chipsaway advise

[arundgati]

Hi

I need some advise on chipsaway in Reading.
My car has metallic paint.
I have a few scratches on the near side and the off side of my car, also on the front bumper.
I took it to chipsaway in reading for an estimate and they estimated the work to cost around 500 quid. I was also told that the adjacent panels will also have to be sprayed to blend with the new/old paint.

I'm not very sure about the quality of their work. They say they will guarantee their work for as long as I own the car.
Need some help from people who have got their cars sprayed or scratch repaired from them.

I have looked at various posts on the forum, did not really find anything about this branch.
The guy also claimed that he does scratch repairs for Jag's and Bentley from lancaster reading.

Thanks in advance for your advise
Arundgati

[TheRoadWarrior]

I've not used them, but i've work done by chipsaway. From a distance, if you're not fussy it'll look ok. But it wont last, nor will it look like it just rolled out of the factory. If you want a proper job you can't respray a metallic car properly on the side of the road, end of. That said, it wont be hopeless.. but you might be better off spending a bit more to get a body shop to do it properly.

[stylo]

Forget it. They are ok on small things like a toiny dent or small scratch but for 500 quids worth of work you would be better off going to a decent paintshop. I've had them do a dent on a rented mondeo, it was good enough return but I could still see it.

[Shaw Tarse]

AFAIK Chipsaway are a franchise, you may be happy with the results the give (I was courtesy of their HQ) or you may find a duff agent?

[Trikster]

If it's the one that Lancaster use they corrected a paint fault on my Toro Red metallic vantage and did a great job. They seem to be a good paint shop, just happen to have the chipsaway franchise too

[ptj]

Have you tried Specialised Paintwork - they are in Pincents Kiln, Calcot, Reading. They are at the back of Porsche Reading.
I have had work done by them, excellent, as have other members of the Porsche Club.
Porsche Reading also send some of their cars to them.
No affiliation, just a happy customer.

[V6Alfisti]

Doesn't sound that cheap for a chipsaway place?

My TVR was worked on by one of the mobile chaps in Reading...never again.

Micro blistering, finish needed constant buffing after a month and they simply refused to fix it.

Edited by V6Alfisti on Thursday 8th April 20:00

[arundgati]

Thanks all you guys for your valuable posts.

I actually saw a silver Bentley inside their workshop and a couple of jags and a merc they were working on.
They are at just a few steps distance from Lancaster reading.
I'll try the Pincents Kiln.

This is my first car, and need all the advise I can get.

Thanks
Arundgati

[arundgati]

Not Bentley, Aston

Regards
Arundgati

[M-J-B]

Don't use CA - use Specialised.

I had a minor repair on my 996 which ended up with Specialised re-painting the entire front of the car to get right and back to factory.

DO NOT USE CHIPS AWAY.....

Get the message

[Anatol]

Hmm.

On one of the cars we had in today, we were fixing a mess left by a traditional bodyshop.

Aston Martin in yesterday, Porsche booked in tomorrow, and a PH'er brought his 996 round for some advice because of the state the paintwork had been left in by two Official Porsche Centres this afternoon.

We have staff with over 60 years of paint spraying between them, we're regulated by both the VBRA and IMI professional associations, offer a lifetime OFT-approved warranty and we invest in the very latest technology (for example, in our spraybooth we have a catalytic IR drying robot).

Our testimonials page is full of delighted comments from PistonHeaders, and other owners club members.

We're a ChipsAway branch.

The OP asked for feedback on one particular operation. Any advice that isn't specific to the particular technician who would be carrying out the OP's repair is worthless. Body repair is a skilled trade. Bravo to those commenters who've pointed this out on the thread.

As for blanket "do not use ChipsAway" advice, we'd be grateful if you kept your generalisations to yourself. Not only do you not help the OP looking for useful information, you're being deeply insulting to those of us expending a lot of effort to, and taking a lot of pride in, running a professional, customer-focussed business under that particular brand.

Cheers,

Tol

Edited by Anatol on Thursday 8th April 20:48

[poo at Paul's]

Anatol said:

Hmm.

On one of the cars we had in today, we were fixing a mess left by a traditional bodyshop.

Aston Martin in yesterday, Porsche booked in tomorrow, and a PH'er brought his 996 round for some advice because of the state the paintwork had been left in by two Official Porsche Centres this afternoon.

We have staff with over 60 years of paint spraying between them, we're regulated by both the VBRA and IMI professional associations, offer a lifetime OFT-approved warranty and we invest in the very latest technology (for example, in our spraybooth we have a catalytic IR drying robot).

Our testimonials page is full of delighted comments from PistonHeaders, and other owners club members.

We're a ChipsAway branch.

The OP asked for feedback on one particular operation. Any advice that isn't specific to the particular technician who would be carrying out the OP's repair is worthless. ............

Edited by Anatol on Thursday 8th April 20:48

Thanks for the 'worthless' info then. Unless you are the Reading Chipsaway, of course.

[UncappedTag]

£500 quid for a smart repair WALK!

[Shaw Tarse]

UncappedTag said:

£500 quid for a smart repair WALK!

