Uptown Body & Fender

I got into a minor accident and the insurance company gave me a list of body shop options. I really don’t have any good sense on what’s a good v. bad body shop, so I chose Uptown Body & Fender based on distance (it’s SUPER close to me) and got awesome reviews on Unilocal.So, I figure why not?
I dropped off the car on Monday, signed some paperwork, and got a courtesy ride to the BART. Three days later, I get a call that my car was ready and returned to pick up the car. Done — super easy! They also did a FANTASTIC job. My car looked good as new and they even gave my car a much needed car wash (interior cleaning too!). Also, on another note, this place doesn’t look like a body shop at all. To me, it looks more like an artsy warehouse. It totally gives you a different feel than going to your traditional, dirty, greasy body shop.
Car accidents aren’t pleasant, but if you do need a body shop, I highly recommend Uptown Body & Fender. They definitely made my experience easy and painless.

No one likes to be involved in a car accident, but I have to say working with Giovanna and Uptown Body made the process much less painful than it could have been. Giovanna was very helpful and communicative in regards to the estimates for repairs that my car required, and helped to make sure that no damages were missed by the insurance company. Thank you!

This is an absolutely wonderful body shop! Every single person from the owner, Giovanna, on down could not have been nicer or more helpful. The reason I chose Uptown was because I compared their estimate to three or four other local body shops, and not only was Uptown’s the best price, but it included every little detail — whereas the other body shops left out important details and pricing.
The car came out looking brand, spanking new! Utmost attention was paid to every part of the body work and painting. The paint job was impeccable. I would highly, highly recommend this shop and its entire team of professionals. Hopefully I will not need to see them again :-), but if I do, this is where all my cars will definitely go!

They do the best work and are the nicest people. Mike Tran fixed something on my bumper unrelated to the initial repair months later because he’s a nice guy! I refer everyone I know to go there. They’re not just about making money. They’re about people and community.

I love this place! I’ve attended a number of school auctions and staff parties for the agency I work for at Uptown Body & Fender (this generous business actually donates their wonderful space to local schools and nonprofits.) So when i got rear-​ended recently they were the first place i thought of for repairs… and I’m very glad i did. Customer service really is 5 star. Giovanna and all of her staff are wonderful, the communication was great from the estimate to the final repair. Work was done in 3 days and my car was not only repaired like new when i picked it up, but it was also spotless… inside and out. Everything about this business is top notch. A real class act. I highly recommend them!
…thanks Giovanna, Nancy

I had the most marvelous experience at Uptown Body & Fender. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about them. I had a fender bender on my vehicle that required a front bumper change.
I set up my first appointment for a vehicle inspection and estimate. They took pictures, got all the information required of me, and had an estimate ready the same day. I set up another appointment after that for the actual repair. I can’t say much on the price as it wasn’t a big deal to me since I wasn’t at fault for the damage. I dropped off my vehicle on a Monday morning (please call ahead for an appointment) and it was ready by Friday morning. Very fast! They also kept me well informed by calling me while my car was being fixed.
The shop is beautifully crafted and designed and I couldn’t feel more comfortable in an autoshop. They have a large garage with plenty of car space; inside the offices you’ll be greeted with two lovely people: the receptionist who sets you up accordingly and a representative from Enterprise ready to support you on your rental. They have an espresso machine and it’s a lovely touch that they make you a fresh cup of coffee. There were a good amount of people when I arrived to drop off my car and they asked every customer if they wanted coffee. The waiting area has a great «lounge» feel to it. They comforted every customer and catered to their needs (something about them made me feel 100% confident in them that they would take care of me and my vehicle). Their customer service is best in class. I witnessed another patron, a little older, who did not have all the documents required (such as claim information etc) who was frustrated with his entire situation. The ladies at front did an excellent job of comforting him and making him feel calm in his crisis. They walked him through the entire process and he was very happy in the end. I was thoroughly impressed by everything.
The owner (Giovanna) is just wonderful. She makes it a point to look every customer in the eye and to greet them warmly. I had a great, short and sweet conversation with her this morning about her shop and all of the local causes it supports. She uses her space to throw many local events and charities. Awe and inspiring to say the least.
Enough on the customer service; my vehicle repair. What can I say? It was flawless. They even DETAILED my car. Not that I condone collisions, but it’s almost an advantage to me that I received the pleasure of this shop. I got more out of my fender bender than when I didn’t have it.
Lastly, if the detail wasn’t enough, they gave me a sweet card and gift to go. Please see picture.
100% thumbs up to this shop. You will not be disappointed.

Wow! i was a bit skeptical when I read all of those five-​star reviews. No more. This is a top of the scale operation. My new (250 miles) Subaru Outback lost an argument with a large trash barrel; the result was a ten inch long, four inch wide deep dent in the right front fender. I did some research via Unilocal and found these many five star ratings for Uptown Body and Fender. So i took the car to them. The shop is amazing. The office staff is efficient, courteous, and caring. The owner, Giovanna (yes, a woman owner of an auto body shop) greeted me and offered coffee or tea and made me comfortable while i waited for their appraisal of the damage. They gave me a written quote on the spot and i made an appointment to have the work done.
The insurance company evaluated the work at just $ 200 less than Uptown, but wanted me to use a questionable looking shop. So I called Uptown and verified the appointment.
When i got to the shop on the agreed to day and time, they were waiting for me. They had a rental car waiting; i signed the paperwork and was on my way. Less than a week later Uptown called that my car was ready. I went down and they insisted that i look it over carefully. i did and could not see any sign of the damage. The work was perfect; the paint matched exactly. I turned the rental car back to them and they took care of its return. I drove away with my car like new.
If I ever need auto body work done again, there is no question that i will go to Uptown.

