I probably drove past Westport Auto Craft 10,000 times without noticing it.
In decades of driving, I never needed a body shop.
This month, I did.
A guy in a leased Lexus hit me on Main Street. Visions of insurance company hassles and car rental headaches filled my head long before the cop arrived.
A visit the next day to Westport Auto Craft eased my mind completely.
Ron Bowler took care of everything. He made calls to the Lexus dude’s insurance company — and knew all the secrets (including evading voicemail) to make sure they honored the claim.
He told me I had the right to a rental car, on the other guy’s dime (or hundreds of dollars). He made sure I got the rental — even calling to arrange for it to be delivered to me when I dropped off my own.
Ron did it all with a smile, and good humor. And, a few days later — exactly the day he’d promised — he called to say my car was ready.
It was as painless a collision experience as I could imagine.
All except leaving the shop. Backing out onto busy Riverside Avenue was a near-death experience.
I almost became a return customer, 6 seconds later.
Maybe one day soon you’ll do one of your polls to see which local & independent auto service centers (body shop and/or innards) consistently do best jobs on Jeeps, BMWs, Hondas, Jaguarsm, Mercedese, Subarus, Fords, Rovers, etc.?
The Government Bail out of some members of The American Auto Industry and subsequent inability of those dealers to honor warranties means that a number of people – myself included – accustomed to only doing business with the dealers’ service centers are now eager to find alternatives within the community of independent service stations and autobody shops.
USAA, the military insurance company, has great faith in Westport Auto Craft. They send everyone there.
I recently used Westport Auto Craft for a car repair (not the first time, however) and can confirm that they are more than helpful, and do a great job. We should all support our local businesses.
You’ve done it again! Amazing writing.