My car window was broken this past weekend in classic smash-and-grab fashion. I brought it to Ballard Collision for an estimate. Both the woman at the front desk and Chris, the person who came out to do the estimate, were genuine, kind, sympathetic, professional, and efficient. The window was fixed very quickly (about a day and a half turnaround), and actually came in at less than the estimate. Perhaps the best part. . . as Chris was taking me out to my car for pick-up, he told me they had 'cleaned off some of the moss that was growing at the top of (my) doors'. As I was saying thank you, I saw my car, and was startled and gratified to see that they had cleaned the entire car, including a lot of extra vacuuming beyond the broken glass in the interior. Truly a lovely touch. Many thanks for bringing such a positive ending to an upsetting event! read more

Terrible customer service. Called to make an appointment for an estimate and the earliest they could give me was next Wednesday. I called Werner's collision in queen anne and they said that I could come in anytime today for an estimate. read more

I have used CARSTAR for two events; one where because of driver error I hurt my car, and the other when I was scraped by a car entering the road as I was going by, resulting in side body damage to the passenger door, right side mirror, and abrasions all along the passenger side of the car. To see the car now, one would swear it was brand new. They did unbelievable good work and it was returned to me as a shiny car inside and out. The first one was when I cracked the front grill and had it replaced. The work was done in one day, and since I live not far I could walk there and back. They let me know when the part was ordered so I could schedule it when I was free. I found them friendly and honest and would recommend them without reservation. All work is reasonably priced. Turnaround time is honestly stated. My insurance agent also recommended them. read more

I was previously in the auto insurance industry and when faced with choosing a body shop I was very apprehensive. Fortunately third party insurance was paying up front and endorsed Ballard collision. We had a very positive experience. All was in place and rental was arranged. They went above and beyond and it is greatly appreciated. I would recommend this shop without hesitation. read more

The staff made me feel stupid and ignorant. I have worked around cars my entire life and there is a way to make a recommendation without belittling your customer. That is not the way to do business. Going elsewhere for greater RESPECT and FRIENDLINESS, which is entirely lacking at this establishment. read more

Called to ask about getting an estimate and they told me to just come in. When I arrive, they ask what insurance the claim is under. After hearing the company they tell me "oh they send someone out to you, you don't want to get an estimate here." I am so glad I wasted my time driving in when I could have been told this on the phone. The likelihood I will get my car fixed here when they can't even manage basic curtsy with new potential customers? Very low. read more

I've worked with CARSTAR a few times now and they've always taken great care of my wife and I. They call you with updates, hold your car as long as you need them to and are quick with their work. They don't cut corners and their service is the best I've experienced. I recommend them to all of my family and friends. Give them a try! Talk with Chris over there. read more

I came here after running through spilled paint on the road on my way to work, I was pretty panicked as my car was brand new and the paint was really thick and oily, all over my tires and car paint. After stopping at my car dealership to see what could be done, they sent me here - only to find out they don't do detailing, just body repair. Regardless, a really nice man came out to see what he could do and spent about 10 minutes helping me get the paint off of my car. Of course he couldn't do it all as it needed a detail but he assured me it could all be cleaned up and told me exactly where to go to get it done. It was so nice to find someone that genuinely cared enough to help and not even for a price. Hopefully I never need body repair on my car, but this is where I'd take it and I'll recommend Carstar to anyone. read more

A great experience from start to finish. Perfect communications and outstanding workmanship. Thank you Chris! You are my shop of choice for taking care of my cars good looks. read more

I had a great experience with the guys at Ballard Carstar! They made everything so simple and easy for me! My windshield was cracked (amongst other things) in an accident and I was worried about it breaking over the weekend. Chris was able to contact the insurance for me to get a rental approved right away so I didn't have to worry about it. They really helped turn a stressful situation into a hassle free thing for me with all the little details taken care of (insurance, rental, payment of deductible, keeping me in the loop). They finished my car in a timely manner and it looked great when I got it back. They even cleaned and vacuumed it for me! I even had a few lost surprises waiting in my car that they found somewhere in my car while cleaning/repairing, haha! I would definitely go back to them if the need ever were to arise! read more

