Can anyone recommend a good auto body repair shop in FC, PW or Loudon?

Popes Auto Body in Fairfax City. It's on a side street just off of Fairfax Circle.

I liked the (fully insurance paid so I didn't have negative feelings about cost) results from Chantilly Auto Body: http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&ie=UTF8&q=body+shop&fb=1&gl=us&ei=wHnZTOWYOML68Ab_trC9CQ&ved=0CAYQtgMwAg&t=h&sll=38.891133,-77.46475&sspn=0.007582,0.0103&rq=1&ev=p&split=1&radius=0.33&hq=body+shop&hnear=&ll=38.891133,-77.46475&spn=0.007582,0.0103&z=17

I believe this shop has been there like forever.

I like Craftsman -- been dealing with them for yrs. Chantilly and Falls Church. A bit on the pricey side but you get what you pay for.

I've been to Pope's and asked for an estimate and then went about one block over for another estimate. Pope's was a little more, so I went with M&M Collision and they were really nice, fast and did good work. The estimate was spot on.

Your best bet is to compare, there are a few collision places right after Fairfax Circle on Campbell Drive and Draper Drive.

M & M Collision
3165 Campbell Drive
Fairfax, VA 22031
(703) 591-9601

Quality Auto Body on the Draper Drive near Popes did great work repairing the Lezmobile.

Auto Body of Vienna never fails.

703-938-7910

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I have had to change the addresses to my retaliatory blogs over half a dozen times.

fairfaxdude Wrote:
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> Auto Body of Vienna never fails.
>
> 703-938-7910

shameless plug for this poster's employer.

JstLvng Wrote:
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> Can anyone recommend a good auto body repair shop
> in FC, PW or Loudon?
>

OK, now that you've received some good recommendations, there's probably a few you should avoid. For example, avoid the ads on Craigslist that claim they can fix your car in 2 hours in your drive way. Total rip-off.

Unless you have a special car, I'd just use your insurance company's preferred shop.

I got rear-ended about 5 years ago and my ins co used Jerry's Collision. The insurance man had a desk at the shop, and he had the rental car ready for me. I drove my wrecked car (Toyota) in and drove out in the rental minutes later.

They did good work and matched the paint perfectly. Five years later, you can't tell it had the rear quarter panels and trunk lid replaced.

Now, I wouldn't have done it that way if it was my '69 Z/28, but for just a regular, run-of-the-mill car, fuck it, who needs the hassle?

And before everybody says preferred shops do shitty work, they generally do not do shitty work.

It's a symbiotic relationship. In exchange for a fair price, the body shop gets TONS of work. If the insurance company gets a lot of complaints about quality of work the shop does, they find another shop.

I've heard Matchless Body Works is very good. I went there to get an appointment for my wife's car but they had a two to three week waiting list. Their location is somewhat inconvenient as it's out on Leesburg Pike (Rt 7) just east of the intersection with Baron Cameron (606).

http://www.matchlessbodyworks.com/

I ended up taking the car to the auto body shop across from the Herndon PO. I wouldn't take it to the one on Center St. The car handled poorly after it was supposedly fixed.

Thank you everyone!!!

Be aware of Preferred shops - or so-called "no hassle" or "concierge services" offered by insurance companies. They claim to take care fo everything for you and in some cases you have no interaction with the shop.

In these cases they negotiate bulk deals with shops and insist that they use aftermarket body parts which are much less expensive than OEM parts. These are typically made in China or Korea and are not as good as OEM parts. The OEMs use the same stamps and molds for their parts while aftermarket sellers recreate them. The metal is usually thinner and they NEVER (and I mean NEVER) fit like an OEM part. In some cases these aftermarket parts can affect the car's resale value - especially if its a higher end car (Corvette, BMW, Benz etc).

I would always insist on OEM parts.