Cooks Collision

I had an excellent experience having my car repaired at this location. A tree had fell on it and it was damaged pretty good. I appreciated working with Matt who provided amazing customer service and was an advocate for me with my insurance agent. He kept me updated and finished my car on the time as promised. My car looks brand new! If I ever need to go to a repair shop again Cooks Berkeley is where I would go.

Nobody likes to have their car smashed into in the middle of the night by a hit & run driver, especially during the holiday season, and nobody likes to have to deal with the insurance company, let alone having to deal with a body shop!
But starting with Brandy at the front desk Cooks Collision in Berkeley helped make the process as painless as possible, the only hurt was my wallet after paying our deductible.
After a stutter-​step due to the holidays, we were told it’d take 2 – 3 days to have the rear bumper replaced and color match painted, so I was set to suffer in a small rental car for the duration. However, after about 1.5 working days they called to say that my car was ready!
Here comes the really good part; even though it had been raining, when my car pulled up for inspection the first thing I noticed was that it had been washed! And to top that off, my estimator, Ernesto, took an air hose and blew off any body shop dust that had accumulated.
Now it gets even better; my brand new (not used) bumper was once again pristine and the color (Satin Jade) matched perfectly! As I slid away in my Chrysler 300, stretching out my aches & pains from the rental, I gave Ernesto a parting thumbs up as I make a mental note to come back if some knucklehead wrecks my ride again!

Wow, what a disaster! Seriously, if you are considering Cooks, for your own sake, and the sake of your car, please reconsider! State Farm recommended Cooks, which is why I chose them to replace the driver side mirror on my 2015 Jetta. Without a question, this has been the worst car repair experience I have ever had, and by far the worst customer service experience. First of all, when the manager, Aaron, initially met with me to put together a quote, he forgot to put me in the system. When I went back with my car (a week later) on the date that he asked me to return, they had no record of me in the system to come in on that day, which delayed the process from the get go. I went to Cooks hoping for a quick easy mirror replacement, and what I got was a complete nightmare. They repaired the mirror three separate times, all with mirrors that were not appropriate for my Jetta — they looked like those crazy mirrors at the circus, I could barely see anything. Each time, they had to order another mirror and make me wait for it to come in the mail. After going back to Cooks to replace the mirror for the second time, I realized that my mirror would not rotate or move enough for me to see cars behind me when I was driving. They told me it was accidentally installed it wrong (shocking, I know). During the third (and final) mirror replacement they broke my up/​down window adjustments on my driver side door, and my trunk button was no longer working. I had to go back once again to get these issues fixed. After at least 10 visits to Cooks and 3 rental cars later, I am thrilled to say that I will never have to step foot in Cooks again! Although, believe it or not, the mirror is still not the same as it was before I got it repaired, but I will leave it as it is because the thought of going back there gives me a migrane. After all of this, I would have expected Aaron to speak with me in person, or at least give me a call to address all of these issues considering the terribly negative experience I had at his establishment. The only positive thing out of all of this was Brandy, the wonderful lady that works at the front desk; she was friendly, patient, and helpful. Thank you for keeping me sane during this disaster Brandy!

Worst experience ever. We got into a car accident a couple months back and were required by AAA Insurance (not our insurance company but the car at fault) to use this facility to receive an estimate for repairs.
Most body shops in our past experience take «walk ins» for estimates. This place does not. You have to call ahead and finally after getting an appointment, we trekked to the East Bay from the city.
About 10 – 15 minutes after we got there, they took photos and told us they’d have an estimate for us by tomorrow. 24 hours roll by and no one calls. We instead have to call them. After another couple of days we finally get a hold of someone who has only bad news to share… «We lost the photos so we cannot give you an estimate. Can you come back another time for us to retake photos?» Seriously?!? What a cluster-f@#$ !!!
No, I cannot waste another 72 hours of my life on an incompetent shop. I’m not a AAA insurance client, but feel sorry for those that are and hope they would push AAA to reconsider what shops to use as «preferred vendors». This was a horrible experience!

If you’re going out of pocket, don’t even bother. pretty sure they just milk out insurance companies. $ 1500 quote for something I’m 100% sure will cost $ 300 max elsewhere.
just saying so you don’t waste your time.

