REVscene - Vancouver Automotive Forum

aspect · 12-09-2008, 09:27 PM

Send me a pm if you are thinking about pretech, i'll tell you my story.

The last time I posted anything about it on here, they came on the forum and made up a different story to try to make me look like a liar.

rob76 · 12-09-2008, 11:07 PM

Are all shops equally able to get the color matched right? Both Pretech and Parkers said they would blend the paint halfway into my front fender when that fender has no damage at all at this point. Only my doors and rear quarter have damage. Is it that hard to match the color on a brand new car? They also both said they might have to use body filler on it. I was under the impression they didn't use body filler on new cars under 5 years old. At least that's how it always was in SK, and AB.

Will the paint stick to the existing paint? I assume they have to sand the clearcoat off on the entire front fender first. But will the new paint stick to the already cured paint? I don't want my paint peeling off in 5 years.

Jewelz_firebird · 12-10-2008, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rob76

I suppose the only reason Mercedes, VW and Audi use Continental is because those cars require specific knowledge to take apart and put together. For example, Porsche said they use Advance only because they have the specific tools needed to work on those cars.

Accually i know most of the dealerships that send the work to continental and their reasoning behind it is (coz I asked them):

They are quick, good price, excellent work, can cut costs without comprimising the workmanship & they are not an icbc aproved shop so they dont get flooded with icbc garbage.

The problem with reputations in this city is that a bodyshop may say "you have 2 grand? ok we will paint the car but it wont be perfect but we will do it within your budjet"... the car ends up looking like ballz, ppl see it and reputation goes out the window because the bodyman did you a favor...

I see crap paint jobs day in and day out as well as great ones from the same place... The people make such a big difference and one thing I know is that my car isnt getting touched by anyone except continental and Id even go to Limas.. Heard good things and seen them as well. Only one guy paints at continental and the only does bodywork... they stick to what they are good at.

rob76 · 12-10-2008, 04:01 PM

Ah they don't do ICBC claims... weird that those dealerships would just recommend them then? Don't they assume it would be for an ICBC claim... weird.

rob76 · 12-10-2008, 04:05 PM

Ah ok I just checked ICBC's website. I can take it to any shop. However Continental isn't "ICBC approved" whatever that means...

slammedcivicsi · 12-10-2008, 05:01 PM

continental is not an ICBC accredited shop. So you can still take your car there, however you will have to pre-pay, or have it approved by ICBC. They are not accredited based on more than shop quality. Parking, shop conditions, saftey equipment, vintage of tools, etc....The previous painter from Continental is a good friend of mine, he was there for nearly 10 years.

We blend paint on every car, onto the adjacent panel. This is to ensure a good colour match. Panel painting a part is very hard to match perfectly, because differnt air pressures, reducers, shop temperatures, part properties, etc....all make a difference with colour layouts.

Yes your paint will stick to a cured paint, providing its sanded. They do not need to sand off your old clearcoat, but they do have to sand it.

They use body filler in every province, and every state in north america. Saskatchewan, and Alberta do the exact same. They do not use lead any more, and even they dont replace every part for a small ding. Most of todays polyester body fillers are much more advanced than lead anyways, since they dont rust, or shrink/swell.

As I said....any ICBC accredited shop has to follow the exact same guidelines. They all have the most up to date equipment, and can repair your car to PRE ACCIDENT CONDITION, thats their job. Not to restore your car, but to return it to its previous condition before the accident.

They all have to guarantee their workmanship for life, where as non accredited shops do not.

-Brad

rob76 · 12-10-2008, 05:32 PM

Thanks for the info. I guess what I meant was if a car is newer they will replace the door rather than use body filler on it. I think they will replace my door since it's less than 3 years old and I have replacement insurance. We'll see what they say I guess.

So are you saying they have a new painter at Continental?

I would lean towards continental since the dealers I mentioned above use them. The owners of such cars are usually pretty picky about their cars. The accredited shops seem to work on all kinds of mundane cars and most people in this city do not really care much about their cars. I can't see most people being very picky about the repairs they receive.

