My experience with auto body shops near Harford Road in Parkville, MD

For reasons which I will not describe here I have spent most of it either stressing about or running around town getting estimates on some vehicle damage. What I realized as I began to do some research on the web is that there is remarkably little information about some of the local body shops in the area. Understandably, most people simply go wherever their insurance company sends them, but when that's not an option it would be nice to be able to look for Auto Body shops in Parkville, MD on Google and get a feeling for someone's tactile experiences with getting a quote from a few different places.

And that is exactly what I intend to do in this factual recount of my experience today.

My day began at 8:00 with a search on local.yahoo.com for "body shop" around my home address in Parkville, MD. I got back the following shops:

Late yesterday we had passed by Rathell Motors on Taylor Avenue, tucked in a cluster with a pizza shop, hardware store and a bunch of other small places just east of Perring Parkway. Just from a glance at their single garage entrance and small storefront I decided to skip them. The rest were a bit out of the way and I wanted to keep it to bus routes if I decided to go with any of them.

Next on the list in my preference order were Parkville Body and Fender, which distinguished itself on the Internet for being the owners of parkville.com. I was also impressed during the drive-by on Harford Road with the quality of the building they were in, a couple of full bays visible from the street, and their close association with the Oakleigh Towing. I called them at 8:30 and made a 13:00 appointment with "the Estimator," which was the earliest I could be seen. Their demeanor on the phone was very professional and I was off in just a few minutes.

I called Heritage Chrysler Honda right afterwards, and was told they would be do an estimate any time between 8:00 and 17:00 that day. Since there was no appointment and I knew they would have some sort of coffee and donuts in their shop (call it prescience), I decided to save them for last.

After repairing the major damage with string and duct tape, I realized it was raining outside. I came back in and made my third call to T.J. High-Tech Auto Body. Diane Ruth answered the phone after a single ring. I explained my situation to her and she said "We don't do estimates on Monday, sorry." I was okay with this and thanked her, saying it was going to be a long day since I took it off to do just this. I was surprised when she told me that since I took the day off for this that if I could get over there shortly she would get an estimator to take a look at my car.

"We don't do estimates in the rain, tho," she said, "They're never complete." I told her it was already raining and she told me to hurry on over.

Fifteen minutes later I was in their parking lot, and Diane came out to take a look at my car. As we stood around the car, she marked down the items that she could see visually needing repair and talked with me about the various things that could be hidden from view but still be an issue. I found her very pleasant to talk to and it really took a big chunk out of the overall stress I was feeling from the day to have a friendly face starting it off.

She called out another gentleman who's name I didn't catch who confirmed everything on her list and pointed to his suspicion that there might be some invisible damage based on some small evidence. We went back inside and I sat in the chair across from her desk as she called around to the after=market supplier and ran the necessary parts through the computer system. The office was cosy and matter-of-fact, with no extra books on the shelves and just a handful of amusing personal signs and some photos. I didn't get a real good look at the bays, but what I could see through the door was very neatly arranged.

I noticed that the last names on all the name plates were identical. "You're family owned?" I asked. Father, son, daughter and sister-in-law she replied (to the best of my recollection). We chatted for a few minutes about how Parkville businesses were like that, and hoped it wouldn't change any time soon. When the estimate printed, she took the time to talk about the fluctuation in the after-market parts availability and told me that even if they didn't have it now, it might be that in three weeks something that I needed would come available, but that all depended on my schedule. She pointed out the parts where things could get more expensive and scribbled them on the side of the estimate sheet with their approximates. I thanked her for her help and she wished me good luck.

When I got home, on a whim I called Ed and Jim's Body Shop and was told they also had an 8-5 estimates schedule. I put them on the list next to Heritage Chrysler Honda to round out the end of the day.

The next stop was Parkville Body and Fender, where I met Greg Jones for our appointment. Greg did not write me and estimate for reasons that I won't get into here, except to say that it was probably in my best interests. He was very professional and took the time to discuss his business and the fact that they are so filled up with insurance work from their State Farm contracts that they really don't need to go seeking extra work and don't take a lot of chances with their reputation. I was impressed by his frankness and the quality of the shop, which has apparently been serving the area since 1951 (and proudly, if their logo is any example).

I was disappointed to not get a formal preliminary estimate from them since I would have been interested to see what they could spot that other places didn't, but I will certainly keep them in mind for my preference for insurance service if I should ever need them in the future. After getting a business card from Mr. Jones, I thanked him and left.

Ed and Jim's Body Shop was next on the list. I was met at the counter by Denny Spataro, who walked out to the car with me and was not as understanding about my predicament. I casually mentioned that I had heard a lot of the things he was mentioning and when he asked told him I was getting other estimates. He laughed and said, "Why are you doing that? They're all going to be the same!" This was especially ironic because his came out 14% higher than the other two I received that day, only 5% of it being parts.

The atmosphere at this shop was very matter of fact. It was staffed by a lot of older gentlemen talking about Parkville Recreation and their fishing boats. I sat looking at their wall of certifications behind the counter while Denny typed the estimate parts into the computer. Admittedly our interaction during the estimation soured my opinion of the shop somewhat, but I couldn't wait to get out of there. About ten minutes later he handed me my printout, I grabbed a business card and walked out.

From the outside, their building appears to be very nice, with whitewashed garages and (if I remember clearly) four bays a few busy looking people walking in and out of the employee area. Maybe other people would have a more pleasant experience, but I certainly didn't enjoy my visit. The shop has been open since 1971, so I assume enough people must like their service.

Last stop was Heritage Chrysler Honda, which I was really looking forward to. Their office was very open, with a waiting area with a large screen television, free coffee and a soda and snack machine. I'm a sucker for amenities, and my toes were cold from standing around the car so much that day that it was nice to sit in a comfortable chair and watch C-SPAN for a few minutes while my estimate was run.

I've always respected the Honda name so I knew that anyone who was closely affiliated with it would have to be running a tight ship. I've only been disappointed in them a few times and for things unrelated to the actual service or customer service, and the various Honda-affiliated shops have immediately resolved with me to my satisfaction.

The estimation was quick and efficient, with the estimator being very friendly and understanding of my situation. He walked off to the back office to take care of everything and I enjoyed a complimentary cup of coffee and a Snickers Bar from the snack machine. The receptionist and estimator both made me feel very comfortable at the end of my stressful day and even though he informed me that they no longer provide a shuttle service for customers, it was a quick trip down Harford Road on the always helpful MTA bus service.

I hope this was helpful to anyone reading. Anyone with body shop needs is already too stressed to think they are the first people to need to limp up and down Harford Road to find a good service center. With any luck, you won't have to.

Please let me know how you got here, if this page was useful to you, and your opinions.

Unless noted, all content on epistolary.org is © Copyright 1999-2008 to Rob Carlson with all rights reserved. All information is verified when possible, cited as appropriate and applied in the real world at your own risk. Send all feedback to rob@vees.net.

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