OT: Body Shop in State College

[StefenD001]

Daughter t-boned a kid who ran a red light and now needs bodywork done to her 2014 vehicle.

How is Walk's Service Center on So Atherton for Auto Body work? I see lots of negative feedback on their towing/lot business and wondering if that extends to their Auto Body work.

Appreciate the help. Thanks.

 

[richie83]

I know they are an approved shop for State Farm, so they must be decent. I have no first hand knowledge though Stefen.

 

[bjf1984]

Daughter t-boned a kid who ran a red light and now needs bodywork done to her 2014 vehicle.

How is Walk's Service Center on So Atherton for Auto Body work? I see lots of negative feedback on their towing/lot business and wondering if that extends to their Auto Body work.

Appreciate the help. Thanks.

Assuming it is an insurance claim (ie, not concerned about getting the lowest bid):

Black Walnut in Bellefonte does OUTSTANDING work
GW Auto is a bit closer (on N Atherton Street) and also has a very good reputation


For price:

Roan's Auto (smaller shop - might take a little longer to get scheduled)

 

[StefenD001]

Assuming it is an insurance claim (ie, not concerned about getting the lowest bid):

Black Walnut in Bellefonte does OUTSTANDING work
GW Auto is a bit closer (on N Atherton Street) and also has a very good reputation

For price:

Roan's Auto (smaller shop - might take a little longer to get scheduled)

Thank you BJF. Correct, it is insurance...a State Farm claim.

GW is 1 of 8 on State Farms list...as is Walk's. Black Walnut is not. GW like most have starts 2-3 weeks out...except for Walk's (who can start immediately) which got me curious. Being an Approved State Farm shop gave me some comfort so I figured I'd do some checking first but most of the comments relate to their towing business...hence my ask.

 

[StefenD001]

Also, checked BBB and Walk's has an A+.

I guess I may be trying to talk myself into something...and at the same time trying to ensure I'm not making a bad move.

 

[71camaro]

I know they are an approved shop for State Farm, so they must be decent.

This really means nothing. In order to be an approved shop, the shop agrees not to charge the insurance company storage on totaled vehicles and prepares the estimates for people rather than having a claims adjuster come perform that work. The shop also agrees to a slightly discounted labor rate in order to become an approved shop (In the area I am from, that means $42 an hour instead of $44 for body repair). Net result for the shop is less money per vehicle repaired, but a higher work volume. State Farm saves money by not sending an adjuster and not paying storage, shop makes money with the higher work volume.

Source: family has been doing autobody work for ~35 years.

 

[psu1969a]

Daughter t-boned a kid who ran a red light and now needs bodywork done to her 2014 vehicle.

How is Walk's Service Center on So Atherton for Auto Body work? I see lots of negative feedback on their towing/lot business and wondering if that extends to their Auto Body work.

Appreciate the help. Thanks.

Black Walnut on Rt 550 outside of Belefonte

 

[stf110]

I think the bulk of people's gripes about Walk might be the fact that they tend to be the ones who tow folks who decide that those "no parking" signs are optional around town and campus.

 

[mn78psu83]

Daughter t-boned a kid who ran a red light and now needs bodywork done to her 2014 vehicle.

How is Walk's Service Center on So Atherton for Auto Body work? I see lots of negative feedback on their towing/lot business and wondering if that extends to their Auto Body work.

Appreciate the help. Thanks.

I just called a couple of people who are in the auto repair industry locally and both, independently, recommended Black Walnut in Bellefonte.

Follow up: one of the gents didn't have much time to talk the first time around. He called back to say that Black Walnut did superior work and you'd have to pay for it. He recommended, like bjf, that you should also get a quote from GW. Highly recommends them too and they're cheaper. He said that Black Walnut is superior with respect to their attention to detail and the final finish, but not cheap. For example, he mentioned that for a severe rust job they would be the place to go and cost would not be your concern. They'd get it done right.

 

[Peetz Pool Boy]

I just called a couple of people who are in the auto repair industry locally and both, independently, recommended Black Walnut in Bellefonte.

This is the kind of service one can only find on this board. mn78psu83 going above and beyond.

 

[pmjoe]

I've only had auto service from Walk's on South Atherton, for which my experience was good. I didn't even know they do body work.

I think GW did my only body work when I was in State College. They missed a hole in my air filter box and snapped connector for my bug shield (which I didn't find till years later), and they insisted I had to pay them a $500 deductable when I knew and told them there wasn't one. Had to talk with my State Farm agent to get the $500 back. The rest of what they did was great, but they really just painted and replaced parts since there was no metal that needed repair.

That might sound like a negative review, but I was satisfied at the time. In hindsight, it was my first body work, and I should've more closely looked at and tracked what needed to be done. They did a far better job than the last place I dealt with (not in State College)

 

[StefenD001]

Thank you all. Great help!!

 

[onetime1]

I'm the owner of walks if I can help let me know!

 

[onetime1]

Thank you all. Great help!!

I'm the owner of walks If I can help please let me know!

 

[Norm Petersin]

Try the Gaff on Thursday nights. There are usually done good bodies there!

 

[PhillipintheValley]

I had a bad experience at GW. It was a claim to clean my vehicle after a Meyer Dairy glass mik bottle broke in my vehicle. They promised me a completion date which they missed, then missed the second date, finally I just took the vehicle from them before the cleaning was complete. Their customer service was horrible. They were using with a third party cleaner, but they had the car three weeks and still weren't able to get the work done.

 

[psu1969a]

I've only had auto service from Walk's on South Atherton, for which my experience was good. I didn't even know they do body work.

I think GW did my only body work when I was in State College. They missed a hole in my air filter box and snapped connector for my bug shield (which I didn't find till years later), and they insisted I had to pay them a $500 deductable when I knew and told them there wasn't one. Had to talk with my State Farm agent to get the $500 back. The rest of what they did was great, but they really just painted and replaced parts since there was no metal that needed repair.

That might sound like a negative review, but I was satisfied at the time. In hindsight, it was my first body work, and I should've more closely looked at and tracked what needed to be done. They did a far better job than the last place I dealt with (not in State College)

WALK'A are iffy; AAA repair shop but tried to sell me a new battery when I knew I did not need one.

 

[The Spin Meister]

Don't go to The Body Shop in Emlenton off of I80. Its a strip joint....and from what I hear, not a very good one!

 

[Ranger Dan]

Am the only person who's mind immediately thinks this is a post about a new strip club... Not that I've been to that many, but the name "Body Shop" sounds like a classic name for a strip club.

 

[bmusser24]

No to Walks...Yes to Blackwalnut.

 

[Still in State College]

I have not used them but have heard from some that Lava is a pretty decent shop.

 

[mathprof]

I have not used them but have heard from some that Lava is a pretty decent shop.

We had a very good experience with Lava.

 

[dwiz]

Why don't some more of you say Black Walnut even though he already said it's not on the approved list?

 

[bmusser24]

Just because they are not on "the list" doesn't mean that they can't be used.