OP
OP
Rashman
MB Enthusiast
Ok guys......
It was a long afternoon.
Spoke to Darren at around 2.30pm.
He said that he was just about to call me as the car was ready. Bumper was fitted, he was doing the paperwork and I was finally able to go and inspect it.
As I arrived, I first bumped into David Currin (Sales Manager) - he's on here as "David C". Some of you guys here have chatted to him about deals on C63's etc. He's a cool guy and I had a chat with him for a while.
He is thanksful for the interest shown by you guys on here and has arranged a few good deals for some of you as I understand.
I was then greeted by David Skinner (Aftersales Manager) and Darren Bond (Service Manager).
Darren led me to the car in the bodyshop where I then "set up camp" with my microfibres, #425 detailing spray and surgical gloves.
I wiped the bumper down to get a good look at it.
The alignment of the bumper is spot on. Perhaps even better than the original bumper. I was very pleased with this.
Darren left me to it and I spent a while looking at the paint from different angles.
The paint is a perfect match and they did a cracking job on it. :bannana:
I checked the toeing eye cover, washer jet covers and they match too.:bannana:
I checked the edges of the bumper and the vents on the side of the bumper to make sure there was good coverage of paint right up to the edges.
This was good too and there was nothing amiss here either. :bannana:
Over-spray was not an issue as they didn't need to blend/ blow in any of the wings and the bumper was sprayed away from the car in the bodyshop nextdoor.
I checked the new fog lights and meshes that I asked them to fit. These look great and are fitted snuggley in place like the originals. :bannana:
I checked the number plate holder to make sure it was snuggley against the bumper and followed the bumper contours.
It was slightly out of postion.
I mentioned this to Darren and he called John from the bodyshop.
John came and took a look. He took the plate holder off and headed back to the bodyshop to fetch some alternative screws so that we could line the plate holder up properly.
Fitted the plate holder again and got it lined up properly. :bannana:
Now for the surgical glove treatment....
After wiping down the bumper, I could then run my hands over the bumper to feel the finish on the bumper. Surgical gloves allow you to do this properly without claminess of your hands hindering your assessment.
I ran my hands over the whole bumper and was very pleased to find a consistent smooth finish.
However, when running my hands under the bottom of the bumper, I found a section that was rough.
They had obviously missed this when polishing the bumper down. I mentioned this to Darren and John.
John arranged for one of the bodyshop guys to pop over to give it a good polish.
Surgical glove treatment then revealed a lovely smooth finish to match the rest of the bumper :bannana:
I also ordered a new front grille to go with the new fog lights and meshes, but this was somehow missed of their list of things to order
Alittle annoying, but Darren quickly ordered it and I will collect it tomorrow.
So, now that I am chilled and the car is back home, I can reflect on the whole experience...
Firstly, it was a god-send to have Darren and David supporting me with this work.
They looked after the car in the workshop so that it was out of harms way.
Bodyshop car parks are generally rammed and there is always a risk of damage. Thankfully, I was able to remove this aspect from the equation, thanks to Darren and David.
Yes, I was stressing about the turn-around time. I always do when having work done on the car.
Yes, it took them 3 attempts to get the paint work right, but this is why I had David and Darren looking out for things - to prevent the bumper being fitted before the paintwork was good enough.
Yes, I got annoyed that they had to re-do the paint 3 times. But as pointed out by some of you, I would rather they re-do it as many times as they needed to until it was spot on.
John mentioned that he has lost out with the amount of time that was spent on the bumper. He was not ar$ey about it, he was just saying.
He said he didn't care so long as I was happy.
He also mentioned the bad experiences I had with them before and said that he hoped my faith was restored.
I thanked him for taking the extra time with the bumper and commented on the great job they did.
I also added that I would be happy to use them if needed, but I would only do so if they applied the same effort as they did with this bumper.
He admitted that they never go to these lengths with paint jobs but acknowledged what standard of work I expect. He also mentioned that the standard of work is not usually to this level. Not an admission of knocking out poor work as such, but more a reference to not being able to spend this amount of time on each job they get.
Apparently, they generally alllocate around 2 hours for a job. They spent 12 hours on my bumper.
Now I understand they can't do this for every job they get as they would never get jobs done in time, but if it took 12 hours to get my bumper right, so be it.
Afterall, it saved us time in the long run because I would only have been taking my car back again and again until it was right.
I involved a fair few people in this but it was all worth it.
Being able to drive the car away with the work complete and no complaints proves this.
