The Tempting World of Discount Paint and Bodywork.
The Tempting World of Discount Paint and Bodywork
The price might be right, but the cost down the road will more than make up for any apparent savings.
There are few things more disheartening than walking up to your vehicle in a parking lot only to realize that someone has put a sizeable ding or dent in its side, or perhaps used your bumpers as feelers during an aborted parking attempt. Even worse is having to deal with the type of damage left behind by someone carelessly rear ending you at a stoplight, especially if their love tap was hard enough to crack bumper covers and displace sheet metal.
Even if you tell yourself that you can live with the scratches, dents and scrapes, there’s no denying that the temptation to stop in at discount body repair chains and their ilk can be quite high. After all, these kinds of places are constantly advertising incredibly inexpensive paint jobs, panel repairs and parts replacements on all makes and models of cars. The results sure look convincing on television and in print, and many people stop in just to see what kind of a quote will be offered on the job at hand. Once there, inspections are performed, promises of quality are made on the part of the shop manager and a price is given that seems almost too good to be true.
At this point, you would most likely be wondering whether it was possible to get a factory-like finish with such a low investment on your part. Unfortunately, the short answer is ‘no.’ While the natural urge to save money on car repairs is a strong one, you should really think twice before committing to drop your vehicle off at a local discount body shop. Let’s look at a few of the main reasons why these types of establishments should be avoided at all costs.
Many vehicle owners are unaware of the fact that the most important aspect of quality body- and paintwork is the time that’s spent preparing panels before any paint, filler or metal patching is applied. The level of priming, sanding and cleaning that goes into even the simplest of repair jobs is the key to achieving a quality finish. Unfortunately, a significant time investment usually translates into a more expensive bill, which is why top-notch bodywork rarely comes cheaply.
Discount body shops are able to offer $250 paint specials by cutting serious corners when it comes to prep work. Instead of sanding down to the steel or plastic base of a panel and then gradually filling, feathering or layering multiple coats of paint, they will instead simply clean and spray an inexpensive lacquer or base followed by a clearcoat. Very little care is taken to ensure that the newly painted areas match the original paint color, or that filler has been properly leveled off and sanded, and this can lead to a mottled and bumpy appearance. The paint might look fresh and shiny for the first few days or weeks, but soon enough, it will lose its luster and the unprepared area behind the paint will once again show through.
Another favorite method used by fly-by-night shops to reduce costs is to source so-called ‘jobber’ parts when replacing bumpers, doors, fenders and the like. These reproduction pieces don’t offer the same quality of steel or accuracy of fit and finish as factory parts, and as a result, they often install with large gaps or at strange angles compared to the rest of the car. Will the discount or franchise body shop stand behind its work, or even still be in business, if a paint job peels or parts fail prematurely?
The simplest way to avoid any of these body shop nightmares is to have your vehicle worked on exclusively by dealership technicians who have been trained specifically on how to repair your particular brand of car or truck. Your local dealership is not only staffed by confident and experienced painters, welders and other craftsmen, but it also offers you direct access to factory parts at the best possible prices.
It is certainly tempting to go the fast and cheap route when taking care of your car’s paint- and bodywork. However, almost without exception, a low quality body job is one that will have to be done again after the original problem works its way back up to the surface of your paint. This quickly erases any initial savings. Spending the money on a quality job done right the first time is always the best possible solution when it comes to this type of automotive repair.
Students get $500 off your new Ford purchase!
Here’s the deal: purchase or lease an eligible new 2009 or 2010 Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle during the program period1 and we’ll fork over $500! And, when you combine this Student Bonus Cash with other current public incentives, you’ll really be raking it in.
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Here’s who qualifies: all full-time and part-time college freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, graduate students, trade school students and recent graduates.
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So what are you waiting for? Ford and Lincoln Mercury have a vehicle to match your own personal style. Pick one out — and find out just how good math can be for you.
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You must be an undergraduate student currently enrolled full-time at an accredited Four-Year College/University, Junior College, Community College or Trade School in a minimum of 2 classes or an equivalent of 6 credit hours, OR
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Graduated or will graduate from an accredited Four-Year College/University, Junior College, Community College or Trade School between May 1, 2007 and January 4, 2010*, OR
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Are currently enrolled in an accredited Graduate School program.
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Must be 21 years of age with a valid ID to qualify.
*NOTE: One-course completion certificates, on-the-job training courses (i.e. sales training, teaching certificates, professional designations and adult education courses) do not qualify
When we meet by accident…
The unfortunate often occurs this time of year as roads become slippery and hazardous. We’re talking about the dreaded vehicle accident! Whether it is major damage or just a scuffed bumper, the O’Daniel Collision centers are the only choice for quick affordable repairs. The O’Daniel collisions centers are located on Illinois road behind the Chrysler Jeep Showroom and in New Haven behind the Ford Showroom.
