Showing posts with label Scam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scam. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Fixing the Work of Scam Artists

Example of auto body scam prior to real repairs

Don't be embarrassed if this happened to you. Once a week we see a car that has been "fixed" by a scam artist. He approachs people and offers to repair damage on the spot for a reasonable price. He may hammer, apply fillers and paint. When he's done he explains that you just need to let things dry then everything will be perfect. He may even offer to come back to finish the job. You won't see him again and you will have no way to contact him. These guys create more damage than they started with. Almost Everything's Car of the Day is a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu that has been attacked by one of these scam artists. As you can see in the photos below, he didn't fix anything but he made the car uglier and in need of more repairs.

Before:
Panels do not align, parts damaged, paint is chipping prior to repair at Almost Everything Auto Body

Before:
Scam repair--damage remains & overspray on trim--prior to real repairs at Almost Everything Auto Body

Before:
Scam repair--damage remains plus new damage from overspray--prior to real repairs at Almost Everything Auto Body

After:
Damage from auto repair scam cleaned-up at Almost Everything Auto Body

Before:
Car looks horrible before repairs at Almost Everything Auto Body

After:
Damage from auto repair scam fixed at Almost Everything Auto Body

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

2006 Acura RSX Type-S Rescued

Almost Everything's Car of the Day is a 2006 Acura RSX Type-S.  This unfortunate little hatchback was the victim of "Car Forum Professionals" ( An unexperienced individual who spends too much time "Training" by researching online forums, with too much time and money for their car's own good, ultimately ruining a nice car out of boredom and mis-information) a "Roll on Paint Job" beneath two different colors of Plastidip clung to this RSX's body, leaving it looking absolutely horrendous.  We fixed the "Fanboy Build Thread Gone Wrong" by first replacing parts that were rendered no longer usable with used or brand new OEM parts, then sanding all of the old terrible paint down to a smooth paintable level. Next step was Primer Sealer, a thin sprayed-on layer of material that paint sticks to very well, once finished, the car was ready for new paint. We repainted this previously DIY-Thrashed RSX with some real Automotive paint, we used our basic Enamel in Honda's Championship white color! As this 
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Monday, October 28, 2013

Plastidip is NOT a replacement for paint!

A recent trend gaining popularity is "plastidipping" cars--coating exterior with a matte rubberized "plastic-y" coating. We like "Plastidip". . . just not for painting cars. It is designed to give extra grip & cushion on tool handles. We've gotten a lot of these "plastidipped" cars recently for repainting. Although Plastidip may look good for a short time, many people find it does not stand-up to the sun, peels when you don't want it to and then won't peel when you try to take it off. Plastidip cannot be painted over with automotive paints and doesn't sand like normal automotive paint. Repairing cars with it has required us to go millimeter by millimeter, chipping off improperly applied fake paint. So if your car is in need of a paint job, we're begging you, bring it to us, a real automotive paint shop where we guarantee our work against peeling!

Peeling Plastidip on a (previously) nice car

Plastidip peeling in some areas, not in others. How do you get it off!!?

How to ruin a great car? Plastidip!



Friday, October 12, 2012

Don't let this happen to you!

Almost Everything's Cars of the Day are a 1997 Toyota Camry and a 1994 Chevrolet Pickup. As you can see in the pictures below, they both had been damaged in a collision and "repaired" by a less than qualified individual. Maybe you have been approached in a parking lot by a person who says they can "fix your dent" for an incredibly low cost. In many instances these "repairs" they are doing are actually causing much more harm than good! They will put on a big show with hammers, drills, unidentified filler matter, spray paint, and a incredible amount of false promises, appearing as if they know exactly what they are doing.

What they are actually doing;

1. Ripping innocent people off by performing shoddy repairs and promising a perfect finish, claiming that "all that is needed is paint" after they are done. Which unfortunately, is far from the truth, since many of these "parking lot repair men" have no professional experience, they improperly lay in inches of thick substance to fill the dents and holes that they created during the "repair". The substances they use are not always automotive body filler, some cars have even come to us with concrete slathered into the sheet metal.

2. Weakening your vehicles structural integrity by the use of improper tools. Drilling holes to pull and repair dents was common in the stone ages of auto body repair, with todays technology we can pull and fill dents the proper way from the outside of the vehicle, with no drilling required. Our non intrusive method of repairing dents retains the strength of the existing body panel, while keeping use of body filler to a minimum.

3. Making proper repairs more costly. When people come to us with these improperly repaired vehicles, it is very hard to break the news to them that they had been scammed out of their hard earned money, and how we want to repair something that had already been "fixed". For a proper repair we have to remove the existing "filler substance", repair, or even sometimes replace panels that have become too badly damaged from either the parking lot repairs or the collision itself.