I've never been treated so good, bringing my car in to a repair shop! The staff was pretty amazing: kept me updated, friendly, coffee for the wait, ETA on when the rental car company was coming to get me. I came in three weeks ago to do an estimate, I finally got the claim number from the insurance company. Set an appt. to drop my car off & came in. I was pretty shocked as I walk in to a busy lobby that the front desk lady says my name asks me to have a seat & I'll be helped soon. I barely grab some coffee & another lady is asking me to come w/her to do a walk around of my car. I didn't have to wait for anyone to fiddle around looking for my claim, I was expecting to be at the shop a good 30 - 60 mins before I even got to the rental car place. I arrived early so that I could avoid that but didn't have to bother with the unorganized shop I was expecting. This collision place puts a lot of others to shame, I was at their shop maybe 20 mins. because the rental car place was on it as well! Service & partnering w/another company that offers good service is what it's all about! read more

I had a slight altercation with the building @ work. Damage was in the rear where it was tricky to repair. They welded up the damage (saving me and the insurance company a boat load of money). They straightened the seams in the body work, painted it and off we go. The paint color is Electric Blue Pearl. I was not sure that the paint would turn out right. But it was a job well done. The blending was spot on and I was very pleased. I detail cars for a living and have seen some ugly paint work, but this job was terrific. Great staff, courteous and helpful. Thanks for fixing the first damage to a 2003 PT turbo! read more

The service was friendly and clear about the likely repair time, as well as what was done to fix the car and why. Chris made my bumper look as good as new. Would use their services again. read more

I've had my work vehicle (ford transit connect) into this shop twice. It should have been only once but they forget to do one side of the car and they also left the other repair incomplete. This required my car to be in the shop twice as long as it should have and since my insurance and the insurance for the other repair only covered part of my truck rental, this incurred a lot of expense to me. I NEVER got any apologies for the errors and when I suggested they might help with part of the extra rental I had to make I was met with silence. I will NEVER EVER do business with CARSTAR again informing friends of my awful experience. They also have one of the rudest receptionists I've ever encountered. read more

This shop was great; they went above and beyond! I worked with Rachel at the front desk and she was always so delightful and friendly. Chris was the one that did the actual repair work to my car; he was great to do business with. I felt very confident in his assessment and final product. Great customer services paired with quality work; I will certainly be back for any repair needs in the future. Thanks Ballard Collision! read more

They went above and beyond! The best service I have ever received at an auto body shop. Friendly staff all around, very knowledgeable and informative. My car even had a few minor bumps and dings that they took care of and didn't have too! They front desk girl was courteous and helpful with my insurance issues. To top it off they even have a Hertz onsite that made my life easier! I highly recommend Ballard Collision Carstar and will take my car back if I ever need too. (hopefully not though!) read more

Highly highly recommended! Jill and her team were so helpful, kind and made the unfortunate event of a car accident as smooth and seamless as possible! Communication and courteously were at an all time high. They also are very competitively prices. Thank you! read more

I've had four experiences with Ballard Collision in the last four years or so. The first three repairs went alright, although they've been late in returning my vehicle every time. In the past, this meant a day or two or three late. Not *five weeks* late! This most recent experience was pretty bad. I'm not sure *what* is going on with them! In short, a repair that was supposed to take one week took over six. Communication from them was poor for the first month . The body work seems OK, and Jay the estimator is a nice guy. But overall, the whole experience was unpleasant and stressful. My car was returned detailed, which was great except for they left it completely soaked inside. Right after picking my car up, I noticed a few items were missing (sunglasses, visor clip, gloves, etc.) and can only imagine that it got broken into at some point while it was at Ballard Collision. They don't always have enough room in their own (unsecured) lot, so they just park customer's vehicles on the streets around the shop. And finally...I ended up having to order some exterior decals from eBay for this repair for because Ballard Collision was having probs getting them. They agreed to reimburse me. After waiting for the check for a month, I wrote a letter to them asking about the refund and outlining my complaints about this repair job. I did get the check, but did not receive any kind of reply to the rest of the letter. Just seems like poor customer service to me and I will not be going back there. Not when there are so many other choices of body shop in Seattle. read more

Already feeling grim about have to have body work done to my car, the estimator, Al, explained thoroughly my options for replacing parts with recycled versus new, giving me an estimate that worked will with the allowance the insurance company allowed. I was alerted to how long my car would be in the shop. We did have issues on a part that we had to wait on, but Al kept me up to date on when it should be expected in. When all was said and done, I almost felt like I had a new car. When I left, I knew that I without a doubt, would be a return customer (hopefully not too soon), and without any hesitations would be happy to refer others to them. Infact, I was so pleased I had to bake them some chocolate chip cookies. read more

