Body Shop Advice (Los Angeles)

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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."

[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.

[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.

[Nate047]

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

[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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[old///MFanatic]

Cool. You spotted some things you weren’t happy with and they were receptive and didn’t hassle about re-doing.
If you’re happy that’s all that matters. Glad you’re getting your car back with excitement. It’s a great feeling having a clean looking car.

[Nate047]

I would run from ABS. They had my car, and 3 others I referred over there.

Last I heard the owner of the 3 other vehicles left that shop very upset.

I wasn't thrilled with the length of time or the quality of work either. Leaking CSL roof (twice) and paint chipping from front bumper.

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.

[ATB88]

You seriously think someone can perfectly match 20 year old original paint?

I don't seriously think anything, I have no idea! That's why I'm asking I don't have any fixed expectations here and I'm just asking questions to make sure that I'm setting my expectations in the right place. Car's carbon black metallic.

Mmmm yea I guess that's about half the car, let us know how it looks. Make sure you don't take the car and leave if there are any issues.

Just checked the car out. Overall it looks very nice! The paint match looks good so far from the time I spent looking at it. I spotted a few little white spots or white lines at different places near edges/interfaces, and they assured me that this was just leftover compound from polishing and they could easily take care of it. Due to a small miscommunication, they painted the trunk lid, but not the trunk lid handle (I had a fresh matte primed one installed on the trunk, that I thought they would paint along with the rest of the trunk, alas I was not explicit to them about that). No biggie, though, they're happy to do it.

There was only one thing that seemed like a real issue I noticed in any of the paint -- I asked for the driver's side mirror to be repainted (and the passenger mirror was also repainted along with the rest of the passenger side). The passenger mirror looks great, paint has a smooth mirror finish. The driver's side had a thick and noticeable orange peel texture. Could physically feel texture running my finger over it. Pointed it out and they said they'll take care of it. There was some minor orange peel in the front/rear bumpers but it looked okay -- only the mirror seemed problematic. Is orange peel more of an issue when painting angular pieces like bumper covers? All of the flatter panels (fenders, door, trunk lid, hood) look very nice to the extent that I inspected them.

Anyway, so far so good, I think? I'm glad they were receptive and accommodating about the issues that I pointed out. Excited to have the car back totally finished in a few days!

They've also been impressively fast, I dropped the car off only 16 days ago.

[old///MFanatic]

As for paint match, they've repainted everything EXCEPT the driver's side front/rear fenders and door. Should I be expecting a perfect match to the original paint on those panels, and if not, to how high a standard should I be holding them? If I can see the difference, should I be asking them to repaint? I have no idea of what's reasonable here..

You seriously think someone can perfectly match 20 year old original paint? The difference in the clear coat break down alone will give a different sheen. What color again is the car?
You have to be reasonable with painting, it should look good-great. Doing different panel gets tricky and need to be blended. Which is as good as can be if you don’t completely respray car. As has been mentioned before it will never be perfect.
You should expect to leave happy. If you see flaws bring it up and ask. They are legit.

[Chas3n]

https://absautorepair.com/

They work on tons paint and body for M cars and they do other collision work as well. The owner Kevin is a good dude (and he has a 997 GT3). The painted and installed my CSL front and hamann wing. Tell him Jim with the LSB e46 sent you.

I would run from ABS. They had my car, and 3 others I referred over there.

Last I heard the owner of the 3 other vehicles left that shop very upset.

I wasn't thrilled with the length of time or the quality of work either. Leaking CSL roof (twice) and paint chipping from front bumper.

[Nate047]

Mmmm yea I guess that's about half the car, let us know how it looks. Make sure you don't take the car and leave if there are any issues.