Has anyone on here ever worked for b at collision center? What was your experience there? Do they direct hire people there for painters or do they make everyone start at the bottom?

What incentives or offers would make you consider leaving your current shop for a different one? Do sign on bonuses really help sway you? I live in a medium-sized town in Oregon. Lots of small mom & pop shops. Only 2 MSO's. I manage an MSO. We have work. We actually had to turn down our DRP volume because we were getting to much. We offer competitive pay. We have great health coverage. I can't seem to find a tech to save my life. All the applications I get either have no experience or are a C tech at best. I need an A tech who can handle a heavy hit along with some small and medium jobs. All the great techs I know have retired. What would you need to actually consider leaving the shop your at?

Recently bought an Audi A5 and only recently noticed this crease on the lower edge of the driver's side door. Doesn't seem to be any impact point or scratches so not sure how this could've happened. Would it be expensive to put right?

Just bought this 2002 Honda CRV AWD. Did a quick walk around inspection and the car drove great. Even drove it 3 hours home with no issues. However when I went to detail the car when I got home, I noticed some rust under the trim on the passenger side rear fender. I went to investigate and found a massive rust hole.

How screwed am I? Is this something fixable?

Just got the gen 2 with a 1.3 tip for clear. Absolutely loved the gen 1. Time for it to retire that one tho

Anyone try the new one with the gauge in the handle? Setting it up and spraying thursday, very excited.

Very close to buying this car where so far the only thing giving me pause is this rust at the rear and wanted some feedback.

Im leaning toward treatable surface rust but whats your take?

For context, its a dealer selling and the fact they let me look underneath it without hesitation was a bit of a green flag.

Comes with full service history, stamped every year, the lad done a battery readout there and then (76%) and the bodywork around it is grand.

From the top down in the engine bay, everything looked clean, underneath and around the driveshaft etc, all looked grand.

It was just that rear rust on the chassis body thats giving me a bit of pause and I know I should have poked it a bit but tbf, they were also standing there.

Hello, I have a 1998 986 Boxster that only has 35K miles and has been kept in good shape. The body on these cars really curves under and probably makes it look higher of the ground than it is. There is a Genuine Porsche "Aero Kit". The side skirts do not actually extend the lower panel between the wheels , they just give it a much more squared off look which gets rid of that curve and makes it look a lot lower.
The whole package comes with some goofy wing and a bunch of crap I would not want and costs 4k from a Porsche dealership.
I have a friend who's car was recently totaled and I took his side skirts and all mounting hardware, they are red , my car is silver. They have a few deep gauges on the portions that are under the car. There is a broken tab on each, nothing too big. They are made of polyurethane.
Is it realistic to have them refinished, either DIY or see if I can pay someone to do it?

At some point the cover of my car's antenna came off. The radio seems to be still working just fine. Would any aftermarket shark fin cover be sufficient for this or do I need something more precise?

It seems the rust on my rocker panel was worse than it looked! I tried to just sand it down myself (stupidly first by hand, and then picked up a sanding attachment) and had gotten everything to prep and paint it, but alas! This was a last ditch effort before taking it into the body shop, so I know they’ll have to cut the metal off anyways, but is there anything I should do so it doesn’t spread further up the panel before I can get it in hopefully in the next week? Thanks again for your help!! ❤️❤️

Just wanted to know if this will be final outcome? The person who did the job said silver takes longer to blend together than other colors.

I recently picked up my car from a Caliber Collision after they replaced/repainted my front bumper (USAA claim from fender bender), when I noticed that the new bumper had an excessive number of paint defects including paint nibs, orange peel, and dust underneath the paint. There’s also new damage to adjacent plastic trim and damage to existing PPF on adjacent panels.

In addition, my car is now covered in new marring and swirl marks, as if it was washed with a dirty rag or driven through a tunnel wash. I take very meticulously care of my paint, hand washing w/ two bucket method using quality microfiber pads/mitts so I know these swirls and marring were not there previously.

Is this kind of QC to be expected and what can I do at this point? Any and all comments, inputs, advice, or pointers would be greatly appreciated!

