1989 Chevy Blazer All Jacked Up

Major Progress on our custom build for a customer. Transferring his 1980 Chevy K-5 Blazer frame with a new Target Master 350 Chevy to a 1989 Chevy K-5 Blazer Body. the new body has all the body panels in very good condition, A/C and power windows. We also added a 3 inch body lift to get this project off of the ground.

De-wiring the computer was interesting but we were able to do it and keep everything working like it should. We had to remove about 80 wires from the harness and trim things back to look good but as it turned out we only had 6 wires left at the fuse box that we did not need anymore. The older vehicle needed a diode added to the alternator wire so the engine would shut off when you turned the key off.

There was an electric fuel pump wire going back to the gas tank we did not need because the 1980 engine had a mechanical fuel pump. That was simple to take out of the harness. We had to cut a hole in the floor pan for the manual shifter, transfer case lever and clutch rod. Not as bad as I originally thought.

We cleaned up the radiator support and front fenders under the hood, trimmed them out semi gloss black and gloss white. We also repainted his frame and axles before moving the chassis to the new truck.

We added a cowl hood from Classic Industries and with some tweaking we got it to fit the fenders and the radiator support. Although it was not a perfect fit we were able to make it look really good on the truck.

The roof was a solid sheet of rust and we had to strip the rust and old paint off, we cleaned it with a metal cleaner from PPG and primed it with a direct to metal acid etch primer. The front fenders and tailgate were stripped to bare metal and the dent repair was minor but those panels are in primer now.

The 2 doors and 2 quarter panels are left and although not a piece of cake they are repairable.

I will update this story after the customer authorizes the rest of the needed repairs.

The K-5 is going to be painted Red, White and Blue. Can't wait to get it completely done and back home to the customer!

Roof half stripped bad case of surface rust

Body mounted with 3" lift

Roof after strip and prime

Under hood finishing up the wiring

Another Poorly Repaired Vehicle Inspected

I was hired a few weeks ago to inspect a 2014 Hyundai Sonata. This vehicle was repaired at a large local Auto Body Shop that is owned by a large dealer in the City of Charlotte North Carolina.

The car had some obvious flaws from the outside, taillight not fitting, large panel gaps, rough paint work, over spray on panels that were not painted. As we looked further it got worse.

It appears that the shop elected not to weld the panels back on the car but they used glue instead. There is a tack weld at the end of the quarter but it is welded poorly at best.

Bolts were missing and left loose and the customer had taken it back to the dealer 3 times before she decided to seek us out to help her with her diminished value. We inspect other auto body shops repairs for our customers to make sure that they are safe. If you had your car fixed in the last three years, you can still have us take a look at the repairs and help you collect for your loss in value. A consultation is FREE. 

So don't take a chance if you notice anything that does not look , feel, or sound right. There can be allot of not so good repairs hiding under the shiny paint!

Bob Winfrey

Diminished Value Auto

Bad Clear Coat? Peeling, Cracking?

We just had a 2006 Honda we repaired for a client. The clear looked terrible. It was turning white,blistering and peeling off. Had a few scratches and dents which needed attention too. We started by removing the lights and bumpers, then we repaired the dents and removed the damaged clear coat.

After sanding for about 8 hours and 4 hours of dent repair we taped it up to prime the damage.

We then block sanded the primer removed the tape and paper cleaned it, taped it up again and put it in the booth.

 We spray the bumpers, mirrors and spoiler individually

                         After 4 coats of primer, 1 coat of sealer and 3 coats of base coat color

2 coats of clear, re assembly and detailing the 2006 Honda is ready to go home!

We provide the highest quality exterior paint service for the most economical pricing around! Come see us at our shop a little outside of Charlotte on Highway 74 East. We are very close to Wingate college in Marshville. Drive a little save allot!

The total time involved in a job like this was very close to 40 man hours. This paint job was done for a great price! If you need a paint job on your vehicle you can visit our web site for contact information All Precision Collision Repair

How long is it going to take to fix my wrecked car?

Customers first concern about auto body repair is how much is it going to cost? And the second question is how long will it take? I always have to look at the vehicle to determine if parts availability is an issue or can we just put it in the shop and perform our work without having to wait for a delivery.

Parts stocking and delivery is very much improved since computer systems have come into play. We generally can get a new OEM part from the dealer quicker than we can get a used or aftermarket part. I sometimes wonder how insurers save any money by using alternate parts on a repair if it takes 3 or 4 days longer to get a Non Factory part.

We determine how many days it takes to repair a damaged vehicle by the number of hours on the estimate. A week of solid work is generally 40 hours at our shop. If your repair estimate has 8 hours on it for example it will require 2 repair days at least. Sometimes we have to wait for material to dry properly before we can continue. An example would be primer, caulking, paint, undercoating and adhesives. At our repair shop we will not shortcut a repair and cut corners because something will fail later because we did not let it dry before we went forward with the repair.

