Body shop reccomendations?
Ive had Yeaman do a few jobs on my STI. They aren't cheap, but the work tends to be very good. The folks there seem like very good people.
On the flip side, not all of the work has been perfect (remember, not cheap) and the scheduling has been a bit off. Multiple times I called in the day I was told the car would be done and it wasn't, and it was me calling them to find that out. I was told it was because they had a lot of work on, but I'd been scheduled in well ahead of time and they clearly had a mechanism for assigning staff ahead of time to manage the workload.
So while I feel happy to say with Yeaman you'll get your car back in good shape, you might not feel it's as trouble-free as you'd expect for the money.
On the flip side, not all of the work has been perfect (remember, not cheap) and the scheduling has been a bit off. Multiple times I called in the day I was told the car would be done and it wasn't, and it was me calling them to find that out. I was told it was because they had a lot of work on, but I'd been scheduled in well ahead of time and they clearly had a mechanism for assigning staff ahead of time to manage the workload.
So while I feel happy to say with Yeaman you'll get your car back in good shape, you might not feel it's as trouble-free as you'd expect for the money.
Last edited by glider; Apr 16, 2015 at 08:53 PM.
Thread Starter
VIP Member
iTrader: (23)
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 4,969
From: Fremont
Car Info: 1999 2.5RS / 2004 Forester X
I meant to update this earlier but it took longer than anticipated. Overall very happy with the quality of work & price at Minh's however there were a couple imperfections that I noticed after washing the car the first time afterwards. Had to bring the car back a second time for them to touch a few areas up, which they took care of for no extra cost to me. Needless to say, I'm really stoked how it all came out though... first time ever having new paint on the front end of the car since buying it in 2004.
Probably hard to tell in the pics but the paint still needs to be buffed/polished/waxed, so I think I'll just get a full paint detail in the near future.
After my experience at Minh's, I'd definitely recommend their shop if you're paying for paint / body work out of pocket. If I was going in for collision repair I'd just go somewhere closer out of convenience.
Anyways, onto the pics!
Probably hard to tell in the pics but the paint still needs to be buffed/polished/waxed, so I think I'll just get a full paint detail in the near future.
After my experience at Minh's, I'd definitely recommend their shop if you're paying for paint / body work out of pocket. If I was going in for collision repair I'd just go somewhere closer out of convenience.
Anyways, onto the pics!
Im trying my hand at TGIF body shop down the street from my work (previously suggested). Just dropped the parts off this morning. Hope everything goes well! *Fingers crossed.
Thread Starter
VIP Member
iTrader: (23)
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 4,969
From: Fremont
Car Info: 1999 2.5RS / 2004 Forester X
I think you'll be really happy with their work when its all done, what all are you getting painted?
Lol...... So I went to pick up my parts today before they closed. They let me inspect the parts first. So everything looked good, then I asked them where is my fender. They had completely forgot to paint my fender and it was still sitting outside on the rack with unpainted parts.
They said they will have it painted tomorrow and give me a call.
That explains why they had called me so quickly, they painted all the small stuff. Fender was the biggest part.
The wait continues lol.
They said they will have it painted tomorrow and give me a call.
That explains why they had called me so quickly, they painted all the small stuff. Fender was the biggest part.
The wait continues lol.
So finally picked up the fender today.
On the fender there were roughly 3 areas that had dust debris cling on during their base coat or clear coat stage. They told me to put it on and they can cut and buff it out.
One of the side view mirror bases has orange peel on one of the outter edges. The rest of it was fine.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/t75mr6dais...G1983.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1n9nisjcoe...G1984.jpg?dl=0
Both of the side view mirrors had orange peel on the top outter edge. Looks like lack of consistent spray leading to the end of the surface area. Looks like they may have lifted the trigger early before completing the pass or mounted it in a way that made it hard for even coverage. One mirror has a larger orange peel area than the other, but both have it in the same area. If it was under the mirror, I wouldn't mind as much.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bymg5229gv...G1976.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1tfhcmhb6d...G1978.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4wfanfztoe...G1980.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xaz55ri4gy...O0028.mp4?dl=0
Fog cover surrounds came out good. Too small to mess up, so I expect nothing less.
Overall, the paint quality feels good and the coats feel thick. Thats a good thing that they added a thick layer of clear coat to make room to fix errors.
I will take the mirrors back and have them look at it to see if its worth repainting or just to fix. Knowing body shops and paint, I am very confident they will say a wetsand and "buff" will even out the orange peel. The only downside is that the orange peel is on areas with contours and not on a flat spot, so its easier to level the clear coat layer unevenly; permitting uneven clear coat failure in the future.
On the fender there were roughly 3 areas that had dust debris cling on during their base coat or clear coat stage. They told me to put it on and they can cut and buff it out.
One of the side view mirror bases has orange peel on one of the outter edges. The rest of it was fine.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/t75mr6dais...G1983.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1n9nisjcoe...G1984.jpg?dl=0
Both of the side view mirrors had orange peel on the top outter edge. Looks like lack of consistent spray leading to the end of the surface area. Looks like they may have lifted the trigger early before completing the pass or mounted it in a way that made it hard for even coverage. One mirror has a larger orange peel area than the other, but both have it in the same area. If it was under the mirror, I wouldn't mind as much.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bymg5229gv...G1976.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1tfhcmhb6d...G1978.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4wfanfztoe...G1980.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xaz55ri4gy...O0028.mp4?dl=0
Fog cover surrounds came out good. Too small to mess up, so I expect nothing less.
Overall, the paint quality feels good and the coats feel thick. Thats a good thing that they added a thick layer of clear coat to make room to fix errors.
I will take the mirrors back and have them look at it to see if its worth repainting or just to fix. Knowing body shops and paint, I am very confident they will say a wetsand and "buff" will even out the orange peel. The only downside is that the orange peel is on areas with contours and not on a flat spot, so its easier to level the clear coat layer unevenly; permitting uneven clear coat failure in the future.
