Dt Panels.

[Spunky Munky]

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VGM_jAzPj8&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VGM_jAzPj8&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VGM_jAzPj8&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

WTF? Are you posting "The Matrix?"

[KezR33]

I've only heard great things about DT.

Will be heading in there sometime next week for a quote.

[evilsub]

I'm not fussed this thread is still here, I am not here to hide the truth. I am not a sponsor, nor do I plan to be.

I just wish people were more considerate and to deal with issues with me directly rather than plaster the forums with their stories.

For the few short years that I have taken over the shop I have tried to offer the car community a service which not many other shops do, how many panel shops have denied you as soon as you say 'fibreglass' ? How many panel shops are open on Saturdays for you to pick up the car because you work during the week ? And how many shops charge the rates that we do, for the work involved ?

Fair enough the quality may not be show quality, but I have to think for the general consensus of Jap car owners. The quotes I give are for young people with pockets not so deep, otherwise why would you buy a copy bodykit in the first place ? Everyone knows that genuine kits will fit perfectly almost every time. If you are after a perfect finish that will last you 50 years, say so upfront, and I will send you elsewhere.

Call it inexperience if you will, I have only been managing for 3 years and I am constantly learning, no one is perfect.

Juliette: I think you are misunderstanding where I am coming from, I will try and explain it one more time tomorrow, whether it falls on deaf ears or not. Please SMS your address again, thanks.

Gareth: You caught me on a day I was attending a wedding, otherwise I'm there 7:30AM til 6PM Mon - Fri, and 7:30AM til 5PM on Saturday.

[SS8_Gohan]

i think some of the problems stem from the great rep Vu and DT have, and people rock up there thinking they'll be leaving their cars with a bunch of ex-Lamborghini spray painters, freshly imported from Italy.

You have to be REALISTIC people! Panel beating is expensive not only in labour costs but also in materials as well! Go to a top shop and ask how much MATERIALS alone would cost. Problem is it's a labour intensive profession as well, so it's double whammy from both sides.

I mean, my goodness, Vu would actually send you elsewhere if he thinks you're after something that DT wouldn't particularly offer. Not many places are going to do that.

DT caters for the Jap car market, predominantly - we're not respraying $100K+ cars - we're not generally fitting genuine $$ or OEM plastic kits (well, unless you're stupid like me ) - we have bang for buck cars, and the import parts/performance industry as a whole is catered around that 'value for money' idea. We take pride in the fact we don't get assed raped like the euro community. I just shake my head at some of the costs involved in the family bimmers.

Despite that, Damian @ Final Inspection still couldn't believe the quality of the respray that i got for the money i paid. And he has seen practically every painted vehicle surface imaginable. Of course he could pick up on little things here and there, he's a perfectionist, that's his job, but nothing that couldn't be easily fixed.

IMO, for people who've had a recent respray or planning on having a respray, i think the best thing to do is get Vu to spray it and tell him that you'll be going to Damian @ Final Inspection after. What you do is get a DT respray, then get a Stage 6 detail (approx ~1K) and walk away with a flawless finish. Show quality, $10K+ plus type paint job, but for less than half the price. A nice flat finish, and you'd have uniform micrometre film build across the car, essential for a top quality finish.

I'll be giving my car a thorough detail over the next week or so, and will probably start a thread somewhere so you guys can get a better look at some of the DT's work.

[R31Nismoid]

AP - if this thread was about anyone else, it would not have been closed if it follow the same route as this. Fact is people simply can't resist digging the boot in 95% of the time because "my mates mate..." with attacks and insults.

Most people have said they were "happy for the most but, except 'X'..." Couldn't be further from slander if you tried far as i see it.

If anything it's shown quite clearly there are two sides to every story. I echo the comments about copy body kits, people expecting 100% fitment from a copy are idiots.

I'm happy to shut it down if Vu wants it to be so, that point doesn't phase me at all.

[UnCo]

Vu has worked on my cars before and I have nothing but high praise for his work.

He worked around my schedule and as mentioned previously, he held my car back too because he was not quite happy with the result and wanted to get it right before handing it over. I was more than happy to hear that, the guys down there pride themselves on their work as much as others do their own work.

As with any business, you may have 100 customers that walk away quietly happy but the 1 or 2 that walk away and spread their bad experience is what hurts.

I would happily take my car there again in the future and continue my support of Vu and the DT team.

[antonio]

Ive known Vu's work for a very long time now and ive had smash vehicle of mine fix'd there.

His work is great for the price you pay, and the amount of time put into it.. Not everybody has thousands of dollars for a spray job, Some people ask for a budget spray and Vu does it, because hes trying to help you out.. But then look what happens people cry like a river, And for what? He spends 8hours+ in the shop a day helping people who cant afford that 10k spray job.. And all he gets in return is negative feedback.. Is this what our Skyline community is turning into?

If you dont own a vehicle with DT panels work then you shouldnt be commenting in this thread, Because what you see on the street isnt always true... And people dont always say the truth.

[Birds]

What do you mean all he gets is negative feedback? That's a bit melodramatic man. This thread has a mix of good and bad feedback. As far as I can see it's full of reviews from customers, not people just wanting to sabotage DT. But that's the kind of customer market you take on when you offer value for money services - things aren't always going to be perfect and some customers won't understand that, in turn tarnishing your reputation. You people gotta stop warring with each other - just because you had a good experience doesn't mean someone else did and vice versa. Every story has two sides and there are always alot of stories.

[R34_Wong]

I recently had my girlfriends Honda Civic done at DT for damage done on the drivers side door and I was more than happy with the job. No hassles, no fuss and the car was provided back to me on the arranged time.

