Autobody (2001) Panel & Paint Services

I was recently using their service to perform some repairs on a minor literal fender bender, after doing some research on various TGA based body shops. After being overseas for a few years, I am out of touch with the places around town, many no longer in business or not accepting new work, so I was interested in learning who was doing some good work nowadays. I was a bit put off by some of the older reviews with the company, not that any business is usually perfect, but there were some things that concerned me with the reviews. After going through as much information as I could find, I decided to cautiously give them a call and see how they responded over the phone as sort of a secret shopper. First of all, they answered which is a good start, but I started by asking a few questions under a different name to see how they would respond to just questions and information like if they offered loaners, typical turnaround times, etc. All seemed good enough and some of the reviews indicated as they confirmed that there were admittedly problems in the past, but they were working to make changes to the business and repair some of that lost respect with the customers. I gave them a try and happy I did. Reception (despite other reviews) was friendly and happy to chat about the process and timeline. In my case, the earliest they could service my incident was about a month away, so I booked in for the service (my vehicle was drivable in any case), so that was fine, and confirmed I would be able to have a loaner, not that I actually needed it, but I wanted to test their process and the loaner itself for anyone else and possible future work should they perform well. $40 dollars is 40 dollars, but worth the knowledge and understanding how that part works. Glad I did, and word to them, this is the only thing that made me hesitate on a 5 star review versus a 4 star review. The loaner car given was quite a bit old, which I dont judge for, but the loaner should make the customer feel safe to use even for a few days and I did not find the vehicle safe for the road. Testing the tire inflation, they were over 8 lbs low on at least 2 tires (worst of the 4 on a calibrated digital pressure gauge) versus the OEM recommended tire pressure for this vehicle marked, which I could feel very uncomfortable and tipping in mild turns in roundabouts. Inflating to the proper level made it a bit better, but the suspension seemed completely shot as well. Also, on the very first drive away from the site, I was heading up the hill towards the TGA CBD, and the transmission (auto) lunged and surged violently as if it were a manual transmission and couldnt engage the gears and I nearly turned right around to take the loaner back when it finally made it up the hill with some persuasion and it settled a bit. Not very confidence inspiring and I would make that known in my review. This makes the customer uncomfortable because it makes me wonder what my response from the shop would be, oh, thats all we have, it just does that, etc. I didnt have any idea how many cars they have on hand, but even so, the cars should be fit for purpose and safe to be on the road. The car in question was a much older model Honda Jazz. It was otherwise clean enough and had some slightly dirty seat covers, but I can excuse that again, this is a loaner. I just wish the car felt and was safe to drive. Luckily in my case, I dont even need a vehicle as I work from home, but good to have in any case as the repair was going to take 5 days, and I had no real way to know I wouldnt happen to need one in an emergency in any case. Repair work started on Monday, and finished just before the end of the business day on Friday when I got the text message to return. I drove the loaner back to the shop and parked in their yard, indicated to the reception where the vehicle was parked, and looked over my vehicle briefly. Fair enough, that part was fine, paid my excess for the insurance, and drove home. Services: Painting, Body & Trim
Mar 25th, 2023

Services: Painting, Body & Trim
Apr 20th, 2023

Services: Painting, Body & Trim
Mar 6th, 2023

Busy busy but get the job done.
Feb 27th, 2023

So helpful in what must be difficult times. Fast friendly service
Jan 20th, 2023