What are Calgary's most expensive bodyshops? [Archive] - Beyond.ca - Car Forums

asuth077

07-11-2006, 01:00 PM

Originally posted by EnRich
DONT GOTO A1 AUTOBODY!!!!! scammers... I've had nothing but problems with them... I had to take it all the way up to the owner before I was even semi satisfied.... A1.... never again.

Care to share?

I have a car going there next week. It is through insurance though.

Lex350

07-11-2006, 01:04 PM

anything is Crowfoot center is about 15% higher than the rest.

I aways take my car ro Low Cost on Edmonton Trail.

Oz-

07-11-2006, 01:08 PM

Horton Autobody

DeeK

07-11-2006, 03:17 PM

Crowfoot autobody is a ridiculous price.

Montgomery Autobody is quite high also.

I assume you are going thru insurance?
I usually go to Auggie's autobody in the NE, get their quote. Then go to crowfoot autobody and montgomery. There is 3 quotes, take the cheapest, being auggies autobody. I like his work. Hasn't treated me bad yet. Hes A+ in my books.

Just dont ever go to Edmonton Autobody, the guy running the place is a fucking crackhead, hes fucked a few people over I know.

heavyD

07-11-2006, 03:24 PM

Originally posted by asuth077

Care to share?

I have a car going there next week. It is through insurance though.

If you like your car and quality is important don't take it to A1 Autoboby. I've seen 3 Honda's that the have done including my wifes and their work borders on amature. Their version of prepping is a quick wash of your car. The paint will flake off in less than two years garenteed & if you are lucky the color just may match the original.:thumbsdow

EnRich

07-11-2006, 03:32 PM

Originally posted by asuth077

Care to share?

I have a car going there next week. It is through insurance though.

LOL! well lets see.... I took my accord in there, through insurance... When I got it back, NOTHING worked, doors, trunk, rear tail lights, security... I washed the car, and there were swirls everywhere!!! I'm talking fucked up looking, BAD paint job, pulled outta the junk yard look on what was supposed to be a new bumper... The color DID NOT match the rest of the car, the fade was terrible. and to top it off... 2 weeks later my paint was peeling off everytime I washed my car.... You shoulda seen me yelling at all of them when I had to bring my car back for the 5th time!!!!!!! I would strongly recommend you take your car outta there, and to coach works, I hear really good stuff about em.... DO NOT GOTO A1!!!!

heavyD

07-11-2006, 03:37 PM

Originally posted by EnRich

LOL! well lets see.... I took my accord in there, through insurance... When I got it back, NOTHING worked, doors, trunk, rear tail lights, security... I washed the car, and there were swirls everywhere!!! I'm talking fucked up looking, BAD paint job, pulled outta the junk yard look on what was supposed to be a new bumper... The color DID NOT match the rest of the car, the fade was terrible. and to top it off... 2 weeks later my paint was peeling off everytime I washed my car.... You shoulda seen me yelling at all of them when I had to bring my car back for the 5th time!!!!!!! I would strongly recommend you take your car outta there, and to coach works, I hear really good stuff about em.... DO NOT GOTO A1!!!!

LOL. Very similar to my wife's experience. The worst thing is that they are always busy which is mind boggling as their work is the worst I've ever seen. IMO they have something worked out with insurance companies because I can't see them getting repeat business with anyone or even good word of mouth.

Altezza

07-11-2006, 03:48 PM

I concur with the comments on A1. On my old car, it came out multiple shades of white after a repair. Looked as if they used a different batch of paint for each item that was repainted. The edges were horribly taped (if even) and there were visible paint drips. There were even parts of the car where there was no clearcoat applied. They also indicate to insurance that certain parts are replaced when in fact they are not. But to their credit, they did handle my complaints very professionally and fixed the problems that I was not happy with. Fortunately, I didn't require a 3rd or 4th visit to have issues completely resolved.

jer82

07-11-2006, 03:50 PM

they are also close to the start of the phone book!

gp36912

07-11-2006, 05:13 PM

i personally take my car to dt autobody, but thats because my family knows their family. they do good work and don't charge out the ass for it. but if you are gonna go through insurance. put it through concours or coachworks. :D

Tik-Tok

07-11-2006, 05:22 PM

Concours has lifetime warranty on the work they've performed (as long as you own the car).

DC2

07-11-2006, 05:29 PM

contemporary coachworks charges quite a bit but they do real good work

umm if crowfoot is right across from northwest acura they charge alot too. they do all of northwest acura's body work too

frostyda9

07-11-2006, 07:42 PM

Concours is a good place :thumbsup:

Yes, A1 is a recommended shop through insurance. I talked to my insurance, and it was on the list of places that I could go without first getting three quotes...just had to go in for one estimate. My car is booked in for later this month...oh man I'm nervous now :eek:

CalgarySupra

07-11-2006, 10:18 PM

i get my body word done at this guy behind zellers in forest lawn, cheap and resonable work compared to expensive places.