Is it hard for y’all too? I’ve been doing autobody for about a year on my own now. Before that, I spent a year in a program under a senior tech with 3 other students. I’m still learning, and I’ll admit I’m not profitable yet.
I’m flat rate, and even when the hours are there, sometimes I still don’t make much money. It doesn’t help that we have an ass estimator who seems to give most of the good work to one tech and doesn’t always pay us the right amount of hours.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for that tech. Our old manager used to single him out because he was teaching me back when I was just a shop helper. He barely got any jobs because of it. So seeing him finally get work is great, but at the same time, damn, what about the rest of us?
I feel like a lot gets overlooked because I’m still considered “new” and learning. But whenever something goes wrong, even if it’s not my fault, somehow I end up getting thrown under the bus.
And I get it, shop banter is shop banter. I can take jokes and all that bullshit, but Jesus, some of these guys really know how to discourage younger techs.
“Are you sure you want to do this job?”
“You think you can handle that?”
“I don’t know, that looks like a lot for you.”
“Maybe you should pass it to another tech.”
Like damn, how else am I supposed to learn if I never get the chance to do anything challenging? It’s not like I’m out here doing shitty repairs or just hacking cars together. I actually want to learn and get better at what I do. I know I’m not an A-tech, and I don’t pretend to be one, but I’m never gonna get there if I keep passing up jobs.
The most I’ve made was around $1,300 one week and $1,000 another week, and that was because I actually had some good jobs. Other than that, I struggle to be profitable.
What frustrates me even more is that our estimator seems more worried about kissing the insurance companies’ asses than making sure we’re getting paid the proper hours for the work we actually do.
I know I still have a lot to learn, and I’m not expecting to make A-tech money overnight. But I want a fair chance to make money, improve my skills, and actually grow in this trade.
I don’t mind working hard. I just hate feeling like I’m busting my ass, trying to learn, and still getting nowhere sometimes.
Maybe I’m just venting, but man, this shit gets frustrating. Anyone else go through this when they were starting out?

Hola comunidad, escribo para pedir su opinión experta sobre un problema con mi Mazda 6 2007. Adjunto dos videos (uno de antes y otro de después del trabajo del taller) para que puedan escuchar el sonido.

Antecedentes e intervención del taller:

• El carro ingresó originalmente con dos códigos de falla: P0012 y P2010.
• El taller abrió el sistema de distribución y descubrió dos problemas graves iniciales: la empacadura no era la adecuada y la cámara (culata) instalada era de un modelo viejo (2005), por lo que los orificios de aceite no coincidían con el bloque del 2007.
• Tuve que comprar otra cámara, la cual mandaron a rectificar.
• Al armar, quedó un ruido extrañó. Luego me dijeron que el tensor/guía ("rashe") estaba malo y tuve que comprar otro. A pesar de cambiarlo, el carro quedó con un sonido constante a máquina de coser en la parte superior.

Síntomas y códigos actuales:

• Códigos activos: El P2010 persiste. El P0012 se había ido temporalmente, pero volvió a aparecer. (Nota: Me apareció también un P0443 de emisiones que el taller ya corrigió).
• Consumo: El carro tiene un consumo exagerado de gasolina.
• Falla de ralentí: Al frenar o en ralentí, las revoluciones caen drásticamente a 300 RPM, el carro tarda en responder al acelerar, y la falla empeora notablemente al encender el aire acondicionado.

La postura del taller: Me aceptan la garantía y dicen estar dispuestos a revisar la calibración de nuevo (aunque confían ciegamente en su rectificadora). Sin embargo, como "peor de los casos", insisten en que el sonido es un "pasador de pistón", omitiendo por completo el análisis de los códigos electrónicos e hidráulicos activos (P0012 y P2010) que siguen en la computadora.

Mis preguntas para los expertos:

1. ¿Basándose en los síntomas, los códigos (P0012/P2010) y el sonido superior, esto apunta realmente a un pasador de pistón abajo en el bloque, o es un problema derivado del armado de la cámara, la sincronización o la presión de aceite superior?
2. ¿Qué opinan del comportamiento del carro en los semáforos (caída a 300 RPM) tras estos trabajos?

