Ultimate Collision Center - Won't Be Going Back
Sep 13, 2008, 10:40 AM
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Ultimate Collision Center - Won't Be Going Back
Let me tell you about my experience with Ultimate Collision Center.
My Evo was rear-ended on July 6, 2008. After reading about the numerous positive reviews about Ultimate Collision Center I decided to have the car sent there. Little did I know, this was going to be a two month long ordeal.
At first, Bill (owner) was nice to speak with on the phone and made me feel comfortable about sending my car there to be repaired. I should have taken it as a sign in the beginning, but he never returned my calls and never seemed to answer the shop phone or cell phone.
Everything seemed to be going fine, the adjuster had come and they had agreed on the amount. I had also requested that Bill look at my front bumper damage from another incident and give me a price to fix it. He offered to do it at his cost for sending him my business. This I truly appreciated.
Weeks later, there seemed to be a problem with the exhaust. Bill stated that Cobb had not sent the test pipe with the replacement exhaust system.
He said he would get the shop next door to weld him up a test pipe, I had no problem wit him doing so. When I called Bill later on, he said the shop next door would not make him the test pipe and he would have to order another.
During this problem, this was the ONLY time that he actually called me back. A replacement test pipe was sent, and a few days later he received it. When I called to check progress, he said now that the intermediate pipe was bent and the system was no good.
I waited a few days, and he said he cold not find the exhaust I wanted, which was the Cobb cat-back, and asked if I wanted a GReddy system. I declined, and I had to purchase the Cobb exhaust from Spun Autosports myself. I had to deliver the system to Bill.
Last Saturday, September 6, 2008, I talked to Bill about the car. He told me that the car was finished and that he was waiting for the truck driver to pick it up. I waited around for a bit and didn’t hear back from him, so I decided to take a ride up to the shop (it’s approximately 60 miles each way) to see for myself if the car was finished. When I got to the shop, my friend and I looked inside and saw the car sitting behind an S2000. No bumper. No taillights. He blatantly lied to me about the car being finished. If he told me the truth about the aftermarket bumper not fitting, I wouldn’t have been so upset.
Every day between the trip on September 6 and Thursday, September 10, Bill told me that the car was finished and that he was waiting for a driver. I took another trip up to the shop Thursday night, and saw that the car had the taillights and bumper on it, however I couldn’t see that it was the damaged bumper.
Today is September 13, 2008 and I received the car. The tow truck driver came and requested I give him the check before he could take the car off the flatbed. He gave me the invoice, and it was less the amount of the rear JDM bumper (exactly $800 less). He had repaired the other damage, but put the destroyed JDM bumper back on.
A new check was written for the new amount and after 9 weeks I finally had my car back. He never bothered to call me stating that he was putting the broken parts back on. I would have been okay with it if he was straight up with me in the first place. All he had to do was give me a call and say he couldn’t get a bumper and I would have taken it from there.
However, he had the tow truck driver tell me that the aftermarket bumper did not fit. I assumed he tried ordering one of the J’s aero knockoffs of the JDM bumper. I’ll include a scan of the invoice at the end of this post to show you the note he left me to let me know that the bumper he had was no good.
Now I have to get in contact with driveline motoring and order another JDM bumper. I will have no problem doing it, so I don’t understand why UCC couldn’t have ordered it in the first place.
I had the replacement exhaust to me in 4 days, and when I ordered my JDM bumper from Driveline months ago, I had it in a week. I just don’t understand why Bill could not get these pieces and I had no problem. He let the job take two months and the job wasn’t even finished!
During the process of being lied to, I took it upon myself the contact the Better Business Bureau. Now, his shop is on record with them due to this situation.
Here's how he let me know about the bumper:
My Evo was rear-ended on July 6, 2008. After reading about the numerous positive reviews about Ultimate Collision Center I decided to have the car sent there. Little did I know, this was going to be a two month long ordeal.
At first, Bill (owner) was nice to speak with on the phone and made me feel comfortable about sending my car there to be repaired. I should have taken it as a sign in the beginning, but he never returned my calls and never seemed to answer the shop phone or cell phone.
Everything seemed to be going fine, the adjuster had come and they had agreed on the amount. I had also requested that Bill look at my front bumper damage from another incident and give me a price to fix it. He offered to do it at his cost for sending him my business. This I truly appreciated.
Weeks later, there seemed to be a problem with the exhaust. Bill stated that Cobb had not sent the test pipe with the replacement exhaust system.
He said he would get the shop next door to weld him up a test pipe, I had no problem wit him doing so. When I called Bill later on, he said the shop next door would not make him the test pipe and he would have to order another.
During this problem, this was the ONLY time that he actually called me back. A replacement test pipe was sent, and a few days later he received it. When I called to check progress, he said now that the intermediate pipe was bent and the system was no good.
I waited a few days, and he said he cold not find the exhaust I wanted, which was the Cobb cat-back, and asked if I wanted a GReddy system. I declined, and I had to purchase the Cobb exhaust from Spun Autosports myself. I had to deliver the system to Bill.
Last Saturday, September 6, 2008, I talked to Bill about the car. He told me that the car was finished and that he was waiting for the truck driver to pick it up. I waited around for a bit and didn’t hear back from him, so I decided to take a ride up to the shop (it’s approximately 60 miles each way) to see for myself if the car was finished. When I got to the shop, my friend and I looked inside and saw the car sitting behind an S2000. No bumper. No taillights. He blatantly lied to me about the car being finished. If he told me the truth about the aftermarket bumper not fitting, I wouldn’t have been so upset.
