Bay Area User

I wish i could vent... but I'm supposed to drive back there tomorrow to see if they make it right, which i doubt will be the case.
Only way to make it right is for me to drop the car off yet again (after tomorrow)...

I'll have a full report tomorrow afternoon for sure.
All i know is that waiting two weeks (after having waited another 2 weeks for my appointment) for a front bumper and fender paint job seems extreme. And to not have everything done in over 11 business days seems like a joke. Something that would not have taken more than an extra hour or two will now cost me about an hour of driving time and disruption of my weekend.
It's simply unacceptable for someone who brags of being the only authorized Mercedes Benz body shop in the bay area.

tthoang1

What's the name of the shop? Or PM me. Thanks.

JRAMGV8

+ 1

sack5000

Beautiful ride, I'm sure it will all be worth it once the job is done right. I remember seeing pictures of the damage that did not look extensive. However, any paint work on this type of car is easy to detect. They must complete each step perfectly to achieve an acceptable job. Have patience, good luck!

Bay Area User

hi guys,
I won't divulge the name yet...
i'll share the whole story after today but hopefully with a happy ending.

IndiumGreyE63

It's THAT kind of shop?...

CWW

Emperor's Club Automotive: For all your body's needs...

bltserv

Patience. Patience.

My SL55 got hit from behind on Feb 8th. A Hyundai with bad brakes.
The Hyundai is totalled. Minor damage to the SL55 below the bumper.
But it tweeked the alignment of the roof and trunk mechanics.

Authorized MB Repair shops are authorized for a reason. They do excellent work. That Authorization status is the "World" to that shop. So the first thing for them is getting it "right". And getting it right does not translate to "quick". I call my shop once a week and see whats going on. So now after 5 weeks it looks like its going back to the dealer mid week for a final QC. They are going to make sure the top and trunk are perfect before I get my car back. So for a job that may have took 2-3 weeks in the normal world. It is taking 6-7 weeks in the Benz world.

So Patience is the name of the game with an Authorized Benz Body shop....

Hopefully next week sometime I get my car back too.

bigben320e

Yes, just have patience for the car, and for your happy ending especially. It will be worth it. LOL.

Please let me know the name of that shop!

Bay Area User

well guys. It's more than having patience.
I'm really patient, but not having everything promised completed by the time i picked up the car and told to be there today only to find out the shop was closed it is WAY TOO MUCH!!.
a more detailed post will follow. I've started it, but it's just a long story... so i'll post it tomorrow.

ThisFlyGuy

yes definitely keep us posted.

Dragoncoach

Not to scare you, but I'd check the miles on the car as well. You don't want to see miles "majically" appear on your odometer. I also agree with other posters that it's worth it to wait longer to get it right than to rush them to just get the job done. However, a front fender is not a difficult repair and shouldn't take too long as long as there isn't any serious hidden damage. One last thing. If this shop claims to be the only "authorized" MB bodyshop, you should be waiting over a year to repair your car. There are a lot of MB's that get damaged and it's hard to believe there is only one shop for the Bay Area that's authorized. It's a load of crap. Good Luck.

Bay Area User

Yeah, you have no idea what i've experienced. I'm waiting for a call back, but so far nada. I wonder if they'll ever call back to finish what they started since they already got paid. I'm almost 90% sure my car was driven out of the body shop by "someone"(joy ridden?? i can't say for sure). There are many little clues left. If they don't call me today, then i'm posting all the stuff.
BTW, it's not the "only" authorized mb shop, it's the "first" authorized body shop. i just checked their business card.

vegastrashed

I had German Auto Body in Santa Clara do all my paint work for my car. They painted my front grill and side markers Obsidian black. They also powdercoated my calipers canary yellow and tinted my tail lights. I'm very happy with their work. You might consider giving them a shot. Hopefully, they are not the shop in question.

CWW

So what's the full story?

It's been a couple days now. Did you get it resolved?

Sunny55

LOL....good one

transferred

Dude, this thread is USELESS without the name of the shop. Just tell us already as they've passed the point of deserving sympathy.

Bay Area User

ok guys, here goes the full story!!!!!!!!!!!!!


So, let me tell you guys the whole story. It extends beyond an incomplete job.
My car had some front damage (passenger side)
see pic.


I shopped around for a decent estimate, but more importantly for a trustworthy shop. My insurance was going to pay for the damage, so although the damage was not extensive by any means, I wanted it to be fixed correctly.

