Recently had my car repaired by Joe after it being in a crash. The bodywork itself was completed to a good standard and I was initially happy with the cosmetic repair. Unfortunately, my overall experience was let down by the customer service and the condition my car was returned in.
When I collected the car, it had multiple electrical issues that were not present before I left it for repair. These included the car not recognising my key, the passenger door constantly showing as open, none of the windows working, the central locking not functioning properly and other electrical faults. When I raised these concerns, I was told, "Well, you shouldn't have crashed your car then, should you?" I found this response unprofessional and dismissive.
I was also later told that fixing these electrical issues would be additional because they weren't part of the work I'd originally asked and paid for. However, what seemed to be overlooked by Joe was that all of these issues were working perfectly before the car was left with him. The only damage from the accident was the bodywork and these electrical faults only appeared after the repairs had been carried out, which I tried to explain multiple times and just got responses that were rude.
There were also several other issues with the work I received from Joe. The staggered tyres were fitted the wrong way around, causing them to rub against the shock absorbers. The wrong wing mirror was ordered and fitted, which resulted in the central locking not working correctly and when I mentioned it was the wrong wing mirror I was told “ well if you want to change it you feel free” On top of this, when I asked for proof or a receipt for the work carried out, I was told, "If you pay cash, you don't get proof." I was then sarcastically asked, "Well, do you have a pen and paper?" That was completely unacceptable and not the way any customer should be spoken to!
Communication throughout was poor. Joe regularly ignored messages from me and others, wasn't helpful when problems were raised and his responses were often rude rather than trying to resolve the issues. Whilst I appreciate that the bodywork itself looks good, the overall experience was disappointing due to the lack of professionalism, poor aftercare and unwillingness to take responsibility for problems that arose while the car was in his care. Joe did state that If I found the parts that “he thinks” will fix the electrical issues he will fix it- however after being so rude and ignorant, I did not want to return my car to him. When I asked Joe if that should fix it his response was “ well I’m not a magician am I” again extremely rude towards a customer. Since then Joe has not contacted me to see if my car was fixed. When I messaged Joe to tell him the reason I had a range of electrical faults was because he had put a 6 pin wing mirror on my car, when he told me himself I needed a 5 pin one- I was once again ignored.
Sadly, I won't be returning or recommending this business to anyone! Good bodywork alone isn't good enough when customer service, communication and accountability are lacking.
Edit- After the crash everything was functioning and the car was driven around, including to Joe’s garage and everything still worked as it should.