O’Daniel Collision Center Advantages!
1. No one knows your car better than we do!
2. All insurance companies’ claims are handled here!
3. No cheap paints or parts! Only the original manufacturer equipment!
4. Lifetime warranty on most repairs!
5. We arrange for rental vehicles to be picked up here!
6. Factory trained body technicians do the job the correct way!
7. Fast service! We get you back on the road quick!
8. We fix all makes and all models!
9. We offer complete vehicle restoration services for classic cars
10. When we do the work you know it is done right!
A lot of people think we only fix the vehicles we sell, but that is far from the truth. We are recognized as the preferred collision repair facility in Fort Wayne by all the major insurance companies and fix all makes and models!. What does that mean to you? You don’t have to take your vehicle anywhere else for estimates, just drop it off with us and we handle 100% of the repairs and insurance company claims. Because of or relationship with the insurance companies we can get your vehicle claim processed and repairs under way before most other shops even get the claims filed.
The most important aspect of body repairs to your vehicle is the affect on it’s resale down the road. If the body work is done with economy parts or cheap paints or shortcuts it will show and your vehicles value will go down. The one question people ask us when buying a car is, has it ever been in a wreck. The one thing we can assure them that if it was repaired at one of our collision centers it was repaired back to factory specifications with only the highest quality standards. I nearly every case the customers can’t tell anything was ever wrong with their vehicle.
If the unfortunate happens to you make sure to have your vehicle towed or brought to one of the O’Daniel Collision centers.
Stop in for a free estimate utilizing our computerized estimating system at either of our locations.
Feed the Fort
The first ever, Feed the Fort promotion went over huge! Shown in the Photo are Craig Ruskaup and Julie Kimes as they prepare to deliver the thousands of canned and non-perishable items to the Community Harvest Food Bank of Fort Wayne. The food was collected at O’Daniel dealerships as well as the Scoot’s Foods location on Maplecrest road in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Dave Carroll, used car manager at the O’Daniel west location, commented at the generosity of the Fort Wayne community. Dave and other O’Daniel employees and family braved the cold to solicit donations from grocery shoppers, they often returned to the dealership with a vehicle packed to the roof with food. Thanks to all our generous customers the Feed the Fort campaign was a huge success! We will look forward to doing it again next year!
Ford Making Tremendous Progress
Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) — Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally said investments in the company’s car lineup and efforts to pay back debt are helping the automaker make “tremendous progress” in its turnaround effort.
“During this worst recession, we chose to increase our investment in new vehicles that people want and value,” he said in an interview from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. “Now we are delivering on that product promise, and we’re actually paying the loans back and improving our balance sheet.”
Ford, which reported a 33 percent sales rise in December, gained U.S. market share last year for the first time since 1995. New models like the Ford Fusion are fueling orders at the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker. Its shares have risen more than fourfold in the past year to the highest level since 2005.
“The consumer loves a company that not only has a strong product line but is creating a strong business, and they know they are going to be around,” said Mulally, 64. “The goodwill that everyone has for Ford far outweighs the disadvantages.”
Ford is reaping the benefits of Mulally’s plan to invest in new models with much of the $23 billion the automaker borrowed in late 2006. Ford put up as collateral all major assets, including its name, to secure that lending, which allowed the company to stave off the bankruptcies that befell General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC last year.
‘Driver’s Seat’
“This isn’t just lucky happenstance, it’s a combination of benefits from not taking a bailout, unassailably high quality and an interesting, exciting product lineup,” said John Wolkonowicz, an analyst at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts. “Ford is in the driver’s seat now.”
Ford rose 29 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $11.66 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. That closing price was the stock’s highest since March 17, 2005.
Sales of the redesigned Taurus have climbed 90 percent since it debuted four months ago. Ford said its models commanded $2,700 more revenue per vehicle in the third quarter, as it slashed incentives and boosted prices.
Ford also is banking on bringing more technology into its cars. It’s using the Las Vegas show to demonstrate its plans to put social networking, Web browsing and iPod-style thumb controls in 80 percent of models by 2015.
‘Solidly Profitable’
Mulally, who came to Ford from Boeing Co. in September 2006, posted his first back-to-back quarterly profits at the Automaker on Nov. 2, with third-quarter net income of $997 million. He has said Ford will be “solidly profitable” on an annual basis in 2011.
