A New Frank
Rick from the Rain City Hearse Club recommended L-M Auto on our discussion forum right around the time I returned to Seattle. In the back of my mind, I was planning to look for someone as patient and skilled as Frank to help maintain the car once I got up here, but I wasn't looking forward to the arduous task of finding the phantom "perfect shop".
Of course, I found myself needing some minor body work and door lock repairs almost immediately, so I took the car in last week. Since I never had a car up here, I wouldn't have known where to go if Rick hadn't said something about L-M out of the blue.
Dave, the owner, was relaxed and pleasant to do business with. He was happy to hear Rick recommended him and to have the opportunity to work on my (now) one-of-a-kind hearse. This was a huge relief, as I'd half-expect a "WTF" reaction from the average body shop, not to mention a stiff "female tax" when the bill came.
All of Dave's employees were enthusiastic and complimentary of the car. They seemed quite knowledgeable of older and custom cars, and happy with their jobs in general, which I think says a lot. His wife, Tami, runs the office, and she's very nice and well organized.
They had my driver's side rear door looking like new by the deadline quoted, and they fixed the passenger side door lock so it would actually lock when I used the remote. I had to leave LA in a hurry, so I didn't get to test everything I wanted to before I left. It is such a relief to have a good, reliable shop up here since I can't visit Frank and his people.
The man who drove me to and from home while they worked on my car, Luis, was friendly and gave me some good tips for cleaning my car. (Did I mention they detailed my car when they were done working on it? How awesome is that?) Although we spoke English the whole time, he did a great job of filling Pablo's shoes.
When we arrived at the shop, I saw a light blue '86 Lincoln hearse parked next to my Barbie Dream Hearse.
"Did you get my car a boyfriend for Valentine's Day?" I exclaimed as I walked into the office.
Rick found out from Dave that I would be picking up the car that day and wanted to see Barbie for himself. He (like many other car enthusiasts) was wary of the girlie limo seating idea, but admitted that it was well executed and perfect for what I want to do. And, his car is also a girl, so I guess Barbie's gonna swing both ways.
I ended up going back to L-M today because the passenger seatbelt was over-extended, and I thought maybe something had happened when they popped the door off to look at the locks. They took off the door panel and showed me the plastic track that was getting in the way of it catching to allow it to roll back up, and they fixed it about 10 minutes. It wasn't their fault and they still didn't charge me, which was really nice of them.
Pictured below is my passenger door with the panel taken off. They mostly just had to cut out that white plastic part and reattach it.
All in all, I can't believe how lucky I got when it came to this particular to-do item. If only everything could be this easy!
Of course, I found myself needing some minor body work and door lock repairs almost immediately, so I took the car in last week. Since I never had a car up here, I wouldn't have known where to go if Rick hadn't said something about L-M out of the blue.
Dave, the owner, was relaxed and pleasant to do business with. He was happy to hear Rick recommended him and to have the opportunity to work on my (now) one-of-a-kind hearse. This was a huge relief, as I'd half-expect a "WTF" reaction from the average body shop, not to mention a stiff "female tax" when the bill came.
All of Dave's employees were enthusiastic and complimentary of the car. They seemed quite knowledgeable of older and custom cars, and happy with their jobs in general, which I think says a lot. His wife, Tami, runs the office, and she's very nice and well organized.
They had my driver's side rear door looking like new by the deadline quoted, and they fixed the passenger side door lock so it would actually lock when I used the remote. I had to leave LA in a hurry, so I didn't get to test everything I wanted to before I left. It is such a relief to have a good, reliable shop up here since I can't visit Frank and his people.
The man who drove me to and from home while they worked on my car, Luis, was friendly and gave me some good tips for cleaning my car. (Did I mention they detailed my car when they were done working on it? How awesome is that?) Although we spoke English the whole time, he did a great job of filling Pablo's shoes.
When we arrived at the shop, I saw a light blue '86 Lincoln hearse parked next to my Barbie Dream Hearse.
"Did you get my car a boyfriend for Valentine's Day?" I exclaimed as I walked into the office.
Rick found out from Dave that I would be picking up the car that day and wanted to see Barbie for himself. He (like many other car enthusiasts) was wary of the girlie limo seating idea, but admitted that it was well executed and perfect for what I want to do. And, his car is also a girl, so I guess Barbie's gonna swing both ways.
I ended up going back to L-M today because the passenger seatbelt was over-extended, and I thought maybe something had happened when they popped the door off to look at the locks. They took off the door panel and showed me the plastic track that was getting in the way of it catching to allow it to roll back up, and they fixed it about 10 minutes. It wasn't their fault and they still didn't charge me, which was really nice of them.
Pictured below is my passenger door with the panel taken off. They mostly just had to cut out that white plastic part and reattach it.
All in all, I can't believe how lucky I got when it came to this particular to-do item. If only everything could be this easy!
posted by Unknown at
9:09 PM
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