Great service! The woman at the front desk was extremely friendly, and they did a fantastic (thorough and fast) job repairing my car after someone swiped the sideview mirror off of it. The time estimates they gave me were always accurate, which I appreciated. Would definitely go back, but hopefully I won’t have to!

Cooks is great. Guy hit my Lexus and ripped off the bumper. Traumatized. Liberty Mutual sent me to Cooks for estimate and I chose to let them repair as everyone was so nice and professional. Liberty Mutual paid them and my Lexus is better than new. Thanks Brandy, Edwardo and Victor. Try them.

I had such a good experience at Cooks Collision. Someone backed into my car.
There was damage to the headlight and bumper on the drivers side. Cooks Collision delivered… going above and beyond. Fixing another problem not even related to the accident. Excellent customer service. Amazing and Quick. I would highly recommend them!

Wow, nice guys! Came in asking for a quote to fix two areas of light scratches on my car. The service advisor said that it would probably be a few thousand dollars to completely fix the body panels since there were also small dents. Ugh. Then, he offered to have his guys try to just buff it. I asked how much this would cost and he jokingly said «an ice cream sandwich.» Hey, that’s reasonable! Sure enough, after 5 minutes of buffing the big scratches are gone and now I can barely see the tiny dents. I offered to pay something but he refused. My car looks great and Cook’s did me a really nice favor at no cost at all. Pretty impressive service.

Avoid Cook’s Collision at all costs. Here is my horrible experience:
1) Kept me waiting for 30+ minutes for an initial inspection despite the fact that I had an appointment. I had to ask several times for help, and when I finally told them that I had to leave, they found someone.
2) There was a lot of variability in the pricing we discussed, so I asked for a written estimate and was promised one via fax or email — whichever was easier for them. Reasonable, right?
3) 4 days later no estimate. When I called to inquire why, they told me that they thought I was bringing in my car for repair. I reminded them that I wanted a written estimate.
4) When the estimate arrived, it had some problems, so I called to ask a few questions about it. The Cook’s Collisiion representative told me that they didn’t want my business.
This whole experience gives the impression that they are dishonest in their business practices and when confronted with someone asking reasonable questions about an estimate, they walk away from a deal where they can’t swindle you.

I received amazing customer service from Aaron! My car was hit by a falling tree during a wind storm and had minor scratches. They were able to buff the scratches out in the time it took me to walk to Peet’s for a coffee. I am so grateful for such fast and wonderful service and happy they are in my neighborhood.

I have used Cook’s at their Walnut Creek and Claremont locations. I was back here this week after my car was keyed (for the third time in less than a year) and this morning, I retrieved my car, clean and looking like new. I could not be happier.
Most of all, I received the most exemplary service from MJ, my service advisor. She is so incredibly nice, helpful, knowledgable, efficient, thorough and… have I left anything out? I hope I’ve covered it! She also has a very calming presence as she works with you, which really helps, I can tell you. I don’t know how she does it; I can only say how much I appreciated it!
Thank you, MJ, and thank you, Cook’s!

I came here during my lunch break to get a quote. Brought in my 2013 E class Benz that had a big dent on the bumper. Dustin helped me out and gave me an alternative to pop it out for a quick fix using heat. It only took 15 minutes and looked amazing after. I was so grateful that Dustin really went above and beyond to help me out and provided the best customer service. I highly recommend doing business here. Thank you for taking care of me Dustin!

I had my new Mini taken to Cooks Collision for repairs after a hit n run:
The body work was good
The time it took was extremely long almost 4 weeks
The estimate was a shot in the dark at best and in the end the price came in almost 2x above the estimate with NO notifications (I did get text messages that they were working on the car)
When the car was finally done they could not wait to get rid of it, they dropped it off at my house (nice), BUT the interior of the car was the like the dust bowl from the 1930s, the outside was dusty and dirty — (I’d take my car to the dealer for an oil change they wash the car for free, here I give almost $ 7500 worth of business and they do not feel the need to return the car clean.

Cooks has great customer service, from the estimator to the front desk person. I signed up for «email alerts» and got an email along every step of the way — «your car has moved into the painting stage.» Everything was smooth, they answer questions clearly, and the work is great. I couldn’t recommend them more highly.
They fixed the front bumper of my 2011 Toyota Sienna Van using Liberty Mutual insurance.

