QuestionI was involved in a collision that damaged the front bumper and the hood (2004 Nissan Sentra); the hood will not latch shut and is secured (?) with ropes underneath so the hood won't (I pray)fly up. Here's my current situation: The body shop has been selected (by me), the Insurance company has already sent them a check, the shop estimator has taken pictures of the damage, I signed some sort of "authorization" to do the work. NOW, "we" wait for the parts to come in to the shop, then they will call me to bring the car in. I am not familiar with Office (Ordering/obtaining parts)procedures, but 2 weeks have passed and I haven't heard anything. Since I am stressed out having to drive my car in the hood's precarious condition, I am getting very antsy. I called them last Friday to see what kind of progress they are making in obtaining the parts. I wanted to hear that they have "some parts", "waiting for such and such", etc. just to get an IDEA of what's a "normal" wait??
Instead, I just got the general answer of: "We are waiting for the parts. We will call you when they get here." What is an average timespan to "wait" for parts to arrive (in my case, it would be a bumper,hood, hood latch, and various other smaller parts and attachments). I want to be patient and reasonable (I know I can't make the parts appear), I just want to know what is usual (or not usual). Thank you. Sorry to be so "wordy" (a little venting, I'm sure).
AnswerHi Maryann,
This questions is kind of hard to answer, as there are a lot of variables (Area of the country you live in, type of parts being used ie: new, used, aftermarket, and are there any parts on backorder).
In my part of the country, Lansing, MI, Nissan parts generally take 3 to 5 days to get from most suppliers.
It sounds to me like the body shop you're working with could use a bump-up in their customer service. What's probably going on is likely one of just a few things.
1) Somebody forgot to order the parts and doesn't want to 'fess up to it. (Trust me, I've seen it happen)
2) They've got a part on back order, or something out of their control like that. It's fairly common to have a part that you just CAN'T get for a while. If this is the case, they should be calling YOU to inform you of the progress or lack of, not waiting for you to call.
3) They could POSSIBLY be too busy to get to the car and don't want to admit that they're too busy to get to yours. (Trust me, I've seen that too).
Give them another call, and be nice about it. Explain to them that they are not knocking your socks off with the customer service. Don't be afraid to ask them for specifics regarding what the hold up is. If they don't want to play nice, you always have the option of choosing another repairer.
I hope this info helps you out. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate.
Good luck and have a good day!
Aaron
