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Miracle Collision Center
Categories: Automotive Body Shops Automotive Auto Repair Body Shops, Auto Repair [Edit]
2307 Clement Ave(between Oak St & Park St)
Alameda, CA 94501
(510) 769-9590
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 7 am - 5 pm
Sat 9 am - 1 pm
Cara K. said: "5 Star hands down! I scratched my door really bad about a year ago and didn't get around to fixing it until recently. It started to rust and I thought it was going to be expensive and a pain for it to be fixed. I dropped off my car to…" read more »
28 reviews for Miracle Collision Center
28 reviews in English
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Review from D. M.
Berkeley, CA
9/2/2011
Better than I expected: my formerly beat-up-looking 1995 Honda Civic now looks like new! The paint was wearing off, and now it looks like it's straight off the dealer's lot.
The owner, Don Thayer, was extremely friendly and professional. The price was very fair--I know, because I called around to compare prices beforehand, and I found shops that wanted to charge twice as much.
There were no shortcuts or shortchanging here: the price included everything that was necessary for a superior paint job (sanding, etc.). And when I asked for minor items (painting the windshield wipers, replacing a cheap part on the fuel tank door), he threw them in for free.
I would recommend this shop without hesitation. -
Review from Charlie C.
Emeryville, CA
1/9/2012
I waited a couple of months before I wrote this review to see how the paint is holding up. First I should say that the owner Don is very friendly and when I had to bring the car back, he was fine with touching up the work. The problem was/is that within days of having it painted I had chips and scratches. I payed about $1500 or so for the work( the middle package that they offer) For this price I know I shouldn't expect much but...the car chipped in a couple of places & there were a few drip marks. I noticed when I took my window crank off that they never took it off during the painting process so I have a strip of original paint color that shows when you crank the window down. I also payed for an extra coat of clear thinking it would strengthen the paint...save your money it didn't work.
Also, When I originally took the car in to be painted, I was told to call back in a few days. When I finally called to see if it was ready (on the day they told me to call back) the guy who answered the phone (not Don or his brother) told me that they hadn't even started yet. I told him that that was the day it was due, he asked me if I wanted them to rush it...what do you say to that? rush a paint job?? I had no choice but to say no problem just do it right.
So I guess my point is you get what you pay for. -
Review from Chaya H.
Berkeley, CA
10/3/2011
I took my Honda in to Miracle after reading a big line up of five stars on Yelp. Funny thing, when I told the owner what I'd read on Yelp, he got kind of defensive and pointed out some people had accused him of getting his friends to write in with all the five star ratings. It was kind of weird but I decided to ignore this, and went ahead and used his service. Overall I'd be likely to believe now that his friends really do write in some of his reviews
He was never really friendly from the moment I pulled into his place. He was OK, but not what you'd call friendly. When I called in to speak to someone about last minute details, the owner was no where around and I got a really mouthy, unpleasant employee who overrode my own opinions with pure hogwash - wrong on every point.
The paint job itself wasn't as good as the last one I got from Maaco in another state. It has peeled all across the bumper, and on the inside of the trunk in places. It began to show spots almost immediately, and, still thinking 'five star' I took it back trustingly twice to have it fixed. The owner got less friendly and more terse each time, but did work on a few spots, and unhelpfully gave me a dumb lesson in how to polish a car.
In short - this is a place I'd call adequate to good. You might get a terrific paint job or an Ok one. You might be annoyed by interfering employees or not, since they do have a pretty creepy attitude about their role in the business. The owner might be friendly or not, there or not. It all adds up to good but not great. -
Review from T K.
Alameda, CA
2/7/2012
Had a great experience with miracle collision repair. A door on my Nissan needed to be replaced and the guys did an awesome job. Once the door was delivered the replacement only took a couple hours and I was on my way. Don was friendly and patient when we had issues with the company supplying the door. The estimate was dead on and WAY cheaper than the other places I looked into. I would definitely go back.
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Review from Sebastien T.
Oakland, CA
11/30/2011
I can't say enough good things of Don and his entire crew at Miracle Collision Center. He fixed my BMW after a pretty bad front-end crash and made it look like new again. Although there have been a few minor problems since the repair (hood not shutting properly), Don always fixed them for me at no cost. He has been nothing short of spectacular, and I strongly recommend him to anyone I know.
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Review from L P.
East Bay, CA
1/13/2011
Meh.
The owner is very nice.
That's about it. It took about a month to fix my car up and the wreck I was in wasn't so bad... Just dented in the front drivers corner of my car. Either way it wouldn't have been so bad except their timeline was not solid. I hadn't heard from them on the supposed finish date so I went in and they told me I had another week. A phone call would have been nice. When I finally got it back there was something wrong with my car which took another week to fix.
Miracle Collision Center. Eh. -
Review from William L.
Alameda, CA
6/6/2011
Even though customer service gets 5/5 stars, I would have to give their workmanship a low 2/5 stars for the following reasons:
1. Paint residue all over the INSIDE
of my brand new Lancer. (I mean,
seriously, guys?) I spent an entire
Sunday afternoon vacuuming the
interior and cleaning the vinyl of
paint smudges/dust. There's even
paint spray underneath the
Mitsubishi emblem of my new shift
knob, which I had installed 2 days
earlier. Now THAT pissed me off
the most.
