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      04-26-2021, 02:22 PM   #1
juicehound
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Avoid avoid avoid - panache auto werke - stratford, ct

I don't like posting stuff like this but I cannot leave this story under wraps. You all need to know this. I do not want ANYONE else to go through what I did.

I took my hard earned ~$80k car to Panache Auto Werke in Stratford, CT to have the front bumper repaired following a prior incident of damage. The repair was to be paid for by the insurance company of the involved party of the prior incident.

When I picked up the car, the auto body work was embarrassingly poor to say the least. There were both concave and convex bumps in the finish - totally unacceptable. It was certainly not on par considering the level of boasting by the shop owner that constantly touted that it was a high end facility that works on “million dollar cars” and the like…

If that wasn’t enough, my car had obvious signs of intentional vandalism and off road use. The door panels, wheels, etc. had key marks and scratches all over. There were also dents and dings in various places. The wheels had mud on them, something that you could not possibly have present if there was any truth to their claims of the car never leaving the facility and being parked indoors for its repair.

On pickup I found out that they actually outsourced the work to another shop without my knowledge or authorization. Had I known this from the start, I would have NEVER even gone there in the first place. So I honestly have ZERO clue as to where my car went or who had contact with it.

When I asked for video footage of any of this, they refused. They even went so far as to suggesting that I commit insurance fraud to avoid involving them or their insurance in covering the cost of the repair to the poor workmanship and vandalism damages. I have all of this on recording.

Both the owners and employees are all in on their schemes. They are all a bunch of lying frauds with ZERO accountability. Do yourself a favor and steer WELL clear of this place and SPREAD THE WORD so that your friends don’t get blindsided like I did.
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      04-26-2021, 02:42 PM   #2
icegrill
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Man! I'm sorry. I hate seeing posts like this but it happens all to often. It's so rare if your car doesn't get damaged while at a shop😔
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      04-26-2021, 03:04 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by icegrill View Post
Man! I'm sorry. I hate seeing posts like this but it happens all to often. It's so rare if your car doesn't get damaged while at a shop😔
I know, thank you

hindsight i should have just stayed with my usual auto body guy...

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      04-26-2021, 03:19 PM   #4
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Stuff like this sickens me, sorry this happened to you.
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      04-27-2021, 08:58 AM   #5
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Stuff like this sickens me, sorry this happened to you.
absolutely - me too
I don't know what's more frustrating, the event itself or the fact that people like this get away with it
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      04-27-2021, 09:59 AM   #6
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Wow sorry to hear this.

When I had my bumper and trunk replaced after an accident, I had rallye motors walk through the entire car with me. We both took pictures of every panel and had proper lighting. Each wheel was also photographed. I'm super ocd with my car so I wanted them to know that. They wrote "picky cust" on three windows and said it was to make sure everyone was super careful with it. I got it back flawless. No joy rides, mileage was consistent with driving the car to the service center and back.

Sorry you had to go through this. I use the above procedure whenever I have to hand over the keys to anyone. I don't even take my car if I have to use valet somewhere. I take our beater.
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      04-30-2021, 02:30 PM   #7
juicehound
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Originally Posted by White340 View Post
Wow sorry to hear this.

When I had my bumper and trunk replaced after an accident, I had rallye motors walk through the entire car with me. We both took pictures of every panel and had proper lighting. Each wheel was also photographed. I'm super ocd with my car so I wanted them to know that. They wrote "picky cust" on three windows and said it was to make sure everyone was super careful with it. I got it back flawless. No joy rides, mileage was consistent with driving the car to the service center and back.

Sorry you had to go through this. I use the above procedure whenever I have to hand over the keys to anyone. I don't even take my car if I have to use valet somewhere. I take our beater.
Thank you very much. I guess that's my problem. I am too trusting of a person. I will absolutely take a few pages out of your book. I certainly learned my lesson here. It sure cost me...

I just hope people get the word out about Panache as they are conducting very bad business.
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      05-05-2021, 06:55 PM   #8
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Do not let them get away with it!! You can't just walk away, get some lawyer man, that is serious damage!!
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      05-05-2021, 09:49 PM   #9
juicehound
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Originally Posted by petar7408 View Post
Do not let them get away with it!! You can't just walk away, get some lawyer man, that is serious damage!!
tell me about it man - there is literally ZERO accountability for these people - honestly it will cost me more time and money that I can't afford to spend at this point...

the absolute best thing to do is to spread the word and keep it KNOWN that this place is to be avoided at all costs...doing business like this is not right and it WILL come back to bite them - hopefully sooner than later
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      05-06-2021, 02:16 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by juicehound View Post
tell me about it man - there is literally ZERO accountability for these people - honestly it will cost me more time and money that I can't afford to spend at this point...

the absolute best thing to do is to spread the word and keep it KNOWN that this place is to be avoided at all costs...doing business like this is not right and it WILL come back to bite them - hopefully sooner than later

This one thread will not make a dent. Stand in front of their shop with a sign for a week lol!

It reminds me to walk the car with them before you drop it off anywhere, make it in writing that there are no scratches or if there are, where they are
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      11-23-2021, 09:25 PM   #11
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FWIW I found this thread in trying to see whether or not I should bring my car to them so thanks for the warning.
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      11-23-2021, 09:32 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by 3002 tii View Post
FWIW I found this thread in trying to see whether or not I should bring my car to them so thanks for the warning.
I appreciate you reading and sharing this - please spread the word so that no one else gets caught up with a nightmare like I did - this place needs to close its doors for good.
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