I did mention to them that I will need a couple of days to fully inspect the bumper when it is under different lights and in proper daylight. But there was a good amount of light in the workshop for me to be happy with there work so far.
So to conclude..
Was it stress?... Yes. It was always going to be stress when your car is in the hands of someone else and out of your sight.
Having paintwork done on your car is also stress.
I knew it was important to get everyone involved to understand exactly how I am with the car, the condition it is in and the standard of work I expect.
It rattles cages along the way but I wouldn't have it any other way.
I do not regret the way I am. I just look to ensure that the car gets the bests treatment/ workmanship.
Did I get stressed about communication issues along the way?... Yes.
But as some have mentioned too, it is life these days.
There will always be waiting along the line.
As much as I would love it, they can't stop the press when my car rolls in there.
Having said that, David said that he was chuffed that I am pleased with the work and said that he loves dealing with people who have a passion for Mercedes/AMG/ their car.
So, for all those needing work done at a MB approved workshop, it is possible to get the results you want. It just might take time, that's all.
I have to say that it also helped knowing the guys in the dealers, who were able to overlook the work.
It is also good that John at the bodyshop knows me and my car now.
It seems that it really is a case of "it's not what you know, it's who you know".
Its' taken a while to get to know the guys in the dealers - through good and bad - but it really seems to have helped me with this.
Approaching a bodyshop as a stranger, like I did with my last car, requires spare pants because you really will be just another customer needing work done on their car.
I popped over to the bodyshop while I was there to collect my old bumper and fog lights/ meshes to bring home.
The carpark was full and there were lots of busted cars sitting around waiting for "their turn".. really was a hospital waiting room for cars
I was sooooo glad my car was tucked away in the dealers workshop next door
So the car is back in the garage.
I just thought I'd update you all before I now head out to the garage to give the car a good wipe down. I will give the bumper a coat of wax (the first of many to come!).
Sorry if I don't reply for a while but I will be in the garage for a couple of hours.
Thanks to all of you for your interest in this thread and for your support.
I know it has grated some of you but I did what I set out to do - give a step by step account from start to finish.
I'll post up some pictures, but it may have to be on sunday when the weather is better.
It's great to have the car back!
They did a great job in the end and it looks just like it did!
In fact better.. because the bumper is brand new (along with the fogs and meshes - and soon the grille) :bannana:
It was a long afternoon.
Spoke to Darren at around 2.30pm.
He said that he was just about to call me as the car was ready. Bumper was fitted, he was doing the paperwork and I was finally able to go and inspect it.
As I arrived, I first bumped into David Currin (Sales Manager) - he's on here as "David C". Some of you guys here have chatted to him about deals on C63's etc. He's a cool guy and I had a chat with him for a while.
He is thanksful for the interest shown by you guys on here and has arranged a few good deals for some of you as I understand.
I was then greeted by David Skinner (Aftersales Manager) and Darren Bond (Service Manager).
Darren led me to the car in the bodyshop where I then "set up camp" with my microfibres, #425 detailing spray and surgical gloves.
I wiped the bumper down to get a good look at it.
The alignment of the bumper is spot on. Perhaps even better than the original bumper. I was very pleased with this.
Darren left me to it and I spent a while looking at the paint from different angles.
The paint is a perfect match and they did a cracking job on it. :bannana:
I checked the toeing eye cover, washer jet covers and they match too.:bannana:
I checked the edges of the bumper and the vents on the side of the bumper to make sure there was good coverage of paint right up to the edges.
This was good too and there was nothing amiss here either. :bannana:
Over-spray was not an issue as they didn't need to blend/ blow in any of the wings and the bumper was sprayed away from the car in the bodyshop nextdoor.
I checked the new fog lights and meshes that I asked them to fit. These look great and are fitted snuggley in place like the originals. :bannana:
I checked the number plate holder to make sure it was snuggley against the bumper and followed the bumper contours.
It was slightly out of postion.
I mentioned this to Darren and he called John from the bodyshop.
John came and took a look. He took the plate holder off and headed back to the bodyshop to fetch some alternative screws so that we could line the plate holder up properly.
Fitted the plate holder again and got it lined up properly. :bannana:
Now for the surgical glove treatment....
After wiping down the bumper, I could then run my hands over the bumper to feel the finish on the bumper. Surgical gloves allow you to do this properly without claminess of your hands hindering your assessment.
I ran my hands over the whole bumper and was very pleased to find a consistent smooth finish.
However, when running my hands under the bottom of the bumper, I found a section that was rough.
