TheRealHooman

I hate for this to be my first post... a sad, sad thing it is:

Two Fridays ago, I got my car in a wreck. Briefly put: wet road, fishtailing a little out of a turn, pressing the gas to straighten the car out - pressed too hard, car fishtails the other way, spins out of control, hits the high left curb hard with the rear right wheel then a little with the front right wheel on the rebound.

Damage: minimal body, but serious mechanical: rear right wheel destroyed, suspension and rear axle broken, drivetrain possibly damaged (engine not likely, had clutch depressed), and likely the steering in some way from the hit on the front right wheel. The frame, however, appears to be ok.

Now getting past the sulking, self-blame and shame (obviously not quite the competent driver I hoped I was), I would like to see my car repaired like new.

The repair shop recommended by my dealer (Honda Cars of Boston, Everett MA) is Today's Auto Repair in Chelsey MA. The car is there now, repairs should start tomorrow. They were recommended to me as a high quality place which specializes in high-end imports. However, it appears they haven't worked on an S2000 before (I'm not surprised - how many people could have possibly wrecked their S2000 in the area already? I just might be the first idiot in that category). They plan on letting the dealer's service department take care of the Honda-specific work on the car.

My questions are: does anyone have anything they can tell me about these two places (Honda Cars of Boston's service dept. and Today's Auto Repair) before I let them work on the car? Or any other recommendation on what I should do? Thanks in advance,

Hooman

Silver8179

Just let them know what your expectations are....see if you could have them put it in written....if something is not right...after you get the car....back...when it's repaired....couple of months down the road....cause....one thing about...bumper...they are plastic...sometime if it's not done right...it will crack...under minimum impact or pressure...I had an 92 Nissan Maxima bumper that had to be repainted couple of time due to light impact to the rear bumper.....and make you go over...the car in detail...before you get it back....if you need help....let me know...I live closed to that area....

btw...Today's Auto....is a relative New one....but they have alot of new equipment....I think about 5 to 10 year in business...

I'll be out of town today and tomorrow....let me know or pm me if you need help...

/sam

TheRealHooman

Thanks for your feedback. Making them write everything down is a good idea. They do have a warranty on their repairs.

I keep in touch with them often, checking on the status. Today they were fairly helpful in describing the problems and the process.

Apparently yes, the bumpers has a little hit, they'll look at that. First assessment of damage reveals that the frame extension (I don't remember the exact term) at the top of the suspension is damaged, but that is not an integral part of the main frame (it's bolted on), so it's quite possibly good news, indicating the main frame isn't damaged.

They will first send the car in for suspension work at an outside shop, to make it drivable for the following tests: bring it back to test alignment and see if there is any frame damage, and so on.

I asked them if they would replace the left shocks as well, to balance the wear on the car. They said probably not, considering the car has barely more than 3000 miles. I'm a little concerned, given that Boston roads are quite poor and wear them very fast, no matter how much I slow down on bumps. I guess this is an assessment I'll make when I drive the car again.

Mike M.

Should have come accross the Street
The other part of our shop is Ciro's Autobody we also do alot of work for Honda Cars of Boston I havent heard of this shop in Chelsea But I know the owner and manager of Honda Cars and Both are great along with all of their employees
They get a big thumbs up in my book.

S2Krazy

Hooman,

I am a dealer in Malden, MA at Bay State Motorsports. Honda Cars of Boston has an excellent service department. You can definantly trust them to do your mechanical work. As far as auto body shops, BE CAREFUL. Most people don't car how good the car comes out. They just want a check. Overspray, bubbles in the paint, orange peel, and compound in cracks is common in almost every body shop because they just don't care!

I've already seen several hack jobs on S2000's that I was looking to buy for my dealership, but couldn't because of the paintwork.

K & C AUTO BODY
17 Franklin St Rear Salem, MA (978) 744-3985

If you want a job done right that is completely undetectable and will not decrease the value of your car because no one will ever know, this is the guy.

I just had a Porsche quarter panel painted because someone keyed one of our cars. I sent it to a guy in Lynn that said you will never be able to tell. I figured I'd give him a shot. Nope. Over spray, orange peel, bubbles, the whole nine yards. Get it done right. You have insurance.

TheRealHooman

Interesting you should mention body repairs and insurance.

I just got the estimate from my insurance (Commerce). Nowhere does it include a body panel replacement.

I said that the body damage is minimal, but the rear quarter panel has a definite bend. It seems they only intend to bend it back into shape!? Now, I don't need to be an expert in materials to know that steel, once bent, can never be reliably bent perfectly back into its original shape. And this is coming from the insurance estimate, not the body shop! Is this an acceptable practice? How do I deal with this?

As for overspray, bubbles in the paint, orange peel, compound in the cracks... I'm not quite familiar with those problems/methods. What do they consist of exactly? If that's how it's been done, is there a way I can tell, and can I demand repairs done again at a different body shop in that case?

TheRealHooman

Ok, well, a few more details.

Today's Auto Repair was recommended to me by the dealer, and apparently specializes in high-end cars (Porsche, Mercedes), so I would expect (hope) they don't do a half-ass job on the paint.

As for the suspension work, Honda's service dept. is very busy so they plan on getting it done at State Auto Springs on Tuesday (implying that due to their specialization in the matter, they will do "as good a job as Honda if not better"). If you have any input on that shop, please let me know.

Concerning the body panel, the insurance says it's repairable, but I doubt it, and Bobby Cobb at Today's told me they'd figure that out themselves anyway, and most of the time they will replace it, not repair it.

Repairing it involves "bending it back into 90-95% of its original shape, then using a polyester filler". Yuck. Anyone else agrees that this is very poor?

Replacing it: what didn't ring a bell to me until now is that all the body panels of the S2000 are welded - I'm guessing for greater rigidity. So obviously replacing a body panel involves cutting it up, and welding in another, and presumably a perfect job would yield the same rigidity. Is such a perfect job possible at all, and what equipment/expertise would it require?

S2Krazy

Don't take the chance. Go to K&C, get it done right, have me call the owner Kevin before you go down, and you'll have a brand new car.

rayyu882

Thanks to this thread, I need a repair shop too...

I only know D&B Auto Body in Worcester but it's kinda far away from me... S2Krazy, can I PM you too when I'm ready to go down to K&C??? Thanks...

g-s2k

Sorry to hear about this TheRealHooman and rayyu882. I hope everything works out.

BUT.... TheRealHooman... You are from Watertown? Send me a PM... I am in Watertown quite a bit.... and have never seen another stook owner in that area.

And again... good luck with all repairs!