Craftsman Collision

Fortunately my wife and I have had little experience with ICBC and collision claims, however when we went to find an approved company we had little success in having the work done until we contacted Craftman Collision on Bridge Street. Every contact with from the initial request, getting a date for taking the car in and all follow up contacts about it being ready were professional and friendly. Was a pleasure dealing with this company and its staff.

Maggi and Tom McKay

I took my car in to get repaired after someone backed into me. Thinking my car would be in the shop for a few days, I went with the rental car option offered through my insurance. BUT, Craftsman collision got my car repaired and back to me the same day. I was so impressed. It looks amazing.
The staff there are super friendly and professional. Everything was explained to me in detail both before and after the work was done, including a look at the work afterwards to make sure everything was as it should be.
I have used this company/location for years, and they never cease to amaze me.

The 10 day repair to my car took much longer than that and they didn't even properly fix the main reason for my visit which was to replace the glass in the passenger side mirror! Despite being assured I would be kept up date of the repair progress no one called me and every time I called I was put on hold for an extensive amount of time. When I went to collect my car I noticed a circular chunk of paint was missing on the side of the front bumper and there were dark swirl marks surrounding it (looked like a buffing machine had done the damage. Patrice denied it was their doing but we had taken pictures of the accident and the bumper was painted in this area. When I asked to see their pictures they claimed they no longer had them as the file had gone to ICBC. Now the car was back in the shop for a few more days! Once this was repaired I was told I could take my car home. I got in the car to adjust the repaired side mirror and the mechanism that controls the movement of the mirror did not work! Why wasn't this tested before releasing the car to me? So, I had to drive home without the use of my side mirror and return yet another time to get that issue resolved. I would not recommend taking your vehicle to the Bridge street location.

I recently had a front end accident with my vehicle and took it to Craftsman collision for repair. I had researched and there seemed to be good reviews for them. I have a Honda CRV and had a lot of front end damage. I was leaving for Mexico on Sat and they had assured me the car would be done for then. They called on Fri afternoon to say I could pick it up but when I arrived, in their final inspection it was noted that it had not had a wheel alignment so it had to be sent to the mechanic. I waited 45 minutes in their lobby until the car was ready. Cosmetically it looked great, paint was matched and bumper looked good. I did some errands and then returned home. The next morning, at 5:15 am while driving down the Pay Bay highway, on the way to catch our Mexico flight, I noted that my temperature gauge shot up to the HOT...and I had to slow right down. Lucky for me there was an open gas station and an attendant to help. While replacing the rad, Craftsman Collision had forgotten to put fluid or water in it. This could have been dangerous and expensive had their been damage to my engine. When I called about it, all they said was they would put the information on my file. I would not recommend this business.

I would also never recommend this company
I had an accident in my new Porche and waited for over a month to get it back
They called every week explaining the progress, I should have gone to see for myself but I trusted them.
They called to tell me it was ready for pick up on a Thursday and I indicated I was out of town so Friday would have to do.
When I called on the Friday to arrange my pick up of my car they informed me it was not done.
They tried to toss the Porche dealer under the bus but I was not having any of it, I hung up and immediately called my service guy in Victoria.
They lied about my guys at Porche, the car was in fact at the dealer but far from complete, they still needed to replace a broken rear rim and a cut tire was not ordered, it will be almost 2 months to fix.
Why would you call someone to pick up their car when it was not finished?
I made plans to come home early to get my car and return Stateside with my repaired car.
Stay away from this company, they lie and blame others for their mistakes.
Like the last review Porche recommended them and I will do my best to make sure Porche does not send any more work their way.

Craftsman -Colwood location
I would never recommend this company. I had an accident Jan 2011. My front Lexus RX330 whole front end damage. I called Lexus of Victoria and they recommend Craftsman Collision. I called downtown location busy packed. So I called Colwood location looked at my car total cost was 15,000 to repair. Car worth only about 16-18k.
I went to Dodge dealership on Douglas to get a new car. Dodge dealership staff went to look at the vehicle and made us an offer if we purchased a car from them they would give us $1500.00 for our damaged Lexus. The next day TROY from Craftsman called us and offer a FIRM quote of 2500 to buy the car. He had the car in the shop for 3 days by this time. After getting all the paperwork done we called up TROY at craftaman and he "changed his mind". This is why we are so angry: He called us to buy the vehicle we did not call him. So now we are out 2500 or definite amount of 1500 and that is the amount Dodge dealership was giving us. Now what do we do?? Stay away from this business not Men of their word. I would never recommend this business to anyone. I also have a call in to Lexus to stop recommending Craftsman repair to anyone.

I'm thoroughly pissed off with this repair shop. My car came back with numerous problems that the staff kept passing off as an existing problem, which my mechanic and dealership who sold me the car insist is not true. The best I can do now is pay for my own repairs and write this review.

RUN. RUN FAST.

Craftsman - Colwood location
I would echo the last review in never recommending this company. I'm pretty easy going and don't expect a lot, but my experience with Craftsman Colwood has been one of the worst customer service experiences I've had. I was recommended to use Craftsman by my insurance company, I realize now that was a mistake.

After writing out my narrative, I realized it was way too long, so here is the point form:

- Original repair went more than double the estimated length of time
- I was never contacted and informed by them prior to or after they lapsed a given completion date. Each time, I had to call or go into the shop myself to find out what was going on and to be given "another completion date"
- They admitted that they ordered wrong parts which delaying the completion
- They returned my truck partially completed because they recognized the repair had already gone way too long, so I had to return to have the remainder of the repairs completed (i did like that they did a nice detailing job on the truck the first time I got it back)
- Another delay beyond the given time until they were ready to finish
- After they had finished I noticed that they put in a headlight surround that was mismatched to the original. Brought it in to show them, was given a timeline for how long it would take to order and install. No surprises when that timeline lapsed with no contact, had to go into the shop to see what was happening, again given another timeline which well lapsed. Finally got it all finished today.
- Total repair took....6 months

To sum it up:
1) Horrible communication. They seemed to have little to no interest in keeping me informed throughout the process.
2) Poor attention to detail. Ordering the wrong parts, installing the wrong parts.
3) On occasions when I was looking for answers, I found the staff quite unhelpful and dismissive.
4) Unprofessional.

I hope my experience is the exception. I gave my feedback to one of the head guys there today, and he thanked me for it. If you do end up in a smash-up and find yourself at Craftsman Colwood, hopefully you'll have a better customer experience.