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    Santee Collision Center

    4.8 (84 reviews)
    Closed 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

    Services - Santee Collision Center

    Bumper repair

    Auto detailing work

    Auto frame testing

    5 More Services

    Auto maintenance

    Auto repairs

    Auto steering and suspension repair

    Routine automotive maintenance

    Rear-end damage

    Santee Collision Center Auto Repair Photos

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    De Lamination of poorly prepared surface and paint quality.

    We are a custom a Mercedes Custom Sprinter Up Fitter here in San Diego and we took our fiberglass FlairSpace flairs which allows our customers to sleep sideways in van and upon inspection in our shop we noticed orange peel and sent the owner pictures and they could be buffed, but our customers needed the van for a trip, and during the trip, they noticed big 1" bubbles where it looks like the paint was de laminating. We have called over 5 times and emailed detailed photos and videos, with 0 zero reply back. I wouldn't recommend anyone use this unprofessional facility for anything. JCVS

    CrazyRX 7.

    So DO NOT HAVE YOUR CAR PAINTED HERE....... Unless you don't mind not having a warranty. Because this place doesn't offer a warranty. Seeing is believing. Meaning, they tell you they have a lifetime warranty on their paint job, but when it comes to them really taking care of a warranty,,,,, THEY DO NOT HONOR IT!!! So i had another body shop start on painting my 2016 Ford Focus. But he was so busy and my car sat in the back for 8 months waiting for the car to get it's color change. Well this other body shop prepped the car and got it ready to paint pretty much. It just had to be primed and painted that's it. Well i got tired of waiting for my car to be painted by this other shop, so i pulled it out and had it towed to Santee Collision Center. I spoke with the owner Candice. She looked at my car and gave me a $4,500.00 price to finish the paint job. Moving forward when i picked up the car, it was amazing. The paint color was right on and it looked great. I was very happy. The painter did a great job overall. Well several months later, my front bumper cover was getting chipped up with road sand/pebbles and then a couple cracks in the paint started showing up. I took my car to a different body shop that is very reputable and asked the painter for his opinion as to why the chips and cracks were happening so soon. I had only put 600ish miles on the car since it was painted. They told me it looks like the painter didn't put any or enough flex in the paint. Because bumper covers are plastic/rubber, they flex with the wind and torque of the car. So this will help keep the paint softer so it absorbs the shock from stones and road debris when hitting the bumper. And Flex will prevent cracking in the paint from the rubber bumper cover being soft. So i took my car back to Candice and showed her the cracks and the stone chips. She already tried to come up with an explanation as to why this was happening by telling me that there was most likely bondo in that area on the bumper cover. I told her there is not one speck of bondo on this cover. I bought it in perfect condition before it was installed on my car. So already she was trying to get out of taking care of the cost to fix and repaint the bumper. She then told me when i get the bumper off the car and bring it down to get repainted, she will have her painter check it out and let me know. So a week later I noticed the clear coat bubbling in a spot. Now this was a whole different issue. So I got the bumper cover down to them and pointed this out to Candice. She looked at it and said Yeah that shouldn't be happening. So after a week goes by, she calls me and tells me that the reason the cracks happened is because of the previous prep job the other body shop did was not correct or done right so that when she painted over the original prep job it caused it to crack. Now I did not believe this for one minute because if it doesn't make sense, then it's not true. So I said to her fine. What ever. She quoted me $600.00 to repaint the bumper. When i went to pick up the bumper, i was hoping she would meet me half way with the cost being that the bumper would have had to come back even if it didn't crack because of the clearcoat bubbling. So if she would have compensated me in the cost of the defect of the clearcoat problem, then i would have been ok with that. But she tells me that i have to pay the full $600.00 because she told me that the clearcoat bubbling was from the previous prep job from the other paint shop. And that is not true. That has nothing to do with the prepping of the past shops work. So to sum this up, Candice lied to me, (and i hate liars) by telling me there is a lifetime warranty on the paint. Which clearly there is not. She never deals with her customer very much. Always has her manager Eric deal with people. she is not very friendly and I've noticed this the first time i met her. Basically she should not be running a business when dealing with the public. Because she in my opinion does not know customer service very well. So this is my opinion only and you be the judge from what you have read here today. I gave them 2 stars instead of only 1 because other than the bumper not having enough flex in the paint or any for that much, the paint job on the rest of my car was done really nice. NOTE: You can see the cracks on the top and bottom of the sensor in the pics.

    Before

    My car looks brand new! It's been a couple of months since my repair and I am 100% satisfied with the quality of work. The front office staff were extremely helpful and gave accurate estimates for cost and time frame. They are extremely patient and understanding that everyone wants their car back ASAP and walk you through the paperwork thoroughly.

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    Page 3 of 3

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    Review Highlights - Santee Collision Center

    I liked the way Candice, owner of Santee Collision Center, described their painter as the best anywhere.

    Mentioned in 41 reviews

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    AA Auto Repair & Tires - The best mechanic in San Diego

    AA Auto Repair & Tires

    (66 reviews)

    AA Auto repair was great! We were looking to purchase a car and they were able to squeeze us in for…read morean inspection same day! They were professional, transparent and so helpful!

    NEED A GREAT MECHANIC - PLEASE READ! If you're in need of an…read morehonest, reliable, friendly, fair and extremely knowledgeable mechanic then I promise you this; look no further than AA Auto Repair! I first went to them years back on the recommendation of a good friend after being disappointed in several of the shops I had been trying. I have and will only ever continue to go here. It's a family run business who treats their customers as though they are family. I can't speak highly enough about the owner and his crew! They know their stuff to put it mildly. They have always been super accommodating and have on so many occasions gone above and beyond. Where I might have price compared early on, I soon realized that was an unnecessary exercise. Not once did I find them to be overpriced or did I ever feel like I was being taken advantage of. (Unfortunately that has not the case at numerous other shops I've been to throughout the years). Their level of expertise is amazing! I've probably had them do everything from minor repairs to more complex fixes on at least 5 different vehicles in my family. Not once did I ever need to go back because something wasn't right. Top notch work and super timely. Best yet, they take the time to listen and go above and beyond to explain what the necessary repairs will entail. I'm not super well versed in automotive repairs, but I do have enough of an understanding to know when a mechanic is the real deal and isn't out to gouge or perform shotty work. Put it this way; I'd have no problem sending my grandmother in with no forewarning and be completely assured she'd be taken well care of. As a matter of fact, I attend Foothills Christian Church just down the road and have recommended AA Auto to several people. Usually not a good idea to give fellow church-goers unsound or poor advice! In my years of going to them I've been able to see them grow; even moving from a smaller shop a few blocks down to their current location. It warms my heart to see such a business grow because they do it right. Thank you to the team. You guys have saved me on so many occasions. I rarely do reviews on businesses, but this is one I felt it absolutely necessary to sit down and write with the hopes that anyone in need will understand I'm being completely sincere. You will not be disappointed! Thanks - Steve Lettow

    Santee Collision Center - autorepair - Updated May 2026

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