Joe Hudson's Collision Center — Local services in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

2014 BMW--I hit a deer which affected the passenger front corner damaging the headlight, hood, bumper, and right fender--in addition to many parts behind these items. With insurance and all, it took about a month to complete. Through the process I was told I would be contacted with updates every few days. I determined that if I wanted these updates I had to initiate them myself. Disturbing that I had to do this, but their response was typically very prompt. I was promised almost 5 times, maybe more as I lost count, that my car would be ready but it seemed they were always finding something. Then they would not let me get my car until the insurance provided proof of payment. Again, another headache and not sure if this is the norm or not. When I was presented the car for the first time, the hood alignment was off, missing retainers on the wheel well and hood insulator, and over-spray on plastic parts. After finally getting it home I also discovered they affixed a 2013 emissions label when my car is 2014. While they took care of these items(still waiting on emissions label), these were obvious oversights and a lack of attention to detail. Does not help that I am picky but at the same time it was obvious steps were missed--which raises the question of what else was overlooked that I cannot see. The paint job was ok, but they left quite a bit of scratches in the hood from trying to remove orange peel. Being the car is silver this shows up as dull spots when looking at it outside in the sun. Overall, I am mixed on their work. The pluses are the fast response time. Big minus in my book is the attention to detail that was severely lacking. With all the good reviews maybe my experience is not the norm. Or maybe my attention to detail and expectations are to high. Either way, I feel this was a mediocre experience.

Update: Seems after further review, missing screws/retainers for the lower bumper lip and inside wheel well liner. It's a a shame after spending close to $11K that they just throw things together like this without regard for proper hardware to ensure an OEM finish. I am hoping I do not find more.

30-Jan-2018 Well....so as noted earlier I was hoping to not find anymore issues. But that just wasn't the case. The car has been back since 3 times: once to realign the headlights(which they did not do), fix the missing the hardware on the lower bumper, and to affix the correct model year emissions sticker(they had a 2013 sticker on my 2014). Got it back and then realized after further scrutiny that they did not apply paint on the edges of the hood--but it had clear on it. Essentially you could see straight to primer. Took that back and they corrected. A week later, and mind you this one was hard to detect, but in indirect sunlight the fender that was to be blended was sparsely painted and you could see primer. This took a specific direction of light to see but once you saw it, it was not easy to miss. So, overall, my rating should be more in the realm of a 2 out of of 5. So, in all, they had the car for a total of about 7 weeks. As noted before, their workmanship on assembly is abysmal, at best. Their painter seems to do a decent job though I would not give it a "professional" rating. In the end, if you have another choice, I would strongly suggest you go that route.

29-Nov-2018: Update. Had to have my intercooler changed out which required the removal of the front bumper cover. Upon reassembly the technicians at BMW could not line up the parts when reassembling. Come to find out, Pattons had not properly aligned fasteners/brackets when working on my car. They also omitted or used incorrect bolts in areas. In short, if you have a BMW, or similar vehicle I strongly urge you to have them repaired at a certified repair shop for your vehicle. Just because Pattons does body work does not mean they are equipped to effectively...

When I was hit by a Buck a few days before Thanksgiving I immediately contacted my insurance and chose your shop to help as it has been trusted by my family for years as my father previously worked there when I was young. I trust their work and although my car was totaled by the insurance I felt the staff was very accommodating to helping me retrieve my mounds of belongings from my much loved CRV since 2019. Todd was one of the first to assist me and allowed me to bring my rental back because of the vast amount I was having to move. He offered to help me move my two 12in subs box, but I did not have the space for the trip that day lol. He patiently waited for 30 mins as I packed up my much loved belongings that had been thrown around in the busy time that I was going through. He engaged in conversation with me and understood the process well as I'm sure your shop has many cases of totaled vehicles and this was my first experience. He passed no judgement to me as my car was quite frankly more than messy 😅 It practically looked like I was moving as I had been bouncing from mine and my boyfriend's home often with all my belongings being stored in my car as I moved around. I came back the following day to release my car after grabbing my subs and floor mats. I do not know his name, but since Todd was out this day there was another man who thankfully pulled the car around and surprisingly manhandled my VERY heavy subs into my rental without any sweat on his back and no worries of him hurting my rental. I am very thankful for the help and sparing my back another day of moving it 🙏. Once again no judgement passed and was more than willing to help me. I do not also know the two separate ladies at the desk who engaged me in conversation as I waited and one gave great recommendations on car dealerships to check out- she was extremely understanding of my situation and I felt as though she had compassion for me as well! I wouldn't trust another shop for body work and even though I was not a paying customer I felt they treated me respectfully and had genuine customer service that goes beyond typical of their industry.

Of course I don't wish to have another major body damage incident, but surely if I do I would not hesitate to return and always to recommend your services! During such a terribly scary and busy week/process it was a breath of fresh air to feel welcomed and understood as a person who was in this unfortunate situation. I couldn't have relaxed at all without the peace of mind knowing I can trust...

Hands down the worst store experience I’ve ever had. Every time they promise me a pick up date but delayed again and again. I drop my car on 6.02 and they said it’s gonna take 2 weeks to repair that. 6.14 the first time I called back and they said the ordered part has got ready and would contact me on 6.17. On 6.17, nobody called me back so I had to follow up by myself and they said every thing is ready and it would take 1-2 days to finish, but wouldn’t late than that. And I said I had a big event on 6.21 so I need my car before that. They promised. On 6.20, still nobody called me back so I again followed up by myself and got to know they couldn’t finish on Friday. I insisted to talk to their manager and finally the manager said he can provide me a rental car but he promised me to get my car on 6.23. I went to the rental car company and they said I have to give the car back before 4pm on 6.23. Otherwise I need to pay for that. On 6.23, still nobody for this store contact me about my car’s situation. And after I followed back again they said they haven’t finish that yet but promise again would let me get my car on 6.25. In terms of the rental car, they said they would cover the additional fee (however, if I didn’t follow back, I might need to pay for that. That’s all due to their bad communication). On 6.25, still nobody contact me. I followed up again and they said they couldn’t finish and have to delay the pick up date until tomorrow.

Now I haven’t got my car. Let’s see whether I can get my car tomorrow or not. Nobody provides me solution for the delaying time until I kept following up and defend my rights. This is the most ridiculous thing.

Also, my car was just being hit by a small truck tail which is not a big problem. The first time they inspect it and give me the estimated fee would be around $3000 dollars and after a week they said they found a big problem and the repair fee surged over $6000. And today I called and the manager said they would charge $2000 more for the...