ryand123

Background:

My 545i was hit by a shovel in the driver side door (not sure how. came out one day and it was like that). I'm on a college campus, so there are any number of maintenance crews driving around (and drunk ppl).

After asking most everyone I knew, and attending BMW CCA meetings, I opted to take it to Stuart's Paint and Body in Dallas. (10440 Plano Road Dallas, Texas 75238 214-221-6999)

I believed I had a reputable bodyshop when I pulled up and there were multiple porsches and ferraris outside they were working on.

Here we go:

I dropped it off on a Tuesday, and was told it would be finished the following Tuesday. One week to fix just the driver side door seems like a long time; however, I wanted the best. The next Tuesday comes around and they say it won't be ready until the following day, as it needed to be painted (which was not true as I later found out). The on Wednesday, they said that they were behind. On Thursday, they informed me that they have broken a part in my door handle that has to be laser encoded and that it will take a week to get from BMW.

I was able to pick my car up on the following Tuesday, two weeks after I dropped the car off, and one week after they said it would be complete. I was paying for a rental car this entire time, and had to spend another $250 on the rental car as they took a week longer than stated.

I can understand a bodyshop taking a few extra days, as that is usually the case...HOWEVER, it took longer because they BROKE a piece in my car...clearly their fault.

I went to pay and politely (and I was genuinely polite) ask the rep if he could help me out as I incurred significant extra costs on the rental car. He stated that unfortunately he could not as he had "already paid his guys." I told him that I had spent almost as much on the rental car as I had on having the door repaired. He apologized but again said he could do nothing for me.

The Screwing:

Here's the kicker: He informed me they had incurred the cost of the part, which was over $100. I just looked at him. He then tells me that it was my car that "just came apart", yet they were kind enough to fix it on their dime. I just stared in amazement...SINCE WHEN DOES A SHOP BREAK YOUR CAR OR ARE NOT QUALIFIED TO REASSEMBLE IT AND PAT THEMSELVES ON THE BACK FOR PAYING TO FIX IT?!?!?

There's More:

Even after taking two weeks to fix, breaking my door handle, there is more. You would think after doing this to a customer, you would want to ensure their vehicle is perfect in every other regard. Upon taking the car, I realize the air bag light will not go off, in addition, the door lock is recessed by approximately 1-1.5cm...much lower than any of the other doors. From the factory the lock sits ~even with the cylinder in which the door lock resides...this was extremely recessed. While this may be a detail, it clearly shows the lack of concern on the part of the bodyshop for returning the car to the same condition it was in prior to being entrusted to them. Needless to say, I called the bodyshop and told them I would take it to the dealership to have fixed as they were not qualified to look at it, and I would send them the bill if there was one.

I had to drop my car off at Classic BMW in Dallas for over 4 days to have this fixed. AND they screwed up something so that my doors do not automatically lock upon driving, nor does my bluetooth work. This is yet another headache.


The end:

I simply told him I never would have expected this from a bodyshop such as his and walked out. No point in screaming over $100. However, I want to inform everyone here that Stuart's Paint and Body is NOT QUALIFIED to work on late model BMWs, nor do they care about their customers to compensate them for incurring them significant extra costs due to their own incompetence. The tech told me they had this same problem with a 6 series, where the door handle had broke (was in the shop the same time as mine).

AGAIN, STUART'S PAINT AND BODY IS NOT QUALIFIED TO WORK ON LATE MODEL BMWs. (The work was good; however, I cannot believe they would treat a customer like this)

I am also contacting the Better Business Bureau regarding this.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

-Ryan

JDN

I hear you loud and clear, Ryan. Sorry you had such a rough experience with that door. I had an estimate from Stuart's for a clear bra. They come highly recommended by the local club members and also AutoScope in Plano. I was able to match their quality and beat their price by $350. I think they are a good paint shop and that's it.

alohalc

sorry to hear that, ryand123 :'(. i think you are doing the right thing, contact the bbb and see what they can do. i'm not sure about where you live but over here, we have a tv station has something called actionline. this is a free service to help people solve this kind of problem. they'll investigate the whole thing and broadcast it as part of the local news. this program helped a lot of people since the businesses sure don't want to ruin their reputation, especially on tv. if you guys have something like this, give it a try. hope everything works out fine .

DFWRaider

Man, hate to hear stories like this. Maybe a BBB complaint will open their eyes, but probably not. You may also want to flaunt an Attorney General's office complaint to the body shop -- that tends to scare them more than the BBB.

And one more word to the wise -- my experience with Classic BMW was every bit as bad and worse than what you described with Stuart's. I'd steer clear of Classic too.

Superdadplano

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I had great experiences at Classic BMW body shop as they have repaired many of my BMWs and other vehicles in the past.

Gwilkie

Yup. After dealing with that Sales Manager out there I felt like I had delt with the MOB -- very noncustomer friendly and entirely no business ethics IMO.

I've seen Stuart's and wondered what they were like. After this thread I doubt I'll ever do business with them. Maybe they're related to Classic, lol.

UPENN545

Not to get off base..But we definitely need a huge e60 meet in Texas!