Body Repair - Aston Martin Approved or Works?

[mrrm]

Hi,

I've had a couple of quotes for some body work repair (3rd party paying for it) on my V8 Vantage. Aston Martin Works are coming out at 3 times the price of the Aston Martin Approved repair shop in Stevenage! What are people's opinions on whether it's justifiable to go with AM Works? If it was your cash paying for the repair would you go with AM Works?

Many thanks.

[yeti]

If it was me... AM approved would be good enough. Had my front end done when the new bonnet was put on, as good paintwork as I'd ever seen. The fact that there was a DB4 and a DB5 in there being painted also gave me a lot of confidence

[JohnG1]

I have had £20k of damage repair work done at Works Service.

They are not the fastest, not the best at communicating and not the cheapest. But they are very very good at repair work and respraying.

[Neil1300R]

Not all AM approved bodyshops are the same. Had bonnnet damage repaired by one. Wanted to use another one but went with the Insurers recommendation and regretted it.
The one I wanted to use had a Zagato in at the time and other classics. The one that repaired mine was a big company that had modern Porkers, Ferraris etc,, and appeared to get most of their work from the insurance companies.
They were utter rubbish - car went back 3 times! Should have stuck to my gut instinct.
So check out the bodyshop, do they give you the feeling they will do a good job?

[michael gould]

mrrm said:

Hi,

I've had a couple of quotes for some body work repair (3rd party paying for it) on my V8 Vantage. Aston Martin Works are coming out at 3 times the price of the Aston Martin Approved repair shop in Stevenage! What are people's opinions on whether it's justifiable to go with AM Works? If it was your cash paying for the repair would you go with AM Works?

Many thanks.

best advise I can give..........dont tell people on this forum that your car has been damaged as when you come to sell it anybody with a braincell is going to check your past posts to see what problems or damage you have posted about your car......not the best advert for your car when its time to sell

[Jockman]

michael gould said:

best advise I can give..........dont tell people on this forum that your car has been damaged as when you come to sell it anybody with a braincell is going to check your past posts to see what problems or damage you have posted about your car......not the best advert for your car when its time to sell

Best Advice I can give is keep on using this forum for recommendations. There will be no impact whatsoever at the resale point.

Moreover, if you fancy wrapping it or spending an hour on a track - go for it !!

Between speeding and bodywork repairs......at what point did some members start living their lives in fear

[clorenzen]

michael gould said:

best advise I can give..........dont tell people on this forum that your car has been damaged as when you come to sell it anybody with a braincell is going to check your past posts to see what problems or damage you have posted about your car......not the best advert for your car when its time to sell

Anyone with a braincell will probably not believe you now when you say that you have never had any repairs done to your car if they research this forum.

[yeti]

Jockman said:

Between speeding and bodywork repairs......at what point did some members start living their lives in fear

Well said that blue man!

No disrespect to Michael at all, but they've got to be used for their purpose. I know for example how a cetain member's car was banged and what it cost to repair; certainly wouldn't stop me buying it at a later date (if he cleaned it).

Pretty much all cars that do miles will have a knock in their lives I think. Quality of repairs is something worth shouting about.

[JohnG1]

michael gould said:

mrrm said:

Hi,

I've had a couple of quotes for some body work repair (3rd party paying for it) on my V8 Vantage. Aston Martin Works are coming out at 3 times the price of the Aston Martin Approved repair shop in Stevenage! What are people's opinions on whether it's justifiable to go with AM Works? If it was your cash paying for the repair would you go with AM Works?

Many thanks.

best advise I can give..........dont tell people on this forum that your car has been damaged as when you come to sell it anybody with a braincell is going to check your past posts to see what problems or damage you have posted about your car......not the best advert for your car when its time to sell

You know, there may be merit to this point Michael. But...

If you sell to trade they don't care - they just quote from the book.

If you sell privately then possibly.

For me, I don't really mind. My car is a keeper and will be off to Bamford Rose for monstering if I can agree a reasonable price with Mike....