It is kind of funny that a 4 hour repair could take 2 and 1/2 days to complete. One day for the small body repair and the primer to dry completely. Then the next day we paint the repairs and have to let it dry for at least 8 hours before we can put it out in the weather.And when we get it we have to unmask it and then we have to re-assemble it and clean it up so the customer get's their car back and it is like new again.

I was at a luxury BMW dealership inspecting a car last week and it was so new that some service parts were not even in stock in Germany were the car was built. The dealership said it would be at least a month before Germany could even produce the parts needed to fix that new BMW. This is a rare case but it can happen sometimes.

Ask at the time of your estimate and we can explain how long it will take and what all the variables entail. Check out the website for a link to schedule an appointment.

Marshville Auto Body Shop

Vehicles with Accident Avoidance Systems, Safer?

Vehicle technology has changed so much in the last 15 years that if you don't keep up with it you would be greatly surprised by just how many computers are on your new car. A Mercedes convertible with the folding roof has over 100 control modulers on the vehicle. A control module is a computer used to control the functions of your vehicle. The average car today has very few systems that do not run through some kind of control module to handle the command from the switches that turn on the device. Dome lights, headlights, turn signals almost everything you can imagine is controlled by a module. Now what does a crash avoidance system do?

A crash avoidance system uses a type of radar to identify slow moving or stationary objects in your vehicles path as you are maneuvering through the maze we drive through every day. The system was tested on Semi trucks and the first versions were a little quirky at best. The system can work a few different ways depending on the vehicle maker by either sounding a buzzer, making the steering wheel vibrate or lighting an indicator on the dash. Some systems are active, in other words they will slow the car down and some will even stop the car. This system coupled with stability control will greatly reduce your chances of hitting an object or losing control trying to avoid an object. This in itself will help reduce the amount of crashes for most unsuspecting drivers when an object ends up in your path.

Although I applaud the new technology, I do not embrace the amount of wiring and computers that this adds to the vehicles we drive. The average technician is going to have his hands full as these products become more prevalent on the street cars that we are driving. They not only will have to service the moving parts of a car or truck but they will have to be an electrician and a computer expert!

I would definitely not trust my backyard technician to adjust the radar sensor's on my new car! If you need collision repairs please be careful and choose someone that is certified and knows what they are doing!

I Had An Accident, My Tail Lights And/Or Headlights Are Broken; Do I Qualify For A Rental?

YES, North Carolina state law dictates that you must have all taillights, headlights and turn signals in proper working order on your vehicle. Also, NC traffic laws state that you cannot emit a white light from the rear of your vehicle while in forward motion. If you are a claimant or have rental coverage then you should be in a rental vehicle.

You should never operate a vehicle after a collision that is unsafe to drive. Don't take a chance on getting a ticket or worse yet getting hurt in another collision! 

Your Vehicle is the second Largest investment you are likely to make. Preserve its value and your safety by having it repaired professionally. Seek out a shop with I-Car or ASE certifications; these are professional entities that make sure technicians are trained on today’s advanced vehicles. At All Precision Collision Repair, all our employee’s are trained and certified.

What is the biggest Auto Body Repair Problem?

I have been in the auto body repair business for many years. I have worked at some good shops and some not so good shops. One of the most prevalent things I see on repaired cars is shortcuts on the repair. Either work that could have been finished properly with just a little more time spent on the repair. Sometimes it is leaving critical fasteners loose like on a bumper.

I inspected this vehicle at a shop for a customer and he was going to the lake with his boat the next day. What would have happened to his expensive boat if this bumper with the trailer hitch fell off on the highway? It surely would not be a good thing. At our shop we check every fastener with a torque spec before we let it leave our shop. Critical things, like wheels, bumpers etc. are important to your safety and well being. We surely don't want you to have another accident!

Also on the same vehicle a bed bolt was missing. Every part should be inventoried and accounted for in an organized fashion. There is no reason for this bolt to be missing. Take ten bolts out, put ten bolts in!

At All Precision Collision Repair we hold ourselves to a higher standard. This repair was done at one of the largest Toyota dealer ships in our area. This shop was on an Insurance company list of Select shops. I guess sometimes that may not be the best for you or your vehicle. See more examples from this vehicle and others that I have photo's of. Auto Body Repair Safety Inspections This is one of hundreds of vehicle I have inspected and found problems with.

What makes us different? We are trained in over 50 areas of auto body repair. Our shops is not a huge chain shop. We are family owned and operated. We have 15 years of pride in business at the same location.

Because we work one on one with you and your car we never leave you without all the bolts back in your vehicle!