Our Jetta was hit on the passenger door by a lady who backed out of her driveway without looking. Our insurance, AAA, recommended Cooks, so my husband took it there. The repairs were done in a timely manner and the car looks great. However, the passenger side wing mirror no longer adjusts as it should. They took the door apart to replace the damaged body panels, but they claim that the problem with the mirror is «just a coincidence» and have refused to fix it.
This mirror cost us $ 600 to replace before the accident, and it was working fine after the accident. It stopped working after Cooks worked on the door. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

This is mixed review, based on three separate visits relating to one issue:
Backstory: We had a late-​night break-​in that destroyed our passenger side window and damaged our clutch and steering wheel. Insurance wanted to send us somewhere else, but — when we told them we lived just a few blocks away — they cleared us for Cooks Collision.
First visit: 4.5 stars
Our window was replaced and glass in the car was cleaned up very quickly. This made our dangerous car road-​ready in far less time than we anticipated. Great customer service. Minimal waits in the office. I want to give this five stars, but am taking a falf star off for a few pockets of glass that were missed in the cleaning.
Second visit: 2 stars
The recommended airbag replacement post-​steering wheel damage required the shop to order in parts that, for safety reasons, they can’t just keep laying around. We were told that finishing repairs would take a day. We dropped off the car, waited, called to confirm the car was ready for pick-​up and… It wasn’t. They hadn’t even started yet. Which was in a way lucky, since we needed the car for a long trip the following day and wouldn’t have been able to collect it mid-​repair. But it was also frustrating because they lied to my boyfriend, saying they’d told us it would take two days (even though I’d confirmed the single-​day estimate multiple times with multiple people). End result: we pick up the car and reschedule.
Third visit: 3.5 stars
We bring the car in again on a Friday, and get a very nice shuttle drop back home. We are also told the car will be ready and that we’ll get a pick-​up call on Saturday (after less than the «two days» that messed up our second visit??). We say great, awesome, and make plans to use the unexpected extra time with the car. Saturday comes and goes. No call. Shop is closed. We call on Monday. They say Saturday was so busy that even though the car was ready, they forgot to call us. I go to pick up the car… and then wait an hour while they finish cleaning the glass, etc that they missed the first time. Customer service end is great this visit.
All in all, I had a hard time with this one: I want to give it four stars because the staff are so nice and all the repairs were eventually done well, but I just can’t after having so many small snafus. Overall, it’s a decent service without any upsell, but also some growing to do in attention to detail/​organization.

I got rear-​ended by some lady and her insurance was AAA and mine was Farmers Ins. I went to get an estimate through my own insurance only because AAA had told me they weren’t able to get into contact with their insured to get a statement or accept liability. So it seemed like they weren’t going to be liable because I guess they couldn’t make contact.
When I went to get an estimate using Farmers, they gave me the estimate and explained all the costs and how long it would take to fix approximately. The initial estimate was below my deductible so I would have to pay out of pocket. Ok, so I left with no problem and now I know how much it would cost to fix.
Later on, I received a call from an investigator or adjuster (forgot what he’s called) from AAA and I was able to give my statement of what happened and then they accepted liability and offered to take care of everything including car rental. After that, I was told to take it to the repair shop and that it would be taken care of.
The second time I went (Friday) I was told to come back on Tuesday when my car parts would arrive. At the same time, I explained that my insurance won’t be involved since the AAA was accepting liability. I even made sure if it was clear with the office person attending me if they have all my information since I would be going through AAA and not farmers, she said yes. I even had the person from AAA call to confirm that they would take care of everything, and then AAA called me back telling me they spoke with a lady in their office saying I would have to go back Tuesday.
So to try to make this story shorter, when everything was finished and I went to pick up my car, they gave me the invoice and explained the costs to me. Then, they stated that my 1,000 dollar deductible was due. Thats when I realized nothing was taken into account of what I said.
I tried explaining to them and even provided them with the claim number from AAA, but the guy attending me VICTOR LEE wasn’t really listening to me and just kept saying something like «either way, payment is due promptly» and didn’t really make eye contact as he was easily distracted. No matter how much I tried explaining to the office lady and the Victor, nobody seemed to know what was going on and he didn’t even try to understand. I was getting really pissed and frustrated as he wasn’t really listening to me. I had to be the adult and avoid making a huge scene since there were other people waiting and just dish out the 1,000 dollars.
Yea, I’m sure AAA will still reimburse but this was such a hassle as I even went through the trouble of explaining to them and tried to make it clear that MY insurance (Farmers) would not be responsible for my repairs.
Maybe this is just a miscommunication on AAA’s part, maybe the people at Cooks didn’t understand me, maybe just an isolated incident, maybe I should’ve really followed up with them more and confirmed the correct claim number as well. Either way, that part of the experience, was really frustrating (and having to pay 1,000 upfront ouch)
But in terms of the repairs and other services: everything was perfectly done. Car was immaculate when they turned it in to me, smelled great and looked brand new. They even call the rental company for you while you wait in their shop, also when you drop off the car, you can just leave the keys with them and take your car home.