My 2009 Hyundai Elantra had numerous little dents and scrapes on it as all cars seem to get by living in a city and parking in public places. Then a person rear ended me so their insurance was going to pay for that damage. Since that repair was going to get done I decided to have the other damage fixed too.
The entire experience at Uptown was terrific. From the reasonable estimate, to my service adviser Steve and the owner it was all great. Enterprise rent a car was onsite so I dropped off my car and picked up a rental right then and there! Same with picking up my car, I was able to leave the rental car at Uptown!
The car now looks great. They washed it very well and took care of everything we discussed at drop off and they were no surprises on my bill at payment time.
If I ever need body work on a car again, hopefully not, I will head straight to Uptown Body and Fender! They Rock!

The owner is the nicest woman on the planet!
Great service! I don’t understand why there’s a single bad review. Quick efficient and excellent customer service!

Our Subaru WRX — with only 165 miles on the odometer — was broken into. The rear passenger’s window was smashed, and in the process the door was scratched. We had the window fixed immediately, then started looking for a body shop to address the other damage. We found Uptown through Unilocal and it was one of the shops recommended by our insurer. I got three estimates and visited all three shops. I settled on Uptown partly because of Unilocal reviews and partly because I like the way I was treated in the office. Access to the shop was easy and the location was convenient. (I crossed one other off the list because the access to the shop was very difficult.)
We dropped of the car on a Monday and it was ready the following Tuesday (it was a holiday weekend). The painting and bodywork look like new — that is what we really needed, to have it look «new» again, and our expectations were met. In addition, a small scratch on the rear bumper was buffed out, and they mounted our front plates (needed to have the holes drilled for the mount). Thanks again.

I have had the misfortune of being hit by other vehicles several times, over many years. But there has been a wonderful side to this. I’ve had the great pleasure of dealing with Giovanna Tanzillo and her excellent staff on each of these occasions. They are very professional, and incredibly competent. My vehicle has always been perfectly repaired, vacuumed, and ready on time. Any questions I have had have been answered, and they have taken the time to follow through to be sure things were done correctly. They’ve always made all arrangements for rental cars, which I pick up and return to the shop.
Perhaps most importantly, Giovanna and her team are involved in the community. They sponsor art exhibits in the shop, and participate in other activities. Every time I visit that shop, I engage with Giovanna in rewarding conversations about Oakland and Berkeley issues.
To top it off, they serve a great cup of espresso!
I confess I am astonished at the one negative review I read below about this firm. Please be sure to read all of the others to see what is really true about Uptown.

Giovani, I could not have written nearly as accurate of review about Uptown as you’ve written. You have attempted to assassinate my character which speaks volumes of the poor customer service you provide. I feel no need to stoop to such puerile behavior, but I will allow your name-​calling to stand as is.
I will bring to light that Giovani has failed to even acknowledged that they didn’t even finish the job, so this only goes to confirm the fact that they didn’t even finish what they were hired to do. She also conveniently left out that I had pictures of the vehicle before I took it in, and the insurance company documented all the damage on the vehicle prior to bringing it in, which has been casually omitted. The mere fact she leaves out all of this information gives a much more accurate account of the quality of customer service you can expect from Uptown. Also, she’s quick to point out when I brought the car in, but what she neglects to relay is that she said that time would work to get the car back to me on time.
It should be abundantly clear that this company is not what they purport to be. A total of four people have left reviews that this shop has damaged their car, and the odds that that many people would all accidentally misidentify the auto shop they went to is just insane. This entire situation reeks of desperation as a last ditch effort to conceal ludicrous business practices.
However, please, continue to make your derisive comments and belittle my character. Your comments tell the general public in more detail what your company is really about better than any review I could’ve ever written.

I dislike dealing with insurance companies and the body shop the insurance company hires. When Esurance suggested this shop, I thought to give it a try because of the good rating.
My car was in excellent condition with 18K miles when the guy ran a red light and Tboned me. It will never be in as good of condition as it was prior to the accident.
Well…when I went to pick up my car, I was impressed. My car looked great. It seems to have been washed and vacuumed. That made me smile. I drove my car on the highway and the undercarriage felt just fine.
Where the car was waiting to get picked up, the building looked like a museum. Yes, your car is parked inside the museum. (That’s what it felt like.) The place was beautiful. Something like that may have nothing to do with how good their work is, but it’s a great example of their professionalism.
They also said if I have any problems after I drive away, to give them a call.
I give them 10 stars. Drive carefully, but if something happens, call Uptown.

