I’m sure this kind of thing has been covered before but… my MX-5 was bumped at the front by a friend. She agreed to pay cash for the repair so I booked in with Simon Green in Horsforth, near Leeds, Mazda experts apparently.
When I took it in I realised I’d misread the quote; approx £900 not £450 so friend went through insurance. I stuck with the garage as they’d ordered the bumper and insurance agreed but the garage took so long I had to get a courtesy car. Eventually collected my car and the shade was wrong so I didn’t sign it off but said I’d be back in touch.
A week later I took the car back and they gave me their courtesy car. Didn’t hear from them for about 10 days so asked insurance if I could cancel the job (but pay for the actual bumper) and get one of their people to do it seeing as the garage coming across as incapable. Insurance called the garage who said they were spraying tomorrow then baking it so I had to wait. Got my car back after two weeks - paint almost matches - but since then I’ve noticed:
drips on the paint
paint dripped on headlight masked by bonnet
paint dripped on side fairing
bolt missing off front fairing
bolt finger tight on front fairing
protection plate near front fairing not screwed in correctly.
Seeing as the insurance company will have paid by now (and they weren’t my insurance so they can’t fight my case) does anyone know what I can do about the shoddy workmanship? Ideally I’d like it respraying by a competent garage and for Simon Green to pay.
Thanks in advance.
This seems a very strange arrangement with the insurance company,they normally use their own approved body shops,and in some cases they even own the repair shops.This helps control costs.Looking at your photo it looks like you have a new mx5,I know this is going to hurt but I would be inclined to pay myself and get a top job done.Best of luck.
Citizens Advice is a good shout.
But the chances are they will suggest the first step is to give the garage in question an opportunity to remedy the complaint.
I doubt you will be able to get them to have another garage do the work at their cost without a long battle, so maybe consider a more realistic outcome.
In this situation I would probably be tempted to agree to pay the cost price of the bumper they fitted and push for a refund on the work. Then find someone more competant.
My experience of body shops is varied, 28 years of driving a London Cab will get you a lot of paint jobs. Most of them will do the bare minimum in order to be paid, and whatever is out of sight doesn’t matter.
Your chances of getting this work done somewhere else and having them pay for it just aren’t realistic. The insurers won’t be too supportive as you’ve chosen the garage.
Go back with a list of all the problems you have and ask them to put it right. All body shops know how to do it right, they just chose not to because time costs money. I often find that offering to call the insurers and get them down to take a look and discuss the problems at the body shop will get the desired reaction.
Any body work I’ve had done in the past always comes with a warranty of some sort, usually you have 3 or 6 months to find any problems and get them sorted. Drips in the paint are common.