[jingaling]

What's up everyone? About 3 weeks ago I was driving back to California from Oklahoma and stopped for the night in Albuquerque, NM at a hotel. When I leave in the morning I noticed someone had backed up into the driver rear quarter panel and bumper. I put in a claim with my insurance and took it to a Geico preferred body shop.
The shop they picked does the body work for a Chevy dealer near their area, so I figured it would be alright. I dropped it off on the 5th, repair estimate was 10 days and they still have it.
I have been there twice already to "pick up" the car, but haven't been satisfied with the repairs. First time the rear diffuser was replaced with a diffuser for the quad tip exhaust (I have the single tip dual), there was waves around the edge of the rear quarter panel that meets up with the bumper, the bumper and the rear quarter panel weren't flush, there was a larger gap between the rear quarter panel and the trunk on the driver side, and the biggest issue was above the wheel on the rear quarter panel (they kind of rounded out the line vs it being a well defined crease).

I was pushing for replacing the parts from the beginning, but they were confident that they could repair the damage. The adjuster and body shop pushed for a repair and I told them that I thought replacing would probably look better and avoid problems with them trying to use a bunch of filler on the panels. I gave it more thought and didn't want to open up a can of worms with replacing everything and told them they could try to repair it, but I wouldn't accept anything less than perfect.

The insurance stopped covering the rental as of Tuesday and now the body shop has picked up the tab on the rental and I'm supposed to go back on Tuesday, for the 3rd time, to pick it up. The second time I went back the quarter panel looked pretty much the same and the gap was still there on the trunk. I honestly don't have much faith in these guys getting it right and I'm wondering what my game plan should be if they dick it up again.

Here are pictures of the damage:

[jingaling]

The first 3 are the repair and the second two are the passenger side (no prior damage).

It might be kind of hard to see in the picture, but that's how it's looking so far. It's a decent repair, but not perfect. It's more noticeable from far away when you compare the the front to the back (the line is similar).

Am I worrying too much? What should be my next move if they can't get it right?

I haven't signed off on any payments to them for the insurance or given them my credit card.

[enzia35]

What's with people and hitting the left side? All of my cars I've owned have been hit on that side.

[camaromike77]

Well, I would be beyond pi$$ed period. My wife's car recently got nailed as well, and they took off leaving me to pay $1,000 in damage repairs.

Hopefully someone from the Insurance industry can chime in and help you out. I hope things work out for you in the end..........

[Tridon]

I would definitely complain about the lack of a defined crease over the wheel. That is unacceptable imo. Gaps and body panel alignment are just as important.

[Nfg2ss]

The body line issue is pretty evident in the second repair pic. Not only is the edge too rounded, the line isn't even straight! As for the trunk gap issue, does that shop have a frame machine? Because damage right on the corner like that usually knocks the frame out of whack and it'll need a little straightening.

Honestly, the quarter should have been replaced, not repaired, not on such a new vehicle. The fact that the shop went along with what the insurance adjuster suggested is why they are a "prefered" shop with your insurance, they do what they're told, not necessarily what should be done.

We are not a "prefered" shop for just that reason, if we think it needs new parts and not just a repair, we'll fight with the insurance company. 99% of the time they cave pretty quick. Customer satisfaction, not staying on the insurance companies good sides, should be every shops first priority.

[jingaling]

Originally Posted by Nfg2ss

The body line issue is pretty evident in the second repair pic. Not only is the edge too rounded, the line isn't even straight! As for the trunk gap issue, does that shop have a frame machine? Because damage right on the corner like that usually knocks the frame out of whack and it'll need a little straightening.

Honestly, the quarter should have been replaced, not repaired, not on such a new vehicle. The fact that the shop went along with what the insurance adjuster suggested is why they are a "prefered" shop with your insurance, they do what they're told, not necessarily what should be done.

We are not a "prefered" shop for just that reason, if we think it needs new parts and not just a repair, we'll fight with the insurance company. 99% of the time they cave pretty quick. Customer satisfaction, not staying on the insurance companies good sides, should be every shops first priority.

