BEWARE OF ULTIMATE AUTOBODY. I've been using Ultimate Autobody for car washes so when I had a car accident, I was happy to call Matt and use Ultimate. Unfortunately, it was a really terrible ordeal. Matt didn't assess all damage to my car. If he had revealed to my insurance company ALL the damage, my insurance company would have considered it a total loss. Matt lies, not only to insurance companies but to customers as well. Be VERY careful and perhaps, if you can, get a second opinion of damage, but understand Matt won't like that and you will be acutely aware of his displeasure. He becomes very condescending if you even innocently question anything.
Matt contracts work out to other shops some of which protect him and themselves in their scheming and deceitful ways. Matt is exceptionally condescending and evasive to CUSTOMERS--once he acquires the gig--which is an attitude that often coincides with lies. Trust him at your own risk. What's most mind-boggling to me about my experience is that I CHOSE UAB. One would think Matt would want to GAIN a lifelong customer by doing right by him or her, but he appears to be very short-sighted. He fakes it, negotiating my deductible, but even this was not a good fake. Matt said something to me like "I'm already not making money off this..." The minute he said it, I knew he had ripped me and my insurance company off. And he did, as there was an additional $6,500 worth of damage to my car that he "wasn't aware of," (which is what he said to me when I called him about the damage not fixed. He was exceptionally defensive, though I had accused him of nothing) though Mercedes-Benz at Estate Motors evaluated and recorded all this damage while the car was in their possession for some work Matt had contracted them to do. When I inquired with EM about how the car could be released with all said damage, the response was it was assumed Matt would do the work. I don't particularly hold Estate responsible, but Matt's shady dealings with me has given Estate Motors something to think about before doing work for him...
On the other hand, Brian at Smith Carins Ford in BH, has no problem working with Matt and his shady ways. In the end, Matt's original estimate of $21,000, just under half of the value of my car, turned into $29,000, including a supplement of $2,200 Matt put in to my insurance company for work that is yet to be determined was done because Matt evaded providing paperwork to my insurance company. When I stopped by Smith Carins and asked Brian for a copy of all the paperwork regarding my car, he said Matt has it. I asked him to print out or make a copy of what he gave to Matt. He then asked me if I had the VIN number. I said yes and turned on my phone to retrieve it, but he stopped me, said he has the paperwork. He printed a receipt which indicated a charge of $89.00 for a whelk alignment on a 4-matic (which seems awfully inexpensive. I mean that's what I paid on my 2002 front wheel drive Honda Accord!). I asked him for the paperwork on the control arm, for which Matt had charged my insurance company. He said he didn't do that work, that it was "assumed Matt would do it." (Again, same terminology EM used). So I asked him to see a copy of the specs on my alignment because I don't understand how a proper alignment can be provided on a car with suspension damage. He said he didn't have to provide me with that paperwork because he did the work for Ultimate Autobody. I said, yes, I understand that, but the work, regardless, was done on a car I own and paid for so I do have a right to see these specs. He said it would take a while and asked that I wait in the lounge. I said I was fine where I was. He disappeared--to call Matt, because when I spoke to Matt later that day, he explained that he knew I had gone to Smith Carins--returning five minutes later with what looked like bogus paperwork...
Tommy, who works at UAB, is really sweet and always wants to help, but he and the others serve Matt, so it's difficult to trust them. It's too bad, because they do a decent hand car wash for ten dollars and the waiting area is very comfortable and there are beverages. Again, I can only say about these niceties that the prettier something is on the outside very often only provides shade for ugliness on the inside.
When I began my dealings with UAB, and Matt in particular, I wanted them to end well and though Matt had ample opportunity to do right by me, he couldn't because of all the apparent deceits. For me, everything in the end was fine--not because of Matt or UAB--but because the additional repairs to my car were taken care of by my Mercedes-Benz dealership. See THAT review for what a good experience reads like... Do yourself a favor and AVOID THIS SHOP!! read more