West London - Decent bodyshop for bumper respray please
Discussion
Please can someone recommend me a decent bodyshop. I need to get a full bumper respray but having trouble finding anyone decent in West London. Do not ideally wish to use a mobile resprayer again as they seem to leave issues they do not wish to fix & just take the money & run!
Already tried google, yell.com not able to find anyone who has good enough feedback so looking for anyone on here if you had a good experience to recommend someone please!
Already tried google, yell.com not able to find anyone who has good enough feedback so looking for anyone on here if you had a good experience to recommend someone please!
All of the above 
but no-one has anyone to recommend me in West London. I am sick & tired of so called bodyshops who:
Leave the car with other issues due to their carelessness & or blatant incompetence
Do a sub standard job to begin with but still expect to get fully paid
Paint, primer, sandpaper & masking tape costs are minimal so if someone expects 100s of pounds to do a sub standard job they are just out of touch with reality. I know many people who will refuse to even pay anything if the work is not up to a reasonable standard.....
Why must it be so hard to find someone professional, decent & just competent enough to do such a basic job?
but no-one has anyone to recommend me in West London. I am sick & tired of so called bodyshops who:Leave the car with other issues due to their carelessness & or blatant incompetence
Do a sub standard job to begin with but still expect to get fully paid
Paint, primer, sandpaper & masking tape costs are minimal so if someone expects 100s of pounds to do a sub standard job they are just out of touch with reality. I know many people who will refuse to even pay anything if the work is not up to a reasonable standard.....
Why must it be so hard to find someone professional, decent & just competent enough to do such a basic job?
V8covin said:
Just as a matter of interest as someone in the trade,when you're requiring body work what's your 1st port of call ?
Ask friends and family ?
Facebook ?
Google ?
Other ?
Personally, I never use social media for that sort of thing. I've seen far too many spoofed reviews.Ask friends and family ?
Facebook ?
Google ?
Other ?
If I can, I'll someone in the trade. I've used 3 x garages over the last couple of decades and I'm always interested in their opinions for various trades/skills/suppliers. And cars, for that matter. This is one of the main reason I recently steered my wife away from BINI's - too many jobs with horrific labour. Unanimous advice. And why I have a fear of SL's. A Merc specialist once took me through an £8k bill on a seemingly-good one to make it operate properly. Even they wouldn't buy one LOL.
Failing that, friends. I need a bumper respray and I'm taking it to a place that did an amazing paint job on my mate's TR6. Previously I took to it to the place that the MB specialist used but he's retired now and I had to find another.
M3Gane-Fan said:
All of the above but no-one has anyone to recommend me in West London. I am sick & tired of so called bodyshops who:
There's one under the Westway just off Ladbroke Grove where my mate had his TR6 resprayed (see above). They did a really good job on the TR and I'm going to try them for my back bumper. but no-one has anyone to recommend me in West London. I am sick & tired of so called bodyshops who:I'll ask him what's it's called.
AC43 said:
There's one under the Westway just off Ladbroke Grove where my mate had his TR6 resprayed (see above). They did a really good job on the TR and I'm going to try them for my back bumper.
I'll ask him what's it's called.
Ok thanks that is exactly what I am looking for! These type of places do a great job & do not charge ridiculous rates others do (they look at your car think what you can afford, what they can get away with & charge accordingly!). I'll ask him what's it's called.
Materials are pretty cheap for them (paint is only £10-20) its all labour time in the masking & surface prep stages. The actual spraying time is minimal they spend ages waiting for it to dry! I do not mind paying £200-300 for a decent job which is only going to take them 2-3 hours max.
I used to go with mobile resprayers but they are not very good & never want to return to fix issues which become apparent once its fully dried & cured!!
Try Hounslow coachworks in Hounslow. Have heard good reviews of the place and did take my car for a quote but never got the work carried out and remains pending. I'll be taking my car there when I'm ready but I'm going solely based on how clear they were in their communications with me and that was a breath of fresh air.
