Having just had my car done, I would highly recommend:
Auto Extreme Collision 601 N Douglas St. St Jacob, IL 62281 (618) 644-5810 Talk to Scott, and tell him I sent you!
This shop is about 35 minutes east of downtown St. Louis, about 15 miles from Interstate 55 off of Hwy 40.
Why would I recommend them? I had my car taken to them while I was over in Afghanistan. I had spoken to them in person prior to going overseas, and was impressed by their new facility. While their main focus is insurance repair, they do restorations. They have 1 guy that is "mostly" dedicated to the restoration. What that means is that, if the shop gets inundated with repairs due to a weather event (hail, etc), they will pull the restoration guy to work on insurance jobs.
Now, they estimated me to have my car done by Dec. 31st. They originally quoted me $$$ for the work I wanted done. Once they got into the car, they found all sorts of issues. Bottom line, the final bill was about 13% over the estimate. But, their work was wonderful! They used my paint of choice (House of Kolor), and did a couple extras to the car as well.
They documented the car, and took pictures along the way, and for the most part, kept me informed via email while I was over here. I would give them a 9/10. I just felt sometimes I had to drag updates out of them. But, I was over here in Afghanistan, so I couldnt drop by the shop to check progress. Also, he's the shop manager, so he's busy himself. But I was very happy and would go back with another project!
Last edited by Norm M; 02/04/1408:07 PM. Reason: forgot phone number
Blackbird, what city are you in? I know 2 shops here in the Northwest suburbs that are top notch. We are actually doing a club meeting at one of them on April 19th, if you care to join us?