Bonnell's Collision in Erie

We had the standard Ford Expedition rust issue with the underside of the tailgate on our 03 Ford Expedition, so shortly after I bought the truck I took it to Bonnell’s Collision in Erie.  I figure that they’re huge, always busy – they must be good.

 

I paid close to $800 to have the tailgate removed, strip the emblems and take out the interior pieces, sandblast it, prime/paint it and replace everything.  Less than 12 months later, the same rust spots are back on the underside of the tailgate. 

 

I went back to Bonnell’s and the first thing I was told was that they didn’t do the underside of the tailgate, just the outside.  I pointed out that he was wrong, the reason I had brought it in was the underside and that rust was gone when I picked it up so they definitely did it.  He said he can’t guarantee for rust because Expeditions have aluminum tailgates that rust.  I told him I understand that, but it had been less than a year, and the problem must be their work since it started rusting again so quickly.  One would think you could get more than 11 months rust-free out of a perfectly prepared, sandblasted and painted piece of metal, even in Erie.

 

He told me he couldn’t do anything for me now because it’s collision season (despite us having gotten less than a few inches of snow in total this year at that point).  I’m sure he could have squeezed the truck in to maintain their reputation and keep a customer happy.  But no, he wants me to bring it back in the Spring and he says he’ll do the tailgate for his cost (whatever that is, he didn’t mention it.) 

 

I’m just throwing this out on the web because I paid quite a bit to have the job done right and was unimpressed with their work in the short term.  I didn’t like how he immediately jumped to the conclusion that I was a moron and that I was pointing to an area they didn’t work on, and I didn’t like that he wasn’t comfortable standing behind his company’s work and fixing it quickly.  Now I need to watch it get worse (especially after he scraped the bubbled paint off leaving bare metal).

 

I actually need the bottom of the back doors done too, but guess what?  There’s no way I’m going to Bonnell’s.  How do I know they won’t screw up the same way they did before?  I’m taking it elsewhere. Granted, that won’t bury them, they’ll still make money hand over fist in Erie, but hey – I get to tell my story.

 

Expensive, bad work, bad customer service, poor attitude.