I had the best service and the best possible experience at Ballard Collision Carstar. My car was 15 years old and had a small vendor bender and my insurance company wanted to write it off. Chris and Jesse found a way to not only save my car, repair it to what I consider new condition but also found a way to do it cheaply and with stealth efficiency. I cannot say enough about this company and their service. Chris is an amazing, caring person. He called the insurance company on my behalf and negotiated terms with them. Although I hope not to have another accident I have absolutely no qualms about bringing my car here to have it fixed. I've told my family and friends about this place. If you need amazing service don't hesitate to bring your car here. read more

I have never wanted to have to go to a collision repair place but since I did have to, I'm glad I chose Ballard Collision CARSTAR. They have done excellent work on my car and treated me very well in every exchange I've had with them. I'd recommend them to anyone. read more

Horrible and dishonest, and not very friendly or helpful. Avoid at all costs. Was sent here after being rear ended by the other party's insurance company. Totally unprofessional and not thorough or accurate in their appraisal. Did everything in their power to turn a bad situation worse by completely wasting my time. read more

I am insulted by the "owner comment" on my initial review. I pointed out I was LIED TO, straight to my face and he has the balls to say that they try to accomodate everyone in a timely manner? Pathetic. You lied. Say you're sorry that you LIED. read more

3 weeks after posting this review, I got a phone call from a manager (or so I think) to follow up on my review. During the phone call, he mentioned I was supposed to come in on June 17th and cancelled or didn't show up. REALLY? Yeah, I have absolutely no recollection of talking to anyone from Ballard Carstar since March/April and now there is a mysterious appointment? The fact that the staff would tell me that and not understand that an employee LIED blows my mind. The man I talked to said he was going to send over an estimate "right away" in case I decide to continue to try again with them. Sure, I'm not expecting it within 5 minutes, but again, I've lost trust after not receiving it (specifically in a prompt matter). If you want to regain trust in a former customer, you need to do everything possible to please them and make them want to come back. By having staff lie about appointments and also hearing that I was practically forgotten about, there is no way I will ever be coming back to your shop. Don't even bother calling me 3 weeks later to follow up on this review. It's a pointless battle, and I can only hope others read these reviews and realize that this shop is unreliable, untrustworthy and disrespectful to customers. read more

Just picked up my BRZ from CARSTAR today and it looks amazing! I was taken great care of by Ryan who also touched up a few scratches on my car free of charge. They cleaned it thoroughly and had it finished 3 days earlier than expected. I had a great experience here and would definitely use them again if the need ever arises!!!! read more

After a crash, our car was brought here at the advise of the dealership where we bought it. They were great--got back to us quickly with the findings, explained things well, and helped us clean out the car (twice, going out of their way to do this). read more

I have tried on two separate occasions to "schedule" an estimate. YES, they set schedules for estimates. On both tries they were full up, and could not schedule me. I even had the entire day off from work so I could accommodate their schedule. Furthermore, they stop taking estimates at 3:30 p.m. It is almost as though they don`t want your business. Pretty stupid management in this day and age. I recommend going to Fleury`s auto rebuild. Now they understand customer service. read more

They do excellent work and exceed expectation. My car was fixed in the estimated time, done correctly the first time and the service was outstanding. The shop manager even came to my house and gave me a ride to the shop when the car was ready. It is never much fun to have an minor auto accident, but getting the vehicle fixed at Ballard Collision is one way to take the pain out of the repair process. read more

My Son got into an accident in his Land Rover discovery and we had it towed to Ballard Collision. The staff were so nice and helpful from the front desk ,the estimators, to the repair men. They gave honest, helpful advice to us about what repairs were necessary first and what we could put off until later. Way to make a very unpleasant incident tolerable for us. Ballard Collision has my business and recommendations for sure! Thanks Al! read more

Being in an accident is upsetting. My car is wrecked, and now I am feeling pretty trampled myself. I was ready for a great experience like I had there 5 years ago, but their service is now inconsistent at best, or downright dishonest at the worst. It started out well when I called at 8 AM. We work directly with your insurer. All we need is your claim number and an assignment from them. Ryan will take care of you. Come in any time. We're here between 8 and 5! When I arrived at 4:40, a very pleasant man held the door for me. Then he disappeared, and I was left with a receptionist that seemed intent on undoing everything positive and supportive that had gone before. I don't know what they did with the wonderfully efficient and caring person in all the other reviews-- or even the one who was there that same morning, but from that point on it was all about what they would NOT do. They would not take my car as I was expecting because it was not damaged enough. No the Insurance adjuster could not inspect the car there. Even though the work would be coordinated directly with my insurer, they needed to give ME an estimate-- but they would not do that either because it was later than 4:00. And, the knockout punch: They wouldn't even think about working on my car any sooner than 4 weeks from now! I am beyond disappointed. read more

