I just got my car back from the body shop after a little run-in with a chain link fence, and right now I'm just not sure if they did a good job. There is absolutely no orange peeling or overspray and the colors (as far as I can tell) all match really well.

My problem is this. On the front pieces of the car that they replaced (hood, bumper, and fenders) there is a bead of paint all along the edge. It's almost like there was too much paint and it slowly moved to the outer edge of the piece. Is this common with repair work? Should I have them look at it and do it over?

Aside from that, I need the fender gaps fixed, headlights re-aimed, front end re-alighed and now I have this terrible vibration in the car that makes it feel like I'm driving on truck tires.

I've never had collision work done to a car, so please, any real suggestions based on experience would be helpful.

Thanks guys.

 

That is not suppose to be like that... take it back. The body shop is suppose to fix these things.

 

The paint could have been something they missed during finally inspection so just point it out to them. And definitely have them fix any fitment issue your having with the bumper and it isn’t' gonna be any charge to you.

As for the vibrations, my family has had a few things happen with cars coming from the body shop but they were all easy fixes. First, one of our cars needed a alignment. Second, they didn't screw the lug nuts on all the way. And third, the air pressure wasn't right in one car( 40psi on front drivers side wheel, and 15psi on the passenger side).

If your using your insurance, the bodyshop is suppose to have all that taken care of before you get your car back.

 

i had the same type of problem with the body shop that repaired most but not all of the covered body work on mine .first of all they took 32 days to repair my bumper(was replaced not repaired)bumper support and lower grille but refused to repair the hood that was dented near the hinge area.took it back to have the clear coat wet sanded to take out the fisheyes and dirt in the paint .(done at the mazda dealer)in your case i think they loaded up on the clear coat and that is why the edges are so thick with what looks like paint.as far as my car being done right i still need the hood repaired or replaced and they also replaced both motor mounts due to the accident as well.we will see what the insurance co. will decide after they reinspect the work that was done already.

 

sorry to rant on like that i am still pissed off about mine.but that vibration is mostly due to the fact that your engine is like sitting on flat tires.the fluid leaked out at time of accident or came out while you were driving.(tsb on that)this causes the whole car to feel like it's moter has no rubber between the mounts and engine.

 

No worries, and thank you all for posting. I took my car back to the shop, and I must say that they are being really great about the whole thing. They are going to address each issue and will return my car in (almost) brand new condition.

And you were both right about the clear coat. It looks like it's an easy fix.

 

NEVER pay a body shop till the car is done right!