7 weeks in the shop. Dropped the car off 6/27. They had Davenport motors yank the engine out and then just stuck the vehicle in their back lot.

Each week: "your car is next to go on the frame machine". We will call Monday.
Each week, no call on Monday.

We've had to drive up there twice to get them to acknowledge a phone call. Today, my wife went in to check on the vehicle and it was in the same place it was 10 days ago.

This is some of the worst customer service I've experienced in the body business. I know they are busy, I expect a shop of this caliber to set expectations correctly and not treat me like the clerk at 7-11 treats me. It's a serious disappointment that they can no longer manage their work flow. (our previous experience was slow, but good communication and expectations were well set)


I understand this is not a Porsche. It's a Lexus RX400, however they will not ever get my Porsche with business practices as shady as we are experiencing.

Here is the log we have recorded:

6/27 – Dropped off car.
7/5 – State Farm adjuster goes to Stuart’s to prepare estimate.
[I think I called at least once in between to check on the estimate, but I can’t find that record.]
Fri 7/15 – Doug returns my message re State Farm estimate. Confirms that they have everything they need at this point. Thinks the estimate was “light” in terms of body work/panels to be replace. Are waiting to get car on frame machine so that they can supplement State Farm estimate. Will call me next week with an update.
Fri 7/22 – Doug not available, was told he would call me back. Left my work number.
Fri 7/22 – Doug called me back at end of day. Car is first in line for the frame machine on Monday. He will call me next week once they assess the damage.
Wed 7/27 – Doug was at lunch, was told he would call me back. Left my work number.
Th 7/28 – Doug returns my call to my cell, leaves VM (I was attending writing seminar). Car still not on the frame machine because there were other cars ahead of me. Will get it on the frame machine early next week and will call me next week to let me know status.
Th 7/28 - Doug unavailable, visit to shop. Car has engine out and parts marked for replacement. I was promised by the tech that it was next on the fame machine as he pointed to the Miata that was parked up there. (which looked complete)

Mon 8/8 – Doug was in shop, was told he would call me back. Left my work number.
Tues 8/9 – Called again because no return call. Still no call back.
Wed 8/10 – Visit shop in person to check on car since no one called me back last two days. No more work has been done. Doug said the body tech assigned to the car had been in the hospital since last week, so they had to shuffle things to a new technician who was already very busy. He said mine was “almost up,” but is having to be “worked in.” I asked to see the list of cars ahead of mine. He found it, and there were 5-6 cars ahead of me. He said they were all “almost done.”
8/18 – I called the shop to find out the status. Doug was not available, so I left him a voicemail asking him to confirm that work had started on my car. I asked him to call me back at work or, if he couldn’t reach me there, to call my cell.
8/19 – Doug called me back only on my cell and left a voicemail. He said that the new tech was scheduled to start my car on 8/18, but that the original tech had been released from the hospital on 8/17 and was scheduled to return to the shop on 8/22 so they were shifting my car back to the original tech and would start work on Monday 8/22. He said he would call me next week with an update.

Tues 8/30 - Called. Doug said: "We are starting on it today." the mechanic (who was supposed to come back Monday two weeks ago came back yesterday)

Thursday 9/1/11. Stopped by to see the progress. Told Doug that I was tired of him lying to me and tired of him giving me the run around. He promised it'd be up on Tuesday (9/6)

Wednesday 9/14. Random stop by. "Doug said, it went on the frame machine today". Calling State Farm to look at it again. (This conflicts with the earlier statement that they had State Farm out prior and State Farm was waiting for them to do the pulling before writing up any more sheet metal) *More lies again Doug..*

Wednesday 9/14. After leaving, I simply walked back to the back lot and took a look. Sure enough, the car was on the frame machine but wasn't hooked up. At *best*, it was simply parked there.

Thursday 9/22/11 Doug called, "car is still on the frame machine" "I spoke with Stuart, we can get you into a rental and cover the costs until it's done."

Friday 9/23/11 We picked up the rental car and drove up to Stuarts. Peeked into the shop and it's on the frame machined. Left rail was mostly (if not all removed) I didn't see the right side. In any case. They have started on it.

update from Wife:

9/1 – Brad went to the shop to check on the status. They still had not begun the work. Brad talked to Doug and explained that he needed to stop lying to us about the timetable. Doug finally acknowledged that it was going to take at least 3 months from the time we dropped off the car. He said that Stuart would be in the shop Friday morning if we wanted to come by and discuss the situation. He said that our request for a rental car was not unreasonable and that he would discuss it with Stuart.
9/22 -- Doug called Brad to let him know Stuart's had arranged for me to pick up a rental car from Avis.
9/23 -- Picked up the rental car. The rental car employee told me that Stuart's had given them an estimated completion date of 10/6. Brad and I also drove by Stuart's to check on the status of my car. The car was on the frame machine, but it did not look like work had begun. Doug would be up first thing Monday morning.
10/17 -- Doug called to give me a status update. He said they had finished the body and paint work, my car was being towed to Davenport's to have the engine put back in the car, they would do a final detail (place not specified), and then have the car returned to Stuart's to install the final body pieces.
11/11/11--Picked up the car 'it was 'ready' but not really.
--Overspray behind door and fender, including on rubber molding in fender.
--Right Fender mis-aligned (hood is correct, but body line is off by about 3mm)
--All bolts on body panels not painted, hood bolts not even original types.
--Engine cover all scratched up. Looks like it was upside down on the concrete. (was perfect, even after the accident as I pulled it off and put it in the back seat)
--Pretty strong pull to the right on the alignment. Even after it went back a couple of times( we put new tires on it to attempt to correct the issue)
--Trash in the paint. I stopped counting at 6 bits. 1/2 of it was from scotchbrite pads.
--Door/fender alignment on both sides are off. Fender is in too far on the left and out too far on the right. (left will cause wind noise, it's about 2mm out)

(I'll add to the list, there was more but I can't think of it right now)

Worth pointing out, Stuart told me that 3mm was 'in spec' for his line of business. I'm betting 99.9% of their clients wouldn't like this. For nearly a 5 month job, this isn't 'ready for delivery' in my book. This is production quality work that I'd expect at any shop, not quality that I expect with Stuart's reputation. They rushed the details on this car.

 

Brad,

Sorry to hear that Stuart's is taking so long to repair your car. They are somewhat notorious for being slow but at the same time they are well known for doing quality work. My car is also over there right now and it has been too long considering the minor repairs that are involoved. However I am willing to wait it out as I would rather have it done well and done right the first time. I have had too many experiences with other shops where I have had to take the car back another 1 or 2 times to get things done right.

Hang in there!

 

Sorry for your pain. I just don't no why there are so many companies that just can't pick up the phone and tell the customer what is going on. Even if it is sorry but I have no new information for you today. I can't tell you the number of times I have had a car worked on that they tell you they will call you by noon to give you a heads up on what is happening. Guess what no phone call. When you call them. Guess what? They are not available and they are the only one that knows what is going on with your car.
I hope it all works out for you and maybe Stuart's will read this and use it as a learning experience.

 

My complaint isn't that they are slow, it's that they don't set actual expectations and don't call/follow up to set expectations correctly. My complaint is the poor management, not the actual quality of work.

Then, when we do talk with them, they out and out lie. Doug told my wife that her car is 'next'. She, being an attorney, asked to see the work log. There were 6 cars in front of her. We've been told 'next' no short of 5 times now.


Wingnut:
Even if they do great work, I expect it to go back to Stuarts at least couple of times. It's the nature of a production body-shop. Roll it and see how much the customer complains.
We took our BMW back 4 times. The first time, I didn't get within 20' of it to point out the issue. The door/fender was mis-aligned by over 1/8".

 

Updated the timeline with new lies.

It's comical at this point. Two months of promises to start "Monday" and they still have not started. I'd take the vehicle elsewhere as it's not an exceptionally complex repair, except for the fact they had someone else yank the engine and stuffed it in their back lot. Taking a "bucket of bolts" to another shop would be worse than anything. We simply feel like we are held hostage at this point.


I copied this forum to Stuart's contact us page. It's unfortunate they let an incompetent run the show.

 

Was considering that shop but will look elsewhere. Anyone have suggestions for a reputable shop in DFW area? I'm looking to have GT3 front bumper and Misha GT3 rear bumper painted and installed on my 997 C2S. Thanks.

 

*if* you want it to be top notch work and near perfect, Stuarts is the place. Just don't expect them to be honest on the time scale. They are tripping over cars everywhere and can't manage communications. Doug either needs more help or to move on to another shop.

We're going on 3 months now and still not started on our car. *had* I known this, it wouldn't have gone there. Having the car to drive 60 miles daily is more important than perfection. We're racking up miles on cars that we really don't want to due to it. They should not have yanked the engine before they were ready to start on it. Of course, this proves to me that they knew we'd want to pull it from them when they dropped the ball.


Since you're just getting a bumper done, they might can slip it in faster, I'm not sure where the work-flow break-down is. It very well could be their frame machine and frame repair guys. From talking to Doug, it's my understanding that they are short of a frame machine and guys qualified to work on it.

I'm checking on it Monday. I'm expecting it to not be touched again. I'll update the timeline. I'll be making an appointment to talk with Stuart in the event it's not well on its way to being repaired.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I'd rather not chance it. Great for them that they have a thriving business. But they can't possibly be the only place that will do a quality job. 3 months is ridiculous and they should've been up front w/you about that. That's professionalism. I hope things work out for you.

 

Added some more facts. What's interesting is that I submitted this thread to Stuart's 'contact us' page on their web site several weeks ago...

Thursday 9/1/11. Stopped by to see the progress. Told Doug that I was tired of him lying to me and tired of him giving me the run around. He promised it'd be up on Tuesday (9/6)

Wednesday 9/14. Random stop by. "Doug said, it went on the frame machine today". Calling State Farm to look at it again. (This conflicts with the earlier statement that they had State Farm out prior and State Farm was waiting for them to do the pulling before writing up any more sheet metal) *More lies again Doug..*

Wednesday 9/14. After leaving, I simply walked back to the back lot and took a look. Sure enough, the car was on the frame machine but wasn't hooked up. At *best*, it was simply parked there.

 

What's your recourse at this point? Pull the car and sue? I know people claim that America has become over-litigious, but its stuff like this that makes me think otherwise. FWIW, when I was much younger (and trusting, i.e. naive), I left my car at a body shop in the Bronx that went under while the car was in their possession for an extended period of time. It was a PITA to get the car back and I lost the deposit I put down for the work that was never done. Again, sorry to hear that this hasn't been resolved.

So, anyone have a recommendation for a body shop in the DFW area (other than Stuart's, of course)?

 

Unfortunately we only know your side of the story. It does seem like your car has been there way too long. Stuart's has fixed 2 of my cars during this same time frame. The last car they had in and out in just over a week ( I am picking that car up today). I am inclined to think that there may be a little more to the story than what we are being told (the old 2 sides to every story)

NYC_Z06 , I think this case is an exception to the rule, if you go by the shop and see all of the Ferrari, Lambo's and Porsches sitting out front, you realize that they are doing something right. There is a reason they are the place of choice for all of the high end exotics in the area. If it makes any difference you can talk to Chris, who is my service contact there.

 

I could sue. But I really don't have any damages that can be quantified with money. Plus suing for some form of contract enforcement (for anything) is just silly. The only people who win in civil suits are the lawyers.


I've used New Concept in Plano. They do good work. I've seen a bunch of nice work come out of there.

 

In theory, one could add a liquidated damages clause into the contract that's tied to an agreed upon completion date. Not sure it would be enforced, but could motivate the shop to prioritize your work, rather than defend itself in court. Maybe.

 

I'm just curious, why didn't you take the car to New Concept instead of Stuart's?

 

There really isn't any other side to this story. Tell them to come post here. In fact, I challenge them to justify publicly why it's taken so long and why Doug keeps telling us lies about when the shop is going to start. I know they have/had an account and were a sponsor at one point. I'd love to have them compare notes with what he's told us and how often we've contacted him. I'd further love for him to put something in writing that we could then add to our log.

Doug keeps telling us 'we'll start on it Monday'. The only thing I've reported here is the log of when we called and what we were told. It's a simply issue of either Doug not being able to manage work-flow from the shop from incompetence or lack or people to do the work. In any case, Doug and Doug alone has had full control of what expectations he has set to us (the customer). He has failed miserably.

I've worked in a shop. I've managed a busy shop before. I've done paint and body work. I've actually done the exact work to my own Lexus that is being done to my wife's car. I know it'll be done when it's done once they start and things take time. I know better than 99.9% of the world's population.

However, when we go in and say "how many cars are in front of me?", he replies "you are next" We reply with "Show me the log." He shows a log with 6-8 cars on it... To my knowledge, that's not any sort of definition of 'next'. Which goes back to: Doug and Doug alone has had full control of what expectations he has set to us (the customer). He has failed miserably.


The car had not been started on as of Wednesday 9/14. That's nearly a full 12 weeks at this point. It's been sitting in their back lot (less the time it took for Davenport motors to pull the engine) since 6/27. I have the check from State Farm here. There's no hold up from insurance companies and there aren't any back ordered parts or hold ups yet as work hasn't started.


Wouldn't take long for a decent lawyer to get that claim thrown out. There is no promise start/finish date. (Other than the "we will get started on it next week" verbal contract) My wife is an attorney. I have several friends who are and work with a few also. They will be the first to tell you that the only ones that ever win in a civil suit are the attorneys.