I checked a few places and eventually made my way to EUROTECH COLLISION CENTER, in San Carlos. I spoke with one of the main guys there (his name hill remain anonymous for now). He looked at my car and gave me an estimate of over 3k. i thought the price was outrageous, but since he walked around the car and noticed a few blemishes and said he would take care of them too, i decided to go with them. After all, they were mbz authorized.

He noticed that someone had recently rearened me (barely noticiable, just little scratches none really that could be felt with my finger nail) He said, “90 percent of it will come out when we wet sand it.”
He kept on walking around the car and noticed I had two deep scratches right below the fuel cap (gas nozzle RRRRR). Once again, i said, what could we do about this? He felt it and said, "We could touch it up since we'll have more than plenty of paint from the front. Dark colors don't look so bad when you touch them up."
I figured, the price was significantly higher than other shops, but since they'd wet sand my rear bumper and touch up several little nicks in the car, which he wrote down on his original report, why not give them a chance. I asked how long it would take, he said 4-6 days because of a two or three stage paint job, etc etc. He said, he'd order the parts and call me when they arrived.

I waited one week and got a phone call saying that the parts were there and I could bring my car two weeks from that date. I asked how long it would take, lady on the phone said about 5 days since all the parts had arrived (new fender).
When I dropped off my car, I was told to see a new adviser. Nice guy, came to my car. Looked it over and wanted the keys right away. I was a little hesitant. I told him about the scratches and the rear bumper and how they were also written in the original report (I never received this copy.)
He said, "yes, it's all here" and waived the report that had been made 3 weeks ago.
I emphasized how I wanted to rear polished and he said that most of it would come out when they detailed the car before they’d return it. So, i left. Called 5 days later, and they said, that it would take another week. No big deal, i waited.
I showed up on Friday. It was raining. Car was covered with water, so i couldn't really see what i was getting. I stepped inside while the adviser brought the car to the front. He came back inside and said that I had a $500 deductible and I needed to take care of it. I told him that I wanted to check the car first.
I looked at the bumper and fender and it looked ok. The rear bumper looked fine too. It was difficult to see the actual condition because of the water. I told him "i'm sure it's all fine". However as I was getting ready to go back inside I noticed the rear bumper was filthy. You know when it rains and it get’s dirty?? Like that. So i walked back and noticed the scratches/nicks were still there. I brought it to his attention. I told him that i had told him in person about it when i was dropping my car. He said he remembered and that he would get it polished immediately. I told him, that the deal was to touch it up. Polishing would not get it done, because they were deep. He just ran looking for the detailer.
It was then, that i paid close attention to the bumper. To my surprise the scratches were still there. Nothing had been done, no wet sanding, NADA.
Car was filthy so i presume no detailing, i mean, how dirty would the car get with just rain? i could see dirt on the lower skirts, rear bumper etc.
The guy came back and said the detailer had left for the day but that i could bring my car back tomorrow morning and it would only take about an hour to polish everything out. At this point, i was totally upset. I just wanted to get out of there. So i went and sat down. I asked him if he would be there tomorrowand he said yes. So I told him, I’m coming back tomorrow and will be looking for you. Please get this done.
At that point, i paid the balance and left.

This is where things get ugly. So far, i've had a body shop just not finish what they promised. Bad, but not too bad. They were trying to rectify the situation. Although it was mortifying since i've had no car for two weeks, i just sucked it up.

As soon as i get in the car to drive back home i noticed several "unusual" things.
The radio was blasting a radio station not set on my presets.
My seat was in a funky position. (on the way back home i noticed the passenger seat was out of place too)
My phone would not connect to the car.
AC was blasting at Low.
Not until i got home. i noticed some funky things going on in the trunk but my mind could be playing tricks on me.

So, started thinking about the radio on the way back.
When I dropped of the car, I had a CD on and turned it off on track 2. I remember this clearly because the Cd was a gift and i remember what song I was listening too as i pulled into their lot. I figured, the CD should be playing the same track, right?? Well, I quickly changed to the CD and track 13 was playing.
Hum..
AC was blasting in low.. Well, I had dropped it off early morning while It rained so I know for a fact that it was on high when I dropped it off. We all know how long it takes to get the climate control from high to low, so I doubt someone would do all that when nothing was needed in the interior and all they needed to do was move my car around the parking lot.

The settings on my seat were off, but whatever right? i mean, they needed to move my car around their lot?? well, why move my passengers seat? The only person who ever uses that seat is my GF and i know her position by heart so that struck me as odd.

Since the phone was not connecting to the head unit. i opened the tray and the little black phone thingy that connects there was just laying out of place (unsecured). The only way to remove this is by manually unplugging it, right? I connected it and wonder how the hell it came loose since someone would have had to un-clip it?? why would they need to do that for a bumper install?

