I cannot emphasize strongly enough that no one should EVER use Frontier Auto Plus Inc. in Hamilton MT. They are at 112 Pennsylvania Ave. My experience has been beyond miserable. Let me share the details. It is long but if you are even remotely considering using Frontier please take the time to read below as it will save you a ton of money and heartache.
About a year and a half ago while I was away in Afghanistan my little brother was using my truck. He accidentally sideswiped a mailbox pole doing quite a lot of damage to the left front quarter panel and door. When I was home on a medical leave I started searching for a body shop to do the repairs. There was also a small dent in the right rear quarter panel and some rust damage on the left rear quarter panel that I wanted to get fixed at the same time.
After obtaining several quotes from around town I decided on Frontier Auto Body. Randy, the owner, said all the right things. Talked about how he was from the valley and understood the importance of a good reputation. How he offered a low price guarantee and also guaranteed his work. Said the paint was guaranteed for as long as I had the truck. He wanted to be in business for a very long time he said and promised to do a good job. He explained to me that most people would replace the door with a used one but he had connections and could get a brand new one for almost the same price. The quote was to replace the door, fix the fender and both rear quarter panels and paint the entire truck matching white. Unfortunately Frontier was not on the list of providers with my insurance company USAA but the nearest one that was on their list was 50 miles away. USAA offers the flexibility of paying me directly based on the quote and allowing me to take it where ever I want. Big mistake on my part as this means if there is a problem with the work, USAA is unable to go to bat for me. Lesson learned there!
I dropped the truck off and was told it would be ready in a week. Now the problems begin. A week later I went in to pick it up and was told that they were behind and it would be a few more day and to check back. I kept checking back and it was a full two weeks before I got my truck back. Thankfully I had rental coverage through my insurance or I would have been up a creek. When I finally did pick it up, at first glance it looked great and despite the delay I was pleased. Delays happen and I understand that so I didn't let it bother me. I was just glad to have my truck back. When I started it to leave I noticed that the airbag light was on. It had not been on when I dropped the truck off. I asked him about it and was told that he noticed it as well and put the analyzer on the truck. It said the airbag sensor in the front of the truck was faulty. I found it very coincidental that it happened while in his shop but I had no way to prove what he was saying wasn’t true or that it was because of something he did so I took the truck.
It was the next day as I was looking the truck over more closely that I noticed a bubble in the paint on the hood. I also started to notice white overspray on the frame and undercarriage visible in the wheel wells and on much of the trim. The following day I took it back to Frontier and showed them these problems. He acted shocked when I showed him the hood and said "The guy that did this doesn't work here anymore. I had to fire him. We will get this fixed but it will take some time as we will have to repaint the entire hood".
Frustrated I left the truck again. It took them another entire week to complete repainting of the hood. When I picked it up the second time it looked good and they had sprayed all of the white overspray with black so it looked better. I picked the truck up again.
Over the next several days I got more and more bothered about the airbag light. It just didn’t sit well with me what he had said about it. Didn’t make sense so I took the truck to another mechanic that our family has used for years in Hamilton, Rod’s auto and align. He hooked it up to his analyzer and told me that the airbag sensor for the driver’s door that had been replaced was missing completely! Frontier never put it back in when they replaced the door. Also, the door was NOT a brand new door as promised but a used one. Patrick at Rods contacted Frontier for me and told them the problem. They tried to deny that it was their fault! He told them he wasn’t buying it and either they sent him over the sensor harness so he could replace it or he would purchase one and just bill them directly. Low and behold they found the sensor and sent it over. Rod’s was awesome and replaced it for me without charge. So began the outright lies from Frontier.
Patrick at Rod’s mentioned to me that the door didn’t seem to be seating exactly right either. I was talking to my mother about it who had also driven the truck since getting it back and she said she noticed it seemed to be leaking air around the door. She could hear it. So back to Frontier I go again. On the way I went through a drive through car was for the first time since picking it up and the water pressure blew off a bunch of the brand new pin striping and water POURED in around the door seal. This is all within the first couple weeks of getting back my truck for the first time!