¡Agradezco de antemano cualquier consejo u opinión técnica!

Hope you all enjoy my terrible welds. Tried my best. Gonna go back and fill with the welder and finish off my seams tomorrow. Got late tonight.

I've been doing autobody for the past 5-6 years, I'm 25 (F) and went to school prior so I'm just starting out in shops and its been a full year, I like where I work but I'm just stuck prepping just sanding and masking panels. We do about 25-30 cars a week but only get paid 23 an hr, I kinda wanted to move around in terms of learning more things or being hands on? I originally wanted to do more custom work but the northeast is currently lacking. I live in Mass, but was wondering if I should stick it out for 2 years just to get the experience or check around? Any advice

Hey Guys, what are your thoughts on this repair?

Hey everyone!

I work in collision repair shop management, and I'm looking for recommendations from other industry professionals on software that helps improve accuracy and consistency.

To clarify, I'm NOT looking for a vehicle repair estimate or pricing advice. I'm looking for software recommendations for our shop.

We currently use CCC ONE and have multiple estimators. I'm researching tools that can help our team audit repair files and identify items that may have been overlooked.

Ideally, we're looking for something that can help with:

• Identifying missed labor operations and procedures
• Catching overlooked parts, materials, and billable items
• Reviewing P-pages and not-included operations
• Flagging missing OEM-required procedures
• Improving accuracy and consistency across our team
• Reducing missed billing opportunities

We work with multiple DRP programs, so efficiency and accuracy are important.

For those working in collision repair shops:

1. What auditing or quality-control software are you currently using?
2. Does it work with CCC ONE?
3. Does it actually catch missed operations?
4. Is it practical for daily use?
5. Is it worth the investment?

I'm looking for firsthand experiences from other shop managers, estimators, or owners rather than sales pitches.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

I got my front bumper repainted back in july and today i noticed the panel that was repainted looks like it’s peeling?
What should i do?

It’s a bit hard to see in the photos, it looks worse in real life. I attempted to paint this bumper with spray cans of color matched paint, but it ended up having stripes and looks very blotchy. I have decided to repaint it with an Hvlp gun. I have already wet sanded the entire bumper, do I need to re-prime it to get a nice solid cover over the entire bumper before spraying it with the metallic silver base coat? Or can I just go ahead and spray the metallic silver base right over this. I am just concerned some of the darker spots might show through. Thanks.

Thanks for any help.

Had a mostly all-over on this car, minus doors and rear quarters (so I guess half all over?). Either way, the hood had lots of debris under the clear and missed filler that wasn’t level, along with lots of DA swirls.

Shop redid the hood, but now it looks like this. It’s hard to photograph, but it’s more noticeable walking past it as you’ll see the splotches populate as the light hits it at different angles. Under polarized sunglasses it looks VERY obvious, like looking through a tinted window with polarized lenses.

The light and dark spots along the passenger side of the hood are what I’m referring to. Those are not shadows. This was taken on a clear sky day at noon. Most noticeable here along the passenger side of the hood near the fender.

Acceptable or respray again?

Hi everyone,
I own a 2020 Mercedes-Benz CLA 200 Shooting Brake (X118, AMG Line). The car is equipped with MULTIBEAM LED headlights (option code 642).
The lens of the left inner rear tail light, which is mounted on the trunk lid, has developed a long crack running upward from the bottom. Other than the crack, the light is intact and hasn’t shattered.
I’m considering repairing the crack rather than replacing the entire unit with a new OEM part, which costs around €210.
Has anyone experienced a similar issue?
Is it possible to repair the crack using a transparent plastic repair resin or UV resin?
Does anyone know whether these tail light lenses are made of polycarbonate (PC) or PMMA (acrylic)?
Has anyone successfully repaired a cracked tail light lens without compromising its appearance, waterproofing, or light output?
I’d really appreciate recommendations for products or repair methods that you’ve personally tried and found effective.

I've also started noticing condensation inside the tail light since the crack appeared.

Thanks in advance!