I dropped car off at Autodream June 1st. I was getting some rear-end repairs, body kit, suspension, wheels & tires, and a paint job. They gave me a quote for everything, but no clear timeframe. I talked briefly with Marvin, before I left the car with them and returned to Yellowknife. I work at a diamond mine in the NWT for a rotation of 4 weeks in, 2 weeks out. I kept in touch with Autodream every week to see what the progress was like.
The first rotation (4 weeks) some parts were coming in. The rear end was repaired and paid for ($4277.56). The first week of July, I got a phone call from Marvin saying that Ronnie the autobody guy came in and gave an estimate for the paint, labor, and rest of the bodywork and asked for my go-ahead. I said yes. The initial quote was for $4000.00. I left for another rotation at work. My wheels were custom made in japan and took the most time to get overseas. I was planning on going ahead with a DC sports header but that was taking it’s sweet time as well. Half-way through my rotation, I was told that my car was in for painting, but the quote had gone up to $5500.00. I said keep going then, it needs to get done. 2 more rotations went by with my car being delayed again and again for bodywork and paint. I went down to Calgary thursday, October 19th to pick up my car. I was promised my car would be finished by then. It wasn’t. Marvin said that the bodyshop guy would have it done by lunch on friday, and then it would brought down to Autodream to put the wheels and header on. It wasn’t. I told them i will be picking it up saturday at noon, wether it was finished or not; it was already months overdue and I didn’t want to wait in Calgary any longer.
My car finally arrived Saturday afternoon, and what a sight it was. It had undergone a widebody, kouki conversion, and a new paint job. Marvin and Paulo proceeded to put the rims on. I cancelled the header because there was no time left and i was considering going turbo next year anyway. I started noticing some defects on the car.
My coolant reservoir was removed and missing entirely. Oliver had said that Ronnie the autobody guy had cracked my front bumper while backing it out of his shop. My spoiler was supposed to be made up of 3 pieces, only the center piece was installed. My front headlights wiring was a mess, so Marvin worked on those and got them working, but no high beams. My “silvia” emblem on my dash was ripped off and thrown in my glove compartment. A dozen cd’s were missing, my cd case was thrown in the trunk with a whole bunch of junk, everything covered in a white powder. My faceplate for my dvd player was also missing. My battery light kept flashing on and off and my speedo and odo did not work. Marvin went underneath my car to check the wiring. I said not to worry about it, just tie them in so they don’t drag. He came out with a harness and gave it to me saying “I don’t know what this is for”. Marvin also installed a coolant reservoir from Nguyen’s car.
As I went to pay Nguyen, he told me that Ronnie had changed the price for the work to $6500.00 and said that he had talked to me and it was ok with me. I DID NOT agree to this. I paid them $5500 for the paint job and the rest of the bodywork, and $5333 for parts.
I phoned Nguyen and told him a list of things that I found wrong with my car. I learned from him that Ronnie took out my speed sensor and gave it to another customer. . . WTF? He said that he had a “talk” with Ronnie. I asked for Ronnie’s phone number and he said that he’d phone me back with it. Still no reply. He explained that the missing faceplate was them taking it off for security reasons. Marvin said that if they didn’t find it on monday the 22nd, that they’d replace it for me if i were to show a receipt. I phoned him thursday the 26th and he said he’d look into it. Still no reply.
I am dissapointed in the incomplete work on my car. I am very dissapointed in the customer service given to me during these 5 months. I phoned many times and told different things when talking to different people. I was promised many times that my car would be finished on a certain date, which never happened. I was constantly being put on hold when I was seeking a simple answer. I was contacted a few times by Autodream only for money and the go-ahead on the bodywork. Nguyen told me that Ronnie will finish the work for free on my car next spring if i were to bring it back down. It will not be going back down. 5 months for unfinished bodywork? Honestly, if i’m paying over 10k worth in work done to my car and all this shit happens to it, what should i expect from him if he’s doing it for free?
Here’s the list of issues with my car after the autobody: Speed sensor removed, wing incomplete, cracked front bumper, no high beams, faceplate missing, cd’s missing, trunk “silvia” emblem missing, paint on sunroof, tape still on sunroof, battery light, no coolant reservoir, driver door lock doesn’t work, door trim ripped and some missing and hood latch issue.