She had been in another accident earlier, where the rear of the car needed to be repaired and when we got the car back from that panel shop I was shocked to see how poorly it had been carried out. I had to return to that shop 3 times to get the quality job I expected from a place that was highly recommended by the insurance agency and appeared to display professionalism.

I'm willing to pop a thumbs up for DT.

[Birds]

Don't trust an insurance company to tell you who is good, their idea of good is cost effective! That said I did come across one insurance recommended panelbeater who exceeded expectations.

[aozora]

After my first car I've bought ONLY plastic/metal body parts and have never encountered ANY issues. They scrape on the ground, suffer light taps, I can sit on them... and they're fine. But on my first car... I bought a copy Vertex kit... it wasn't the best and I realised, I got what I paid for but unfortunately panel shops who DON'T make these abortions have to deal with them and put THEIR name to it.

Don't get me wrong - there are fantastic fibreglass kits out there made by Vertex, GP-Sports, C-West, Amuse etc. But too many people buy "DRIFT STYLE" or "V STYLE" kits and the like, expecting D1 show car material - don't fool yourselves seriously. It's easy to spot who cheaped out on their cars regardless of panel shop they visited - cause really, you can only polish a turd so much.

But back on topic... haha - it's difficult to find a panel shop that is willing to represent itself online so openly. This just shows he has nothing to hide which is more than what I can say about some other businesses. I've never seen a situation where Vu hasn't been willing to fix the problem.

DT will source most parts at good rates, be straight up about any potential problems (whether customers actually listen is another thing...) and do extra small custom work. For the price paid, I really think it's extremely good value for money. There are better options out there but you pay heavily for it (if they're willing to take the job that is). Decide what option is best for you really.

In the end if you have a problem with DT - let Vu know about it. He won't bite I struggle to comprehend where these issues have popped up with Vu in charge really...

Edited March 30, 2010 by aozora

[Sarumatix]

Another one with thumbs up for DT. I've been happy with their work and it's been what 3 years now? DT recently matched some more panels for me and the colour is perfect. Vu is always around to answer questions.

[Sheriff Wan]

Cant help but chime in here...

- The guy with the orange car - how can you comment about the quality of paint on your car so long after the job when you havent even had the cut and polish more than 1 year on? Thats just cementing the fact you dont care correctly for your paint work - this is not Vu's work its your doing mate. Im busy too - yet I managed to listen... You contribute nothing.

I have had my car resprayed and a front bar fitted by Vu - the quality of work was exactly what I paid for. I think he did an amazing job for the price - this has been echoed by Damian at Final inspection whos jaw almost hit the ground when he heard how cheap it was. Also from everyone who sees my car think its awesome many months later.

Lastly to the idiots who purchase cheap kits - your the same people who buy eBay turbos & manifolds etc then blame the tuners because they don't work!

Vu - you do good work mate, it's dissapointing to see keyboard warriors come on here and comment, when all of the issues could have been solved by them not being lazy.

[gerz]

you guys just complain too much, read this line below, 10 times, and you will understand.

I echo the comments about copy body kits, people expecting 100% fitment from a copy are idiots.

[Niz32det]

Vu painted and fitted my aftermarket fiberglass front bumper for my R32. Awesome job, fantastic price. Paint was still sparkling after 4 months.

Thumbs up for me

[funkymonkey]

I'm not sold. Some of the paintjobs I've seen on mates' cars done by DT have had blemishes, runs, or simply bad prep. This is not to say all their work is that way, jus the two or three who've asked me to check out their cars.

For example... one of the guys in this thread had his front bar fixed by Vu... he had a factory front bumper repaired with bog. Almost any panel beater knows you don't use regular bog that you use with fibreglass on urethane. Urethane flexes and expands at much different rates that regular bog will just crack and even chip off in some places as it doesn't bond with the urethane. It may look epic when you get it back, and for a couple of months after... but bad prep will only show through 6 months down the track.

Now the forum member's happy with the quality of work he got for the price he paid, but seriously, why not charge a little more and do the job properly? I don't see how the blame needs to be put on "lazy" customers when it comes to matters of expertise that lies with the panel beater. The common customer isn't gonna know about the finer details of proper prep work, nor should they. They should be able to go to a panel beater in confidence that proper work will be carried out. All they have to do is pay the panel beater for the work.

I'm not saying don't go to DT, but the guys who do, don't skimp on the costs and then complain, pay them a little extra and get it done properly. A "bog and spray" isn't how you fix everything.

[evilsub]

I'm not sure who you are talking about, but I have consistently throughout this thread said that my shop caters mostly for younger generation people on a budget. If said customer had come up to me and said 'I want a perfect job, I don't want bog on this bumper, I will pay the extra necessary costs', then I would have 1. told them to replace the factory bar with a brand new one, or 2. outsourced the work to our bumper reconditioners.

I don't know any panel shop who spray perfect jobs straight off the gun, I always tell people if they find any problems, they are more than welcome to bring it back and I will try to sort it out. With regards to runs and blemishes, we are also obligated to fix those, but sometimes it's hard to spot every one of them because we churn out so many cars day in day out. I am almost always willing to resurrect these problems as long as the customer speaks up.

Bad prep can't always be blamed on us either, the customer's car could have previous repairs on it which will affect paintwork on top of that. I am not evading the facts, but every situation is different, you weren't there, you don't know the facts.

As a disclaimer, I take responsibility for all our work, if customers aren't happy with something, they are welcome to take it up with me. I have not intentionally burnt any customers and have always tried my best to provide as much help and guidance to the limit of my capabilities. For any potential customers, you have all the information you need in this thread, you can make decision for yourself, obviously you are not obligated to bring your car to me, nor will I hold anything against you for taking it anywhere else.

Thank you,

Vu

PS. R31Nismoid said he would close down this thread if I requested it, so please do so.