Just some background..
The first time I put my car in the shop, it was in Tampa, FL. To make a very long story short (I can elaborate if necessary), they backed my car into a fence and destroyed the rear end. Afterwards, it took them over 3 weeks to fix the damage that they caused when they told me it would only take 1. Not only did it take a lot longer than planned but the work was also really shoddy.

The second time, I decided to get a paint job on the entire car (along with some other modifications, i.e. Clear Bra, PDR, and regular dent repair, etc). I was leaving town for a month so I decided to put the car in the shop when I left. The body shop owner reassured me that the car would be ready when I returned. It has now almost been a week after I was supposed to pick my car up (almost 5 weeks total) and it still isn't ready. The reasoning is that they ordered some parts from the dealership 2 weeks prior and they still haven't arrived. The clear coat and final polish isn't done and the Clear Bra hasn't been installed yet. I'm paying for a rental and quickly getting frustrated.

I did plenty of research before selecting both body shops. What should we look for when searching for body shops? Are there tricks that body shops usually employ that we should look out for?
user
I've been screwed by a couple of body shops and I would like to know what
assistant
Just some background..
The first time I put my car in the shop, it was in Tampa, FL. To make a very long story short (I can elaborate if necessary), they backed my car into a fence and destroyed the rear end. Afterwards, it took them over 3 weeks to fix the damage that they caused when they told me it would only take 1. Not only did it take a lot longer than planned but the work was also really shoddy.

The second time, I decided to get a paint job on the entire car (along with some other modifications, i.e. Clear Bra, PDR, and regular dent repair, etc). I was leaving town for a month so I decided to put the car in the shop when I left. The body shop owner reassured me that the car would be ready when I returned. It has now almost been a week after I was supposed to pick my car up (almost 5 weeks total) and it still isn't ready. The reasoning is that they ordered some parts from the dealership 2 weeks prior and they still haven't arrived. The clear coat and final polish isn't done and the Clear Bra hasn't been installed yet. I'm paying for a rental and quickly getting frustrated.

I did plenty of research before selecting both body shops. What should we look for when searching for body shops? Are there tricks that body shops usually employ that we should look out for?
user
I'm having trouble with the body shop in my area and have been searching for advice
assistant