[brentsten]

Went out for lunch today to grab a nice juicy burger and fries. I pull into the joint and come to a stop in the aisle as I see many others have the same idea. I think man, I'm going to wait in a line to get my hands on that big ol' bacon burger. But the crunch I heard next was not of me chewing that crispy bacon burger. No, instead it was that of a geriatric citizen who blindly decided to exit his parking space directly into my rear quarter panel. At this point I'm slightly upset, but not because I'm merged with a truck that is twice it's driver's size. I'm upset because now I have to wait even longer for that burger.

Calm and collected, I move out of traffic and park next to his fuel slut that effectively consumes more miles per gallon than my own. I jokingly say to the blind man "Well, there goes a good Friday!" To which the maniacal devil retorts "Why were you parked in the drive through!?" The man is clearly upset that his 300 lb. chrome bumper is now laced with Stryker Blue; he should be so lucky.

I feel reluctant to slap a greasy cheeseburger out of a man's mouth who is four times my age, so I tell the senior that his monstrous towing mirrors were installed for a purpose; to see what is behind him. He relents and we exchange our insurance information. To my surprise, it's not through AARP; he could've saved hundreds! We part ways, but before doing so I smile and tell the man to have a nice day.

After all, a slight shock to this dinosaur could send him into cardiac arrest.







So.. Where is a reputable shop in the Detroit area that I can take my car for repairs?

 

[tchr49]

Let me guess, you don't like old people, right??

 

[NickG]

From my experience with Autometric, you will love their work. They do a lot of higher end cars and also work well with insurance companies. Have had bad luck with my LR GT, but they have taken care of it three times with excellence. In fact, I like their paint work much more than the stock job.

You are welcome to look at my car when and if you ever get near Warren.

 

[MIEngineer]

I like CCF Body, having seen what the owner has for his own cars...they are on Gratiot by 15 mile.

While I like Autometric, I didn't appreciate their BS when they did the front bumper on the wagon, they did a poor job so I had them redo it as it was rough with dirt in the paint. Then they whined when the headlight washer leaked fluid since they never reconnected stuff properly doing the bumper. Not a fan at this point.

 

[brentsten]

I looked up autometric and they have good reviews at every location. Unfortunately, the one in pontiac which I could literally walk to can't fit me in for another 9 days and they said it'd take at least a week to repair. They also don't provide rental cars. Not a deal breaker, but the GM dealer will give me one at no charge. The dealer didn't match my paint correctly last time though. Ugh, I'm going out of town memorial weekend and want my car.

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[BlackGT5]

I always recommend Pennington Collision in Troy. They did a great job on my GXP bumper but also had good reviews from friends.


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[brentsten]

Turns out my insurance company (state farm) lists Autometric as an approved facility. Basically, if any problems were to arise they'll go to bat for me instead of me having to do it myself. The one in Southfield was one of the highest rated by state farm, plus they can fit me in on Monday. I'll eat the rental car fees if it's as good as everyone says.

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[biggestg8fan]

Sorry that happened but your story was an entertaining read.

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[NickG]

If you wanted me to bore you to death, I have a long story about how they took care of me. In the end, this is the impressions I got when I looked around.

Dealer: I would get a rental. However, it was a counter guy who walked around my car and noted the damage. When I inquired about the options (replace door vs. repair door), he just said, "It's up to the insurance company what they will agree to do." and he really didn't spend much more time than that working looking at it.

I felt the dealer was working for the insurance company.

At Autometric , the guy who was doing the work came out and walked around the car and told me how he was going to do things, why he was going to do them that way, and assured me I would be 100% satisfied.

I felt Autometric was working for me. In the end, I loved it.

I even came out of work one day to a note under my windshield asking me where I had my GXP fascia painted becasue he wanted to have them do his. Obviously, I am pleased, and was glad to forgo the rental.

