[TorqueyTechie]

As I had updated in the previous post, had got a quote from Trend Automobiles for carrying out repair work on my car. Called them up over the weekend and told I would drop the car over on Wednesday. The work to be done on my car were:
1. Removing the dents on the left side doors.
2. Fixing the scratch on the front bumper.
3. Painting the two doors and the front bumper as well as touch up of minor scratches present on the car.
4. Complete body polish.

Dropped the car at 9 30 on Wednesday morning while going to office. They committed to give the car in two days. Around an hour later they call me back asking me to confirm the color of the car as mentioned in the RC book so that there is no confusion. As committed I got the car today back from them. The entire process was as smooth as it goes. Not a single hiccup. Some of the points which I would like to mention .

Pros :
1. Entirely transparent process. They explain everything that goes in the process if you are keen to hear and have time.
2. All painting is done in the paint booth and they are very particular about the color matching. It will definitely not be the same as factory paint but it is as close as it gets.
3. As mentioned by others earlier, this is a family run business (3 brothers) who are all knowledgeable in what they do.

Cons :
1. As mentioned earlier by others interior there was some fine dust (on the dashboard) which was not cleaned. Not a big thing.
2. They prefer to transact in cash. Again not a big issue but for people like me who do not like to carry cash, make sure you do. Else be ready to pay 2% extra on card payments.

After I got the car I did a complete check and was satisfied with the kind of work they have done on the car. I was actually worried about any paint mismatch and if it would show up in the final product but after seeing the car I was impressed. I would overall rate them as 4 out of 5. I would definitely recommend this to anyone (atleast for similar kind of work needed as mine).

Now for some pics of the final product.

Passenger doors :


Front bumper :

[B103]

Two of my mallu friends in Team-Bhp had recommended 'Trend' to me. I have been watching this thread since then.

Finally, it is time for me to give them a try. Scraped the right side of front bumper and the adjacent panel of my Honda City because of a momentary lapse in concentration, inside my apartment complex itself.

Planning to go there some time this month. Let me how it goes.

[B103]

I dropped the car today morning at Trend. Workshop location is marked in Google maps and I used it to reach there. It is on the backside of Surya Nissan on Hosur road. I found a Uber pickup back home.

There were 4 others owners with cars by 9:45 am. I could see all the 3 brothers but could chat with only 2 of them.

I had a chat with elder brother Mr. Dinesh. Seems a lot of their business leads are coming via references and word of mouth. Since they are not maintaining a web site of their own, Mr Dinesh was candid to admit that they are grateful to team-bhp for the references coming by this site

My experience is good till now. Let me see how things go. I am expecting to get my work to be completed by this weekend.

[subbu567]

Hello Folks

Well my aged warrior 2007 Innova had two minor mishaps last month. One I bumped into a two wheeler who was coming on the wrong side while taking a right U turn and then second while reversing the car from a parking zone that had stubs all around, hit one of them.

The two wheeler rider is completely fine. Though I had to pay some money for repairs. This was primarily caused by momentary visibility loss on the right turn as I had foolishly stuck my mobile holder on the quarter glass in a manner that jets out just to the left of the c pillar and above the dash. This should not be done as it definitely blocks visibility on dark roads.

So went to trend 930 am on a Monday and my car was ready on Tuesday.Below are the before and after pictures. (Last two are 'after')

Price : PDR for right fender 850 Rs!
Bumper repair and paint one the damaged side -1800 Rs
Polishing, complete - 1800 Rs

The process was transparent, Aneesh explained the procedure and got it done precisely. I am not sure of the recent bad experiences posted here. I am extremely satisfied and happy with the results, the treatment, the transparency and the condition of the car on delivery. May be TEAM BHP sticker helped Seriously good job.

[B103]

I got my car back. Trend promised a 97% paint match and did an excellent job in short time and at a nominal rate. I could not make out any difference from the original paint and the repainting. There is a 2 year guarantee on the job as well.

The pics after repair are attached

Note: Dinesh (eldest brother), Satish (middle brother) and Ani (youngest brother) are running the show at Trend. Communication at Trend is honest and straight. The most important thing which I have noticed is that painting is the passion for at least the elder brother Dinesh.

From my side, no more worries about those usual petty scratches and dents in Bangalore traffic. I know the dent busters now

[Dr.Naren]

My Baleno got dented by a biker trying to squeeze through. It looks like a crease. I am planning to visit Trend for the same. I dont think it would require painting. What would be the cost?