Please expand on the subject, how much would a stealer pay for a similsr repair?

[Anatol]

poo at Paul's said:

Thanks for the 'worthless' info then. Unless you are the Reading Chipsaway, of course.

I think maybe you've missed the point - which is that anyone providing blanket advice isn't actually helping. Advice to the OP about the actual repairer (ChipsAway, bodyshop, whatever) that he is considering is useful, but anything else doesn't help.

Claiming to be able to advise on an entire network of businesses carrying out a skilled trade is a pretty bold statement. It's the same as claiming that you know for certain how people you have never met, using techniques and equipment you have no training in and materials you have no experience of, will perform on repairs you have never seen.

I'm pointing out the weakness in that - nothing else. Sorry if I didn't put that across clearly.

Tol

Edited by Anatol on Thursday 8th April 21:14

[UncappedTag]

Shaw Tarse said:

UncappedTag said:

£500 quid for a smart repair WALK!

Please expand on the subject, how much would a stealer pay for a similsr repair?

Okay man turns up.
Man gets out.
Man has no idea how to remove bumper
Man then proceeds to paint bumper still attached to car.
Man then blends in the wings outside with dust particles etc in the air.
Man then drys paint with outdoor heaters
Man then charges you £500

It will be a rubbish job and a quote at a reputable bodyshop would not be far off. I had my front bumper reprayed and with no haggling and the bonnet also discussed was under £500.

I used Chipsaway once, I asked them to leave when their idea of removing shallow parking dents was a gluegun. They were complete and utter amateurs. Whilst I agree they are franchise, they are sent out in the field to practice on customers cars.

OP do not use them, take your car to a bodyshop get it quoted at a couple of places and barter i.e. cash only would they knock the VAT off etc.

DO NOT USE A SMART REPAIR SERVICE TO PAINT YOUR CAR

[M-J-B]

UncappedTag said:

Shaw Tarse said:

UncappedTag said:

£500 quid for a smart repair WALK!

Please expand on the subject, how much would a stealer pay for a similsr repair?

Okay man turns up.
Man gets out.
Man has no idea how to remove bumper
Man then proceeds to paint bumper still attached to car.
Man then blends in the wings outside with dust particles etc in the air.
Man then drys paint with outdoor heaters
Man then charges you £500

It will be a rubbish job and a quote at a reputable bodyshop would not be far off. I had my front bumper reprayed and with no haggling and the bonnet also discussed was under £500.

I used Chipsaway once, I asked them to leave when their idea of removing shallow parking dents was a gluegun. They were complete and utter amateurs. Whilst I agree they are franchise, they are sent out in the field to practice on customers cars.

OP do not use them, take your car to a bodyshop get it quoted at a couple of places and barter i.e. cash only would they knock the VAT off etc.

DO NOT USE A SMART REPAIR SERVICE TO PAINT YOUR CAR

You forget to mention that as 'said man' is finishing fking up your pride and joy (in my case, my 911) he mentions he's a but stuck and doesn't know how to get out of the mess he's in because he's only been working on the road for Chipsaway for 4 weeks.

I repeat...

IN MY EXPERIENCE STAY AWAY FROM CHIPSAWAY.

[UncappedTag]

If their before and after shots are anything to go by this bumper goes in one colour comes out Silver

http://www.chipsaway.co.uk/smartrepairs/index.php?...

[Anatol]

The majority of bodyshops now have a SMART repair paint line in-house. They may refer to this as an 'express paint' line rather than SMART repair, but it is carried out in the exact same way, with repairs carried out outside the spraybooth. The bodyshop industry press has been actively advising all bodyshops to join them for many months.

Going to 'a bodyshop' is absolutely no guarantee that a vehicle won't have localised repairs in an uncontrolled environment. And a skilled repairer, using them on appropriate damage, will achieve an indistinguishable finish to conventional techniques.

It may be unpopular with people who think themselves purists, enthusiasts, or knowledgeable about paintwork without actually being professional refinishers, but it is true.

Tol

[Shaw Tarse]

UncappedTag said:

Shaw Tarse said:

UncappedTag said:

£500 quid for a smart repair WALK!

Please expand on the subject, how much would a stealer pay for a similsr repair?

Okay man turns up.
Man gets out.
Man has no idea how to remove bumper
Man then proceeds to paint bumper still attached to car.
Man then blends in the wings outside with dust particles etc in the air.
Man then drys paint with outdoor heaters
Man then charges you £500

It will be a rubbish job and a quote at a reputable bodyshop would not be far off. I had my front bumper reprayed and with no haggling and the bonnet also discussed was under £500.

I used Chipsaway once, I asked them to leave when their idea of removing shallow parking dents was a gluegun. They were complete and utter amateurs. Whilst I agree they are franchise, they are sent out in the field to practice on customers cars.

OP do not use them, take your car to a bodyshop get it quoted at a couple of places and barter i.e. cash only would they knock the VAT off etc.

DO NOT USE A SMART REPAIR SERVICE TO PAINT YOUR CAR

On the other hand I took my car to Chipsaway, they seamlessly touched up my rear bumper & at the same time repaired the rear mudflap