Ward’s Auto Painting & Bodyworks Skidway

I took my car to Ward’s twice – once in summer 2012, and again in June 2015. The first time was a collision on my front passenger side. After the car was repaired, I got in one day and found a HUGE puddle of water on my passenger side front floorboard after a heavy rain. All windows and doors were closed, locked, and secure, so I have no idea how it occurred. I took it to Ward’s, they checked it out, and told me there were no issues. I trusted them. This was less than a month before I deployed to Afghanistan, so I had bigger things to worry about.
In June 2015, a flat tire violently destroyed my bumper and the right rear quarter panel. The tire company (which will remain unnamed) paid for the damage, but it took weeks to get done because the quote I received from Ward’s was apparently based on the cost for a used part, not a new one. Once my car was in the shop – and for more than 2 weeks, or more than double the time I was told it would take to repair – Ward’s upped the cost by another couple hundred bucks. The tire company eventually paid, but I found myself as the middle man between the body shop and the claims department for the tire company. The original check went straight from the tire company to Ward’s, but I had to pay the increase in cost out of pocket to get my car out of the shop, and then work with the tire company to get reimbursed. That took months, partly because Ward’s was anything but helpful.
In July 2015, two weeks after getting my car back from Ward’s (and much later than expected), I moved from Savannah to Italy as part of a military reassignment. I shipped my car the morning I flew because I didn’t have enough time to sell it before I left, thanks in large part to Ward’s taking much longer than expected to repair it and them holding it hostage as a result of their own price hike once it was in the shop. Two days before I shipped it, I got it detailed to make sure it would pass shipping inspection, at which point I noticed that Ward’s failed to finish painting/​buffing the bumper (see attached photos) and there were places where I could see the new paint had run. I was inside 48 hours of getting on a plane for Europe, and 36 hours from having to ship my car from Charleston, so there was nothing I could do about it then. Hence why I’m writing this.
So why am I just now posting this? It took me two months to get an apartment in Italy, and two more to get wifi in that apartment so I could upload the pictures (everything in Italy takes far longer than Americans are used to). But I wasn’t about to let their poor workmanship and sketchy customer service go unreported. The photos are date stamped July 20^th, 2015 by iPhone.
Ward’s claims to support the American military. They support your dollars, but not much more than that. Avoid these cheats masquerading as a legitimate, honest business. They’re anything but.

I’m new to the savannah area and was in need of a body shop due to a minor bumper issue. Being a very active student and on a fixed budget, I needed my car fixed affordably and fast! After going to 5 other body shops to get estimates that were outrageous, Wards (skidaway) saved the day! Chris was so helpful and was able to accommodate my requests. Not only was my car finished early, but it was cheaper than what was quoted! They also washed and vacuumed the car at no charge! I will absolutely use them again and will recommend Wards to anyone that needs repairs. Don’t waste your time with Hollingsworth (over quoted my estimate 400 dollars and only spent 10 mins looking at the damage), Low country collision, Macco, Savannah Tire– go to wards FIRST!

I called earlier today to ask when would be a good time to get an estimate on work done (out of pocket) and the man who answered first suggested 2:45 but was agreeable to 4:00 or 4:15. I took off from work to head over there and received really bad customer service. It was clear that the woman behind the desk was more interested in getting her paperwork done rather than deal with customers. She treated me like she did not want my service so I went elsewhere. The funny thing about it, the manager was next door and could clearly hear how she treated customers. I’d seen reviews elsewhere that commented on poor customer service but I typically give every company at least one chance. I would not recommend this place due to the service. If it was this bad the first day and condoned by the manager, there are clearly issues with this company.

Customer service and progress updates go a long way and I just did not experience this with Wards. I dropped my vehicle off for painting on a Monday and the staff stated I could pick the vehicle up Friday and would provide updates throughout the week.
After not hearing anything for the duration, I called Thursday afternoon and inquired when I could pick the vehicle up. The secretary stated that they could not provide an update at that time, but that she would call back Friday morning. I received no call Friday, so I called back again and was told the car still needed to be painted and wouldn’t be ready until Monday. At this point I’m jumping through hoops to extend a rental vehicle for the weekend.
Monday rolled around and the car was again not ready and it was I who called that evening to find out. I am understanding that delays occur, but updating the customer so they can make proper and timely arrangements goes a long way.
Upon inspection of the vehicle they did an excellent job on the body work.
Their craftsmanship is up to par, but for me it’s the complete experience. I hope they implement corrections to prevent this from happening to future customers. Personally, I’ll let someone else determine if that’s the case, as I will go elsewhere.
I did address this with the management and they agreed it was unacceptable, but were unable to offer anything other than an apology at that point.

