Benner’s Auto Body

Geico sent me here when some genius slammed his door into my car in a parking lot (and I caught him), causing a big dent. Smooth process except I was told my car would be ready on Monday, maybe Tuesday morning. Monday went by without a call. I had taken Tuesday off work. I called around 4pm, after still not having heard from them. I was told the car was being detailed and would be ready by 6pm. They’d give me a call when it was ready. No call. Wednesday morning I finally received a call saying my car was ready. My entire Tuesday wasted and half my Wednesday. The place closes at 6pm so you’re forced to take off from work. People have jobs. Very inconsiderate. They did great work on the car, however. But I wouldn’t go back if I could pick a place myself.

Awful expreience with Benner’s! I called them to ask them to please remove the half gallon of milk that I had left in my car at the time of my accident and the front desk assured me that she would have it removed. I picked up my car a month later to find that they milk was still there and it exploded and left the worst smell ever in my car that I still can not get out. In addition to that they kept calling me to pick up my car because it was ready and IT WASN’T! Luckily my Insurance Adjuster happened to call me both days to give me an update on my car and assured me it was a mistake and that my car wasn’t ready. If he hadn’t informed me I would have been making unnecessary trips to the shop to pick up my car that wasn’t ready!!! AND then when it was ready they never called me, luckily I called them the following business day to check on my car… Lastly, I received my car and my windshileld wiper fluid will not work and my car makes a very loud sound every turn I make!!! Truly an awful experience!!!

stay away, go to another auto body shop,

My sister had gotten in an accident and had no idea where to go. I previously used Benner’s years ago and their work was flawless even then. So the obvious choice was to not take a gamble at a different body shop and go back where you know the work is a solid ten.
Took a little over a week, including another call to my insurance about getting additional repairs made to the front end. All in all everything was covered. The car needed an entire front end.
Fast forward a week and some change, and the car looks better than when we bought it. Fender, hood, grille, headlight, bumper, etc… Were all replaced and painted. I have yet to find a single flaw in the paint (I’m a stickler for things like this). Upon arrival to pick the car up, Henry walked us through the entire repair and showed/​pointed out everything. Now I work on cars somewhat often so I know what I’m looking for and the entire process and final product blew me away. The staff at Benner’s took it one step further and even detailed the inside of the car, which they didn’t need to do at all.
All in all, highly pleased with their work and even more pleased with the car. It looks better now than when I first purchased it for my sister. I highly recommend this body shop without hesitation. Even if you aren’t from around here, it is worth the travel.

I previously wrote a 5 star review on this place, and wanted to update after having another encounter with Benner’s. After getting my car fixed at Benner’s (and being very happy with the work), I noticed my windshield washer fluid was not working. I called the shop and they told me to stop in any time (no appointment needed) and they would take a look. When I arrived they took my car right in, found a hose had not been re-​attached and fixed it right away. I was in and out in 10 minutes. They turned an inconvenience to me into an easy/​nice experience.

My bumper got dinged and although I’d already gone to 3 other places for an estimate — none of them were in my town of Cranford — and I like to give my business to other local businesses. So I left work an hour early so I could arrive well before they close for the day at 6pm — arrived a few minutes before 5:30. As I walked in I noticed that there did not appear to be anyone working in the shop and there weren’t any customers inside — I figured great, I’ll be in and out in a few minutes. The receptionist was nice but took a look at the time and told me she doubted «he» would see me and told me I could come back the next day. I thought about it for a minute and told the receptionist that I’ve been to 3 places already for an estimate — and that they all took me as a walk-​in and had an estimate for me within a few minutes — that I left work an hour early to get there — and that this should only take a few minutes — so if someone doesn’t take a look then I’ll take my business elsewhere. Since it was a half hour before closing time I asked her if she would please ask «him» if he could take a quick look at it — she said sure and took a few steps back to where there are some desks. Came back a few seconds later and told me he said no, I could make an appointment. There are many things that could have been done that would have resulted in me being perfectly happy. Since it was still a half hour before closing — and there were no other customers — you could have just spent a few minutes to take a look and give me an estimate. Or, you could have told me it was getting late, took a quick look at it, jotted down my make and model and told me you’d call me tomorrow with an estimate. Or, you could have have told me it was getting late, had your receptionist take a few photos with her phone (or had me email a few photos) and had her take down my info so that you could call me tomorrow with an estimate. I guess my $ 1,400 fix isn’t enough for them to care about. I guess they have so much business already that they don’t need local people to patronize their business. I like to support local businesses because I saw how hard my father worked running his — guess I’ll go back to one of the 3 other places that seemed happy to see me — I certainly won’t be back here.