M3Gane-Fan said:
AC43 said:
There's one under the Westway just off Ladbroke Grove where my mate had his TR6 resprayed (see above). They did a really good job on the TR and I'm going to try them for my back bumper.
I'll ask him what's it's called.
Ok thanks that is exactly what I am looking for! These type of places do a great job & do not charge ridiculous rates others do (they look at your car think what you can afford, what they can get away with & charge accordingly!). I'll ask him what's it's called.
AC43 said:
Let me know what they say. I'll also try to get down there for a quote soon and let you know.
Ditto. I only want them to do it on the vehicle as no dents just a basic respray & colour match for me.When they remove the bumper it always adds a few 100 extra & becomes a 3 day job! I only want it to be a 2-3 hour max respray job with bumper still on the vehicle.
Average bumper cost when they remove it is £500-750 + 3 days (you nearly always get the car-owner factor where they size up your ability to pay based on car & your demeanour & appearance!).
Average bumper cost for mobile sprayers is £250-400 + 2-3 hours at your own home or work where you can keep an eye on them & no unauthorised jollies in your vehicle!
Finding someone decent & trustworthy to do this is the tough part.............! I once got stung for £4K plus gear box repairs as I was foolish enough to trust a well known tyre fitter to fit 4 new tyres. This they did but they also had a 2 hour jolly in my supercar breaking the gearbox in the process & I had no way to prove it so had to eat the £4K repair bill!
Since then & being ripped off by mobile sprayers who refuse to return to fix their own work blind trust is a very hard thing to give
M3Gane-Fan said:
Ditto. I only want them to do it on the vehicle as no dents just a basic respray & colour match for me.
When they remove the bumper it always adds a few 100 extra & becomes a 3 day job! I only want it to be a 2-3 hour max respray job with bumper still on the vehicle.
Average bumper cost when they remove it is £500-750 + 3 days (you nearly always get the car-owner factor where they size up your ability to pay based on car & your demeanour & appearance!).
Average bumper cost for mobile sprayers is £250-400 + 2-3 hours at your own home or work where you can keep an eye on them & no unauthorised jollies in your vehicle!
Finding someone decent & trustworthy to do this is the tough part.............! I once got stung for £4K plus gear box repairs as I was foolish enough to trust a well known tyre fitter to fit 4 new tyres. This they did but they also had a 2 hour jolly in my supercar breaking the gearbox in the process & I had no way to prove it so had to eat the £4K repair bill!
Since then & being ripped off by mobile sprayers who refuse to return to fix their own work blind trust is a very hard thing to give
So you want someone decent but you don't want them spending more than a couple of hours on the job.When they remove the bumper it always adds a few 100 extra & becomes a 3 day job! I only want it to be a 2-3 hour max respray job with bumper still on the vehicle.
Average bumper cost when they remove it is £500-750 + 3 days (you nearly always get the car-owner factor where they size up your ability to pay based on car & your demeanour & appearance!).
Average bumper cost for mobile sprayers is £250-400 + 2-3 hours at your own home or work where you can keep an eye on them & no unauthorised jollies in your vehicle!
Finding someone decent & trustworthy to do this is the tough part.............! I once got stung for £4K plus gear box repairs as I was foolish enough to trust a well known tyre fitter to fit 4 new tyres. This they did but they also had a 2 hour jolly in my supercar breaking the gearbox in the process & I had no way to prove it so had to eat the £4K repair bill!
Since then & being ripped off by mobile sprayers who refuse to return to fix their own work blind trust is a very hard thing to give
To do a proper job on a front bumper you need to remove all the grilles,mouldings etc or else you'll be moaning there's overspray and then in 2 months when the paint starts to flake because with nothing removed you can't sand in the corners and edges properly.Most bumpers have to be stripped from the rear which means removing the bumper first,that can be a time consuming job,
You can't have it both ways.A proper job takes time and therefore costs more money.