The interaction was less than pleasant this time as I am sure you can imagine. I confronted him about the door not being new. He said “I never told you I would get a new door. You know how much more that would have cost?” I reminded him of his statement to me about getting a new door for the same price and he denied ever having said it. When I told him about the door leaking I also showed him the gap between the door and the body. You had to look at it from straight in front of the truck to notice but the gap was obviously bigger than the passenger side. He said to leave the truck and he would fix it and the pin striping and to pick it up the next day.
The next day when I picked it up I noticed immediately that the door still did not look to be seating correctly. I took it around the block and the wind was coming in right around the door. I looked and they had put stick on screen door (like for your house) foam seal inside the rubber door gasket to try and bulk it up so it would seal!!! I went straight back and insisted that he fix the door properly. He started screaming at me about how I was never going to be happy and about how he was losing money on my truck. I told him stick on screen door seal was NOT going to cut it and he tried to convince me that was how they did it from the factory! I showed him the passenger side, obviously devoid of screen door foam I told him what would make me happy was if he just did the job he promised and did it right. If he did that there wouldn’t be a problem. He took my keys and yelled at me as he walked away it would take another day to look at the door again.
As my wife and I drove away, I got about 1 block and decided I was done. I went back and told him I wanted my keys that I was done dealing with him. He refused to give me my keys! I told him again to give me my keys as I refused to deal with him anymore. He was so in my face, shaking and screaming at me about how I was trying to screw HIM over that I was very close to calling the police. I told him one last time to give me my $%^&$ #(*)^^& keys! He stopped, red faced and shaking, stomped away and got my keys and I left. My wife who had been watching the whole thing said she was sure he was going to hit me and had her phone out to call the police. He was that out of control.
I ended up going to a different body shop in town (Wimp’s) to find out what was wrong with the door. I was told that Frontier had used cheap, aftermarket hinges which was why the door was hanging crooked. Wimp’s made me a great deal and replaced the hinges for me with OEM parts and it is now fine.
The final chapter in my dealings with Frontier comes over a year later. I have been out of the country more often than not and the truck sat in storage following the fiasco above for most of last winter and this summer (2014). When I was home on a break recently I noticed that there was rust bleeding through the paint on the left rear quarter panel that Frontier had supposedly fixed. Only because I should NOT have to pay for work to be redone, I went back to Frontier to see if they would honor their “guarantee”. Randy, the owner that I had dealt with previously was not there but when I explained how I had the truck painted there just over a year ago and there was rust bleeding through his comment was, “well we can’t have that!”. I was pleasantly surprised as I thought maybe, just maybe this wouldn’t go as badly as my previous dealings with them. I was told Randy was on vacation but to come back in the next week. I was leaving the country again so I asked my mom to please take the truck in for me and drop it off to get fixed. Well, her interaction with Randy was about as pleasant as mine.
He came out to look at the truck and when he recognized it he immediately became irate, screaming and yelling at my mother! Yelling about how I tried to cheat him and he would have nothing to do with the truck. She reminded him of his “guarantee” and he said, “no one makes a guarantee like that!.” She asked if he thought the rust should be coming through brand new paint like that and his response was to yell at her, “what, are you a body work expert now?”. Needless to say I won’t be getting my truck fixed by Frontier!
So, for those of you who were brave enough to read all the way through this horrid biography I apologize for the length but I feel it is important to be detailed and clear on what happened. Hind sight is always 20/20 and sadly there is no way for me to go back but I hope that by sharing this experience I can save someone else the hellacious experience that Frontier put me through. Every mechanic or body shop we have talked to since then knows of Frontiers reputation and is angry because it is shops like that that give them all a bad name and make people distrust all mechanics. Please pass the word to anyone you know looking to get ANY kind of auto work done. Stay away from Frontier. He not only provides incredibly terrible quality of work but he is unbelievably dishonest and downright violent when he gets called on it.