I got into an accident last Dec (2013). The person that hit me was a Geico customer, so naturally I went through their insurance. From the moment I got to the shop til the moment I picked it up, I was very impressed and pleased. The staff from the Geico adjuster (Peter), to the Estimator handling my claim in the shop, (Ivan) and the receptionist (didn’t get their name) was very friendly and helpful. They kept me up to speed with text messages and phone calls updating me on the status of my vehicle. And not to mention my car looked amazing once I got it back. If God forbid I have another accident, I know where I will be having my car fixed at.

I was a little apprehensive about coming here because of previous bad reviews, but I want you to know that was not true at all ! My car was hit and this place participates with the Geico express center. From the time I got there until I left the process was very easy they were super friendly! The receptionist wasn’t that warm but you don’t deal with her much. IVAN was AMAZING! He made sure everything was done to my liking my car was clean when I got it back as well! I’ll return ! I’m only giving 5 stars because Ivan was sooo nice ! Thank you boys at Benner’s!

Benners is definitely one of the best auto body shops around. The customer service is great and they take the time to explain everything and answer all your questions. They are the place to go if you need a new door on your car. They have a state of the art machine that fits your door perfectly as the manufacturer did. SERIOUSLY! The only reason I gave 4 stars and not 5 is because they did not check my car 100% before they told me it was done. AND they called me at 4p amd had to be picked up by 6p or I’d get charged for an extra day on the rental (Enterprise). Good thing I was in the area!!! Well I dropped of my rental, had enterprise give me a ride to Benners. and found that certain things on the car had been overlooked and not fixed or fixed properly. They needed to keep the car an extra day so I had to rent again. The next day when I returned for my car the rear lights had not even been plugged back in (how was I supposed to know if I was driving it). Thank goodness someone else noticed and told me. I had to figure out how to do it myself because they wouldn’t be open for the next 3 days (holiday). They do not check the cars 100% before giving them back and this problem needs to be rectified. I know nothing about cars but at least now I can plug a rear light in!

I was directed to Benner’s by Geico after getting rear ended on the Pulaski Skyway. I have never used Benner’s before but the ease and convenience of being able to drop my car off for an estimate and begin repairs the same day through Geico Express is what prompted me to leave it at Benner’s rather than bring it to the repair shop my family uses. I must say, I was very impressed — with both Geico and Benner’s. The process was extremely seamless and I felt confident my car was in good hands. I picked up my car yesterday and it looks great! The inside was detailed and the outside was washed, in addition to the fantastic job on the repairs. If you are directed to Benner’s via Geico, don’t hesitate to take your car there.

Geico Express directed us to Benner’s after my wife was t-​boned in a Trader Joe’s parking lot. I have to give a thumbs up to the whole process. Geico covered the tow to Benner’s and Geico adjuster Brian is on premises so the whole process getting the car appraised and ready for rehab happened quickly. We had a few days wait on a replacement door but within the week we were driving our minivan again — paint match, everything was flawless. John at the counter made sure everything was performed top notch. We are very impressed at the symphonic performance between Geico and Benner’s. 5 stars.

Benner’s has worked on a few of my vehicles, and I have to say, the do a great job. However, I am sad to report that items have been stolen from my vehicle. Therefore, I would not recommend them to anyone.

I just had my 2011 BMW 535xi repaired here through GEICO after an an accident. I picked this place because of the GEICO express service, and I wanted to have the car repaired quickly. The work involved replacing and painting the front bumper, replacing fog light and few other parts after I hit a post on the side of the road. Quality of the work was outstanding, the paint matching was excellent and the service was very good.
I read some reviews after I had given the car in for the repairs and was worried as some of the reviews were not great. My guess now is most people only write reviews if they have issues. Hence I felt obliged to write something.