“The advantages of us doing this ourselves clearly outweigh any of the advantages of going through bankruptcy,” Mulally said. “The only disadvantage that we have right now is that we have a little more debt, but we’re paying that back.”
Consumer Reports magazine said that Ford had “world-class reliability” and that the Fusion topped Toyota Motor Corp.’s Camry in quality.
Ford’s surge comes as Toyota stumbles. The Toyota City, Japan-based automaker has projected a $2.2 billion loss in the year ending March 31. Toyota is fixing 4.26 million vehicles in the U.S., its biggest recall, for accelerator pedals that may get stuck on floor mats.
“If Ford becomes the quality brand and is able to unseat Toyota and Honda at the top of the industry, there will be no stopping them,” Wolkonowicz said.
Gaining Share
Ford gained 1.1 percentage points of U.S. market share to 16.1 percent in 2009, according to Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey- based Autodata Corp. That will grow to 16.6 percent by 2012, Global Insight projects. GM will have fallen from 19.9 percent last year to 17.1 percent, while Toyota will grow to 16.8 percent in 2012, according to Global Insight.
“There’s going to be a three-way battle for the No. 1 spot over the next decade,” Wolkonowicz said.
The advantage to Ford of not taking a bailout will fade when GM and Chrysler pay back U.S. taxpayers, said Michael Robinet, a CSM Worldwide analyst in Northville, Michigan.
For now, Ford’s go-it-alone posture has improved its positive perception among car buyers to 51 percent in December from 41 percent a year earlier, said Beau Boeckmann, vice president of Galpin Motors in North Hills, California.
Boeckmann, whose store more than doubled sales last month, said that “several people have said I’m buying a Ford because they did the right thing and didn’t take a bailout.”
Ford could face challenges this year from a resurgent GM, which slashed costs and reduced debt in bankruptcy.
“GM is not going to go down without a fight,” Wolkonowicz said. “GM has some products now that are as good as they had in the 1960s when they were the top of the heap.”
Ford’s new cars have benefited from Mulally’s focus on developing fewer models that can be sold globally. He sold off the Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin luxury lines and is trying to sell Volvo to China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.
“Ford has been able to focus more of their energies on fewer vehicles with higher sales volumes,” said Robinet. “That’s going to have tremendous benefits.”
Ford Announces 2011 Fiesta Reservation Program
All-new Fiesta is coming. Select Fiesta models get no-extra-charge SYNC with navigation plus Premium Sound and a VIP experience. Reserve yours now.
From December 3, 2009, until April 2, 2010, you can reserve an all-new Ford Fiesta to your exact specifications. And what’s really cool is, select Fiesta models will come equipped with the advanced Ford SYNC® with navigation plus Premium Sound at no extra charge.*
You’re under no obligation to purchase and you don’t have to put any money down. Reserving your Fiesta is done easily online in a few simple steps:
• Build and price your Fiesta hatchback or sedan model
• Click the “Reserve This Fiesta” button
• Fill out and submit the reservation form
You’ll get a customer-specific reservation number. It’s your key to the VIP experience of participating in the 2011 Fiesta Reservation Program:
• No-charge SYNC with navigation plus Premium Sound (excludes S model)
• Exclusive access to the Reservation Consultants and personal follow up
• Production updates on your Fiesta once you finalize your order
Remember, there is no obligation to buy when you reserve. Online reservations are being accepted only through April 2, 2010. And the purchase agreement doesn’t need to be signed with the dealer until May 3, 2010.
The sooner you reserve your new Fiesta, the sooner you can take advantage of the VIP experience. So get in on this limited-time opportunity now — click on over to the 2011 Fiesta Reservation Program.
Have questions? Call our Fiesta specialist: 1-800-301-8348 *SYNC not available on Fiesta S model. Valid only on non‐binding U.S. reservations made via web/mobile between 12/1/09 and 4/2/10 by customers 18 years and older with valid U.S. Drivers License. Actual purchase agreement must be signed with dealer by 5/3/10. Must take new retail delivery by 9/30/10. SYNC not available on Fiesta S model. Customer may elect to receive the equivalent cash value of $595 on qualifying models, not available on Fiesta S This offer is only valid for the customer named on the reservation, it can not be transferred. Visit fordvehicles.com/2011fiesta for details
Fund the Fort
Stop in today to get your piece of this amazing deal! We are helping you with your down payment, making your purchase of a new car easier and the experience less stressful! We will match 10% of your down payment up to $11000. Right around tax time, when you have the big down payment, we are going to match it for you! Must be 18 or older with a valid drivers license, and email access. Some restrictions apply. Please stop in at any O’Daniel dealership for details!