Just got my car back from Michael J's body shop (mjscollision.com) in San Jose. They did an awesome job.

Had some paint work done and the MS kit installed. The color match was flawless. If anyone is looking for a good boby shop in the Bay Area who knows the RX-8, they are the ones...

Here's a pic of my Ti Gray with a Winning Blue that was in the shop that day...

 

Oh yes, I told Jeff the General Manager about the RX8club forum, he said that he will take care of all forum members.

Just let him know that Brett referred you, or that you are with the forum...

 

how much?

 

o and nice to see a modded 8 in SJ please drop by rotaryfest on 6/24

 

i have a few scratches on my passengar door that i tried to touch up, you think he can help me out with them?

 

Sure, I had some scratches that he took care of. Give Jeff a call and see what he can do for you... Just tell him that I referred you and that you are from the RX8club.

408-279-3222

These guys are the offficial bodyshop for Almaden and Oak Tree Mazda so they do alot of such work. There were 3 RX-8s there when I picked up my car.


Here's a closeup of the finish on my car when I got it back. I have never seen it so glossy.

 

its good to know of a good shop to go to. how much was the cost for the install of the MS kit? i just want to know how much it would be from a good shop in case the dealer tries to overcharge me + i have a couple of scratch that need to be fixed too.

 

i'll probably check out this guy tomorrow

 

These guys are the official body shop for Oak Tree and Alamden Mazda. i.e. If you go to the dealer, they will send the cars here anyway. If you go direct, you avoid the dealer mark-up.

Since part of my work was covered under insurance, the acutal cost is somewhat fuzzy...

I think their prices are competitive, but more importantly they take the time get the job done right. That I'll glady pay for. If you plan to be there for RotorFest, you can take a look at my car to see what I mean...

 

thanks for pointin me in the direction of a good body shop. its an hour drive for me but this place seems to be worth it, i just dont trust my local dealer after they tried to charge me $800 for the MS exhaust

 

No problem. Do call ahead to confirm that Jeff will be there. Just tell him that you're from the forum.

They are open Saturdays till 4pm, I think. You also get free car rental during the job, which will help.

Brett

 

Is he still there?

 

Yup, Jeff is still there. When I last spoke to him, he mentioned something about moving to a larger facility close by. Just give em' a call.

 

The painted and put on my MS wing last month. Great place and Jeff's a great guy (he's the owner)




They're moving the a bigger location buy the SJ airport.

 

Well my RX-8 is going under the knife at Michael J's very soon. I worked with Jeff as well - professional and knows his Mazdas. Michael J's Auto Body gets stellar reviews on Yelp.com as well. Michael J's site: http://www.mjscollision.com/

I am a major procrastinator though. I got my original quote in mid-2007 and it took me this long to finally take it in. He did remember me though.

I think the prices are competitive with other quality body shops, which is to say it is not cheap; however, I think the reviews testify to the quality you get for money paid. Unless you're really lucky or you know the shop, I think with auto body work, you often get what you pay for. And since the RX-8 is not a very common car, a lot of people have never worked on them in general.

He did say they would be moving eventually to the Taylor/Coleman area in San Jose. This is near the airport and near the new Target, Trader Joes development.

I hope my expectations are met!

 

I looked at my quote and the labor rate is $76/unit. Each activity is assigned a certain unit value. I assume one unit equals an hour.

I did a quick Google search. One journalist did an average of SF autobody labor rates and was $75 in Nov. 2008. This compared to Chicago at like $46. The DMV in Nevada does a survey and their state is like $50ish. No wonder our insurance rates are sky high.

 

How much would it cost to get the paint polished and a front bumper painted? I got a quote of around $200 for paint correction and $450 for the bumper to be painted but not installed. This is from Diablo body shop in Pleasanton. Can they beat this price?

 

I have no idea about what things are going to cost, I'm just a customer. Call them to get to see if they can give you a rough estimate over the phone or take it in for a quote.

 

Good luck on that one. Body shops seem to have a correlation between price paid and quality.

Go look on Yelp.

 

My RX-8 is back at Michael J's because I am dissatisfied with some work they did for me.

While my car was at their shop getting the bumper fixed, something landed on the hood and I got a new hood. The paint and finishing job on the hood was not up to snuff. Does not match the original paint (a very very black-gray instead of pure black) and some ugly 3D swirl marks.

I think they will be repainting it. Especially since they were the ones who wrecked my original hood.

 

Diablo Auto Body of Pleasanton is great as well! They painted my Autoexe front bumper and matched it flawlessly. When I picked it up, I was amazed! I never expected it to come out nearly as good as it did.

 

After taking my car to Michael J's, I was very disappointed in their work especially at the cost. I think they are at least 25-30% higher than other shops. It took multiple trips in to fix issues with the painting and finishing and fortunately I have a 2nd car or I would have been screwed. I'd hesitate in taking my car back and would make sure to look at other shops/recommendations.