The good, the bad and the flat-out crazy
Anyone that’s worked a day in the collision repair industry knows that it can be a wild ride. From not-so-happy customers, to jaw-dropping wrecks brought through the door for repairs and self-inflicted oopsies, Collision Repair asked its readers for their craziest industry and repair-related stories; check out the best responses below!
“I once found a nut tied to a string in a quarter panel with a note that read, “how long did it take you to find me?”
—Anonymous
33 years as collision centre owner
“I got a 2006 Avalanche towed in with a whole exhaust pipe through the windshield, no wheels on the vehicle at all. Front end had been stripped with parts and there were bullet holes all over the side of the car. Weirdest thing to get towed in for an insurance job.”
— Sebastian Torres
7 years as collision centre owner
“We repaired and painted a fiberglass horse one time, it stood at the entrance of a horse farm and the nextdoor horses got out and attacked it, busted it up bad. Fixed it up and back on its feet, looking all shiny, like it was sweating.”
— Bill Fonstad
36 years as collision centre owner, technician
“Our coke vending machine stopped working one day, so we called the repairman. He and his helper proceeded to work for five hours but couldn’t find any trouble. They called theiar supervisor, and he came to check out the machine, but also found nothing. They all decided to call for a new machine—when I asked them to check if it was plugged in; they had cut off the power at the start of the day. After that, it started working fine. The lesson: read your instructions and use common sense.”
— Anonymous
50 years as collision centre owner, technician
“My father was welding a motorcycle tank and he blew himself back and up onto a hook. He was elevated off the ground and could not free himself. After the laughter subsided the crew helped him down and patted out the minor fires on his clothes and hair.”
— Anonymous
36 years as collision centre owner, bodyshop staff
“While patching a hole in a quarter panel, a live shot gun shell fell out after I tack welded the patch on.”
—William Speed
10 years shop floor, 27 years high school autobody, 3.5 years as road appraiser
“There have been some b ig oopsies over the years damag ing customer’s cars by accident in the shop. We’re ta lking driving one of them right out of the bu ilding into another one— that tech had a bad day for sure. Nobody was hurt, just more work tha n we bargained for.”
— Anonymous
20 years as collision centre owner
“I was once attacked by a customer.”
— Anonymous
34 years as collision centre owner
