Camberville Body Shop

[jbsegal]

(I'm fine, no one else was involved, and (thus, obviously) it's all my own damned fault.)

Turning out of our driveway this morning, I pranged my front drivers'-side quarter panel against the utility pole that stands at the edge of said driveway.

I suspect said quarter-panel is toast. The auxiliary light-cluster is still working, but is held in place by its cables, rather than by its mounting HW.

So, anyone have a good body shop in the Camberville/Charlestown/near-town-side-of-Everett, where good in this case is 'competent, cheap (as this is out-of-pocket), has good connections to junk yards for parts scavenging'. I don't need fabulous quality, but will do with 'reasonable'.

What a fucking Monday.

Comments

[bethr.livejournal.com]

What kind of car do you have? I highly recommend Cambridge Honda/Chevrolet on Fresh Pond Parkway at the rotary, even if you have neither of those brands. I don't think they're cheap, but they are quick, skillful, and honest, IMO.

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

Wow. You're the 1st person I've EVER heard say anything positive about them... as well, I don't /think/ they're a body shop... or do they have one along side the main mechanical garage?

(I have a Honda - 93 Accord. ALL of my mechanical repair work goes to Hondar House on Prospect in Cambridge. They're good enough that the potential of not being able to go to them will strongly influence my next choice of car when the time comes.)

I'm glad that they're not universally reviled.

[bethr.livejournal.com]

We've had no problems with them at all.

[whitebird.livejournal.com]

Possibly enquire who Hondar House recommends.

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

ABJ owns not only a separate store but a junkyard too.

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

Do they? Hm. Ok.

[tcb.livejournal.com]

haven't been to them in a while, but DeLeo's in Central Sq had the best BBN rating when it was active..

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think that's where I had... the last thing I had repaired... or maybe that was where I took YOUR car after the door got pranged in the BJs lot? Something like that... They did a very good job, as I recall, but I don't think they were inexpensive. (Of course, it was an insurance repair, so that may not be the best guage...)

[totient]

Not very conveniently located, but I have been very happy with both the pricing and the quality at ABKO Auto Body on Linden St in Waltham. They have been able to do OEM parts repairs for me for the same price as I was quoted elsewhere for aftermarket parts. They've got a proper paint oven, so they save a lot of money not doing the more labor-intensive paint processes you need to do if you don't have one.

[totient]

Oh, and they don't sit on your car waiting for parts to come in. You bring it to them to look at, they order parts and call you when everything is there, and only then do they actually want the car for working on.

[c1.livejournal.com]

If you're so inclined, fenders are usually fairly simple bolt-on operations. An hour at the boneyard, an hour or two in the driveway with a ratchet and the relevant Chilton's manual, and you'd likely be all set. If you can deal with a fender that might be the wrong colour, you're done, otherwise all you'd need is a paint job, which would make the body shop bill cheaper.

[madbodger.livejournal.com]

You can also save money by getting your own replacement parts (ask first, some shops will work that way, some won't, some modify their guarantees). Or find a friend who's between jobs and have them hunt down parts and possibly bolt 'em on for you.

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

I was really happy with both the work and the charge from Webster Auto Body in Cambridge. I called my mechanics (Hondaa King, which I feel about as strongly as you do Hondar House) and asked what they recommended, and they definitely steered me right.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Sorry for your mishap, hope you can get it fixed with a minimum of hassle.