How do you find a good body shop....

thespeakerbox

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A couple of months ago, someone smashed in the side of my Xterra with a hammer or something......(It happened to a couple of cars no my block) I made the mistake of ignoring it, and now its full of rust. I'd like to take it to a body shop, but have had no luck here in Brooklyn. There is a body shop on every corner and 2/3rd of them dont speak english. How can I find a good body shop.....

Here's a pic of the damage.

xterrarg2.jpg
 
That looks bad, what's all the brown? Rust? Say it aint rust!

Good luck with the search.
 
The way I found the best body shop in my area (ok, it is an hour and a half away, but it is worth the drive) is on my GTO forum. Join a New York specific car forum, or a big Nissan forum and look in the regional sections, they will know. Or if there are car shows in the area, or you see a good looking car you can tell has had work done and ask them is another good way to find out.
 
Yep, it's rust. I know. It pains me to look at it everyday. I've been to about 20 body shops. 15 didnt speak english. I looked at the remaining 5's work in progress, and it all looked terrible. They were eyeballing paint colors.
 
Just because they don't speak English it doesn't follow that they don't do good work. Did you get a look at the cars they were working on? If you have a friend that speaks the language that can translate for you and they do good work, then why not??
 
thespeakerbox said:
A couple of months ago, someone smashed in the side of my Xterra with a hammer or something......(It happened to a couple of cars no my block) I made the mistake of ignoring it, and now its full of rust. I'd like to take it to a body shop, but have had no luck here in Brooklyn. There is a body shop on every corner and 2/3rd of them dont speak english. How can I find a good body shop.....

Here's a pic of the damage.

xterrarg2.jpg
Maybe local yellow pages?
 
FloridaNative said:
Just because they don't speak English it doesn't follow that they don't do good work. Did you get a look at the cars they were working on? If you have a friend that speaks the language that can translate for you and they do good work, then why not??
I tried to understand them as best as i could, but no luck. They werent understanding me. I asked many times to see what they are working on, but none would let me in their shop. I'm gonna try again this weekend.
 
I have had good luck in joining forums where people have had work done on high end vehicles.

I was looking for a place to take my wife's SUV to and read up on some M3 forums and found some great places.

Good luck!
 
is your willing to spend the money, a dealership is gonna be the way to go
 
Dealerships? In Brooklyn? Fugheddaboutit. Don't know what section of Bklyn you're in, but this way they're all pretty much bilingual. Have had dealings with several, and am pretty sure which will repaint my charriot next year. Exotic Auto Boutique off Third Ave. is excellent. Junior started with audio systems, appearing in various trade magazines, DUB etc., but upgraded his shop last fall and does everything from the full ghetto Pimp Ride treatment to understated reworked Bentleys, body, cloth, inclusive package. Then there's Nelson on Fourth Ave. off Carroll. Also excellent craftsmanship at both the borough and Jersey locations, but more repairs than custom creations. Of course, there's Finest Auto just a few blocks from him, but they seem to be more of an insurance mill punchcard operation. Even so, fine work. PM me for referral or personal introduction. Bottom line: treat the rust before it metastisizes and have it present as seamless. And at the best price (learned the hard way how to better do that, myself).
 
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