Every day between the trip on September 6 and Thursday, September 10, Bill told me that the car was finished and that he was waiting for a driver. I took another trip up to the shop Thursday night, and saw that the car had the taillights and bumper on it, however I couldn’t see that it was the damaged bumper.
Today is September 13, 2008 and I received the car. The tow truck driver came and requested I give him the check before he could take the car off the flatbed. He gave me the invoice, and it was less the amount of the rear JDM bumper (exactly $800 less). He had repaired the other damage, but put the destroyed JDM bumper back on.
A new check was written for the new amount and after 9 weeks I finally had my car back. He never bothered to call me stating that he was putting the broken parts back on. I would have been okay with it if he was straight up with me in the first place. All he had to do was give me a call and say he couldn’t get a bumper and I would have taken it from there.
However, he had the tow truck driver tell me that the aftermarket bumper did not fit. I assumed he tried ordering one of the J’s aero knockoffs of the JDM bumper. I’ll include a scan of the invoice at the end of this post to show you the note he left me to let me know that the bumper he had was no good.
Now I have to get in contact with driveline motoring and order another JDM bumper. I will have no problem doing it, so I don’t understand why UCC couldn’t have ordered it in the first place.
I had the replacement exhaust to me in 4 days, and when I ordered my JDM bumper from Driveline months ago, I had it in a week. I just don’t understand why Bill could not get these pieces and I had no problem. He let the job take two months and the job wasn’t even finished!
During the process of being lied to, I took it upon myself the contact the Better Business Bureau. Now, his shop is on record with them due to this situation.
Here's how he let me know about the bumper:
Sep 13, 2008, 11:04 AM
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wow sux to hear!
if he was a reputable body shop, he could make that bumper fit...however, like you said, he probably ordered a knock off el-cheapo part =\
that probably would have cost a lot more labor...hence his excuse for stating that the bumper would not fit...
if he was a reputable body shop, he could make that bumper fit...however, like you said, he probably ordered a knock off el-cheapo part =\
that probably would have cost a lot more labor...hence his excuse for stating that the bumper would not fit...
Sep 13, 2008, 11:19 AM
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for anyone that wants the best possible bodyshop in the midwestern area go to technicraftauto.com, had my car towed there for a accident and only waited a month for the car and i have had numerous body shops take a look at the car and told them i just bought the car and wanted to know if it was in a accident, and they all said it was perfect and no signs. also carmax also looked at it saying it was a perfect car.... the colormatch, my buddy said is unbelievable and blended ever so perfectly.He even looked at the car under like 4 different lights that you generally can point out the diffrences and there where non at all... technicraftauto.com guys is the best bodyshop in the area in my opinion and the only one that i have seen to work on maserati's and ferrari's before!!! warning though they do charge alot per hour i paid like 120 a hour but that was under insurance =)) Having Statefarm also helps a little as they payout the best with least problems...
Technicraft Collision
8311 S Roberts Rd
Justice, IL, 60458
708-598-8030
Technicraft Collision
8311 S Roberts Rd
Justice, IL, 60458
708-598-8030
Last edited by EVOIXMR8916; Sep 13, 2008 at 11:33 AM.
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Oct 14, 2008, 11:48 PM
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quick question. Does this Ultimate Collision Center have any connection or same owner with the one in Edison NJ? I know your from parsippany nj so why does the invoice say NY?
I'm asking this question because my friends subbie was there 2 years ago in edison nj ultimate collision and they gave him the whole wrap around also. took nearly 3 months to get his car back. I think they are doing some sort of insurance scam cuz their work is always backed up. The place looks nice and professional but who knows whats going on back there.
I'm asking this question because my friends subbie was there 2 years ago in edison nj ultimate collision and they gave him the whole wrap around also. took nearly 3 months to get his car back. I think they are doing some sort of insurance scam cuz their work is always backed up. The place looks nice and professional but who knows whats going on back there.
Oct 27, 2008, 07:17 AM
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As far as I know they aren't the same. Same name though, obviously. I took the car there to the one in NY because they were a vendor and I had heard good things about them.
Oct 29, 2008, 10:29 AM
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Did you try to get in contact with UCC on the forums? I know the owner's son and I will say this is the first time I have heard anything negative about UCC. I actually referred my co-worker over there and they did everything she wanted even installed OEM Fogs on her civic
Feb 26, 2009, 05:39 PM
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Tom, I just pmed you, Bill has since been fired and I have revamped the entire staff and shop itself. We had gone through some rough times recently and changes needed to be made. I am so sorry that you got caught up in the middle of this. I pulled off most of the forums recently to hopefully prevent this sort of thing from happening while Bill was still running the shop. I hope we can make things right for you.
Feb 27, 2009, 06:39 AM
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I know Dan's a good guy, I've purchased parts from him in the past and everything went great. I never dealt with Dan throughout this whole ordeal so I'm not bashing him in any way. We'll see what happens. I just hope no one has to go through what I did.
Mar 3, 2009, 10:30 AM
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The Ultimate Collision in edison, NJ is actually a great place to get your car fixed IMO... I've had 2 different cars fixed at their shop in the past 2 years and I got both cars back looking like they just rolled off the factory lot. I mean immaculate condition.... fully cleaned and detailed.
I'd recommend asking for jerry. He's a great guy.
I'd recommend asking for jerry. He's a great guy.