After months of climbing over the front driver’s seat to get to the passenger seat due to a jammed passenger side door, we finally brought our ’97 Toyota Avalon into the shop. We were dreading the cost for months and put up with it for as long as we could, but we’d finally had enough. This morning we first took the car to Berkeley Auto Care, where we usually go for all of our car-​related needs, but were redirected to Cooks Collision for this particular issue.
The office was warm and welcoming, staff were friendly, impressively well-​dressed, and very eager to help. When we explained the situation (an incident with a pole left the body bent in just the right spot to prevent the passenger side door from opening more than a few inches), it only took a few minutes to have someone look at it. He seemed very optimistic and asked for the keys, while we nervously awaited a grim diagnosis and a hefty bill. Not more than 5 minutes later, the keys were returned to us, the passenger door opened, and the scratches in that area had been cleaned and polished making it look good as new! And the most phenomenal part, there was NO CHARGE! I can’t even express my gratitude and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Cooks Collision to anyone else. I would happily leave my car in their hands anytime.
Unfortunately I don’t recall the name of the gentleman who helped us, but I only wish I had cash at the time to tip him. This kind of customer service is enough to brighten my whole week! Thanks again!

I have had three repair jobs from Cooks Collision in Berkeley in the last eight years. The first two were straight fender/​bumper repairs and were done all right.
The third and most recent (³⁄₁₄ — ⁴⁄₁₄) was mechanical/​steering and was not done well at all. Moreover, Cooks engaged in very questionable business practices and lied to me outright regarding the condition of my car.
The background is this: my car was hit while parked by a USAA insured driver and after that the car pulled to the right while driving straight. USAA lobbied heavily to have the car taken to Cooks. Despite the fact that I told USAA and Cooks that I wanted the car checked for bent parts, no diagnosis was conducted prior to the attempts to align the front end of the car.
The guy at Cooks just walked around the car and took a few pictures. He did not investigate the steering, and no one test drove the car before or after the ‘repairs’.
The steering was never restored to its original state, despite the fact that I took the car back and reported the problem as unsolved. At one point a Cooks employee claimed that the motor mounts are loose and causing vibration at freeway speeds. In fact the motor mounts are not loose, and loose motor mounts would have no effect on the front end.
When I dropped the car off at Cooks I was asked to sign a slew of documents, including a release of Cooks’ responsibility for the condition of the car during transport to another facility! Anyone reading this review should know that there is no legal requirement to sign anything other than a normal work order when dropping off a car.
Cooks is currently (2014) receiving a very large volume of insurance business. In my all-​too-​informed opinion the level of work quality is suffering. On my last visit an employee inside the office told me that many jobs are not being completed, as indeed mine was not. So despite former satisfactory experiences as Cooks I would not take a vehicle there now because of the excess volume, poor performance of my job, the dishonest statement about my motor mounts, and the bogus documents.
Final note: the physical layout at Cooks is such that real skill is required to get a car onto and off of the property. At the end of the day during rush hour the intersection of Claremeont Avenue and Ashby is very congested. The last time I picked up my car at 5:30 pm, and as soon as I got into traffic I learned that the mechanic had not reconnected my left turn signal. I had to use hand signals in rush hour traffic to shoehorn the car back into the tiny parking area to get the signal reconnected!
Any business can have an off day, but Cooks has had too many off days to assign them to co-​incidence.