355 International

[Auto Spirit]

Hi Guys,

Does anoyone have any experience of dealing with the above body shop?

As a result of a recommendation, I took my car there (Dunsfold) to finally get the repairs done to the bonnet/wings which were damaged during shipping.

I dropped it off on Monday 11th August after confirming the estimate and the turnaround time which was approx 1 week.

Anyway, I called during that week to get an update but couldn't get hold of Andy Coxhead (the owner) and nobody else could help so left numerous messages but nobody would call me back.

i eventually spoke to Andy and he reassured me that all was in hand and the car would probably be ready by the end of this week.

I called yesterday and was told by a guy called Steve that they hadn't even started on the work as they were "very busy".

If other forum members can vouch for their credentials then perhaps I will rest easier and be prepared to wait for the car. Otherwise, my paranoia of the car being raced on a daily basis or being stripped/shipped off to Dubai or something like that will only intensify....

Can someone put my mind at rest?

[Rob_Fenn]

I can't quote on their customer service as they have always been sub-contracted through Plans.

Their quality of work is unrivalled IMO though. Did you agree a date for it to be complete? Its harder to moan justifiably if not, but you could just be a nuisance everyday which might speed things up...

To answer your question though, i wouldn't worry about them being dodgy, they will have considerably more expensive cars there that will strip and send to Dubai first :D

[NSX 2000]

To answer your question though, i wouldn't worry about them being dodgy, they will have considerably more expensive cars there that will strip and send to Dubai first :D

I can confirm Rob's comment above, as last time I was there they had an origonal Dino in. (I think these still go for £250K).

[Senninha]

Again sub-contracted through Plans but I have used them for all the 02 mods that needed painting for my car

regards, Paul

[Auto Spirit]

Thanks guys, I'll sleep tonight.

Regards.
Parv.

[NSXGB]

Sorry to revive such an old post, but did you get the damage fixed on your bonnet ok by 355 International?
I have a bonnet which has near identical damage and would be interested to hear how well they coped repairing it.

[Senninha]

Simon,

FYI, all the paint I had done about 18 months ago is still as bright as when applied with no signs of ageing.

HTH

regards, Paul

[Auto Spirit]

Sorry to revive such an old post, but did you get the damage fixed on your bonnet ok by 355 International?
I have a bonnet which has near identical damage and would be interested to hear how well they coped repairing it.

Hi mate,

My experience with 355 was mixed. The actual bonnet repair was top quality but I was less than impressed on a number of levels:

Initially when I booked it in, they said it would take approx. 1 week to 10 days to repair the bonnet and repaint the front end. 5 weeks later and after umpteen phone calls made but never returned by the owner Andy I was eventually given a revised timescale for getting the job done - I was 'sans NSX' for over 6 weeks in the end.

General attitude - unless its a Ferrari they don't seem to care too much - essentially the concept of customer service is non-existent if you bring an NSX in.

The final cost - originally I was verbally quoted 2000 pounds all in for the repairs incl vat. When I picked up the car, the owner Andy insisted that vat was not included and had to be paid on top of the 2k, so cost me 350 quid more than I was originally told it would.

Misc problem - I've mentioned it on the forum here before but when I took the car home when it was ready I noticed that the Climate Control had packed in totally, no power whatsoever. It was working perfectly when I dropped the car off - of course it could be coincidence, but considering they would have dismantled much of the front-end for painting I am sceptical. My error was not reporting this issue to them straighhtaway as now there's no come back.

I am noticing a rattle/vibration from the front spoiler (which didn't happen before) so it seems they may not have refitted it properly.

Ok, so to summarise - repairs to the bonnet was good but everything else sucked especially their attitude - somehow I think that had I taken the car to Plans (who would have then in turn taken it to 355 for the repairs) then they would have been more customer-focused, but then you'd be paying more I guess.

If you use them, my advice is to be firm and make it clear you won't tolerate being messed with, whether in terms of total price, timescales or quality of work.

I've attached a few pics - sorry havn't got any with with more detail of the quality of the repair. The first 2 are the main damaged areas of course. Overall, you can see the bonnet is still a little warped but there's nothing that can be done about that. The corners where the bonnet was mostly damaged was repaired very professionally.

Good luck!
Parv.

[Silver Surfer]

That's a beautiful modded NSX Autospirit!!!
Enjoy.

SS

[NSXGB]

Thanks for the reply and pictures. What did they actually do for £2k?

[Auto Spirit]

That's a beautiful modded NSX Autospirit!!!
Enjoy.

SS

Cheers Silver Surfer, as it was wash day, here's some gratuitous pics! :proud:

[Auto Spirit]

Thanks for the reply and pictures. What did they actually do for £2k?

Repair broken corners of bonnet
Remove and re-set bonnet
Repair wings
Repair paint chips and scuff on front bumper
Repaint complete front end

[NSXGB]

Thanks mate.

[AR]

Any close ups of the repair?

NSX paint is not a mistery, it just needs to be flatted properly.

Cheers,

AR