Phuqu

07-11-2006, 10:28 PM

You can get more than body work done behind the Zellers in Forest Lawn.

:eek:

barbarian

07-11-2006, 11:10 PM

Going to scam your insurance company?

Redlyne_mr2

07-11-2006, 11:29 PM

Or call Screamin get the same quality of work and use the spare cash for mods !

BerserkerCatSplat

07-12-2006, 12:34 AM

When do you plan on sending the car in, and for what?

88CRX

07-12-2006, 12:57 AM

Originally posted by BerserkerCatSplat
When do you plan on sending the car in, and for what?

Not mine... a buddy that got mad hail damage.

Originally posted by barbarian
Going to scam your insurance company?

haha, what the fuck do you think you pay insurance for?

88CRX

07-12-2006, 12:59 AM

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2
Or call Screamin get the same quality of work and use the spare cash for mods !

yea, get a quote someone and then do whatever you please with the check :thumbsup:

btw, its a 00' civic sir currently black... he thinks he's gonna spray it champ white :bigpimp: :thumbsup:

AE92_TreunoSC

07-12-2006, 01:06 AM

Anyone ever walk into the back in marenellos? It brought a tear to my eye, there were 2 lambos 1 ferrari and countless bimmers and mercs. so puuuuurty

cantaffordmytoy

07-12-2006, 01:19 AM

Originally posted by CalgarySupra
i get my body word done at this guy behind zellers in forest lawn, cheap and resonable work compared to expensive places.

do you mean D&G bodyworks or something like that, he actually does pretty good work from what i have seen, but i found him to be expensive, he wanted 4 g's to paint my lil honda, i thought that was a bit much considering there was extremely little body work.

Weapon_R

07-12-2006, 01:23 AM

D&G is a rip off. He quoted me more than Hallmark Autobody did for a dent on an old car I had. Pretty bold for a guy whose business name is painted onto a piece of white plywood with a paintbrush.

asuth077

07-12-2006, 11:16 AM

So instead of going to A-1 should I book my car in to....

Superior for end of July
Hallmark in August
or Concours in late August/early September

The Cosworth

07-12-2006, 11:26 AM

Concours, worth the wait... cant get worse, its not like the dents get bigger as you wait... (hopefully)

asuth077

07-12-2006, 11:38 AM

Originally posted by brendankharris
Concours, worth the wait... cant get worse, its not like the dents get bigger as you wait... (hopefully)

Alright thanks,

I booked in with them.

big_k

07-12-2006, 12:14 PM

I have never had a problem with A-1. My family has taken a couple cars to them. We had one little problem with our back hatch making a funny noise when closing, but we brought it to them and it was fixed right away.

And has for them having a deal with insurance companys or somethin like heavyd said, thats far from the truth, my insurance company won't even accept a quote from them and don't like us using them because they cost to much.

anyways, just my .02, i haven't had problems with them

shadowz

07-12-2006, 12:26 PM

Exotic Auto body

EnRich

07-12-2006, 12:44 PM

Originally posted by asuth077

Alright thanks,

I booked in with them.

you shoulda told them why you were taking your car to another place... cause their shady and do shitty work.. God I just HATED dealing with them!!

Supa Dexta

07-12-2006, 03:55 PM

National does good work, not saying it's pricey in a bad way, but its in the upper bracket...

thesmackdown

07-12-2006, 09:05 PM

I only paid 4800 for my paint job with national which in my opinion was a steal considering i got quoted just under 7 from maranello's. I personally like national since they are upfront and honest. Not too many body shops are like that. National is busy but the quality they give you for the price is nice.

guessboi

07-12-2006, 10:19 PM

If you want quality and good pricing. take your car to carstar collision in the NE and ask for robert! nothing but good things about them. :D

88CRX

07-12-2006, 10:31 PM

Originally posted by thesmackdown
I only paid 4800 for my paint job with national which in my opinion was a steal considering i got quoted just under 7 from maranello's. I personally like national since they are upfront and honest. Not too many body shops are like that. National is busy but the quality they give you for the price is nice.

I had a very bad experience with them and I'll never go back. Absolutely horrible hack job and BS excuses, and I doubt my friend will go their after seeing the shit they pulled.

Perceptionist

07-12-2006, 10:42 PM

I've been to A-1 several times for body work and I have no complaints. They have great customer service and the work they did on my car was of high quality.