Frontier Auto Plus INC Reviews
I cannot emphasize strongly enough that no one should EVER use Frontier Auto Plus Inc. in Hamilton MT. They are at 112 Pennsylvania Ave. My experience has been beyond miserable. Let me share the details. It is long but if you are even remotely considering using Frontier please take the time to read below as it will save you a ton of money and heartache.
About a year and a half ago while I was away in Afghanistan my little brother was using my truck. He accidentally sideswiped a mailbox pole doing quite a lot of damage to the left front quarter panel and door. When I was home on a medical leave I started searching for a body shop to do the repairs. There was also a small dent in the right rear quarter panel and some rust damage on the left rear quarter panel that I wanted to get fixed at the same time.
After obtaining several quotes from around town I decided on Frontier Auto Body. Randy, the owner, said all the right things. Talked about how he was from the valley and understood the importance of a good reputation. How he offered a low price guarantee and also guaranteed his work. Said the paint was guaranteed for as long as I had the truck. He wanted to be in business for a very long time he said and promised to do a good job. He explained to me that most people would replace the door with a used one but he had connections and could get a brand new one for almost the same price. The quote was to replace the door, fix the fender and both rear quarter panels and paint the entire truck matching white. Unfortunately Frontier was not on the list of providers with my insurance company USAA but the nearest one that was on their list was 50 miles away. USAA offers the flexibility of paying me directly based on the quote and allowing me to take it where ever I want. Big mistake on my part as this means if there is a problem with the work, USAA is unable to go to bat for me. Lesson learned there!
I dropped the truck off and was told it would be ready in a week. Now the problems begin. A week later I went in to pick it up and was told that they were behind and it would be a few more day and to check back. I kept checking back and it was a full two weeks before I got my truck back. Thankfully I had rental coverage through my insurance or I would have been up a creek. When I finally did pick it up, at first glance it looked great and despite the delay I was pleased. Delays happen and I understand that so I didn't let it bother me. I was just glad to have my truck back. When I started it to leave I noticed that the airbag light was on. It had not been on when I dropped the truck off. I asked him about it and was told that he noticed it as well and put the analyzer on the truck. It said the airbag sensor in the front of the truck was faulty. I found it very coincidental that it happened while in his shop but I had no way to prove what he was saying wasn’t true or that it was because of something he did so I took the truck.
It was the next day as I was looking the truck over more closely that I noticed a bubble in the paint on the hood. I also started to notice white overspray on the frame and undercarriage visible in the wheel wells and on much of the trim. The following day I took it back to Frontier and showed them these problems. He acted shocked when I showed him the hood and said "The guy that did this doesn't work here anymore. I had to fire him. We will get this fixed but it will take some time as we will have to repaint the entire hood".
Frustrated I left the truck again. It took them another entire week to complete repainting of the hood. When I picked it up the second time it looked good and they had sprayed all of the white overspray with black so it looked better. I picked the truck up again.
Over the next several days I got more and more bothered about the airbag light. It just didn’t sit well with me what he had said about it. Didn’t make sense so I took the truck to another mechanic that our family has used for years in Hamilton, Rod’s auto and align. He hooked it up to his analyzer and told me that the airbag sensor for the driver’s door that had been replaced was missing completely! Frontier never put it back in when they replaced the door. Also, the door was NOT a brand new door as promised but a used one. Patrick at Rods contacted Frontier for me and told them the problem. They tried to deny that it was their fault! He told them he wasn’t buying it and either they sent him over the sensor harness so he could replace it or he would purchase one and just bill them directly. Low and behold they found the sensor and sent it over. Rod’s was awesome and replaced it for me without charge. So began the outright lies from Frontier.
Patrick at Rod’s mentioned to me that the door didn’t seem to be seating exactly right either. I was talking to my mother about it who had also driven the truck since getting it back and she said she noticed it seemed to be leaking air around the door. She could hear it. So back to Frontier I go again. On the way I went through a drive through car was for the first time since picking it up and the water pressure blew off a bunch of the brand new pin striping and water POURED in around the door seal. This is all within the first couple weeks of getting back my truck for the first time!
