torquetube

A Ford Bronco drove straight into the back of my formerly-immaculate C6 this morning as I waited to turn out of a parking lot. The driver claims not to have been able to see my car at all over his hood. Good thing I wasn't a pedestrian or biker.

The bumper cover and right rear quarter are damaged for sure. Who knows what else is wrong.

I have had exclusively terrible experiences with body shops over the years, even ones that were well-recommended. Even on those occasions where the paint looked good on day 1, it never held up. And most shops refuse to spend hours color matching and insist on blending, so in a few years the paintwork on the blended panels is failing, too.

This has happened so many times to myself and my friends that I'm completely unmoved by assurances that it is routinely pulled off with complete success.

Anyway, if anyone can recommend a shop that won't cut corners and will take the time to get it right I'd appreciate it. Thanks a lot.

djbrun

Sorry to hear about your car, glad you didn't get injured.

Unfortunately I have no good shops to recommend, quality work seems to harder and harder to find these days. Hopefully someone will chime in with a good experience they can share.


DJ

Paul 68

Sorry to hear that, hope everything works out alright.

LouieM

Automotive Enterprise in San Carlos. A first class shop that specializes in Vettes and has been around since the early 1970s. The owner, Bob Waldschmidt, belongs to the same Corvette club as I do and helps sponsor our club.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/automotive-e...ise-san-carlos

PipeDr

chetly

Service King in Fremont. Brian Hobaugh is the one to ask for.

torquetube

Thanks for the recommendations. I had a good conversation with Bob Waldschmidt about the repair, so that's promising.

Does anyone know where I might see examples of these shops' work, say a member's car at an upcoming show or get-together?

smellya

Abel Collision out in Rio Vista. They got my Blue Bucket all better. They also had a few others in there for repair. One that made friends with a tire wall and other that made friends with a gravel truck. Ryan is top notch like all of the Abel guys.

LouieM

Torquetube: I should have mentioned above, when I recommended Bob Waldschmidt, that he replaced the front bumper cover on my silver C6 after some idiot ran a stop sign. The color match and bodywork is perfect.

In addition, here is a comment a fellow member of Santa Clara Corvettes just posted on the club listserv: "I am very grateful to Automotive Enterprise. *They are one of our sponsors. *I had a small fender bender. *Bob Walschmidt (who is a member of SCC)*and his crew did an absolutely beautiful job to make the car whole again.
*Automotive Enterprise should be your first call for any accident your Corvette or any vehicle you own might be in, *or even if you just need to have a fresh repaint. They are the experts in this field. *My car is painted Dark Bowling Green Metallic (metallic paint is very difficult to match) and it was matched exactly to the rest of the car. *Thank you again Bob and crew."

GREENKAR

I just got my car back from Automotive Enterprise (I also belong to SCC club, as does Bob). My car is painted Dark Bowling Green Metallic, and you can not tell where the new paint meets the old. Bob and his crew are experts at what they do. Its worth traveling to his shop from anywhere in the bay area.[/SIZE] The car looks very again.

crazystylin

If you were injured call jay white at the Louis White Law firm. Sounds like it was pretty bad.

LouieM

Per my Post #9, here are pics the club member posted of his car that was fixed by Bob W.:














Possibly this is the same Vette referenced by GreenKar. Anyhow, anyone can see the quality of repair done by Automotive Enterprise.

jpandes

I need to go to this shop next time I need body work. My black 03 looks like crap. The body panels dont match due to previous repairs.

GREENKAR

Yes, it is my car. And they have several Corvettes in their shop, that you can take a look at.

LouieM

Good to know, thanks. Another satisfied customer of Bob W.

torquetube

Thanks again to everyone for your suggestions. Bob is far away but he may work out for me. The paperwork is slow-going so I am still considering other shops.

Curious to hear from anyone with experience (good or bad) at The Works in Santa Clara, Frank Zucchi in Livermore or Chris Springer in the SC mountains.

LouieM

I'm the one who first recommended Bob Waldschmidt. I've also had Chris Springer do minor body work and some mechanical work on my '67. He is a perfectionist and worth every penny, but probably is more expensive than some other shops; he also paints and does some mechanical work on Ferraris. Some CF members have had him paint their Vettes, so hopefully they will chime in. My feeling is that you can't go wrong with either Bob or Chris.

blackmagicZ

In Auburn Ca, Auburn Autobody. Did my '08 Z to perfection. They are Coevette specialist.