Date: 22 May 1986 17:41-EST
From: Antoon.K.Laane@me.ri.cmu.edu
Subject: Car Bodywork References
To: Bovik@k
Message-Id: <517182083/akl@me.ri.cmu.edu>

 Harry,
	Following is a post I put on General, and the two replies I
 received.  Hope they are of some help to others as well.  I went with
 the first guy and will let you know how it went in a week or so.

 Antoon.
_____________________________
Original Post
_____________________________

>I am looking for a place to do some body and paint work on my Toyota Tercel.
>Does anyone have any leads to preferred places and/or places to avoid.  I
>Also, should I tell a mechanic I already have an insurance estimate before
>or after he makes me an offer?
>Replies will be summarized and forwarded to Bovik.
>Thanks
>akl@me

_____________________________
Reply 1
_____________________________

Date: Monday, 12 May 1986 08:28:26 EDT
From: John.Pane@gandalf.cs.cmu.edu
To: antoon.laane@me.ri.cmu.edu
Subject: car repair

My cousin Louis Pane owns a business in the South Hills:
	CARS, Inc.
	3310 Industrial Blvd
	Bethel Park, PA 15102
	(412) 831-2277

He specializes in collision repair, refinishing, and restoration.  I think
that he does very good work, but I may be biased.  I'm not sure about
prices, because my father always handled that part with the cars we had
done.

If you are interested, I can give you his card.  Or you can call him.  Tell
him that I sent you.  He usually has something in the shop that he can show
you, to demonstrate his work, and he has some before/after pictures too.

Good luck,
John


_____________________________
Reply Two
_____________________________


Date: 12 May 1986 09:12-EST
From: Albert.Johnson@A.SEI.CMU.EDU
Subject: Re: Car Bodywork references?
To: Antoon.K.Laane@me.ri.cmu.edu 

Denny's Auto Service in Swissvale (about 10-15 Min. from campus) just
completed some collision work on my Mercury Lynx.  The collision was
pretty nasty -- the car that hit me bent the frame of my car, and put
accordion creases in the rear body side panels on both sides of the car.  

Denny's straightened the frame, smoothed out the pleats, and checked
the major operating systems of the car - from the CV joints through the
fuel system - then perfectly matched the paint, and rubbed down the
finish.  They were by no means the most expensive, but they did a darn
good job.  He even checked the wheel alignment, a critical item because
the alignment is set at the factory and can only be 'adjusted' by
bending the frame, except for the toe-in of the front wheels. 

I see some problems in your case, though.  When I had an adjuster look
at my car, he and Denny agreed on the work to be done and the price
that work would cost.  If you already have an estimate, it may not
cover everything that is wrong with your car as a result of the
collision.  Moreover, I do not think you can make that estimate binding on any
mechanic.  I believe that it's only binding when the garage and the
insurance adjuster discuss the estimate in person, and both of them
sign and date the estimation sheet.

Anyway, you can phone Denny at 351-0859 to discuss the matter.  You can
phone me at x7610 to discuss anything I said in this letter.