The interaction was less than pleasant this time as I am sure you can imagine. I confronted him about the door not being new. He said “I never told you I would get a new door. You know how much more that would have cost?” I reminded him of his statement to me about getting a new door for the same price and he denied ever having said it. When I told him about the door leaking I also showed him the gap between the door and the body. You had to look at it from straight in front of the truck to notice but the gap was obviously bigger than the passenger side. He said to leave the truck and he would fix it and the pin striping and to pick it up the next day.
The next day when I picked it up I noticed immediately that the door still did not look to be seating correctly. I took it around the block and the wind was coming in right around the door. I looked and they had put stick on screen door (like for your house) foam seal inside the rubber door gasket to try and bulk it up so it would seal!!! I went straight back and insisted that he fix the door properly. He started screaming at me about how I was never going to be happy and about how he was losing money on my truck. I told him stick on screen door seal was NOT going to cut it and he tried to convince me that was how they did it from the factory! I showed him the passenger side, obviously devoid of screen door foam I told him what would make me happy was if he just did the job he promised and did it right. If he did that there wouldn’t be a problem. He took my keys and yelled at me as he walked away it would take another day to look at the door again.
As my wife and I drove away, I got about 1 block and decided I was done. I went back and told him I wanted my keys that I was done dealing with him. He refused to give me my keys! I told him again to give me my keys as I refused to deal with him anymore. He was so in my face, shaking and screaming at me about how I was trying to screw HIM over that I was very close to calling the police. I told him one last time to give me my $%^&$ #(*)^^& keys! He stopped, red faced and shaking, stomped away and got my keys and I left. My wife who had been watching the whole thing said she was sure he was going to hit me and had her phone out to call the police. He was that out of control.
I ended up going to a different body shop in town (Wimp’s) to find out what was wrong with the door. I was told that Frontier had used cheap, aftermarket hinges which was why the door was hanging crooked. Wimp’s made me a great deal and replaced the hinges for me with OEM parts and it is now fine.
The final chapter in my dealings with Frontier comes over a year later. I have been out of the country more often than not and the truck sat in storage following the fiasco above for most of last winter and this summer (2014). When I was home on a break recently I noticed that there was rust bleeding through the paint on the left rear quarter panel that Frontier had supposedly fixed. Only because I should NOT have to pay for work to be redone, I went back to Frontier to see if they would honor their “guarantee”. Randy, the owner that I had dealt with previously was not there but when I explained how I had the truck painted there just over a year ago and there was rust bleeding through his comment was, “well we can’t have that!”. I was pleasantly surprised as I thought maybe, just maybe this wouldn’t go as badly as my previous dealings with them. I was told Randy was on vacation but to come back in the next week. I was leaving the country again so I asked my mom to please take the truck in for me and drop it off to get fixed. Well, her interaction with Randy was about as pleasant as mine.
He came out to look at the truck and when he recognized it he immediately became irate, screaming and yelling at my mother! Yelling about how I tried to cheat him and he would have nothing to do with the truck. She reminded him of his “guarantee” and he said, “no one makes a guarantee like that!.” She asked if he thought the rust should be coming through brand new paint like that and his response was to yell at her, “what, are you a body work expert now?”. Needless to say I won’t be getting my truck fixed by Frontier!
So, for those of you who were brave enough to read all the way through this horrid biography I apologize for the length but I feel it is important to be detailed and clear on what happened. Hind sight is always 20/20 and sadly there is no way for me to go back but I hope that by sharing this experience I can save someone else the hellacious experience that Frontier put me through. Every mechanic or body shop we have talked to since then knows of Frontiers reputation and is angry because it is shops like that that give them all a bad name and make people distrust all mechanics. Please pass the word to anyone you know looking to get ANY kind of auto work done. Stay away from Frontier. He not only provides incredibly terrible quality of work but he is unbelievably dishonest and downright violent when he gets called on it.