Opinions on Recent Body Work

Just got my 2010 SR5 Access Cab back from the body shop for repair from a front end collision. I had to take it back for them aim the headlights, replace a fender flare they mistakenly painted (lost the texture) and I also asked them to try to better align the bumper. Well I'm not convinced the bumper is aligned a good as it should be. I don't like being a complaining customer. I worked as a mechanic four years so I know what it's like.

I'd like to hear some second opinions on this. Would you guys take it back again and ask for better alignment? I'm looking specifically at the gap above the bumper right below the headlights. Check the attached pics.

 

Looks like shoddy work to me.....

 

In my opinion it should fit tighter than it is on both sides. It looks like the driver side is a little worse. That gap on the flares looks huge to me also, on both sides. Factory for mine fits much better.

 

misaligned parts usually point to aftermarket parts.

Are you sure they used OEM parts?

 

As a body tech myself I will throw in my 2 cents, aftermarket parts or OEM; rarely fit like the original. Aftermarket usually fits like crap, thank your insurance company for the bumper if it is aftermarket, I always fight for OEM parts to avoid issues like this. Not making excuses for them, however it looks like it could be something that could be fixed in a matter of minutes. They might have just rushed it back together last second if it was a Friday or end of the month.

 

All parts are OEM. Made sure of that. One thing I did notice is that the bottom steel support brackets which are riveted, are loose. I can actually move the bumper about a quarter inch because of that. And I'm not flexing the bumper when doing that.

I know plastic pieces like this can be a pain to work with. But the more I look at this and compare with other 2nd gen tacoma's I'm thinking more and more I should not just settle. The loose rivets are really convincing me.

 

x2

 

I'd bring it back. You're not out of line or being an asshole customer for doing so.

 

Looks like a discount repair.

 

I don't think it's bad, you are the only one who will notice it. But if it bugs you they should make it right.

 

Perfect...no, but probably no one will notice but you. It may be the bumper cover itself and there may be nothing that you can do. The paint work looks fine.

 

Shit. This makes me feel like I should fix mine :/

 

It looks almost like the little piece below the drivers headlight is misaligned. I had a passenger side collision and have taken it back 4 times to make it okay. It's not great. If you close the gap too much it may rub and take paint off which was the problem I was having.

 

Oh that piece is barely even attached. It wiggles around like crazy. When I finally get a free weekend I'll have to see if I can't secure it somehow. Drives me nuts when I walk by it.

I'm more concerned with the gap between my fenders and bumper. It seems way too large to me.

 

Most shops will fix it on the shop if they did the repairs and you aren't happy with them. At my shop you bring it in, tell one of the adjusters what you dont like, he drives it into the bay for us and we drop what we are doing and fix/inspect it. Usually leaves in minutes.

 

I wish it were that easy. I bought the truck from the dealer like this about 8 months ago. It was repaired from a previous wreck by the PO. There's no way anyone would touch it for free now.

 

I do have to agree, they did a fantastic job with the paint. I got to give props to whomever shot the paint. I've heard it can be difficult to get the texture on these SR5 bumpers and flares right. They seem to have gotten it right on.

One thing I should note is that the head lights are OPT OEM. I had been told that I would be getting all genuine OEM parts when I got the quote and that the OPT OEM headlights were quoted to simply just get a discounted price. It seems like these headlights may not be geniune Toyota. That may also be causing some of the alignment issues. Part of my frustration is also due to other small promises they made and didn't complete.

Just getting tired of dealing with this. Wishing I had taken it to another body shop I had gotten a quote from.

braik, Looks like something scuffed your bumper. Hard to say if there's broken tabs or something else. Either way your gaps are too wide.

 

Yea. The truck was in a front end collision sometime in its illustrious history (before it started posing as a TRD Sport I assume). Looks like the PO replaced the diff and tie rods and left the bumper the way it was. I don't know much about it, but I'll have to get under there soon and see just what's broken, what's fine, and what's been rigged. If it's too much for me, I'll see what the shop can do.

 

Not sure if it's an alignment issue or just a bad bumper. The gaps at both fender flares and the gaps where the bumper meets the grill appear to be the same. It looks like the surface of the actual bumper sags, is there any play in top surface in the area of concern?

edit: are we talking the horizontal line or the vertical line? The Vertical line between the flare and the small piece directly under the headlight is not optimal

 

Not really sure. I will try and remember to check after work.