Body Shop Advice (Los Angeles)

[Chas3n]

I just picked up my hood from them yesterday, October 23rd. I dropped it off August 9th LOL. The hood is a Motorsport24 carbon fiber hood, they were having issues with the get coating or something like that, there were some small cracks that took them a while to fix. Did they need 2 and a half months to do that? Absolutely not. Did they put my job on the lowest priority of all their projects? Absolutely yes.

In the end it looks "alright," there's orange peel obviously, there are little air bubble spots and possible sand/dirt contamination spots in a couple small areas. The color also looks a little bit lighter than it should, but I could only give them the gas lid to match from.

I didn't want to split hairs, because I need the hood to be done, and just move on and be okay with it. I paid $800.

Will I go back to ABS or King's? I mean... *sigh* Yea, probably. Every body shop I have ever been to is like this. Some are also way worse... I have literally NEVER walked away from a body shop experience fully, actually satisfied. So unless you want to shell it out for a master craftsman, paint and body wizard to do your whole car, you gotta manage expectations.

Mine took about 4 months for the front bumper trunk and CSL roof install.

The amount of bird shit on the car was unacceptable. It had been left on there during summer months and had etched into the paint.

Needless to say it was about $600 to have the paint polished to get those stains out. I'll NEVER go back.

The price also increased, and about 2 months after paying I got a text from the owner asking for more money.. guess they forgot to add the rear window pull to the bill.


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[Nate047]

Yea that sucks man, I'm not surprised by any of that though.

[old///MFanatic]

Mine took about 4 months for the front bumper trunk and CSL roof install.
The amount of bird shit on the car was unacceptable. It had been left on there during summer months and had etched into the paint.
Needless to say it was about $600 to have the paint polished to get those stains out. I'll NEVER go back.
The price also increased, and about 2 months after paying I got a text from the owner asking for more money.. guess they forgot to add the rear window pull to the bill.

Ok, just to clarify you two guys are talking horror stories about ABS Autobody in South El Monte. Not KINGS in Hunt Bch.

[oceansize]

I worked in high end body shop for years.

Collision shops want collision work. Insurance checks pay the bills month end and month out. Enthusiasts pay no bills in the grand scheme of things. Collision shops typically don't want a car eating up a bay or a paint booth because the insurance companies are constantly pressuring them to complete the collision work.

After the shop I was at became super established the owner refused all work that didn't involve a wreck or warranty. People got mad about that, but we were always completely slammed. I don't remember a single day we didn't have more than we could do.

[Nate047]

Yes I am talking about ABS. I wouldn't be so dramatic as to call it a "horror story." More just like, this is just how body shops are.

I worked in high end body shop for years.

Collision shops want collision work. Insurance checks pay the bills month end and month out. Enthusiasts pay no bills in the grand scheme of things. Collision shops typically don't want a car eating up a bay or a paint booth because the insurance companies are constantly pressuring them to complete the collision work.

After the shop I was at became super established the owner refused all work that didn't involve a wreck or warranty. People got mad about that, but we were always completely slammed. I don't remember a single day we didn't have more than we could do.

This is true and you can't necessarily fault a business for choosing to run that way. That's why I said my job was low priority for them, and I knew it would be going in. But I've also had really bad experiences with insurance claim repairs too. The same kind of problems with quality control and unreasonably insane turnaround times. In my life I have had 3 major insurance claim repair jobs, NONE of which turned out well, and all 3 of those shops were "high end."

[old///MFanatic]

Yes I am talking about ABS. I wouldn't be so dramatic as to call it a "horror story." More just like, this is just how body shops are.

Ok yes “horror” not the best word here.
Just some posts about ABS Autobdoy were being out of posting chronological order of OPs posts about current body shop. Would hate for a good body shop to get mixed in with other’s unhappy reviews of another.

[oceansize]

NONE of which turned out well, and all 3 of those shops were "high end."

