Chevy & GMC Vans

As of Monday the 31st, the fenders and hood are back on and in primer. It looks like they saved the PS fender and replaced the DS and hood.

I love how this pic shows in on Jan 7 and back out by the 24th..... it's Feb1 today and I doubt I will see the van done this week


and hopefully it will look like this again once they are done



Hey I just noticed in these pics that the bodyshop is fixing the paint problem on the top of the DS door frame where it contacts the rubber around the windshield ( the paint was lifting in little sheets but you would only notice when the door was open ) BONUS !

Yea it gonna look good.Congrats.

They ARE going to fix the bumper crush box, too, aren't they?

I just got the call that the van is ready. I have driven by their shop twice a day ( to and from work ) and have not seen the van outside since the pics were take.
Of course we got 6-7 inches of snow and they want their POS rental car back today ( I guess they are expecting an in-flux of new wrecks to repair ).
Although it's going to be hard to spot any imperfections I will take advantage and appreciate the AWD and Winter tires.

Nice to see that your safe and your Astro only LIMPED away.

Gee I'm glad I live out in the sticks.
My biggest worry is hitting an Elk, or a Bear.
That would not be good.

In this pic I think i see something funny.
Looks like maybe the metal is a bit bent because if you look at the double plate area sortof in front of the body mount bolt, where you would need to get inside if it spun loose like lots doo. Anyways there looks like a lot of space under the double plate, as if the area got hit and bent inwards, leaving a pocket under the doubler reinforced area on the front bottom by the frame. I doubt if it would give ya grief though as long as it looks straight, and the body mount bolt hole still lines up. Guess Thats why those front body mount nuts always spin loose inside the body there, because they are supposed to be able to move around in there a bit to provide adjust-ability.
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn21 ... G_0236.jpg

I went by to pick up the van this morning and it's not ready afterall. It has been painted but appartly they were given the wrong grill so they said hopefully it will be ready Friday, Monday latest.

I was so looking forward to getting rid of this bald tired go-cart of a rental car. Might even call the car rental place asking for a different set of wheels. Driving the rental car in the 6" of snow we got yesterday is dangerous

Still waiting for the right pieces of the grille to come in so they can put it back together. I notice as well by the dirt kicked up on the bottom of the doors they have been driving it ( I hope to make sure the alignment was done right ). Every time I call the bodyshop they say it will be a couple more days.

picked it up tonight. I didn't even get out of the parking lot before a CEL came on ( pesky MAF code ). Should have some pics in the AM. Grand Total for repairs was a hair under $6k. Throw in the cost of a rental car for 6 weeks to the day I dropped it off and it was probably cheaper for them to buy me out !

I am pretty happy with the work, the paint matched 100% in my books but now the hood and fenders have enough shine that I may actually ( gasp !! ) polish and wax the van in the spring. I do both the cars 3x a year but never did the van in the almost 5 years I have owned it, which in itself is kind of funny because its the vehicle I paid the most for !!!

Breakdown:
$ 1890.95 parts
$ 2454.20 labour
$ 780.10 shop supplies and Paint Materials
________
$ 5125.70 + 13% hst = $ 5792.04 WOW

blacknome wrote: Breakdown:
$ 1890.95 parts
$ 2454.20 labour
$ 780.10 shop supplies and Paint Materials
________
$ 5125.70 + 13% hst = $ 5792.04 WOW

looks great!

and we wonder why insurance prices are so high in Ontario? $5,792.04 .. yikes

wow- thats good paint work and body work. I can't tell that it took a bite out of a nissan.
^artists rendering of a safari eating a nissan

Well the van is going back to the bodyshop to finish getting fixed. The CEL light is no big deal ( to me anyways ), but when they fixed the flaking paint on the top of the door frame where it rubs the windshield molding they sanded the backside bare but never brought the paint around so it's down to bare metal there ( even though it had nothing to do with the accident or the damage incurred if they started to fix it they should finish it IMO ).
Another issue I found is when I pulled out the MAF sensor to clean it ( trying to get rid of the code ) I noticed the the AC line into the condensor was very very loose ( barely finger tight to the condensor ). So loose in fact that the AC unit will only cycle on for about 30 seconds so I am thinking thed R134 has leaked out and it needs to be recharged again as well.

So bodyshop says they are going to do good by me. The guy who I happened to grab from behind the counter the night I picked up the van is the shop manager. Said I can drop it off on Wed and have it back by Friday. He is going to fix both sides where the paint is flaking off and the AC.

I just want the van back

Well I finally have my van back. They fixed the flaking paint on the tops of both doors and fixed the AC line. The van has been spoiled to 2 detailings in as many weeks and looks great !!! I kind of felt a little guilty driving it over these salt covered roads and within 3 blocks the detail job was ruined :(

So all told it was 7 weeks of winter driving ( all of Jan and most of Feb ) in a rental car with shitty tires while my AWD Van with 4 snows sat in the shop

thx for the support guys !!!

glad it's finally case closed. i'm happy you got your sweet van back, can only imagine how happy you are