[catchlizzy]

Someone made a left turn right into my path after Thanksgiving. I couldn't stop on time and plowed into the car. My Odyssey basically T-bone a ' 99 Honda Civic hatchback, luckily at slow speed. The airbags did not go off. The Odyssey sustained bumper damage, cracked passenger headlamp, bowed up passenger fender. Initial estimate is ~$4K. The car is currently at Honda dealer collision center. Estimator already gave me a somewhat negative outlook, he said bumper color will not match as it may have different tone after painting; he also stated no factory car is perfect, especially the front bumper cover attachment to the car body. I see what he's saying for the bumper fit and finish as I've seen several '12 Odyssey's on the dealer lot with poor to good alignment and gap measurement.
Any advice to ensure the repair is done right?

 

[mocha2012]

I wouldn't give them any wiggle room to do a half a$$ed job and then claim they told you so. Tell them that good enough isn't acceptable, and they need to make it right. Your insurance company should back you up as they are paying for it I presume. With that said, I agree with what the estimator said. It will likely not be perfect, but it probably wasn't right out of the factory. But don't let them take a pass at the onset, or it will not wind up as good as it can be.

 

[catchlizzy]

It's going through the other driver's insurance. The other driver also received two citations. I'm going to take pictures of the Ody while it's still waiting for repair with its bumper taken apart exposing all the inner parts for records.

 

[Gstom1]

They should be able to match the paint pretty good. I scraped the metal above the driver side rear wheel well on a pillar in a parking garage. It went down to the metal so I decided to have it repainted to reduce the chances of rusting.

They repainted the whole piece and matched my polished metal metallic color very good. You can't tell it has been repainted.

Push them to get the job done right!

:no:

 

[Sawadee]

1st. Glad no one was hurt.
2nd. I know how it feels. I had my new 2004 Honda V6 Coupe for 2 weeks and someone plowed in my drivers door. He was turning left and looking right.

I would tell them out right that you want the color to match and the fit to be right. If they say they can't do it, tell them you will go some place else. Then go some place else. There are very different skill levels in the autobody industry.
The insurance company's are really driving for the very lowest cost and causing very low quality work in the process. Hard to make a living in that field now. Some are taking short cuts but some are making it and doing quality work. Find them.

P.S. Autobody shop in the family....

 

[catchlizzy]

I couldn't sleep right thinking about the pessimistic outlook of the estimator, despite him assuring me "don't worry let us take care of the body work". Too many negative comments by him...the bumper not matching, the alignment of the bumper won't be perfect, my '12 TE with 2300 miles 30 days of ownership is now a used car, etc. Maybe he's right but as a customer I don't want to hear that! In the end, I'm taking it to Lexus where we service my wife's car.

 

[mocha2012]

I couldn't sleep right thinking about the pessimistic outlook of the estimator, despite him assuring me "don't worry let us take care of the body work". Too many negative comments by him...the bumper not matching, the alignment of the bumper won't be perfect, my '12 TE with 2300 miles 30 days of ownership is now a used car, etc. Maybe he's right but as a customer I don't want to hear that! In the end, I'm taking it to Lexus where we service my wife's car.

I think that is an excellent plan if you have either direct experience with their work or credible references. There are definitely different levels of capabilities out there, and the trick is to find a good one. THe lowered expectation setting during the estimation process is a red flag in my mind that he knows their body work is not top notch.

 

[jasonorrishonda]

I agree with Mocha, I would avoid that place at all costs, he's giving excuses for poor work even before its done. I will say he is probably correct about the bumper not matching. A lot of the bumpers even from the factory won't match the color of the rest of the car

 

[Gstom1]

After scratching my van, my wife took it back to the dealer to get an estimate for the paint and repairs. The dealer admitted they were not the cheaper guys around and suggested we get some quotes from some other body shops. After doing some Internet research, my wife drove to 5 different body shops to get some quotes. We went with the mid-priced guys who had a very good reputation and everything turned out fine.

My friend who drives a white 2008 Subaru Impreza hatchback was rear ended by someone at a stop sign. He had his insurance company review the damage and they recommended their usual body shop to do the repairs and paint job. The bumper is plastic and they were not able to match the white paint 100%. Now his bumper stands out from the rest of the car.

As you can see, matching paint is more an art than a science and it can be hit and miss!

Good luck getting your repairs done.

:rollingeyes: