Bullhonkie

Spun myself after overcorrecting too much a second time. Rear driver-side wheel took the brunt of the impact on a curb, car still had enough momentum to jump the curb, and rear bumper hit a bus stop bench and brought me to a halt. Lucky for the bench too because just two feet past the bench was a rather thick tree I would've hit had I kept going.

Relatively little body damage, just a rear bumper impact on the corner and some scrapes around the rear fender. The wheel however is really mangled and laying flat (nearly parallel) to the ground. Front wheel got some severe rash and a mild crack as well.

Any recommendations on a quality/reputable shop in the south bay (San Jose preferred)? I'll be going through insurance obviously, so cost is not really a concern.

Some places that I've gleamed from searching various forums. Tell me if you've had any good/bad experiences with any and help me narrow down this list:

Sturken Auto Body - San Jose, near downtown
Kuykendall's Collision Repair - Sunnyvale
Springer Body and Paint - San Jose, north
Creative Kustoms - San Jose, downtown (I already called here and they're too far backlogged to handle my collision, however they did refer me to the next entry)
Oakridge Body Shop - San Jose, south
Almaden Collision & Kenny Auto - San Jose, south
Michael J's Auto Body - San Jose, south
Daland Body Shop - South SF (a bit far from me but they seem to offer free towing and had good feedback)

Too many choices, help me decide. And be careful out there in the wet!

GotBoost?

iTrader: (3)

Springer body & Paint is right by my work.....its a HUGE place...and I have seen lots of nice cars in the parking lot over there.....ie. porches, escalades, corvettes, etc. so they must do decent work, I would assume....I havent had any personal experiences with them....but I just thought this would be a little help.

-Ted

subiedon

iTrader: (6)

Image Auto Body in South SF does awesome work

mexicanpizza

iTrader: (9)

Do it at the dealer. Since you're not paying, who better to do it right. Kevin at Carlsen repaired my little "indiscretion" as good as new.

doughboy

iTrader: (3)

I was the one who posted the referral to Springer. They do decent work and have great customer service. If you go there, Steve (owner) and Robert will be able to help you.

I hear that Creative Kustoms is a great place as well!

gdawrx

iTrader: (14)

man what did you hit?

subgenius

Do you want a set of wheels and tires?
I have my original wheels and tires (2002) with about 3K on them. They're free if you want them, currently located in San Jose. I'm moving to Felton and don't have enough storage for them anymore.

email me at tattix@adobe.com or attix@mac.com
-Tom

zumnwrx

iTrader: (6)

i wanna see pics!

fryrice

iTrader: (3)

i'll wait till creative kustoms is free. Nice a people and great customer service.

My door paint bubble up. I email them about it, a few mins later i have a phone call from them. ask me to come down to the shop and offer to fix it for free with no questions ask.

En3D

iTrader: (12)

did they paint it in the first place?

scoobsport98

iTrader: (5)

No, that's the weird thing!

C'mon man, learn how to 'master the obvious'

Bullhonkie

Yeah I'm strongly considering the dealer as well now. Especially since most of the damage is likely to be mechanical rather than cosmetic. Who would know better than Subaru mechanics? I know not to go to Stevens Creek, so Carlsen is probably next easiest for me (although I bought at Santa Cruz).

I wouldn't mind waiting a little bit, since the insurance paperwork process takes a bit to get going. Unfortunately the tentative date they gave me was sometime in the middle of next month, and that's just until they can start on it. I can't quite go that long without a vehicle, my rental coverages are pretty low.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. All feedback is welcome and helpful.

wombatsauce

iTrader: (7)

After catching Carlsen's techs faking information on my SOA oil consumption test (in front of Howard) and then blaming me for the results, there is no way in HELL my car is ever going to be serviced or touched by that dealership. This is also the dealership that (after consulting 2 techs) could not tell me when I should change the timing belt on my '95 Impreza.

Actual quote from your man: "Your car isn't using any oil. Subarus don't use oil. Your oil is low after 3500 miles because you are using 5w30 oil and it's too thin - you should use 10w30."

Uhhhhh....

Another fun one after 2500 miles on an oil change: "You oil was low because your drain plug was loose - we tightened it right up for you. By the way, your car is amazingly clean underneath for having almost 30k miles, not a drop of oil anywhere."

Food for thought I guess.

-Jacob

Group B

iTrader: (3)

You shouldn't be dealing with Howard Higashi anyways...

wombatsauce

iTrader: (7)

Thread content: I know a shop in Santa Clara that my friend had his Z06 worked on, they do amazing top notch work and the prices seem really reasonable. I tried to track my friend down, but will have to wait until tomorrow to get the name. Anyway, my pops had a body shop when I was growing up, I know what to look for and these guys do awsome work. Will have a name for ya tomorrow.

BTW - last time I was there, there was a brand spankin new 575M in my favourite charcoal grey - 600 miles on the clock and it head-on'd a brick wall at the hands of a 18yr old parking attendant... Wowzers.

-Jacob