I saw your earlier post that paint and materials only cost £10 to £20.You're living in a fantasy world but it's not just the materials and the labour costs,it's all the overheads of the premises,rent,mortgage,electric,waste disposal,the cost of firing up the booth and baking the paint,insurance etc etc
Btw,£250 would get you a proper job,bumper taken off the car,all grilles removed up here but that's going to take 2 days and you can't wait
V8covin said:
So you want someone decent but you don't want them spending more than a couple of hours on the job.
To do a proper job on a front bumper you need to remove all the grilles,mouldings etc or else you'll be moaning there's overspray and then in 2 months when the paint starts to flake because with nothing removed you can't sand in the corners and edges properly.Most bumpers have to be stripped from the rear which means removing the bumper first,that can be a time consuming job,
You can't have it both ways.A proper job takes time and therefore costs more money.
I saw your earlier post that paint and materials only cost £10 to £20.You're living in a fantasy world but it's not just the materials and the labour costs,it's all the overheads of the premises,rent,mortgage,electric,waste disposal,the cost of firing up the booth and baking the paint,insurance etc etc
Btw,£250 would get you a proper job,bumper taken off the car,all grilles removed up here but that's going to take 2 days and you can't wait
Maybe you could tell your industry colleagues in London as they seem to think £500-750 or whatever the owner can afford To do a proper job on a front bumper you need to remove all the grilles,mouldings etc or else you'll be moaning there's overspray and then in 2 months when the paint starts to flake because with nothing removed you can't sand in the corners and edges properly.Most bumpers have to be stripped from the rear which means removing the bumper first,that can be a time consuming job,
You can't have it both ways.A proper job takes time and therefore costs more money.
I saw your earlier post that paint and materials only cost £10 to £20.You're living in a fantasy world but it's not just the materials and the labour costs,it's all the overheads of the premises,rent,mortgage,electric,waste disposal,the cost of firing up the booth and baking the paint,insurance etc etc
Btw,£250 would get you a proper job,bumper taken off the car,all grilles removed up here but that's going to take 2 days and you can't wait
minimum take 3 days & still do a poor job! Unless you stand over them at every stage there is no way to know is there...I do not doubt for an instant you would be able to do an excellent job if you removed everything but more often than not sprayers in London just take short cuts & mask it all up then still take 2-3 days. As for paint costs I have asked sprayers who have worked on my car in the past they all told me between £10-20 for the actual paint plus whatever the primer, thinners, clearcoat & masking materials costs. Many do not clearly pay any VAT either when they insist on cash & refuse to take credit cards or electronic bank transfers! (presumably they are not VAT registered!).
If you were based in London I would be happy to pay you £250 to fix my bumper BTW! That's about half what some of these jokers want right now!!
M3Gane-Fan said:
Maybe you could tell your industry colleagues in London as they seem to think £500-750 or whatever the owner can afford minimum take 3 days & still do a poor job! Unless you stand over them at every stage there is no way to know is there...
I do not doubt for an instant you would be able to do an excellent job if you removed everything but more often than not sprayers in London just take short cuts & mask it all up then still take 2-3 days. As for paint costs I have asked sprayers who have worked on my car in the past they all told me between £10-20 for the actual paint plus whatever the primer, thinners, clearcoat & masking materials costs. Many do not clearly pay any VAT either when they insist on cash & refuse to take credit cards or electronic bank transfers! (presumably they are not VAT registered!).
If you were based in London I would be happy to pay you £250 to fix my bumper BTW! That's about half what some of these jokers want right now!!
If I were based in London I wouldn't make any money charging £250 to do a bumper ! minimum take 3 days & still do a poor job! Unless you stand over them at every stage there is no way to know is there...I do not doubt for an instant you would be able to do an excellent job if you removed everything but more often than not sprayers in London just take short cuts & mask it all up then still take 2-3 days. As for paint costs I have asked sprayers who have worked on my car in the past they all told me between £10-20 for the actual paint plus whatever the primer, thinners, clearcoat & masking materials costs. Many do not clearly pay any VAT either when they insist on cash & refuse to take credit cards or electronic bank transfers! (presumably they are not VAT registered!).
If you were based in London I would be happy to pay you £250 to fix my bumper BTW! That's about half what some of these jokers want right now!!
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