Carstar Ballard is awesome! My car was hit while parked on Leary. They were able to get me a next day appointment for an estimate. All of the staff were really nice and made the process really easy for me! I couldn't ask for better service read more

I have been trying to take my car in for an estimate here two times now and two times have come up short. The first time, it wasn't made clear that an appointment was necessary when I called and then then I came in the receptionist instead of being helpful said:'my estimators are at lunch.' No customer-oriented solution was provided. When I finally was able to get out of her when I should come in next for an estimate with an appointment she said 'Tuesday morning.' So the next Tuesday morning I brought in my car to a crabby and disgruntled receptionist. She said I 'missed my appointment.' When was there even an appointment time given? She had just said bring your car in Tuesday morning! I am extremely disappointed with the lack of customer service at this shop and it doesn't bode well for me to actually have my car worked on by them. I suppose I will just take my money elsewhere- buyer beware- if you are looking for an estimate I would go somewhere else. read more

I had good work done here once, but after my car got hit twice (now three tones) in a row, I opted to trade it in and take the insurance checks for down payment. However, against policy, they cashed my insurance checks and I've been waiting WEEKS for them to send money back to my insurance company so my insurance company can pay me. If my new car ever needs body work, I refuse to use these guys. If their accounting practices are this disorganized and shady, I can't justify giving them business, even if they do satisfactory work. read more

This is an excellent body shop! The people were the nicest and most friendly and were also super helpful during a very difficult time. JILL was awesome and couldn't have been any better to work with. THANKS! read more

This car place did great work for us before and saved us from bad work from another collision center. However, this last time they had our vehicle for almost 2 months. The insurance company stated the job should have only taken 2 weeks. What the heck? We had to get a rental for the entire time. Our back end was smashed in so we could not get the stuff out of the trunk. When we go the car back all the stuff in our trunk was missing. We called the company and got the run around. My husband has had to keep a rental because he can't change the breaks on his car. The key that goes to his rims was in the box that has "disappeared". We have called them multiple times and keep getting told someone will call us back. It's been almost 2 weeks. I am extremely dissatisfied with the customer service. The lack of contact during the repair of the car and after to find our belongings. If you lost our belongings, tell us. We now have to go and try to purchase another key to try and get the wheels off. As if we haven't spent enough on a damn rental because of them, now we are having to replace our personal belongings. I know these places claim they are not responsible for belongings left in cars, but if you can't get to those belongings what are you supposed to do? Does that mean that your belongings are now free game for anyone to take? A return phone call would have prevented me from posting this complaint. But since we are not important enough to call back I was left with no other option. If you do call back please don't tell me for the 3rd time that the person who you need to ask has left for the day or they are not there. That excuse is getting old after 2 weeks. It's really too bad because this place generally does excellent work. I try and compliment when I can, but after this it leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. read more

in 2008 my Toyota truck had an altercation with a tree and the tree won. I took the truck to Carstar for repairs since they have a lifetime warranty on their work. Turns out they did a bad job so 2 weeks after I got the repairs done I had to bring it back so they could put all the bolts and screws back in that they failed to reinstall the first go around. They got it fixed that time so all is well... I thought. Fast forward to this week: For about a year I have had water leaking into the cab of my truck and after pulling out body panels and carpeting I found the source of the leak! Carstar did some welding and the welds have rusted and are providing a channel for water to get inside the cab. I also noted that they did not remove the carpet prior welding so they burned the carpet in a few spots. I called Carstar to take advantage of the lifetime warranty and they said "those records are archived so unless you have the original work order there is nothing we can do." So if you are using them for the warranty note that they will not stand behind it because apparently they don't know how to access archived computer records. read more

For whats it worth. I had a great experience with this place. They did a really good job on my car and were helpful with the insurance company. read more

I had collision on 2/8/14, and my car was brought to Ballard Collision. Jill who called and explain all the damages my car had from the collision, and they did a great job fixing it. I recommend Ballard Collision to all my friends, and they are the best! read more

Ballard Collision exceeds all expectations when it comes to service, quality and value. My car has been in twice in the past month and I am so happy with the work and even more the customer service. Brent Biggerstaff went above and beyond to get my car back as quickly as possible. And Rachel (I think that is her name), who works at the front desk, is very helpful and friendly too. Highly recommend Ballard Collision. read more

Excellent bodywork! Not only are they great at their craft, they got our car out to us a week early! Really awesome customer service was the cherry on top. Would highly recommend! read more