. Remember, I didn't pay for this so I was not concerned with the cost. Ultimately, whether they actively did this or not, they convinced me to use their services because they were confident they would do the best job, and could do so proficiently.
My repair time was estimated at a week, it took five days. The final cost held true to the initial estimate. When my vehicle was finished, they took the time to sort out payment with the person who hit my car so I didn't even have to deal with it. Brandon called me and said everything had been taken care of and I could pick my vehicle up whenever I was ready. Everything was washed, polished, vacuumed, and gorgeous. My thoughts on their ability and skill proved to be correct. They did a beautiful job repairing my vehicle. I could not be happier with my experience at Minton Body Shop. Be sure to check out before and after pictures. read more