Hard to find a body shop
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 85
Likes: 37
From: Surrey, B.C.
Hard to find a body shop Just had an interesting time trying to find a body shop to repaint the rear fascia/bumper of my 1999 Firehawk.
The fascia has a few spider web cracks in the paint. You can't feel these cracks with your fingernail, but they are visible, particularly if you know to look for them. So I contacted four different body shops, and asked for a quote to repaint the bumper, and I have a new OEM Firehawk decal for it.
That's it. Simple job, and I'm paying cash.
I've owned the car since 2001, and it has been garaged since then. It is in fantastic condition, from top to bottom. Numerous people have commented to me that they have never seen one in better shape.
Four different shops told me the Firehawk was too old, and they do not, as a matter of policy work on cars older than 2011. Sorry. Reason(s)? Parts are too hard to find, fasteners are "rusty" and "can break", basically cars that old are "too much trouble". Sorry.
I've finally found a small shop willing to do the work. The reviews are very good, and I think the car will be in good company (a 1970 Chevelle was being painted, and a 1980s era Mustang GT was next in line.
Anybody else had a similar experience?
The fascia has a few spider web cracks in the paint. You can't feel these cracks with your fingernail, but they are visible, particularly if you know to look for them. So I contacted four different body shops, and asked for a quote to repaint the bumper, and I have a new OEM Firehawk decal for it.
That's it. Simple job, and I'm paying cash.
I've owned the car since 2001, and it has been garaged since then. It is in fantastic condition, from top to bottom. Numerous people have commented to me that they have never seen one in better shape.
Four different shops told me the Firehawk was too old, and they do not, as a matter of policy work on cars older than 2011. Sorry. Reason(s)? Parts are too hard to find, fasteners are "rusty" and "can break", basically cars that old are "too much trouble". Sorry.
I've finally found a small shop willing to do the work. The reviews are very good, and I think the car will be in good company (a 1970 Chevelle was being painted, and a 1980s era Mustang GT was next in line.
Anybody else had a similar experience?
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,748
Likes: 238
From: dayton, ohio
I agree. The Pontiac dealership where I originally bought my 2002 Formula from no longer has a body shop. The local Chevy dealership had a line of insurance work(hail damage) and couldn't guarantee how long it would take to repaint my hood and front bumper cover. I ended up going with carstar, and they did a good job. It did take them a week to find a replacement fastener from our of state.
However, I don't think the age of the car should be a problem, aside from the original paint being possibly faded compared to fresh paint.
However, I don't think the age of the car should be a problem, aside from the original paint being possibly faded compared to fresh paint.
I ran into the same thing, I had a hell of a time finding a shop that would paint an entire car. Seems like everyone only wanted to do insurance work and I did hear the, "we don't work on cars older than x" too. The cost of paint has gone nuts as well.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 1,469
Likes: 267
From: Bossier City, Louisiana
Go to the automotive paint stores and ask them for recommendations. They know where all of the small shops are . . . and which shops that pay their bills on time . . . and who has to come back and periodically get more paint to correct mistakes. Stay away from that last bunch of people.
Rick
Rick
We paint them here in Louisville, Ky. The problem is no one wants to pay what its worth anymore (including insurance companies) so shops are now picking and choosing the more profitable work as priority.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 85
Likes: 37
From: Surrey, B.C.
Got the car back, and they did a good job. Waited a couple of weeks, and went to reapply the Firehawk decal. Guess it was too old (I went through my receipts, and discovered to my surprise I bought it back in 2002 when you could still buy a rear decal from SLP for less than $10!). Its on the car, but I don't think it will last, as the adhesive was pretty weak. I've ordered some new decals (you can't just buy the back one anymore, you have to buy the complete set), and hopefully the color of the swoosh/tilde is a good match.
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