Looking for reputable Bay Area body shop & mechanic

[Shawn Piper]

I recently had a kid and decided to outsource some final mechanical work on my 02 restoration. The mechanic came highly recommended and appeared competent, but ended up being a total nightmare. Long story short, life got crazy with a new baby and I didn't catch that the mechanic was doing some serious damage to my car.  

 

The mechanic took off my hood and was unable to reinstall it correctly. As a result, there are deep scratches in my fresh paint where the arms touched the cowl and where he messed with the latch mechanism.  He also drilled three visible holes where he wanted to install a fuel pressure regulator.  The hood edge is dented where it made contact with the door.  Paint is scratched off around the engine bay where he was leaning in the car. 

 

I want to get this damage fixed but I'm not sure who to trust with my car. The painter that I originally used is now retired and not taking new work.  I need a recommendation for someone who knows their way around these cars.  I will also need a mechanic to double check the mechanical condition of the car once the bodywork is sorted out. 

Thanks!

 

[Leucadian]

I'd reach out to North Bay Bavarian in Santa Rosa.  They can definitely check on the car mechanically, and likely recommend a body shop that they work with.   

[66Vette]

Shawn, I know you don't want to throw anyone under the bus, but it would help the rest of us in the Bay Area if you told us who you used.  

 

If you are in San Jose, the two shops I have been steered to are Bay Area Motorworks and Motorspeed West.

[resra]

@Shawn Piper, take a deep breath and relax. It's not so bad. You can remove the driver side hood trim piece and slowly with care bend the end of the hood back to its original place. Readjust the hood position where it won't hit your door drivers or passenger side but its best to have a second person there to help as the hood is heavy.

 

Wish you were closer and this could be taken care off by a few of us except the peeling paint part.

[Shawn Piper]

Its Vintage Auto Service. He's based in San Diego. My understanding is that he was once good, but may have come into health or substance abuse issues.  

[Shawn Piper]

7 hours ago, resra said:

@Shawn Piper, take a deep breath and relax. It's not so bad. You can remove the driver side hood trim piece and slowly with care bend the end of the hood back to its original place. Readjust the hood position where it won't hit your door drivers or passenger side but its best to have a second person there to help as the hood is heavy.

 

Wish you were closer and this could be taken care off by a few of us except the peeling paint part.

It does feel really bad when its a freshly painted car! There was also a bunch of other issues that I didn't mention as well, such as putting a hole in a door panel (how??) etc etc. But you're right, its all fixable with time, money, and expertise 

[resra]

44 minutes ago, Shawn Piper said:

It does feel really bad when its a freshly painted car! There was also a bunch of other issues that I didn't mention as well, such as putting a hole in a door panel (how??) etc etc. But you're right, its all fixable with time, money, and expertise 

Very sorry to hear Shawn specially looks like it was such a nice car with lots of special parts/time/effort and tons of money going into it. 

[Fensterbrett]

Shawn - I’m sorry to read this.  I have followed your meticulous restoration and can only imagine your frustration at this point. If you haven’t already, you might want to ping Bart or Cooper at The Resto Shop. If they can’t solve your problems, someone in their network can. Trust them. And congratulations are in order for your kid 😊

Edited July 26, 2023 by Fensterbrett
Congrats

[steve k.]

If you are on the mid/south bay area

 

For bodywork

The Resto Shop

THERESTOSHOP.COM

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The Resto Shop restores classic BMW 2002 model cars. Metal, body, paint, engine, suspension. Full restoration, partial restoration, custom fabrication.

 

For Mechanical work

 

Steve K.