 

[g8Pnsher]

Mine is at Tennyson Chevrolet in livonia right now getting fixed up! Got rear ended by some bimbo on her cell phone! Apparently my stopped car and the 2 in front of me weren't enough to warrant hitting your brakes at 40mph......... Anyway Mike D is a G8 owner and works there and is making sure it gets taken care of.... He already battled with my insurance over my exhaust and won!

 

[Fast4drss]

Check your rim for damage and make sure it gets claimed.
If you get a new one the old could be used as a spare.

 

[college money?]

I just had my car at the autometric body shop in Pontiac, Steve at the domestic shop was very professional and I had a 3 day turn around plus they detailed the car afterwords.


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[soup070]

Man that sucks, hope you get it fixed soon.

I had a similar scape three years ago that matches yours (mine was a little smaller on the driver side). Somehow our G8 are magnets for A$$ho/es, I've never used so much defensive driving until I got our 8s. People especially like to aim for Strykers like ours. People just don't care anymore, its not their crap so why care. I come across the same type of people (I work for the State) who tear up equipment, waste my time, and don't take responsibility for their own actions because its always on someone else buck instead.

Good luck.

 

[brentsten]

The rim has a little curb damage and a small ring on 2 spokes from an incompetent tire installer, but i was honest with the estimator. I couldn't read him if they'd replace it or not.

I can't remember who I talked to at the Pontiac location. I would've left the car there, but it would've been next Monday before they could even start taking it apart. Southfield had the best reviews overall and no wait time, so I dropped it off there last night. They're checking the alignment this morning and should have a full disassembled estimate by the end of the day. The guy was a good listener and took notes of all the details I gave him; I'm a lot more confident in this place than the last dealer I went.

Soup, we're they able to repair your quarter panel or did they have to replace it? They were unsure of mine when looking it over, but I'd almost rather have it repaired than having a new piece of the body welded in... As long as it's smooth, paint matches and has all the right lines, I'll be happy.

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[MIEngineer]

6 of one, 1/2 dozen of the other ...i.e. same sh*t regardless.

I had good and bad experiences at dealers, body shops, etc. It is what it is, as long as they fix it..

 

[soup070]

They pulled mine back out, but I can still see one place where they welded a pull rivet that they didn't completely fill making a divot/dent. I just found tonight a crack in the paint of my rear bumper, the same one that got painted twice in my last accident when a drunk drive rear ended my wife (body shop could install it right and drop the bumper thus having the repainted it). Seriously it's one thing after anothe on my 8, just check over their work when done and make sure it's just right.

 

[brentsten]

Got the car back Thursday and it looks PERFECT! My dad and I went over it before picking it up and couldn't tell any work had been done. We ran back and forth left to right to compare all the styling lines and it's just perfect. The paint matches, it's smooth; they washed, waxed, and detailed it inside and out. I highly recommend anyone needing body work in the area to take your car to Autometric. The guy called me a few different times while it was there just to give me updates. They even finished the car 3 business days before their original estimate. I didn't take any pics right away, we drove it home in the rain, and I left that night on a road trip with it. It's been raining on and off since then, so haven't had time to get any good shots, but I washed it Saturday and noticed a color difference between the quarter and rear bumper when the car was wet. It matches completely when in the sun and dry, so I think it was just the angle and lighting I was seeing there. I remember seeing the color difference before somewhere else on the car, but I'm convinced it's the lighting. It was the only pic I took because I originally freaked out when I saw it lol.

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[macvangelist]

I had my SBM repaired at Autometric in Royal Oak. My best friend's father-in-law works for Autometric in Pontiac. I'd take it there hands down. They did an EXCELLENT job!

 

[ehays614]

Look at any new car and u can see that the plastic bumpers never match. the Metal parts. I work in a bodyshop as a painter. I hear it all the time. A customer never see's it till something has been painted. It seems that people think a new car is flawless. You would be surprised how many new cars have had paint work done to them.

 

[Bob the Noob]

yeah, I had some work done due to my wife hitting a wall on the freeway and the rear bumper looks a shade or two darker than the metal panels on the car. You can see it on many G8s if you look for it...