First of all, I would give this place negative stars if I could.
What can I say about Benner’s Auto Body? Not a single decent thing. My vehicle was brought here after my accident in April. The only reason I agreed to it was because my insurance company, GEICO, recommended it since it was part of their «Auto Repair Xpress» program. They explained that not only would the repairs be expedited, but that I would be receiving OEM (original) parts for my car. Because I didn’t know any better at the time, I gave them the okay.
At first, everything seemed fine. After sending them an authorization to work on my vehicle, I received updates through GEICO’s website including the summary of repairs/​estimate and photos of the damage. I had specifically informed both the claims representative and the adjuster that detergent had spilled all over the trunk during the accident and that it would have to be cleaned up. No problem there, it was noted in the summary.
Fast forward to a month later when the car was finally «repaired». (To be fair, I should note for the record that I was out of town for a meeting when they called to let me know it was ready, and they did not charge me any storage fees. I was able to pick it up when I returned.)
The first thing I noticed was how dirty the car was. Apparently they don’t detail or even wash your vehicle prior to returning it. Upon closer inspection of my vehicle, I immediately noticed that the workmanship was shoddy at best. The panels in the damaged area were not flush, and some of the plastic molding/​trim were not even snapped in. Now I didn’t expect my car to come back brand new, but this was unacceptable. And that wasn’t even the best part.
I popped my trunk expecting to see it cleaned. Instead, it wreaked of detergent, and upon lifting up the spare cover, I actually found small pools of the liquid still present. Not only did they neglect to «detail and deodorize» my trunk as it was stated in the summary I received, they didn’t even bother to look at it. Trying to keep my calm, I told them about it and my car was brought back into the service bay. Not even 5 minutes later, it came back out. I opened it up again, and took a look. I almost lost it. They must have done nothing more than to take a rag and wiped down whatever they could see. In fact, they missed several areas and the detergent was still visibly present. I told them to take it back, only this time I asked them why the repair summary stated that the trunk was to be detailed when they obviously failed to do so. The answer I received was a complete joke: «It just says that.» Oh really?
I was completely dumbfounded. Basically I had just been told by the people working there that when they say they will do something, they are really not going to do it, because well … «It just says that.» Not only are they misrepresenting the services offered, they are straight up lying to the insurance company. Essentially they are being paid for services not rendered. In fact, I plan on calling GEICO to let them know about this, as well as my overall negative experience.
But I’m not done just yet. One of the plastic trim pieces actually had to be replaced, and they were quick enough to order a new part — as well as blame the «windshield guys» for the problem. Apparently they also outsource/​subcontract another shop to replace the windshield, one that has equally poor — if not worse — workmanship than they do. No surprises there. A few days later, I get a call to bring my car in so that the new repair could be completed. After only an hour of arriving to the shop, I’m given back my keys and told that even though the new part was installed, the original problem still existed (albeit slightly better than before) and that they «did the best they could.» Wow, if that’s your best, I’d hate to see what your worst is. Oh wait, right. My trunk.
At this point, I’m so fed up with this place that I just wanted to leave and never come back. As I’m about to get into my car, I’m reminded by one of the guys working there of how expensive that particular part was — even though the cost of it is entirely covered by my insurance. So why are you telling me? If it was so expensive, maybe you should have taken the effort to install it properly.
Finally, I get home and take one more look at the half-​assed job these people did on my car. That’s when I noticed one of the adjacent trim pieces has a new crack in it, undoubtedly caused when they were «installing» the new part. I almost laughed out loud. It’s like going to the dentist to have a cavity filled, only to have him accidentally remove several of your teeth. Exhausted and tired, I just lowered and shook my head in disgust. But I also couldn’t help but to laugh to myself, because in the end, this place was a joke.

This is a third-​party autobody shop, run as a GEICO express service, and they’re undergoing a bit of a renovation now.
Big shop, paint rooms and more — used to be a former police impound lot, apparently. Lots of lifts and more inside, and a staff member was kind enough to give me a quick tour.
Their work is solid, albeit unspectacular — they were able to put together parts on my car in relatively quick time, and they do use generic parts, though, not original manufacturer’s, so that does make it cheaper for them.
One thing unlike the Honda Autobody that I took my car to the last time — they don’t detail the car after they’re done. It smelled strongly of paint inside and was dirty. One star lost on that, one star gained for the tour and guy who called up the GEICO person who left early that Friday and allowed me to get my car back on-​time.