Also, nobody's had anything bad to say about Continental yet. Any horror stories out there?

slammedcivicsi · 12-10-2008, 09:08 PM

The painter at continental has been there for roughly 3 years. I honestly dont know who is is, so I can not comment on their painting ability.

And truth be told, the owners of so called "High end" cars, end up being the least picky. Its the person that spends a good chunk of their earnings on their $470 car payment. That tends to be the fussiest, and cars are cars.....painting or repairing a mercedes or a bmw, or a porche, is no differnt from painting a gm, toyota, or honda. They are still all just bolts and steel. Some yes, can be tougher to repair, based on bodylines, and ease of removibility of parts.

If you have replacement cost, all that means is that you will get new parts, rather than large repair times. If the repairs are small enough, then they will still just repair it. Your insurance company wont replace a door, for a simple door ding. However if it is smashed in from a collision, then yes they will replace it, opposed to repairing it. Keep in mind that insurance companies base replacement of a part based on repair times.

If a door costs $1000, and a shop charges $100/hr, then they could in theory spend up to 10 hours of repair, before replacing the panel. Providing the inner structure is not damaged, and the panel can be repaired succesfully and safely. However if you had replacement cost, they wouldnt even think of that repair, simply they would put a new door on.

There is much fine print when it comes to insurance, and Im not here to get too involved, I only just try to help people understand what they may not know, to prevent confusion when they visit a shop in town, regardless of which one it may be.

As far as Im concerned, they are all good, they all follow the same industry standard, and were for the most part trained in the same facility. However Im not saying that all shops repair every job perfect. Sometimes someone had a bad day, and left a run on a paintjob, or missed a dent, etc...its no differnt from going to a resturaunt and getting a bad meal.

I'd personally stick within the ICBC accredited shops, or better yet, a valet shop, because you will either get a rental car, or a courtesy car to use while yours is in the shop, and if for some unforceen reason you end up having a problem, you can contact the shop to fix it, and if they dont, your insurance company will back you.

-Brad

jigga250 · 12-10-2008, 11:12 PM

+1 for continental

...if you can find it

rob76 · 12-10-2008, 11:51 PM

I have the road star package so I will get a rental for sure either way. I just want a decent job done. I've had some really bad work done in the past by well known big name shops where the "blended" part peeled off 2 years down the road. I had some other work done on my old car by a Chrysler dealer in Regina. Similar type of repair as I'm faced with now. It lasted the rest of the 7 years I had the car. The paint was a bit thinner and more orange peely than the original paint, but at least it stayed on.

slammedcivicsi · 12-11-2008, 03:31 PM

I hear ya, that simply comes to a poor job. But you will get a warranty where ever you choose to go, so you should be safe.

rob76 · 12-11-2008, 03:35 PM

Do shops need to have a down-draft, high tech paint booth to do good work? What is the benefit of it? Does it reduce overspray mist from getting on other areas of the car?

slammedcivicsi · 12-11-2008, 05:00 PM

Ive seen decent paintjobs out of cross flow paint jobs. However they are old technology, its like using lead paint in your when latex is available.

Downdrafts provide faster turn around on cars, cleaner paint jobs, with fewer pieces of dirt, and will be required within the next few years, due to new waterbased paint restrictions. Cross flows do not provide adaquite air flow for the new waterbased basecoats that are out there.

Ive painted in both, and obviously prefer a downdraft. But most shops have atleast 1 downdraft. Cross flows are tipically found in shops are used for primer, and prepping, or found in home based shops. My shop has a downdraft, and a cross flow, however we only paint in the downdraft, and only use the cross flow for basically a prep station. We are currently removing the crossflow, to install a second downdraft.

rob76 · 12-11-2008, 06:40 PM

Apparently Continental doesn't have a downdraft. They have a booth but it looks pretty old. They said you only need it if you're doing 20 cars a day. Wouldn't dust be an issue?

slammedcivicsi · 12-11-2008, 07:03 PM

Yes older cross flows do have more dirt issues than newer downdrafts. However thats not to say they cant do the job, dirt can always be sanded and polished out.

Amaru · 12-11-2008, 08:46 PM

For my most recent bodywork (which involved a deer head-butting my rear quarter panel), I took my car to Boyd.

