So a year ago i put my integra into the shop to have some misc damage taken care of, mainly from when it got hit in the parking garage at school. Nothing major by any means, just a little sheet metal work. So the rainy season comes around this year, and i end up with 6 inches of water in my trunk. I find the main problem which was leaking tail lights, thought i had it all fixed, put the entire interior back together after it dried out, and two days later i have 3 more inches of water in my trunk. Great.....all the interior comes out to dry again, and this time i investigate fully, crawling in the back through puddles in the middle of a downpour with a flashlight. I found 5 areas that were leaking, all due to the body shop being careless and not replacing rubber grommets(by the way which are impossible to find....dealer only parts that the dealer doesn't cary), and a couple of bolts. Not to mention one of the holes they drilled to pull out the panel they just left the whole in, which of course was right in the middle of where water drains around the tail lights. So, 3 tubes of silocone and countless hours later i finally think i have all the leaks fixed. Taking it back to the body shop wasn't an option as it is four hours away, but man was/is this ever frusterating. I look like a ricer driving around with no interior. I've dealt with water leaks in all my other cars, but nothing this frusterating or tiring. Thanks for letting me rant,
Ryan

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83 300SD.......sold
96 integra SE....sold
99 a4 quattro....sold
2001 IS300.......sold
2002 330i.........current.
2004 highlander limited....current.

You got to watch those independent shops. I had car painted, supposed to be all guaranteed, etc. I brought the car back to have the paint drips I found fixed, and I just about got into a fist fight with the clown over him not wanting to fix his shoddy work. I also ended up running down trunk leaks. I guess the solution is to either do it yourself or have it done at a dealer.

Excuse me. You can't throw a blanket over all independent shops being incompetent any more than you can say all dealerships are thieves. There are good and bad in all walks of life. Ask around to find some people who have had personal experiences where you want to do business. More than JMHO.

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95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

I did research this body shop, and in general it tends to do really good work. They fixed my dad's 528i when it got hit and did a flawless job. I thinkt heir problem with mine is they bit off more than they could chew in the time frame i had available. They did paint almost my entire car with the insurance money i gave them from it getting hit in the parking garage, and the car definately looks better now. I just wish they would have told me to hold off and bring it in at a later date rather than rush themselves and have me fix their screw ups later. When you look closely theres also some shoddy body and paint work, but then again i'm damn close to a perfectionist so any little thing would bother me. All in all i'm just frusterated at water entering my car, not necessarily the body shop.
Ryan

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83 300SD.......sold
96 integra SE....sold
99 a4 quattro....sold
2001 IS300.......sold
2002 330i.........current.
2004 highlander limited....current.

Believe it or not Ryan, any time we work on the back end of a car that requires replacement of panels or structual work of any kind, I always ask the customer to keep their eye out for water for a while. A lot of those water leaks may take a week or so to appear, and then you have a problem. Not sticking up for your shop, but this is SOP for us.

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95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

I'd definately beleive that, the main leaks in my trunk took almost a year to show up. The little ones i just finished chasing down i'd probably never notice if my carpet/foam etc were back in the car. I honestly don't fault the shop all that much, like i said they did repaint parts of the car that they didn't have to, and i know the materials they use were quality materials, i just wish they werent so rushed.
Ryan

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83 300SD.......sold
96 integra SE....sold
99 a4 quattro....sold
2001 IS300.......sold
2002 330i.........current.
2004 highlander limited....current.

I took a car to MAACO many years ago. Terrible work, with spray on other parts of the car, bad job matching the color, and they wouldn't fix it. "You bring me crap [referring to my car, no less] and you expect a perfect job?"-- direct quote from the bonehead manager of the shop.

Last year I had some work done at an independent shop recommended by our late forum member Jim Beek. Fantastic work done at a fraction of the cost of the dealership. "You've got a $2500 paint job done for $1100."-- direct quote of my mechanic.

So I guess it goes both ways.

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Current:
2014 VW Tiguan SEL 4Motion 43,000 miles.

2016 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport (wife's).

Past:
2006 Jetta TDI 135,970 miles. Sold Nov. '13.
1995 E-320 Special Edition. 220,200 miles. Sold Sept. '07.
1987 190-E 16 valve. 153,000 miles. Sold Feb. '06.
1980 300-D 225,000 miles. Donated to the National Kidney Foundation.
1980 240-D manual, 297,500 miles. Totaled by inattentive driver.

Hey, I didn't condemn them or throw a blanket over them, I just said you have to be careful.