[michael gould]

clorenzen said:

michael gould said:

best advise I can give..........dont tell people on this forum that your car has been damaged as when you come to sell it anybody with a braincell is going to check your past posts to see what problems or damage you have posted about your car......not the best advert for your car when its time to sell

Anyone with a braincell will probably not believe you now when you say that you have never had any repairs done to your car if they research this forum.

yep did consider that point when making my post, but sometimes you have to live dangerously ,and how ever irritating people find my post.....I’m afraid most people when considering buying a car from somebody of this site......if they find a history of mechanical problems or accident repairs it aint going to enhance the sale price

[George H]

I do sort of agree with Michael. If you have a choice of 2 identical cars; both priced the same, and you find out one has been in a crash. I would choose the non-crashed car every time.

Same if I found a car had been hammered around a track.

[Jockman]

George H said:

...If you have a choice of 2 identical cars; both priced the same, and you find out one has been in a crash. I would choose the non-crashed car every time...

Improbable scenario

What if the repaired one had suffered only minor damage, repaired by WS and owned by an elderly Accountant (to use a point espoused previously by Michael).

The other vehicle was an ex-demo / press car.

Which one would you choose, or would you still be gripped by fear

[Mr Aston Martin]

It really depends how anal/fussy you are about your car.

Best value is a subjective aspect for most people and arguably WS offer the best value for me but it's certainly not the cheapest option in monetary terms.

To my wife it's "just a car". To me my Aston has so much more visual emotion and content which heavily outweighs other possible considerations.

And a wonderful circular point from Mr Gould.........;)

[George H]

Jockman said:

Improbable scenario

What if the repaired one had suffered only minor damage, repaired by WS and owned by an elderly Accountant (to use a point espoused previously by Michael).

The other vehicle was an ex-demo / press car.

Which one would you choose, or would you still be gripped by fear

What would worry me is if I found out about the accident/repair on a forum. Makes you wonder what else the owner is hiding. If they said it in the advert then fair enough.
All imo of course.

[magnus73]

Getting back to mrrm's original post,Chiltern Aston also have an AM approved bodyshop & are also based in Hertforshire...

Regards

M

[michael gould]

Jockman said:

George H said:

...If you have a choice of 2 identical cars; both priced the same, and you find out one has been in a crash. I would choose the non-crashed car every time...

Improbable scenario

What if the repaired one had suffered only minor damage, repaired by WS and owned by an elderly Accountant (to use a point espoused previously by Michael).

The other vehicle was an ex-demo / press car.

Which one would you choose, or would you still be gripped by fear

Buy neither ?.......actually I wasn't advocating non purchase.....just that advertising the fact that your P&D had been in an accident does nothing to enhance future values.

[burntout]

My recommendation would be to do exactly what you have done by doing this post... Lots of good advice and good recommendations, after all the whole point of having a forum..

I have recently had a complete respray and chose the garage myself having dealt with them before with previous cars, this place was recommended the first time by another of their satisfied customers etc.. Never go with the outfits selected by insurance companies as you will probably find they are cheap cr@p.. (not in all cases i'm sure) but in most.. maybe 99% of the time because they will always go with the best price (CHEAP)

I have let my vans go to insurance approved shops before and they have gone back 2 or 3 times and they are just work donkies... Never mind sending my P&J to one...

As for re-sell value after a repair being affected, I cant see that being an issue personaly... If a car is straight, good history and in nice shiny condition it wont matter.... Most cars 5-10 years old will have collected some battle scars along the way....

Choose your own garage of choice for your Aston....

[anonymous-user]

mrrm said:

Hi,

I've had a couple of quotes for some body work repair (3rd party paying for it) on my V8 Vantage. Aston Martin Works are coming out at 3 times the price of the Aston Martin Approved repair shop in Stevenage! What are people's opinions on whether it's justifiable to go with AM Works? If it was your cash paying for the repair would you go with AM Works?

Many thanks.

I know a guy called Rob Toll in St Albans who is a total expert when it comes to body repairs (and most car related fields). He's highly respected in the trade apparantly. I can put you in contact if you like?