[alphahere]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

My Baleno got dented by a biker trying to squeeze through. It looks like a crease. I am planning to visit Trend for the same. I dont think it would require painting. What would be the cost?

A crease of that kind would mostly require painting. Reason being that it is well upwards on the body. Even if they do a dent repair without painting, it may not be perfect. A reflection would immediately show that a repair has been done. Moreover the crease is ending exactly above the door handle where there is a sharp corner which might be hard to repair. They would remove the door pad from inside and try to push back the dent with their tools. A paintless repair should cost less than 1000 bucks for that. Would like to know what decision you take and a picture after the repair too.

I have done a Paintless Dent Repair on my i20 from Trend for a dent caused by 2 wheeler. But that was towards the lower part of the wheel arch and it was not long. The reflection looks wavy on that in good sunlight but since it is towards the bottom you can hardly notice it. But it can be identified by someone looking carefully for it. I do not think this kind of finish will be sufficient for the place where you have your dent and given the length of your dent.

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by alphahere

A crease of that kind would mostly require painting. Reason being that it is well upwards on the body. Even if they do a dent repair without painting, it may not be perfect. A reflection would immediately show that a repair has been done. Moreover the crease is ending exactly above the door handle where there is a sharp corner which might be hard to repair. They would remove the door pad from inside and try to push back the dent with their tools. A paintless repair should cost less than 1000 bucks for that. Would like to know what decision you take and a picture after the repair too.

I have done a Paintless Dent Repair on my i20 from Trend for a dent caused by 2 wheeler. But that was towards the lower part of the wheel arch and it was not long. The reflection looks wavy on that in good sunlight but since it is towards the bottom you can hardly notice it. But it can be identified by someone looking carefully for it. I do not think this kind of finish will be sufficient for the place where you have your dent and given the length of your dent.

I am concerned about paint matching. Even my local MASS doesn't have premium silver color paint in stock. Also, I was told paint spray gun and mechanism is different for Nexa cars and Maruti sends Painter with special tools from Calicut to my local dealer (Kasaragod). I will enquire in Mangalore too as there are 2 Nexa dealerships.

[alphahere]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

I am concerned about paint matching. Even my local MASS doesn't have premium silver color paint in stock. Also, I was told paint spray gun and mechanism is different for Nexa cars and Maruti sends Painter with special tools from Calicut to my local dealer (Kasaragod). I will enquire in Mangalore too as there are 2 Nexa dealerships.

Paint matching is a skill whether it be at the service center or outside. The matching has to be done on the particular car in question. For example your Baleno and someone else's Baleno of the same colour but different batch may not match in shades. It is advisable not to do painting at Maruti given my experience with them or any other A*S*S for that matter.

Also I do not understand why they say painting mechanism is different for NEXA? The factory is a controlled environment and there will never be any foreign particles floating in the air which can settle on the wet paint whichever the manufacturer is. In an MASS they will never be able to replicate the factory finish just by painting in their booth. There are a lot of manual steps after painting like wet sanding, buffing and polishing to cure the surface and polish the paint so that it will match the factory finish at least 95% which is never done by usual MASS. When I got my new Midnight Black Ciaz from NEXA last year, they had tried to cover up a scratch on the driver side door by repainting. But it was immediately evident from the reflections that it was a repaint job. The same week even before getting the car permanently registered, I got the whole driver door repainted from a trusted paintshop in Kochi and made NEXA pay for it. Even NEXA agreed that they would not have been able to match this finish. The guys at Trend follow this same process of painting and finishing which is why I believe they would be definitely better than MASS.

My suggestion is to ignore the 'gyaan' about different kind of paint spray gun and special tools and choose your option accordingly. They probably said that to keep you from going elsewhere!

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by alphahere

Paint matching is a skill whether it be at the service center or outside. The matching has to be done on the particular car in question. For example your Baleno and someone else's Baleno of the same colour but different batch may not match in shades. It is advisable not to do painting at Maruti given my experience with them or any other A*S*S for that matter.