So i put it back on, my phone would still not connect. A problem i had never experienced before. When it finally did, i made a few phone calls and people could not hear what i said over the car's microphone. I've turned it off and on several times, the microphone does work. Is this related? i have no freaking clue. All i know is that i'm pissed that i have to hold the phone while i drive when i didn't have to two weeks ago.

By the time I got home I had the feeling that someone had been frankly joy riding my car. I doubted it though. I mean, it was a responsible shop, right?
Well, I go to open the trunk and all the stuff that I had neatly put to the side and held it with the net thingy were just dispersed over the trunk. I had two bags of clothes i was going to donate to Goodwill, and they were also dispersed all over the trunk?? hum... I had neatly put all this stuff in place the morning before i took the car to be fixed. how could it just get like that when i drive like granpa!!! (unless at the track)

At that point, I didn’t call them. I just had an uneasy feeling and figure I would bring it up the next day when I took my car in to have the scratches and bumper polished.

Drove to the Body shop on Saturday morning and noticed there were just a few cars outside. The garage doors were closed but I could hear what sounded like people sanding, cutting, etc inside. I walked to the main office and it was looked. Looked inside and everything was turned off. I figured, maybe I’m here early? I mean, he said 9am, and it’s 9am, maybe they are running late? So I patiently got back in car and waited. After 30 mins I called my advisers direct line. Called twice left a message telling him I was there and it was closed. . I figure that maybe in their effort to finish my car they might send the detailer to try to do something they should have done before i picked the car up. I was wrong. I wasted 40 minutes to find out that the shop is closed on Saturdays. wtF!!!!!!! why would the service adviser tell me to come in on a Saturday if they were freaking closed!! Called again and left a message asking to please call me back on Monday.
I’ve been at work all day and so far no one has returned my call.

What do you guys think? to me, the job is incomplete. maybe i should have never paid my deductible until the job was done? but why should i not trust them that if i'm dealing with a responsible business? responsible enough to get an official Mercedes Benz collision center?
pd: sorry about the typos. i'm just tired and not in the mood to really write, just feel that my story should be told.

Dragoncoach

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER pay a bodyshop before the work has been completed, inspected, and okayed by the owner. Maybe they repaired it, drove it, and damaged it again and are trying to repair it again. I would go down there and start making a stink and let the local MB dealer know about your experience with their "authorized" repair shop. Maybe they'll get involved. They have a lot more clout than you and may get things moving.

zoink

Ouch.... I feel sorry for you. And thanks for the warning.... Here's what I'd do: Report that to your insurance company and ask them not to pay a penny for the work. You could dispute the deductible through your CC company. Just be sure to take a lot of pics... I'm somehow 90% sure that your front damage was also not done properly. Check under bright sunlight.... make sure the color was blended properly. Go to another body shop (I know one in Fremont - not EMC) and get 2nd opinion.

Joyriding is something that I always worry when dropping off my car for service. It once happened to me at one MB dealership w/ my old E55 (no need to mention names - they apologized and gave me a 50% discount on $1K+ service - just be sure the mileage in and out was recorded). I got 250 more miles on the car They initially said it was for a test drive.... 250-mile test drive??? Why not go to LA? LOL. So not only the miles but also my entire tank was gone.

Jon2007E63P30

Your insurance company should be notified. They don't like paying for bad work either. They also have more influence than you since they have the ability to tell their other customers.

Bay Area User

here is the deal guys.. how do i tell my insurance company??
they were paying for the front bumper and fender?
How do i tell them about the rear bumper and nicks?? that was agreed between the adviser and me, doesn't show on the estimate, etc?

I was looking at my hood today and i could see buffing marks? nothing really notorious, but they were there. I'm gonna have to wash my car, and pay close attention now.
before that, my car was mint.

The day is officially over and EUROTECH never bother returning my calls.
Guess i'll have to call them tomorrow and ask what the heck is up with my unfinished car.

mbamg06e55

If you can drive over to Autobahn Motors and talk to the service manager. Eurotech and Autobahn work hand in hand. Eurotech relies on most of their work from referrals from Autobahn.

That should get your problems resolved in a heartbeat.

4matic

talk about a freaking nightmare...i guess i would notify the insurance company, but you raise a good point about the scratches, etc....well...what ever happens keep us updated, sorry about that awful situation

Dragoncoach

It doesn't sound right they didn't give you a copy of the estimate with the mileage and a description of what the scope of the work was to be. Fishy at best.