CalgarySupra

07-13-2006, 12:55 AM

Originally posted by cantaffordmytoy

do you mean D&G bodyworks or something like that, he actually does pretty good work from what i have seen, but i found him to be expensive, he wanted 4 g's to paint my lil honda, i thought that was a bit much considering there was extremely little body work.

yeah he charged me 1100 to repaint my 1993 toyota supra. it had no body damage. was good. was better then any "upscale" body shop i went to.

GC84ever

07-13-2006, 01:22 AM

Originally posted by 88CRX

Not mine... a buddy that got mad hail damage.

You should go see Dave Clark at DNT. He did amazing work on my black Impreza. The body was better than new after he was done.

heavyD

07-13-2006, 08:05 AM

Originally posted by big_k
I have never had a problem with A-1. My family has taken a couple cars to them. We had one little problem with our back hatch making a funny noise when closing, but we brought it to them and it was fixed right away.

And has for them having a deal with insurance companys or somethin like heavyd said, thats far from the truth, my insurance company won't even accept a quote from them and don't like us using them because they cost to much.

anyways, just my .02, i haven't had problems with them

There are way too many people like me that know that their work is absolute shit.

barbarian

07-13-2006, 01:20 PM

Originally posted by 88CRX

Not mine... a buddy that got mad hail damage.

haha, what the fuck do you think you pay insurance for?
Apparently so people like your buddy can scam them, and I can pay higher rates.

88CRX

07-13-2006, 01:39 PM

Originally posted by barbarian

Apparently so people like your buddy can scam them, and I can pay higher rates.

Well maybe if they wouldn't be such cheap asses and would pay for the c/f hood he has that got a ton of hail damage then he wouldnt have to make up that extra $600 elsewhere.

RiceCake

07-14-2006, 12:06 AM

Originally posted by barbarian

Apparently so people like your buddy can scam them, and I can pay higher rates.

Uhh... no its more like retards that scam the system with fake injuries that raise the costs of insurance...:thumbsdow

Hail damage seems like a legitimate claim considering the weather we've had lately.

88CRX

07-14-2006, 08:03 AM

Originally posted by RiceCake

Uhh... no its more like retards that scam the system with fake injuries that raise the costs of insurance...:thumbsdow

Hail damage seems like a legitimate claim considering the weather we've had lately.

Exactly... but apparently your suppose to get it done at Macco to keep buddies insurance down.

thesmackdown

07-15-2006, 12:28 AM

Originally posted by 88CRX

I had a very bad experience with them and I'll never go back. Absolutely horrible hack job and BS excuses, and I doubt my friend will go their after seeing the shit they pulled.

I'd like to see pictures of this since i have never seen anything much but good work from them unless they hired someone who shouldn't be working there that or unless you pushed them to rush the car, never do it lol. I specifically waited for their painter to get back from vacation for my car. They shaved a bunch of stuff off the body, fixed some holes and did top quality work and didn't hide or give me any bs and for a matter of fact didn't charge me for some things they should have.

I have also seen first hand a car that got painted at maranello's that was pealing like mad (front bumper) like more than 50% of the paint just 3-4 months after being painted. In short you can pay 2k, 4k, 6k, fuck 10k for your paint job and there is always the chance it will not come out right or it will not last.

BUT why i love national. I have taken by my car back there for little things which they fixed for free even 6 months afterwards.

Tommy_Tequila

07-15-2006, 12:43 AM

Originally posted by frostyda9
Concours is a good place :thumbsup:

Yes, A1 is a recommended shop through insurance. I talked to my insurance, and it was on the list of places that I could go without first getting three quotes...just had to go in for one estimate. My car is booked in for later this month...oh man I'm nervous now :eek:

I went to CMP Classic to get body work done. The work on all models and makes. Did a great job.

thesmackdown

07-15-2006, 09:04 AM

Originally posted by 88CRX

Exactly... but apparently your suppose to get it done at Macco to keep buddies insurance down.

That has to be the most classic thing i've ever seen a person say, and i love it. It sums the insurance companies up with that one word maaco.

I could even picture the adjuster telling someone they do "terrific work" lol.

ninspeed

07-15-2006, 09:44 PM

a-1 is a DRP for many of the large insurance companies.. why? they keep little shit that most little/indep. shops need to keep in business off the est for insurance. I have had a few dealings with them... and i unfourtnaly know too many members of the miller family to know what kinda of business it is.