I was in a car accident (I wasn’t at fault) and they handled EVERYTHING with the other persons insurance company. Great customer service and excellent car body work. My car came back like new!

Terrible experience. Initial estimate was 10 days to repair right front fender. The reality is that it took more than 45. When the car was returned it was not completely repaired. This is where the trouble began. Ward’s failed to thoroughly examine the damage to develop the estimate. When the fender was damaged, electrical wiring was also damaged. Ward’s outsourced that problem to Dixie Auto. When the car was returned, we had absolutely no tail lights, dash lights and the radio did not work. The manager at Ward’s said it was not caused by the accident. We sought a second opinion from another mechanic who said it was completely possible for fuses and bulbs to blow during a collision or when a wiring harness is replaced. Ward’s fixed the lights but refused to fix the radio. The rationale for not fixing the radio was that the antenna wire was pulled away from the radio. Well, when they worked on the right fender, where the antenna is located, they probably pulled it loose. They are essentially saying I am lying about the antenna. We are attempting to resolve this with USAA. Additionally, because of the impact of the collision, the hubcap was missing. Ward’s postion was that since it was not on the vehicle when it arrived at the shop, then it must have been missing and therefore could not be replaced. The owner of Ward’s is a pleasure to deal with but the manager at the Skidaway branch could use additional customer service training. Accident occured 6 NOV and now on 7 JAN we are continuing to attempt to resolve issues involving a relatively minor accident.

Wards replaced my front bumper and did an outstanding job. I have USAA insurance and Wards took care of everything. When I got my car back it was not only fixed, but they vacuumed the inside and wiped down the dash. It looks smells and feels like a brand new civic.
I highly recommend this place, plus it’s located next to the Krispy Kreme factory, so it’s basically a win win!

On rare occasions you find someplace that surprises you and goes above and beyond, this is the exact opposite of that place. We had a minor issue back in June that was supposed to be a two day body job. It involved replacing a door on our SUV. They dealt with the insurance company, yes, and arranged for us to have a rental car. When we came back to pick the truck up, (not two, but more like 5 days later) we dropped off the rental car first.
First off, the truck door had been completely replaced and painted, and it looked good, when I saw the paint job I asked them to give me a quote on how much it would be to paint the entire truck. It was all downhill from there.
*The first problem we noticed was that the window wasn’t tinted (all the other windows are, and the old one was).
*The glass that was in the replacement was severely damaged from acid rain (permanent water spots).
*We then noticed that the wipes (the rubber part on the inside of the window opening that seals the inside from the out, supports the glass, and keeps water from getting inside the door) were completely missing, leaving a nearly 2″ gap.
*The stops that are supposed to keep the door from closing on the frame of the vehicle were completely gone.
*The interior door skin was loosely attached.
*The keypad for key-​less entry was dangling in the hole under the handle.
So after driving it like this for a few days we brought it back, and left it for 2 – 3 more days. When we came back, the glass was the same, not tinted. They offered to keep it for another day to fix the tint but this was my last day of school for the summer and we were already packed to drive back home to NC. After leaving we noticed that 3 out of 4 of the stops were still missing, the only one that was replaced was the one at eye level.
The insurance company said we could get the window tinted ourselves and send them the bill, but why should we have to? It’s not necessarily the money, it’s the time. It shouldn’t take over a week and 3+ trips to get something this simple repaired. Now it’s October, I’ve had a busy summer and am back in school, and the window still isn’t tinted.
This was back in May/​June 2011 so maybe some drastic changes have happened since then but I will NEVER risk it again.

Love this body shop.
They dealt directly with my Insurance Company so my transaction was so easy and painless.
They got my body work done in the time-​line that they promised me and did an amazing job.
Everyone was super professional and courteous.
They even detailed my car thoroughly before I picked it up.
I am a fan and if I ever need to get body work done again, I will definitely bring my car here.