They didn't mention anything about straightening it out anything. Once the bumper came off it didn't look like it was smashed in, but I'm not an expert when it comes to these things. (I attached a pic they sent me after the body pull)

Would it be completely crazy to demand for the panel to be replace if it still is not done correctly the next time I go check it out? That body line is a pretty obvious thing and they dont seem like they can get it right.

[fastball]

Don't accept that repair until the panel is replaced with a BRAND NEW OEM panel. Insurance companies will try to cut any corner they can and if a used or aftermarket part is out there they'll try to use it.

Tell the insurance company that garage flat out has no idea what they're doing. Show them a picture of another Camaro driver's rear quarter that clearly shows the defined crease that is supposed to be there and not the smooth, rounded contour the body shop made.

Your picture is very clear they screwed that up.

For future reference, I try to look for body shops that dealers, not insurance companies, recommend. The best thing is to find a body shop that is part of a Chevy dealer. Or at minimum call around and ask if they have experience repairing 6th gen Camaro body work.

[jingaling]

Originally Posted by fastball

Don't accept that repair until the panel is replaced with a BRAND NEW OEM panel. Insurance companies will try to cut any corner they can and if a used or aftermarket part is out there they'll try to use it.

Tell the insurance company that garage flat out has no idea what they're doing. Show them a picture of another Camaro driver's rear quarter that clearly shows the defined crease that is supposed to be there and not the smooth, rounded contour the body shop made.

Your picture is very clear they screwed that up.

For future reference, I try to look for body shops that dealers, not insurance companies, recommend. The best thing is to find a body shop that is part of a Chevy dealer. Or at minimum call around and ask if they have experience repairing 6th gen Camaro body work.

I'm gonna push for a replacement then. I did call a few Chevy dealers and two said they have this shop do their bodywork... Geico just happened to have them as one of their preferred shops also, so I had hopes they would be able to get it done. Ahhh this sucks.

[phusebox]

I would push for the OEM replacement as well. The lines just don't look right and you'll always notice it.

[RenegadeXR]

This is obviously one of those deals where a repair is within 90% of how the car looked before the accident, and for the majority of clients that the shop probably deals with, this would be considered "good enough." It'll be an uphill battle to get that remaining 10% when it'll more than likely double the cost and labor on their side. At this point, the total costs have probably well exceeded your deductible and the insurance company won't want to cough up the extra funds.

It sucks, but there's usually a big difference between the insurance's "recommended" shop is, and a shop that will actually do what's needed at higher cost. The latter can only be found by word of mouth from other car enthusiasts. You can't always trust what you read online. You'll end up most likely coming across a higher-volume shops that insurance agencies send business to, hence more reviews. And the majority of those will be positive because most people are happy just so long as they receive their car back with minimal downtime and no obvious glaring signs of the prior accident.

You know a shop can handle their shit when you go around back and see their lot full of a mix of cars, from highly customized tuners to $100,000+ sports cars and SUVs. You know you're not dealing with a shop whose main clientele are Toyota Camry drivers just looking to get back on the road for their daily commute. If the cars look like they're owned by people who care about what they drive, you're in the right place.

[lugs]

I think the repair looks pretty good.

[dpevans]

Had a paintless dent done couple months ago and after speaking with him for several hours while he did the repair I am not sure there are many well qualified body guys left in the business. He had done it for 30 years and got out because it's all about getting it out the door. If I have any body work that needs done I will only allow this guy's recommendation on who to do it. I agree that most body shops are not accustom to the level of quality we expect. I asked him about several imperfections in the factory paint and he said 99% of the people out there will never see those defects.

[fastball]

Originally Posted by dpevans

Had a paintless dent done couple months ago and after speaking with him for several hours while he did the repair I am not sure there are many well qualified body guys left in the business. He had done it for 30 years and got out because it's all about getting it out the door. If I have any body work that needs done I will only allow this guy's recommendation on who to do it. I agree that most body shops are not accustom to the level of quality we expect. I asked him about several imperfections in the factory paint and he said 99% of the people out there will never see those defects.

I'm sure they get the snooty BMW and Mercedes crowd who are worse than us. We just want it fixed right. Some of them see things that aren't there.