When you’re dealing with an insurance company, you do have a choice as to where you take your car for body work, and Uptown is as good as it gets!
Very friendly, efficient and competent; plus the owner is a huge supporter of the arts and all things Oakland.

I wanted to give the employees and owners of Uptown Body and Fender hugs or send them flowers when I saw my car! But I decided a good review might be more appropriate.
I had them fix my red Mazda 3’s bumper/​fender after a small accident, found them through my insurance (AAA), and their estimate was on average $ 500 less than two other shops I checked in the area! And their service and work product are superb. They have everything you need including rental cars or a shuttle to take you home, and they returned my car shiny and new and looking better than it ever did. I could tell that they buffed away some other scuff marks I had and cleaned up my head lights which was not on the estimate. Truly awesome service.
Thank you for making my car look so beautiful!

I’m sorry to say that I’ve had two collisions that brought me to Uptown, and both times the service was superb and my car looked like its boring but reliable old self again. They’re very realistic about the completion date and do a great job of informing me well in advance if there will be a delay due to additional repairs and insurance authorization, etc.
It’s also nice to get my car back thoroughly clean and vacuumed.

Service here is superb. The staff is friendly and efficient. They helped with the insurance and car rental… just made the whole ordeal easier. Can I just come, have a cappucino and hang with your peeps every Monday?
We’ve taken our cars here on 3 separate occasions and each visit was painless and simple. They dealt with all the insurance papers.

We’ve been rear-​ended twice by lunatic drivers in the East Bay. It’s the price we pay for living in Oakland, I suppose. Both times we’ve gone with Uptown Body & Fender, and I’d absolutely recommend them if you have body work needed. The first time we were hit, the person’s insurance accepted liability, work started, and then they RESCINDED their liability (I can’t even begin to explain the nightmare AAA is: so when you get hit, cross your fingers the person does not have AAA). It was totally crazy/​complicated /​dumb, and praise JESUS we were at Uptown Fender because the woman (Bernice?) there took care of EVERYTHING (long story short: they had insured the person who hit us, but then maybe he had lapsed on his coverage, but since they had already okayed the repairs, they had to pay anyway). The whole thing started as me arguing for hours on the phone with a pain-​in-​the-​ass AAA rep and then Bernice making it work (so SHE had to do the arguing, etc.).
The second time we were rear-​ended, it was relatively straight-​forward, and Uptown handled it fast, easy, etc. But I will note that our own insurance came out to «assess» damage (which was displaced bumper) and were like «mmm, maybe we will have to total the car because the interior trunk was dented» (I am not making this up) and «even though it does NOT affect your car in any way and we wouldn’t recommend trying to un-​dent the undercarriage interior of your car, we’re going to include it in the estimate of repairs and thus move you toward totaling the car instead of repairing it.» This is as asinine as it sounds. I told Uptown Motors about this and their estimator (again, is it Bernice? Beatrice?) didn’t even blink twice about trying to «total» our car (which obviously did not need totaled).
All this to say, when you need body work, it’s often involving insurance companies, and I am SO glad that Uptown Body & Fender is on my side because the person at fault’s insurance never is, and even our own insurance can be dodgy about it.
The work is good, the price is reasonable (compared with other shops even a bit cheaper), the people are nice, and they are HONEST.
So, if you need body work, I absolutely trust them and recommend them.

Walked in to ask a question about custom painting the bumper on my Range Rover. Clerk said they couldn’t talk to me without the car there… I asked if I could just speak with the tech to see if he had worked with painting plastic before… clerked walked to the back to ask for clerk to come talk to me. I could clearly here the guy talking but he didnt even have the business sense to come to the front to answer a few quick questions! He told her, «If he doesnt know his vin # then no quote!»
Horrible service!

It’s always cool running into friends. But having a stranger who was texting run into you (rather, your car) while driving down 880 in stop & go traffic? Not so pleasant. Fortunately, while the damage wasn’t catastrophic to either my body or auto, the latter did require some TLC repair. My regular mechanic recommended a body shop in my neighborhood, and after cross-​checking them on Unilocal,I brought my wheels into Uptown Body & Fender.
It was good to see that, in person, Uptown more than lived up to the accolades of my mechanic and the vast majority of Unilocal reviewers. Their location is spotless, and for a body shop, quite stylishly designed. Their front office shares that sense of style, and is very comfortable. Their work in dealing with my insurance company and making the repair estimate was quick and painless.
What truly impressed me with Uptown, and merits them an unqualified five stars, is the customer service I received from the entire staff. I was immediately asked, and had made, an espresso coffee (and was even happily re-​made a second one when I discovered that coconut milk isn’t my cup of tea as a creamer). Steve, the specialist who performed my car’s evaluation, was efficient, polite and articulate in explaining my possible repair options. But in particular, I was sincerely impressed by co-​owner Giovanna. Running this business with her husband for over 21 years, her passion for customer service excellence is consummate, and her pride in her company is undeniable. We talked for quite a bit during and after my evaluation on the company history, doing business in Oakland, and the up and downsides of Unilocal and its reviews.
Highly recommended for your body shop needs. I wish more businesses ran as well as Uptown.
P. S. Don’t text while driving!!!