I was incredibly impressed at the bodywork and painting, both look fantastic. Haven't seen them yet in natural light but in my garage the work looks second-to-none. Certainly happy to have my rear bumper re-finished and repainted for "free" (aka deductible).

The service was excellent, too, and the loaner car was clean and reliable. Only bad part was that they left my rear window cracked (it's a coupe, so it's hard to tell when it's only open 1-2mm) when they detailed the car and the rear seat is sprayed with soap.

Otherwise, good experience. Anyone else had good/bad experiences at Boyd?

**edit: this was the Boyd on John St.

jigga250 · 12-11-2008, 09:16 PM

I was reasonably satisfied with Boyd on my old car (got a hatch painted). It wasnt perfect though and it was covered in a thick layer of dust when I got it back so I couldnt see the imperfections until i got it home.

rob76 · 12-12-2008, 04:52 AM

Yeah I don't think I'll be signing for anything until I see my car clean and in good lighting!

slammedcivicsi · 12-12-2008, 06:36 AM

have you ever taken a car into a shop before ?

You dont approve and sign for it when you pick it up, its not a UPS package, and with Victoria weather you could be waiting a few weeks for decent lighting.

Your ICBC claim is guaranteed for life, if theres an issue, your shop should cover it.

rob76 · 12-12-2008, 08:39 AM

Yeah, I've dealt with all kinds of shithole shops before. I know how they operate.

"should" is the problem. If it's not done right it will be redone before ever leaves the shop. That's all I know.

rob76 · 12-12-2008, 06:38 PM

ICBC only supports your claim for 2 years whether it's an A or B list vendor. That's their term of liability. After that it's only the shops warranty that applies. That's right from ICBC as I spoke with the claims supervisor today.

rob76 · 01-22-2009, 09:51 PM

Continental was a bad choice for me. The owner can not take any criticism at all. He's like a 5 year old. He's extremely condescending towards his customers. They also did not do a lot of the things they promised they would do. I had to fight with them to get it done and to get my car back. The door repair looks like crap, so now I have to fight with ICBC to get the door skin replaced. He also returned my car full of scratches, even on the new paint. I assume he did this on purpose.

rob76 · 01-22-2009, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slammedcivicsi

have you ever taken a car into a shop before ?

You dont approve and sign for it when you pick it up, its not a UPS package, and with Victoria weather you could be waiting a few weeks for decent lighting.

Your ICBC claim is guaranteed for life, if theres an issue, your shop should cover it.

Yes I did have to sign for it. They held the car hostage until I signed a form saying I found his repairs satisfactory. He was able to do this because of the Warehouse Liens Act.

hondaguy73 · 01-23-2009, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rob76

Continental was a bad choice for me. The owner can not take any criticism at all. He's like a 5 year old. He's extremely condescending towards his customers. They also did not do a lot of the things they promised they would do. I had to fight with them to get it done and to get my car back. The door repair looks like crap, so now I have to fight with ICBC to get the door skin replaced. He also returned my car full of scratches, even on the new paint. I assume he did this on purpose.

the dealer was a bad choice...they also scratch and dent your car

the car washes are a bad choice

the old people in your strata....etc

may be its not the places you deal with......everyone is out to get you

projectcivic · 01-23-2009, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rob76

Continental was a bad choice for me. The owner can not take any criticism at all. He's like a 5 year old. He's extremely condescending towards his customers. They also did not do a lot of the things they promised they would do. I had to fight with them to get it done and to get my car back. The door repair looks like crap, so now I have to fight with ICBC to get the door skin replaced. He also returned my car full of scratches, even on the new paint. I assume he did this on purpose.

wow, are you for real? Do you really honestly believe yourself when you say "I assume he did this on purpose"? Do you really think any shop would purposly "scratch your car"?
I understand you may have really annoyed them but I doubt any shop would risk doing that. I don't know you but from what I have read on here, I honestly think you need to look in the mirror and try to figure out why all these shops you take your car to are having a hard time "pleasing" you, and why you have been fighting with them to the point you need to call the ICBC claims supervisor. How many people did you have to argue with to get to that point of talking to the supervisor?