We are 7 short miles from Monroe and 15 miles east of Charlotte on Highway 74 East. 

See our location here: Google map location

Come see us and get the service you deserve. The body shop that cares about you and your vehicle!

Had a Wreck called your claim in, what's next?

It sounds great when you hear the claims handler read their script to you, well rehearsed and practiced. "We have several shops in your area". They could be called Blue Ribbon or Select Service or a dozen other names. But you live 15 miles from the shop they have on their "list". Why would they want you to use a specific shop and have you drive 15 miles out of your way to use an auto body shop? They tell you it is because this shop meets a certain criteria or if you use another shop the Insurer will not guarantee the work, or it will take longer to get your car inspected, or you can get a rental car right away if you use their shop. All of these statements are used to control you and your claim. Why?

Insurance companies have collected your premiums for years for your policy, hopefully they invested the money wisely and made some great returns on the money you loaned them in the event you had an accident and had a claim against your policy. Truth is if they control you and your claim they may be able to save hundreds and maybe thousands of dollars on your repairs. How does this happen you say?

By controlling the shop that does your repairs, they are feeding them work and in turn the shop will either not perform certain procedures, shortcut the repairs, use the cheapest materials available or basically not perform procedures necessary to restore your vehicle to the condition it was in prior to the accident.

If you can imagine that insurers saving just $100.00 a claim and they write 2,000 claims a day across the United States. this would save $200,000 a day. Now I can assure you from what I have witnessed it is a lot more than $100.00 per car they save by this "company policy". Personally I don't want my Insurance rates to go up, however I feel like if they took better care of their customers they would not have to spend 50 million dollars to create characters like flow and mayhem.

Does any of this benefit you? Well maybe if you think that helping the production companies that make the commercials stay in business or helping all the TV channels fill spots for commercials. I personally think that this practice is a waste of our investment in the Insurance companies coffers.

Because in most states insurance is mandated to at least have liability insurance and if your vehicle is financed you have to maintain full coverage insurance till the vehicle is paid off. This in itself causes me to dislike the practices of shortchanging the motoring public. Because I have to deal with the policies they create at ground level, I wanted to shed a little light on the process consumers miss.

So my main point here is not to vent but to tell all of you if you have a shop that you know and trust that fixed Grandmas car and did a great job, don't be scared to use them if you need your car fixed. The repaired vehicles I have inspected that come from the direct repair shops have all been horrible. Rust, bent chassis's, Tia-won parts, peeling paint, poor fitting parts, poor welds and the list goes on! None of this helps you or your car. Your car is one of the largest investments you will make besides your home, having it lose it's value or become unsafe in another accident is not why I got involved in this business.

I have been involved with collision repair for over 35 years. If you do a little research you will find that I have been a number one Auto Body Technician most of my career. I am certified by the largest entities in the collision repair industry and currently teach auto body repair at a local community college. I own a Body Shop at a Chevrolet dealership in a small town in NC. I opened this shop to offer the community quality auto body repair at a fair price. Not to be told by an Insurer how not to fix a car properly or shortchange a customer. As long as I am able I will fight for my customers to get what they paid for. If they want to save money on their claim that is their right and no-one else's.

A Non Insurance Auto Body Repair Shop

Loss in Value in NC

Marshville's #1 Auto Body Repair Shop In Union County North Carolina

Where is Marshville you say? Have you ever heard of Randy Travis? Randy was raised here in Marshville, a few short miles from Monroe and Charlotte North Carolina in Union County. I know there are big box store Auto Body Repair Shops around Union County but from what I found on Yelp and other places the customer service experience is lost to the cheap and the fast. No we do not take any longer to get cars in and out of our Body Shop. But we do not let pressure from Insurance companies cause us to cut corners on our customer repairs. We have a 100% Customer service experience at our collision repair shop and we are proud of it!

There is a large chain shop in my area Insurers send their customers to and you should read the reviews about the poor customer service and time it took to perform repairs here. Online reviews of Insurer recommended shop  I have no negatives anywhere on the web, we are a BBB A+ rated shop without a complaint ever!

What I am trying to say is that regardless of what Insurance companies may tell you, It does not take any longer to get quality one on one repairs, the best materials, the best color match, the finest repair job, save money on your payment portion of the repair, get a rental car, get your car towed to our body shop and have peace of mind in your repairs.

Had an accident? Need help getting through the insurance maze? Call us before you call your insurance company, 704-624-5659, out of the Charlotte area? Call our toll free number 855-280-9590. Or you can contact us for a free consultation allprecision@windstream.net

You can also get a ton of FREE information on our web site. All Precision Collision Repair on the web

Bob Winfrey
I am a certified auto body technician with over 35 years experience and 30 certifications in the Industry. Published author and a diminished value inspector.