Top-rated auto body shops around Puget Sound area
SEATTLE -- Complaints against local body shops prove it pays to check around before you take your car in for body work.
Based on local customer reviews, some body shops around town might want to focus on repairing their image as well as the way they work on cars.
Out of 140 auto body shops in a survey by Puget Sound Consumer CHECKBOOK magazine, only eight local shop got top ratings for both quality and price.
Local customers rated 140 auto body shops in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties. CHECKBOOK President Robert Krughoff says his staff also went undercover to compare prices and check complaints.
"Typically the shops that get low ratings from customers also are likely to have a fairly high number of complaints on file against them." said Krughoff.
The following are the top 10 complaints:
• Poor quality work
• Slow turnaround
• Poor customer service
• Too high cost for work performed
• Damaged or missing property
• Incorrect estimates
• Inability to deal effectively with insurance company
• Poor quality part
• Performing unnecessary work or charging for work not performed
• Difficulty getting appointment times
The survey also found some of the best shops may not even be on the list provided by your insurance company. And prices can vary greatly for the same service.
Just check out the price quotes for replacing the bumper on a 2001 Toyota Camry. The lowest quote was $490 while the highest was at $885. The quote to replace the trunk lid on an 2005 Honda Civic ranged from $600 to $1,500.
And while price is a major focus from an insurance standpoint, price and quality don't always go hand in hand. The body shops that got the worst customer ratings got low marks for poor workmanship and delays in starting and completing the job.
While a number of shops get top ratings for either quality or price, here are the eight that get Checkbook Magazine's top ratings for both:
• Alki Auto Body - Seattle
• Burien Collision Center - Burien
• Foreign Auto Rebuild - Seattle
• Rainier Auto Body - Seattle.
• John's Body Shop - Poulsbo
• Burns Auto Body - Tacoma
• Hi-Tech Collision - Tacoma
• Lynnwood Body Shop - Lynnwood.
The survey information is usually only available to Puget Sound Consumers' CHECKBOOK magazine subscribers, but as a special service to KOMO viewers, a link to the full survey will be on our Web site until Thursday, Dec. 24.
Once on the Checkbook website, follow the prompts and click on the link for Puget Sound. Enter any e-mail address to get the report.
Based on local customer reviews, some body shops around town might want to focus on repairing their image as well as the way they work on cars.
Out of 140 auto body shops in a survey by Puget Sound Consumer CHECKBOOK magazine, only eight local shop got top ratings for both quality and price.
Local customers rated 140 auto body shops in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties. CHECKBOOK President Robert Krughoff says his staff also went undercover to compare prices and check complaints.
"Typically the shops that get low ratings from customers also are likely to have a fairly high number of complaints on file against them." said Krughoff.
The following are the top 10 complaints:
• Poor quality work
• Slow turnaround
• Poor customer service
• Too high cost for work performed
• Damaged or missing property
• Incorrect estimates
• Inability to deal effectively with insurance company
• Poor quality part
• Performing unnecessary work or charging for work not performed
• Difficulty getting appointment times
The survey also found some of the best shops may not even be on the list provided by your insurance company. And prices can vary greatly for the same service.
Just check out the price quotes for replacing the bumper on a 2001 Toyota Camry. The lowest quote was $490 while the highest was at $885. The quote to replace the trunk lid on an 2005 Honda Civic ranged from $600 to $1,500.
And while price is a major focus from an insurance standpoint, price and quality don't always go hand in hand. The body shops that got the worst customer ratings got low marks for poor workmanship and delays in starting and completing the job.
While a number of shops get top ratings for either quality or price, here are the eight that get Checkbook Magazine's top ratings for both:
• Alki Auto Body - Seattle
• Burien Collision Center - Burien
• Foreign Auto Rebuild - Seattle
• Rainier Auto Body - Seattle.
• John's Body Shop - Poulsbo
• Burns Auto Body - Tacoma
• Hi-Tech Collision - Tacoma
• Lynnwood Body Shop - Lynnwood.
The survey information is usually only available to Puget Sound Consumers' CHECKBOOK magazine subscribers, but as a special service to KOMO viewers, a link to the full survey will be on our Web site until Thursday, Dec. 24.
Once on the Checkbook website, follow the prompts and click on the link for Puget Sound. Enter any e-mail address to get the report.