Also I do not understand why they say painting mechanism is different for NEXA? The factory is a controlled environment and there will never be any foreign particles floating in the air which can settle on the wet paint whichever the manufacturer is. In an MASS they will never be able to replicate the factory finish just by painting in their booth. There are a lot of manual steps after painting like wet sanding, buffing and polishing to cure the surface and polish the paint so that it will match the factory finish at least 95% which is never done by usual MASS. When I got my new Midnight Black Ciaz from NEXA last year, they had tried to cover up a scratch on the driver side door by repainting. But it was immediately evident from the reflections that it was a repaint job. The same week even before getting the car permanently registered, I got the whole driver door repainted from a trusted paintshop in Kochi and made NEXA pay for it. Even NEXA agreed that they would not have been able to match this finish. The guys at Trend follow this same process of painting and finishing which is why I believe they would be definitely better than MASS.

My suggestion is to ignore the 'gyaan' about different kind of paint spray gun and special tools and choose your option accordingly. They probably said that to keep you from going elsewhere!

Thanks for the suggestion buddy!! I will visit Trend during my next drive to bangalore. "Different Spray Gun" for Nexa cars is told by both kasaragod dealer and a Maruti service centre in bangalore too(near electronic city).

P.S. I guess you meant MASS/Maruti dealer instead of Nexa for your Ciaz.

[alphahere]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

P.S. I guess you meant MASS/Maruti dealer instead of Nexa for your Ciaz.

I meant NEXA and not the usual MASS. When I got the Ciaz it was being delivered through NEXA even though it has been pulled out from NEXA now. But my service is still being handled by NEXA at Kochi and not MASS. They probably don't want to lose a customer and keep pestering when the service becomes due and they pick up and deliver the car free. With excellent service to boot!

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by alphahere

I meant NEXA and not the usual MASS. When I got the Ciaz it was being delivered through NEXA even though it has been pulled out from NEXA now. But my service is still being handled by NEXA at Kochi and not MASS. They probably don't want to lose a customer and keep pestering when the service becomes due and they pick up and deliver the car free. With excellent service to boot!

Most of the existing Maruti dealerships got Nexa. It might be unofficial delivery of your Ciaz by them. Ciaz was never sold through Nexa dealerships(officially). I have seen regular maruti dealers providing delivery of Nexa cars based on the convenience of customers.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

Most of the existing Maruti dealerships got Nexa. It might be unofficial delivery of your Ciaz by them. Ciaz was never sold through Nexa dealerships(officially). I have seen regular maruti dealers providing delivery of Nexa cars based on the convenience of customers.

Sorry for going off-topic. Even though the Ciaz was never listed as a NEXA car, they did keep it on display in NEXA showrooms. This happened for a couple of months when some of the NEXA showrooms were ready, and the S-Cross wasn't launched by then.

Kindly have a look- Click to View

May be BHPian Alphahere got his Ciaz during that period.


BTW sad to see your Baleno getting its first dent. I did enquire at my NEXA dealer's workshop and they confirmed that some shades, specially those which are exclusive to NEXA like Urban Blue, Premium Silver etc need a separate spraying gun, which may not be available at the smaller MASSes. But with the launch of the Vitara Brezza, which is a mass market product, its only a matter of time before all MASS are equipped for handling that paint.

Regards,
Shashi

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Sorry for going off-topic. Even though the Ciaz was never listed as a NEXA car, they did keep it on display in NEXA showrooms. This happened for a couple of months when some of the NEXA showrooms were ready, and the S-Cross wasn't launched by then.

Kindly have a look- Click to View

May be BHPian Alphahere got his Ciaz during that period.


BTW sad to see your Baleno getting its first dent. I did enquire at my NEXA dealer's workshop and they confirmed that some shades, specially those which are exclusive to NEXA like Urban Blue, Premium Silver etc need a separate spraying gun, which may not be available at the smaller MASSes. But with the launch of the Vitara Brezza, which is a mass market product, its only a matter of time before all MASS are equipped for handling that paint.

Regards,
Shashi

I still don't understand why spraying gun is different. I hope PDR works out. I can live with it for few more weeks since I don't see it daily because it's on left side

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

I still don't understand why spraying gun is different. I hope PDR works out. I can live with it for few more weeks since I don't see it daily because it's on left side

They did show me their test drive S cross(Blue,1.6) which had minor repairs and had gone painting from what they called regular spray gun. Apart from the mismatch in shade and texture(had more orange peel effect), I couldn't notice any other issues. They claimed that they had used the color codes by Maruti, and it was due to the gun which caused the paint issue.

I have little to doubt their credibility as they have one of the best body shops in the region.


If the PDR guys assure you of complete removal of dent, that is the way to go, as I myself prefer to keep the factory paint as long as possible.

Regards,
Shashi