Bad body work: number 1 , a new series

"Dave the car guy , still here" (a3dave)
01/09/2017 at 18:51 • Filed to: None

Took a couple of phone pics last week that I failed to post. Our bodyshop gets many other shop’s screw-ups and this one made us ask “WTF?” when we saw it. Some places will try anything.

It looks like the last shop put a drywall screw through the bumper bracket area of the front cover when they couldn’t get the cover to stay snapped in because their other work was sub-standard. They covered the screw with nearly 1/8" of body filler. There were more several more things on the car that were shoddy but this was comical. The paintwork was crap too. It may have been done by a bargain rate body shop. You get what you pay for.

Two weeks ago I should have taken pictures of a several year old car with grit in the paint on one side. It was a car that the insurance company said had never been wrecked before but you could tell that sometime it had the entire right side repaired and sprayed in what looked like a minor sandstorm. Our guys used a collision marker to pick out all the sand and send it to the insurance company. The car looked like it had measles. Body gaps were off and the rear door had an “outie” dent. Its amazing what some shops think is good work.

DISCUSSION (23)

comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer > Dave the car guy , still here
01/09/2017 at 18:57

I’m guessing that last story wasn’t a body shop’s version of good work, but rather “My brother’s cousin can fix that for you, don’t even turn it into insurance, your rates will just go up, he can do it in his driveway, he works for a bodyshop (not mentioned, washing cars other people are working on), it’ll be fine” version of good work.

Dave the car guy , still here > comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer
01/09/2017 at 19:14

Some may be like that but we have cars sent to us by several insurance companies that have just been in other shops. We correct the messes. I’ve seen better work by Maaco and Earl Scheib places that some we’ve seen lately. I think they’ve been taken to hole-in-the-wall type places where they cut corners and think they can get by with it.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Dave the car guy , still here
01/09/2017 at 19:16

I’ve been known to use a screw to reattach a bit of trim, but I never charged anyone for it. They could have at least used a stainless steel screw... Those drywall screws rust when you look at them with misty eyes.

cluelessk > Dave the car guy , still here
01/09/2017 at 19:18

I love to see the bad body work work that comes through the shop. Just sucks when I get stuck working on it.

It seems like it’s usually Honda’s that have the worst work done to them for whatever reason.

Opened this can of worms after the bumper was hit and the bottom edge of the quarter got a small scrape.

Kinja'd!!!

This next car is actually my GF’s. She was sick of car shopping and her Dad found it. Worst part was they paid what a mint condition Mazda 3 would of been worth.

Top tip: Try to be excited for your GF after she buys a shit box car and doesn’t consult you. I was honest with her about what I thought and she wasn’t too happy.

Kinja'd!!!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Dave the car guy , still here
01/09/2017 at 19:18

Roadkill got their ‘74 van painted by Maaco or Earl Scheib and talked about how you could get a half-decent result if you did a bunch of prep work yourself. I’m pondering that concept with my ‘71 Vandura. That just may be the first vehicle I ever have painted.

Or maybe spray it myself. I’m going to use a matte finish anyhow.

comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer > Dave the car guy , still here
01/09/2017 at 19:28

Oh, without a doubt, I don’t doubt it a bit...sorry, wasn’t questioning your statement, just seemed, based on that particular description that that particular story was a ‘hide from the insurance company’ jobber.

Dave the car guy , still here > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
01/09/2017 at 19:30

I prepped one 25 years ago and had Earl Scheib paint it. My bodywork and the paint looked good for about 4 years. Only issue was they didn’t clean the car well enough after the drive to the shop and that coupled with a thin paint job on the edges made some paint flake off on the lower rocker and quarter panels.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Dave the car guy , still here
01/09/2017 at 19:31

May just spray it myself. Or look for someone on Craigslist.

Dave the car guy , still here > comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer
01/09/2017 at 19:34

I didn’t take it wrong. Believe me we see those too. Just a few months back we had a Ford with about 1/4" of filler and the entire lower half of the door had holes from a slide hammer pulling out a huge dent. It was in for an entire down the side repair and they found the prior crap repair. The insurance company had to shell out for a door skin that wasn’t figured into the original estimate.

JRapp: now as good as new again > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
01/09/2017 at 19:35

I did that with my Fiero a decade and a half ago. Pulled off all the trim and everything that needed to come off, and pulled the tail-lights and the plates when I got to the place. Did some other minor fiberglass patching and prep too. All in all, for what I paid, I got decent enough results for a piece of crap car. No orange-peel, no overspray on anything that shouldn’t have over-spray. Could have used a few more layers of clear, but I got what I paid for.

Except the color that it was painted, wasn’t what I thought I told them to paint it. It was close, but not quite right.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > JRapp: now as good as new again
01/09/2017 at 19:37

I’m going to remove all the glass, as well.

Dave the car guy , still here > cluelessk
01/09/2017 at 19:39

We have a buy-here-pay-here dealer near us that does that type of “reconditioning”. The cars look good from a distance but when you look real close or get under the car the truth is revealed.

cluelessk > Dave the car guy , still here
01/09/2017 at 19:41

Sad part was this was from a Mazda dealer.

1111111111111111111111 > Dave the car guy , still here
01/09/2017 at 19:44

Tag this and make a series out of bad bodywork....I’d read.

Dave the car guy , still here > cluelessk
01/09/2017 at 19:44

She should have said something after finding the flaws. They might not have liked it but could have paid partial compensation.

Dave the car guy , still here > 1111111111111111111111
01/09/2017 at 19:45

Bad bodywork ... Number one is a series? Maybe I’ll do that.

Done, I edited the topic.

cluelessk > Dave the car guy , still here
01/09/2017 at 19:46

Her Dad paid for it and knows nothing about cars. Wasn’t really my place to try and straighten it out.

I was pissed about it. I feel bad that so many people love their cars but they’re utter shit boxes and they don’t realize it.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Dave the car guy , still here
01/09/2017 at 19:52

Do you think I could slap these on my Vandura?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/wto/5951463422.html

Dave the car guy , still here > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
01/09/2017 at 20:10

Can’t recall the exact tires size you needed to run but the bolt pattern is good.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Dave the car guy , still here
01/09/2017 at 20:27

I used the information you sent me and researched the sizes thoroughly. It was very helpful info. 15x7 is the rim size, and the current rims are 14x7 with 4-inch offset. I plan on winding up with 205-70-15, which is right at the large edge of the range of sizes you sent me. The rubber on these rims is too fat, but they hold air and they’ll only be rollers. And $50 the set is a score.

Dave the car guy , still here > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
01/09/2017 at 20:30

Oh definitely, the price is right!

WilliamsSW > Dave the car guy , still here
01/09/2017 at 21:03

My first thought was “why is he posting photos from a basement remodel on oppo”.

Brutal.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Dave the car guy , still here
01/10/2017 at 04:38

please, keep these coming!