These “body shop babes” have a problem with customers who try to downplay the damage their vehicle sustained in an accident. And thus, think that the repairs are so easy that they shouldn’t take much time, effort, or money to repair.
One of the women on the @itll_buff03 account is going viral after sharing the response she wishes she could give these types of patrons. She shared it in a viral TikTok that’s accrued over 49,000 views as of Friday.
“I swear the next customer that tells me all we gotta do is just ‘align the bumper.’ I’mma tell him to clock in,” she says.
The TikToker then holds up a tool to the camera to further drive her point home. “Here. Here’s a ratchet. What you need, a torx? You need Phillips? Oh, you don’t know? Yeah, that’s what I thought,” she says, before ending the video.
TikTokers are on her side
However, one viewer says they wish they could use a repair shop’s equipment to do the work on their car themselves.
“I mean, I know the type people you’re talking about,” they wrote. “But there are times that, if a repair shop asked me if I wanna just use their tools and lift, I’d say hell yeah.”
Someone else echoed this, writing, “Hell I’d love if they let me use the lift, I’ll bring my own tools. I’ll be working there by the end of the week.”
But several others agreed with the TikToker, saying they, too were sick of know-it-all customers.
“I just finished a truck where the customer said, ‘all it needs is a hood and a grille’, the estimate was $30,000,” they said.
“These people always say ‘I think it’s a simple fix’ no you have no idea,” another wrote.
@itll_buff03 we’re short staffed we could use the help🙂 #bodyshop #collisionrepair #bodyshoplife #foryoupage #fyp #servicewriter #serviceadvisor #repairshop #techniciansoftiktok #shoplife #carrepair #customersbelike #customers ♬ original sound – It’ll Buff
Someone else attached an eye-roll emoji to the following comment: “Or ‘it’s a small repair, shouldn’t need more than a bumper and some clips. You’ve had my car for two days now.’”
Others said that they, too, wanted to take the same approach as @itll_buff03 and offer customers a job. “The amount of times I wanna tell a cust ‘aye we hiring, you want an app? We short staffed anyways,” they said.
A modern manufacturing issue?
Some speculated that bodywork on newer cars is much more complex. “The plastic bumper cover comes off for like everything these days god I hate it when a used car place glues the bumper on tabs are broken,” one wrote.
Someone else responded, “Many cars have all these electronic sensors also, which can make it much more complicated.
Someone else wrote, “I had an adjuster argue hours on a repair panel. I told him he could rent the bay and box from us and fix it if that’s all he thought it would take.”
And another commented, “My customers always tell me that the damage is minor. Meanwhile, needing the quarter panel replaced.”
Modern versus older car reliability
There’s been a lot of debate on the long-term durability of newer vehicles versus older ones. According to USA Today there is no debate, however, saying newer cars are unequivocally on the road longer. Frontier Group echoes this stance, stating that “cars are lasting longer than ever.” According to the outlet, the average “car or light truck on the road in 2022 in the U.S. was more than 12 years old. That’s the highest it has ever been.”
Compared to “1970 the average car was only 5.6 years old.” However, it’s important to note that older cars aren’t as mechanically/electronically complex as their modern-day counterparts. This means that they were “significantly less expensive to maintain,” some argue.
Also, this statistic could just point to how much more expensive vehicles are becoming to purchase when adjusted for inflation. As this Reddit poster pointed out, when adjusted for inflation with relative income taken into consideration, cars are now pricier.
“In 1990 the average new car cost $15,500. Adjusted for inflation, that would be $36,600 today. However, in 2024, the average new car costs $49,000,” they wrote. “It used to take 23 weeks of income to buy a new car, but it now takes 44 weeks. The relative cost of buying a new car has nearly doubled. Automakers have posted record profits for the last 3 years in a row. Profits are 50% higher than 2019 and 2020.”
Older is better
But not everyone is thoroughly convinced that newer cars are ultimately built better. Indy Auto Man listed several reasons why older vehicles have longer life spans than newer models. In the article, the author states that auto manufacturers, in complying with government-enforced energy mandates, must “complicate” designs.
Crumple zones
One area of durability where there is no debate is the physical exterior of a car. Sheet metal bodies versus the fiberglass kits cars are made of today behave much differently in accidents. If you had an older vehicle and got into a fender bender with it, you’ll recognize the difference.
That’s because newer cars are designed with “crumple zones” meant to absorb impact. Sure, an older car might not need a bunch of its panels removed after getting into an accident, but that’s not a good thing. At least that’s according to the science of how “crumple zones” work in cars. Essentially, they’re designed to break so that the impact of an accident is sucked up by the car. In older, more strongly made vehicles, that vibration of that impact would supposedly rattle you around a heck of a lot more.
As demonstrated by this crash test video comparing modern cars against their classic counterparts, crumple zones are much more effective at keeping passengers safe.
It, however, can be a bit of a drag when one needs to get their vehicle repaired after what they thought was a minor accident or fender bender. This is because they’re designed to “break apart” more easily while keeping the “shell” of the cabin intact.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @itll_buff03 via TikTok comment for further information.
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