I was referred to This body shop by my Insurance Company and now will be shopping for new auto insurance if this is the type of shop they send their customers to. I had my vehicle towed to Fender Mender of West Ashley on Monday March 26, 2012. After arrival they called me to ask me to come by the shop and sign some papers allowing them to start work on the vehicle. While at the shop I expressed to them the need for the vehicle and they assured me it would be taken care of quickly. On Wednesday I was informed that the vehicle would be done on Friday which I would call an extremely quick turnaround time. I called on Friday and they pushed it to Monday. Called on Monday and they pushed it until Tuesday. Called on Tuesday and they said I would be able to pick it up after 5:00 that afternoon. Upon arrival at Fender Mender I proceeded to inspect the vehicle and immediately found that the body filler that was used to fix the hood instead of replace the hood after a front end collision was already cracking out with an approximate 1.5” long crack visible in the paint, the Hood, headlights, and grille did not line up. A Air condition refrigerant line was not installed correctly, there was white paint overspray on some black trim panels and the paint job on the hood felt like sandpaper. Underneath the vehicle I noticed that incorrect bolts were installed in the wrong locations, the Transmission cooler lines were not secured correctly, the car was leaking antifreeze, there was a piece of trim missing, and most importantly the frame was still BENT. I refused the repairs and demanded that I take the vehicle to another shop. At the other body shop they found the frame to be approximately ½” out of square which was causing an alignment issue and was the primary cause for the misalignment of the hood/headlight/grille. The new shop had to replace part of the driver’s side frame rail and completely redo all of the original work. The Supplemental repair made by the second body shop was more than the original repair by the first body shop. 5 weeks later I am finally going to get my car back and I want to end by saying this. Insurance Companies don’t fix cars. They look for ways to trim cost and get you back in your car to the lowest bidder. Body shops are the professionals and the subject matter experts on collision repair. When a body shop allows an insurance company to dictate what repairs are to be made to a vehicle you will not come out the winner. The insurance company makes money, the body shop makes money, and you are stuck with the bill such as your insurance premium, deductible, and in this situation all the future problems I would have had with the vehicle because the repairs were not done properly the first time. Please DO NOT take your vehicle to Fender Mender of West Ashley. I would encourage Fender Mender to try to rectify this situation. And I have given enough detail for you to figure out who I am and how to get into contact with me.
Thank you
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