Heard that. The owner of our shop was the one and only QC guy. Nobody else. Lived it, ate it, breathed it. Dude was Napoleon, no fucks were given about feelings. That owner sold out and the shop bombed in just a few years.

[9kracing]

I worked in high end body shop for years.

Collision shops want collision work. Insurance checks pay the bills month end and month out. Enthusiasts pay no bills in the grand scheme of things. Collision shops typically don't want a car eating up a bay or a paint booth because the insurance companies are constantly pressuring them to complete the collision work.

After the shop I was at became super established the owner refused all work that didn't involve a wreck or warranty. People got mad about that, but we were always completely slammed. I don't remember a single day we didn't have more than we could do.

This is the problem I'm starting to run into with getting aftermarket stuff painted.... the good shops only want to take in insurance work.

[Gearhead55]

Damn I'm sorry to hear about everyone's bad experiences with ABS. I have noticed friends saying that their wait time to get in was increasing. Sounds like they have gotten swamped and the quality has suffered.

[Gearhead55]

Whelp, I just dropped the car off at ABS for a front end respray to address the rock chips from all the track and canyon abuse. I'll report back on my experience this time when I get it back.

Wish me luck guys:

[Nate047]

How long did he tell you it would take?

The work will turn out well with blending.

[Gearhead55]

How long did he tell you it would take?

The work will turn out well with blending.

Two weeks. I'm not holding my breath but we'll see. My wife just had our baby so I won't be tracking for a while. I figured now was a good time to tackle this. I'll let it cure for a month or so before I PPF it.

[Nate047]

Yeaaaaaa, let’s see! 🤣

[ATB88]

Okay, results time, and I need help.

I got my car back a few weeks ago (Nov 6ish), but have had a nearly constant travel schedule since then and the car has been sitting in my driveway. I'm finally back for a week, got the car handwashed today to inspect the work.

I have mixed-to-negative feelings about it, and I wanted to get community input before going back to the shop with it. First so that I'm informed on what the issue I'm seeing is, whether or not it's "normal", and second so that I'm not unreasonable in any request I make to them for any possible fix. I also want to emphasize that I'm not making this post to antagonize or badmouth the shop that did the work, but rather just figure out whether or not I have reasonable cause to bring the car back to them.

Basically, I'm finding that there are some areas where there what looks like long "grooves" or "wrinkle lines" in the paint that go along each other and criss cross. In some places it almost looks like brush strokes. The grooves/lines range from ~1 to several inches in length. They aren't visible in all lighting conditions, but when visible I think they look pretty bad. There are some spots on top of the trunk lid, but there are way more along the rear quarter panel, especially on the rear fender flare, extending all the way up to the passenger door. This problem exists on the passenger door too, but to a much lesser extent than the fender and trunk. I don't seem to see this on the bumpers, front fender, or hood that were also painted. Also, I didn't see any of this during my original inspection the first time they tried to have me pick up the car. But I guess maybe I missed it due to lighting conditions?

PICS AND VIDEOS:

Here are photos of the quarter panel and trunk areas that show examples of the issue: https://imgur.com/a/McNp7fj

Here are a few videos that might give a better sense of what this looks like IRL, but it's hard to completely capture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xNH...FWQAou&index=1

QUESTIONS:

1. Is this kind of artifact/defect in the paint normal/expected in a paint job from a reputable shop? I've read a lot about "orange peel" and that it can be expected as long as it isn't too egregious.. but this seems like a different thing?

2. Is this fixable without repainting these areas? The detailers who washed my car this morning suggested that wet sanding could do it, but it would be a pretty big expensive job considering the extent of it. Any other thoughts?

3. In your opinion / if it was your car, would you expect the shop that did the work to correct this?

I really appreciate everyone's thoughts on this!!

[Chas3n]

Could be sanding marks and the paint wasn't cured fully. Looks as if the paint has now swelled showing those.. depending on how thick the clear is, you can have it wet sanded, again.

Very sorry to see this result. Although I had a poor experience there, I had hoped things had changed


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