I give good props to Horton, Their painter is amazing, Kevin is very up front and writes amazing est. and the body men there are very very skillful.. its too bad dan left there to come teach me :D

88CRX

07-16-2006, 02:13 AM

Originally posted by thesmackdown
I'd like to see pictures of this

notice the nuckle indents in the grill in the pic i've attached?

they also didnt match the paint... melted my rear bumper fitting the lip... melted my front bumper under the hood fitting the grill... cracked my rear lip fitting it... had extra holes drilled in the rear bumper to mount the lip... i could go on and on... and this was only for a lip kit and grill :thumbsdow

tapout

07-16-2006, 03:02 AM

Originally posted by Phuqu
You can get more than body work done behind the Zellers in Forest Lawn.

:eek: :rofl: :rofl: :poosie:

frostyda9

07-16-2006, 12:28 PM

403Gemini

07-16-2006, 09:05 PM

Chances are 88CRX's friends claim is 100% reasonable. I work for an insurance company and in the duration of 1 week we had 2 days which were deemed catastrophes due to the EXTREMELY high volume of hail claims.

I would recommend Concurs or Hallmark, but thats just my opinion and what i hear back from insureds :thumbsup:

gofastmerc

07-16-2006, 10:59 PM

Originally posted by 88CRX

notice the nuckle indents in the grill in the pic i've attached?

they also didnt match the paint... melted my rear bumper fitting the lip... melted my front bumper under the hood fitting the grill... cracked my rear lip fitting it... had extra holes drilled in the rear bumper to mount the lip... i could go on and on... and this was only for a lip kit and grill :thumbsdow

Is that grill allum or plastic? Plastic doesn't dent. It doesn't fit the hood, either.

I used to work in a body shop, and most of the A/M shit doesn't fit at all. The work required to get on the car is crazy, and then to get it to fit? You might as well just build a new one. The shitty thing is, the bodyman gets paid the same as if was a factory part, do you think he going to rebuild that grill or hood for the 1.2 hours he got paid to put it on?

Paint should never peel, though. If it does, they fucked up. That part is pretty simple.

88CRX

07-16-2006, 11:14 PM

Originally posted by gofastmerc

Is that grill allum or plastic? Plastic doesn't dent. It doesn't fit the hood, either.

I used to work in a body shop, and most of the A/M shit doesn't fit at all. The work required to get on the car is crazy, and then to get it to fit? You might as well just build a new one. The shitty thing is, the bodyman gets paid the same as if was a factory part, do you think he going to rebuild that grill or hood for the 1.2 hours he got paid to put it on?

Paint should never peel, though. If it does, they fucked up. That part is pretty simple.

Its a fiberglass grill. And why are you defending shoddy work?

gofastmerc

07-17-2006, 08:40 AM

Originally posted by 88CRX

Its a fiberglass grill. And why are you defending shoddy work?

How do you think they "dented" figerglass?

I not defending shoddy work. Some things are not shops fault, unless they built that shoody part. You buy a piece of crap grill, they install it, and thier fault it looks like carp? Come on....

I agreee on on the paint issuses. Color should match, and should not peel. Both things they should warrenty without hassles.

thesmackdown

07-17-2006, 11:00 AM

If it is fibreglass i'm sorry it is your own stupdity. The sooner people stop buying this crap everyone will be better off. You know national collision showed me the difference between what it looks like to paint on fibreglass compared to oem urathane. The color difference is remarkable and totally noticable. It is hard to match the paint color perfectly when you are using something made out of fibreglass.

I also dont see how they could dent fibreglass like that. From my experience with fibreglass it does not have that kind of give to it, it usually just cracks or breaks.

They drill holes for a reason when mounting things since it makes it so that things are secure. When they were mounting my sideskirts they drilled 6 holes into the side of my car in order to properly mount them like they were from the factory. The 3 other shops i had taken this to said they would just "tape" them on, which is absolutely not what I consider quality.

Melting things though I find kind of interesting since I have never seen them do anything like that in the shop before. They do great work though, you may have had a bad experience but the vast majority of the cars that come out of there look top notch and a huge price difference. I was going to take my car to maranello's until i went to national, that and seeing a car that had pealing paint that had just been at maranello's made me think twice.

None the less, what happened to that grill is messed up, but it is fibreglass you expect it to be like shit because fibreglass = cheap.

88CRX

07-17-2006, 11:15 AM

Well since this thread had been completely jacked lets do it up right lol.

I’ll snap some pics of the other mess ups when I get home. There work was shoddy and I don’t want people thinking that Nationals is the be all end all cause they’re not.

Anyways, the grill... the grill was fiberglass, smooth fiberglass. They didn’t fit it at all, whatever, I can accept that. But when you heat fiberglass is becomes malleable and it can “indent”. This is exactly what they did. They heated it, pushed on it with their knuckles and left “indents” on it. Get it?