Korva recommend with caution, CG Motorsports – highly recommend

[Spalding]

In May of this year I left for a vacation in Tofino and Ucluelet. Little did I know this was the beginning of a major emotional and financial roller coaster.

The trip began as expected with great scenery, twisty roads and tons of rain. Then as we rounded one particular corner the back of my car came out and I overcorrected. Next thing we know, the drivers rear bumper and quarter panel were hooking up big time with a cement barrier. Yikes! I got out and had a look. It was not pretty but it was drivable. We decided to finish our trip and headed to Ucluelet. Upon arrival I immediately contacted Korva. They told me to bring my car in when I returned and to contact ICBC.

Five days later we limped back to Vancouver and I brought my poor car into ICBC for their decision. After an hour of analysis they informed me that my car was not a write off and that the damages were under $4000.00. I then took my car to Korva. They had a quick look and we discussed my plans. I told Korva I had been planning an exterior restoration for the Summer of 2006 and already had most of the parts. In the end we agreed for an estimate on a complete re-spray and new windshield. Korva booked my car for a month later, June 13. So, I parked my car and got used to the loser cruiser.

June 13 arrived and I was very excited to have this project underway. Korva took my car and told me they would have the back fixed up, ‘we’ll make it right’. I was surprised and asked, ‘remember, you were going to give me an estimate to completely repaint the car?’ ‘Ummm, oh yeah’ was the response. Unfortunately, this was a sign of things to come.

I went to work and made a list of the parts that I had and the work I wanted done. I faxed it to Korva that day. I told Korva that I would not grind them on time. I didn’t want a quick job, I wanted a quality job and I meant it. I kept my word and didn’t grind them on time for the duration of this work. They, on the other hand, needed a lot of babysitting to keep the project moving forward as planned.

I spent the next four months visiting Korva on a weekly basis, taking hundreds of pictures, asking questions, and pointing out issues as they came along. I quickly discovered that if something wasn’t in writing they were almost guaranteed to forget the request had been made. In some cases, even having the request in writing didn’t help. Case in point, my letter indicated that the mirrors were to be painted to match the body. I had to remind them twice, once when they were already re-assembled and back on the car.

In this time I became well, sort of a Korva expert. They were very busy, too busy. It always seemed like they had too much work on their hands. They were also frequently short staffed. Too much work and too few staff are a bad combination. On several occasions I observed employees leaning on my car. Occasionally they saw me watching and got off my car. I also observed employees smoking near my car and sometimes while leaning over my car. No steps were taken to protect the interior of my vehicle until the last two weeks it was there. Initially my convertible top was up but in the final three months it was left down. My cloth houndstooth interior was covered in dust and the drivers seat and rear seat had grey muddy stains. For the most part these stains were later removed. Korva never once called me to update me on the progress of my car. I always had to be a proactive owner and I’ve saved the best example for last. One week I arrived and Korva presented me with a list of parts that were needed to put the front of my car back together. Every part on the list had been delivered with the car and in some cases was removed by Korva from the car! I found most of the parts in a box beside that car. However, one part eluded me. It was my front bumper. Korva had lost it in their shop! It took them over 20 minutes to find it!? Inventory system anyone and why was I doing this? Did I work there?

In my opinion, this is acceptable from a third rate, low cost, off the books shop. This is not what I expect from a shop with the reputation that Korva has. This is not top class service.

On Wednesday September 21, I got my car back from Korva. To be clear, the paintwork is amazing and better than when the car was new. To me, it looks like glass. I love it. In addition the door, hood and fenders are well adjusted and look great.

That’s the good and to me it’s extremely important.

However, when I picked my car up I was informed that they had inspected it and found that my reverse lights didn’t work and that my ABS light was on, indicating that the system was malfunctioning and they didn’t know why. Upon further inspection, I discovered that my rear fog lights were also not functioning. I knew that one was not working previously because it had the wrong non-euro inner cover. Korva told me to take my car to a mechanic to have these systems inspected and repaired. This irritated me but I decided to wait until I had a better chance to look my car over that evening.

I left Korva and tried to adjust my power mirrors. Both the driver and the passenger side mirrors were not working. I tried again several times and eventually my drivers mirror began to operate. I figured, ‘no big deal’. I knew I would discover some deficiencies and I figured Korva would be good enough to fix them. That night I had a very thorough look over my car. I was very satisfied with the paintwork and aside from the electrical I discovered only two minor deficiencies. There was a scuff on the top of my side skirt in the driver side door jam and an unfinished hole in my convertible top storage area.

[Spalding]

cont...

Now, all of these electrical systems were working before my car went into Korva. In fact my brakes had just been overhauled. So, I called ICBC and asked if I could take my car to a mechanic to inspect the ABS and the reverse lights as part of my claim. I was certain these had been working before my car was in the accident. For the record though, all of these electrical demons occurred while my car was at Korva. ICBC told me they would put these items on my claim and that the car had to go back to Korva.

I contacted Korva the next day and was told to bring my car in the following Tuesday, September 27th. I told them I would be away until the following Tuesday for work and they agreed to have the car ready by then.

I returned on Tuesday October the 4th and contacted Korva. No, my car was not ready. In fact, they had not even started to work on it yet. They promised to have it ready by Wednesday. On Wednesday I contacted Korva at 11:00am to confirm that they were working on my car. They told me they would return my call. I waited until 2 and called again. I spoke to Korva and was informed that they were working on my car and that they had discovered significant electrical problems in my door wiring harnesses and that they wanted me to come inspect them. Following much discussion they told me I would have to take my car somewhere to have it repaired. I was VERY unimpressed.