They had obviously missed this when polishing the bumper down. I mentioned this to Darren and John.
John arranged for one of the bodyshop guys to pop over to give it a good polish.
Surgical glove treatment then revealed a lovely smooth finish to match the rest of the bumper :bannana:
I also ordered a new front grille to go with the new fog lights and meshes, but this was somehow missed of their list of things to order
Alittle annoying, but Darren quickly ordered it and I will collect it tomorrow.
So, now that I am chilled and the car is back home, I can reflect on the whole experience...
Firstly, it was a god-send to have Darren and David supporting me with this work.
They looked after the car in the workshop so that it was out of harms way.
Bodyshop car parks are generally rammed and there is always a risk of damage. Thankfully, I was able to remove this aspect from the equation, thanks to Darren and David.
Yes, I was stressing about the turn-around time. I always do when having work done on the car.
Yes, it took them 3 attempts to get the paint work right, but this is why I had David and Darren looking out for things - to prevent the bumper being fitted before the paintwork was good enough.
Yes, I got annoyed that they had to re-do the paint 3 times. But as pointed out by some of you, I would rather they re-do it as many times as they needed to until it was spot on.
John mentioned that he has lost out with the amount of time that was spent on the bumper. He was not ar$ey about it, he was just saying.
He said he didn't care so long as I was happy.
He also mentioned the bad experiences I had with them before and said that he hoped my faith was restored.
I thanked him for taking the extra time with the bumper and commented on the great job they did.
I also added that I would be happy to use them if needed, but I would only do so if they applied the same effort as they did with this bumper.
He admitted that they never go to these lengths with paint jobs but acknowledged what standard of work I expect. He also mentioned that the standard of work is not usually to this level. Not an admission of knocking out poor work as such, but more a reference to not being able to spend this amount of time on each job they get.
Apparently, they generally alllocate around 2 hours for a job. They spent 12 hours on my bumper.
Now I understand they can't do this for every job they get as they would never get jobs done in time, but if it took 12 hours to get my bumper right, so be it.
Afterall, it saved us time in the long run because I would only have been taking my car back again and again until it was right.
I involved a fair few people in this but it was all worth it.
Being able to drive the car away with the work complete and no complaints proves this.
I did mention to them that I will need a couple of days to fully inspect the bumper when it is under different lights and in proper daylight. But there was a good amount of light in the workshop for me to be happy with there work so far.
So to conclude..
Was it stress?... Yes. It was always going to be stress when your car is in the hands of someone else and out of your sight.
Having paintwork done on your car is also stress.
I knew it was important to get everyone involved to understand exactly how I am with the car, the condition it is in and the standard of work I expect.
It rattles cages along the way but I wouldn't have it any other way.
I do not regret the way I am. I just look to ensure that the car gets the bests treatment/ workmanship.
Did I get stressed about communication issues along the way?... Yes.
But as some have mentioned too, it is life these days.
There will always be waiting along the line.
As much as I would love it, they can't stop the press when my car rolls in there.
Having said that, David said that he was chuffed that I am pleased with the work and said that he loves dealing with people who have a passion for Mercedes/AMG/ their car.
So, for all those needing work done at a MB approved workshop, it is possible to get the results you want. It just might take time, that's all.
I have to say that it also helped knowing the guys in the dealers, who were able to overlook the work.
It is also good that John at the bodyshop knows me and my car now.
It seems that it really is a case of "it's not what you know, it's who you know".
Its' taken a while to get to know the guys in the dealers - through good and bad - but it really seems to have helped me with this.
Approaching a bodyshop as a stranger, like I did with my last car, requires spare pants because you really will be just another customer needing work done on their car.
I popped over to the bodyshop while I was there to collect my old bumper and fog lights/ meshes to bring home.
The carpark was full and there were lots of busted cars sitting around waiting for "their turn".. really was a hospital waiting room for cars
I was sooooo glad my car was tucked away in the dealers workshop next door
So the car is back in the garage.
I just thought I'd update you all before I now head out to the garage to give the car a good wipe down. I will give the bumper a coat of wax (the first of many to come!).
Sorry if I don't reply for a while but I will be in the garage for a couple of hours.
Thanks to all of you for your interest in this thread and for your support.
I know it has grated some of you but I did what I set out to do - give a step by step account from start to finish.
I'll post up some pictures, but it may have to be on sunday when the weather is better.
It's great to have the car back!
They did a great job in the end and it looks just like it did!
In fact better.. because the bumper is brand new (along with the fogs and meshes - and soon the grille) :bannana:
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