4. Voiding any chance of a warranty through Almost Everything. We cannot offer any type of warranty on vehicles that have had improper/3rd party repairs performed on them. Instead of having a shady character in a parking lot "repair" your dents, come talk to us. We will be glad to provide you with a free written estimate, professionally fix the damage and offer a warranty, in many instances this covers the repairs for as long as you own the vehicle.











Thursday, August 4, 2011

2002 CHEVY C2500 PICK-UP WITH FAKE BODYWORK

Almost Everything's Car of the Day is a 2002 Chevrolet Silverado C2500 that came to us with what looks like stucco on it. It's the result of a scam. A "repair person" in a parking lot offered to "fix the dent" for $200. He slapped some concrete over it and sprayed it "salt & pepper" to hide how rough it was. Then said, "now all you have to do is get it painted."

Once Almost Everything got the concrete out of the crevices we found a big dent and a tear in the door. The concrete made the repairs a lot harder--and more costly.

Before:
Stucco/concrete on bottom of fender & door

Before:
Stucco/concrete on bottom of fender & door
Before:
Stucco/concrete on bottom of fender & door

During Repairs:
When we got the concrete off, we found big dents and tears.

During Repairs:
When we got the concrete off, we found big dents and tears.

Before:
Big mess
After:
Looking new again
Before:
No real repairs, just a bigger problem
After:
Real repairs--looks good again
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Saturday, December 19, 2009

Don't Let Someone Do This to Your Car - The Dent Fix Scam

We've all seen or maybe we even have one of the cars that has grey primer on a fender. Every month we get a few of these cars so I thought I'd talk about them a bit today. How they end-up looking like they do is that someone rings your door bell or approaches you in a parking lot and says that they can fix the dent for a nominal amount. They make a show of pounding sheetmetal, drilling holes, smearing putty & spraying "primer." Then they tell you, "All you need to do is get the car painted."
















We are sorry to report that most of the people doing these "repairs" are con artists. They do more damage than good. They hide dents with a thick layer of (hopefully) automotive body filler. I say "hopefully" because we have seen cars with spacklegunnite & even cement applied to them.--it is not possible to get a smooth or reliable paint finish over these materials and some of this stuff is extremely difficult to get off. The reason they often spray 2 shades of paint on the dent is to make it hard to see that the surface is still lumpy.

When a bodyshop gets these cars, it is difficult (and painful!) to explain to the vehicle owner that they were swindled and additional work is necessary before the car can be painted. Often we have to undo damage that the other guy caused. So the price is higher than it would have been if the owner had come to us in the first place. As I'm sure you can imagine, customers often look at us like crooks when we ask for money to fix something that has already been "fixed!"














The pictures on this page show what the problem is. The owner of this Toyota Corolla paid someone to repair the car before they brought it to Almost Everything Autobody. In this case, the owner realized there was a problem and stopped the repairs before things got any worse. This allows us to see some of the issues before they were covered-up with spackle & spray paint.

The person doing the "repairs" drilled holes in the body panels--this is a big problem. It reduces the strength of the panel and allows rust to start forming from the front, back and inside the panel itself. Decades ago drills were typical in auto body repairs but technology has advanced significantly. Don't let someone drill into the body of your car.

Next, he put screws in the holes and yanked on them to try to pull the dents out. What is bad about this is that where there was one bigger dent now there are lots of little dents plus ragged holes that look like miniature volcanos. It is much more difficult to achieve a smooth surface over lots of small dents. It also takes more time & expense to repair multiple small dents than to straighten an equal area with a single, large dent. Worse, the ragged edges on the holes further degrade the integrity of the panel and provide more nooks & crannies that rust just loves.














If the owner had not stopped him at this point, he would have applied a thick layer of bondo (or some other filler) to hide the various holes & dents. Body filler is a useful and necessary part of body repair. But it must be kept to a minimum. It can't provide the strength of steel, aluminum, fiberglass or carbon fiber. It is somewhat flexible so it expands and contracts as the base material flexes, heats & cools. In a thin layer it makes everything look smooth. In thick, uneven layers, it will crack and come apart over time.

Almost Everything Autobody, and any good bodyshop, has modern equipment that allows us to fix dents from the outside without ever drilling any holes or taking panels off the car. Benefits are:
  • Reduced repair time
  • Minimized costs
  • Minimized impact to original manufacturer's assembly & specifications
  • Minimized opportunities for rust invasion
  • Minimized use of body fillers

Almost Everything does great work and because we do more volume than any competitor in the world, we have the best prices, period. If you find anyone less expensive than us, be wary and check their references before letting them work on your car. Make sure you aren't getting inferior materials (or concrete!)

Now, if you were unfortunate enough to have been caught in this trap, we're sorry. Please don't be embarrassed. You are NOT alone. Like I said at the beginning, we see a lot of these cars and I personally know a lot of very intelligent people who have been victimized in this particular scam. The good news is that Almost Everything Autobody is great at getting your car looking good again at the lowest possible price. Drop by & we'll give you a free written estimate.

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