I immediately contacted CG Motorsports. CG was very understanding and as I listed off the electrical problems they told me they could look at my car the next day, Thursday. I then contacted Korva and asked if they had at least fixed both of my paint deficiencies. They indicated they had. I told them my car was going to CG and that I would pick it up at five.

When I picked my car up I asked Korva how their staff could have missed such damaged electrical connectors. They indicated that it would be easy to miss because the harnesses were in the vehicle. I had a look at my car and I was very disappointed to discover that they had not fixed the door jam scuff, as they had indicated. Worse still, now nothing electrical worked in either door. So off I drove in my beautiful car without power mirrors, power windows, reverse lights, ABS, and rear fogs.

The next day I arrived at CG and discovered that I was the only customer they had taken that day. They were expanding the shop and were beginning to refinish their floors. I was ecstatic that they had done me a major favor by looking over my car when they were effectively closed. CG called me at lunch time and informed me that my reverse switch had likely been damage in the accident and needed replacement, the relay for the ABS was cooked, both door harnesses required repining, and the inner brake covers were Canadian non-fog versions (one of which was known to me). They also informed me that my rear exhaust was not re-attached properly and had a damaged hanger. They could fix everything but, I would need to bring my car back to finish the door repair when more pins arrive. Every pin was beyond saving! CG repaired the various problems and my car was ready for pick-up at 5 that day. Better still, they retrofitted my inner covers so that my fog lights worked. After my experience at Korva this was refreshing.

I am pretty sure I could have fought with Korva and I could have resolved many of these issues. I am also certain that it would have been highly unpleasant and that I would probably not have my car back for another month. Instead I had it fixed at my expense. I spent a good sum of money at Korva and I am very disappointed with their lack of support, especially with the ABS, reverse lights, and the inner cover which are all casualties of the ICBC claimed accident. Further, when they strip doors off an 18 year old car they should warn the owner that the harnesses may be damaged/destroyed and give the owner a chance to say yes or no. Then, when these doors are removed they should take a moment to check for broken/damaged electrical pins. A shop of their caliber should never just put it back together and then have to re-inspect it to even figure out what has gone on.

So, there you have it. CG continues to impress me with their incredible customer service and attention to detail. Korva does a mean paint job but their customer service and attention to detail (non-paint) need major attention. Put simply, regardless of the quality of the finish, you do not return a car to your customer when it needs close to a thousand dollars of electrical repair work. Regardless of the intention, it tells the customer ‘I don’t care about you or your car’. If it happened in your shop, you tell the customer ASAP and you coordinate the repair in timely fashion for the customer. That’s how business is won, or in this case lost.

As I said in the subject, I highly recommend CG Motorsports to any BMW owner.

If you get in an accident and want a top quality finish, go to Korva but be prepared to follow up constantly and plan for the aftermath by budgeting accordingly.

[royalflush313]

sounds like quite the ordeal. But the good news I suppose is that you have your car back, and it looks better than ever? Pics?

Seems like everyone is having issues with Korva....

My father took his car to Korva, because the one of the front fender was 'poorly' painted when it was scratched due to vandalism, and he wanted a better paintwork done.
He ended up getting half of the car repainted, and having new seals etc. Like Spalding, the repairs took a week and a half more than scheduled.
The paint looked great, but upon closer inspection, he saw that the hood & fenders were horribly misaligned. The hood also had a 'difficult' time closing, which was never an issue.
Upon complaining this new-found issue, Korva was more than happy to look at the car, and fix the problem. When my father took the car back to the shop, they fixed the alignment on the spot, and now the car looked great.

So overall, the end result was more than satisfactory. It just took more time than promised, and little details were missed - little dissapointing from a shop with such a great rep.

CG on the other hand, I have nothing but good things to say about them. Actually, that's a lie. Their shop is too damn far away from me, I demand that they move their shop to the NorthShore

[VtwinVince]

Robyn, good hearing you've got your car back, albeit with "issues". I totally agree with you about CG, they've always treated me great. As for Korva, I'm still going through some "issues" of my own with them. I will be posting a complete report about my experiences with them once my car is completely finished. Don't hold your breath...

[Mark D.]

Thanks for the detailed experience with Korva and CG. Taking your baby to a body paint specialist is a stressful experience for sure. Its good to know things about local Vancouver shops.
I was so happy with the (non-insurance) paint and bodywork I had completed on my 91 diamond swartz 318is. I was at the time living in Edmonton and had made an inquiry to the Alberta BMW club regarding competent bodyshops. They came back with one name, Modern Auto Body, owned by a guy named Karl. This was the only Porsche authorized bodyshop in Alberta so I thought I would take my car there for a full restoration.
All the glass was removed, interior covered, fenders, trunk, hood and bumpers, trim all prepared and sprayed off the car. Car was flipped on its side and frame was inspected, they even cut out a couple of questionable smaller areas on the frame and welded coupons in. His quote stayed the same even though he repaired some small rust areas where the glass was and on the frame. He took pictures and welcomed my weekly visits and took the time to show me the stages they were at. When the car was completed I was absolutely amazed at the quality and care taken upon reassembly.
I swore if I ever had another car to be painted he would get my business even though it will mean transporting the car to Edmonton. Quality work costs money but is well worth it.

[Mike 91 318ic]

Korva is hit or miss. They do make it right but it shouldn't be such a hassle to get them to do it right the first time. My last experience with them will probably be the last. Post pics Robyn and Vince.

M