2. To a lesser extent, there were
paint smudges on the black plastic
hood vents.
I don't know who worked on my car but that person needs to be retrained. No one should have to waste an entire afternoon cleaning their car's interior b/c of some piss-poor paint job. Honestly, if I had known about this from another reviewer, I would've supported another local auto body shop. I won't go back to Miracle ever again and I won't recommend it to anyone else. -
Review from jerad w.
Oakland, CA
7/10/2011
I wanted to wait a year before I wrote a review on my paint job.
It has been over a year and my car still looks brand new.
I am very grateful to have found an affordable paint solution for my vehicle. Miracle is run as a family operation and you can tell by the quality of service. Don worked with me to design a custom paint job that would work with my vehicle and my budget. I appreciate their knowledge, guidance, and support, in helping through this process.
Jerad -
Review from Sarah C.
Alameda, CA
4/12/2011 1 photo
I am very happy with my $800 paint job on my truck. They were very nice and helpful and did the paint job in record time.
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Review from Edward P.
San Francisco, CA
8/20/2009
First impressions. I was recommended to Miracle by a couple of people with Vanagons, said they did a good job.
I called the shop in San Rafael but getting there and back from the city is a pain so I looked at Yelp and called Alameda as it was much closer and on the BART or close.
I spoke and met with both guys who own Miracle. Initial impressions were very professional and convenient hrs, especially Saturday for quotes till 2 pm. Took me less than20 mins to drive from SF, perfect.
Experience at the shop was great. Seeing a couple of police cars certainly builds a legitimate sense of comfort. The quote I received was comprehensive and very fair with the work that needed doing. They obviously new their stuff when they immediately said to call an outside guy to remove the glass.
Well, here's the kicker. Two days early!!!
Job was much better than I expected, very little over spray and couldn't have asked for better, superb.
Regrets - I went to have my van painted in Mexico, should have gone to Miracle first.
No BS, straight talk all the way, what you get is what you see. What is truly astounding is that these guys provide four times the service at four times less than other shops tried to gouge me.
I am sold, thanks guys, fantastic experience.
I had to go back for a couple of touch up's. No questions and they followed up on all of their work perfectly. Won't go anywhere else! -
Review from Na B.
San Francisco, CA
1/30/2011
Couldn't be happier with the $800 paint job from Miracle Collision Center. My truck looks better than new, with a sweet sky blue paint job, so sparkly and new. They did a good job sanding and masking, and I haven't found any paint drips. Owner Don was very friendly and knowledgeable and didn't oversell.
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Review from Na'im B.
Oakland, CA
11/24/2009
I have a healthy distrust for mechanics. I never know what's going on in their brain. They always seem to be plotting to squeeze every penny out of me.
Don the owner of 'Miracle' was not the case. Upon reviewing my car damage he immediately began telling me what he can do to save me money. The price he gave me was fair, icing on the cake was the same day turn around time!!!! Left it there in the morning and it was completed in the afternoon other place gave me a 3-4 day turn around time estimate.
When I picked up my vehicle I was highly impressed by the craftsmanship of the repair and spot on paint matching.
Way to go Miracle! -
Review from di t.
Oakland, CA
5/28/2009
Absolutely stellar job on the paint, prompt, courteous and everything else.
Our car, which was sold to us by family, was running great but had quite a bit of wind damage on the top. Said family is coming from out of town, gotta get the damaged painted up... wasn't looking for full body paint, just something to make it look nice for the next couple of years that we'd be driving this car.
I was totally averse to going to Maaco - I like to support independent businesses on stuff like this if I can. The other reviews on Yelp led me here, and I was totally pleased.
Just got the car back this morning, looks gorgeous. Great match on the factory paint... now must have the thing waxed as the top looks better than the rest of the car! Price came in way below what I expected to pay.
Other perks: Easy location. If you're a single-car household, it's easy to get to and from BART via bus.
I'm recommending this business to all my friends in the case that they need body or paint work! Such a good experience. -
Review from A X.
Oakland, CA
3/21/2009
Had been calling multiple body shops to get rough estimates on repainting my vehicle, this was the first shop where I finally got great answers to my questions.
Owner spoke with me for about 15 minutes, no rush, and went over all the details - no pressure to come in or get a direct quote. Very friendly and helpful, will definitely be using them. -
Review from Daniel Y.
San Diego, CA
4/27/2010
I got the silver paint package, new rear bumper, fixed a dent the size of a golf ball, and a few door dings for less than seven hundred bucks. My ride looks brand new. There was a little over spray here and there, but it's barely noticeable and I am happy with the overall result.
Good quality. Great value. If you are embarrassed to drive your crappy looking old car, but hesitant about paying big bucks to have it restored, then come to miracle. I think they're a little more expensive than maaco or earl schieb, but you'll end up with far superior result. -
Review from Kent T.
Lafayette, CA
12/12/2009
Don Thayer and his team are the best! The body work and paint job are a great value, and we have received many unsolicited compliments on our "new" car.
Don is helpful, honest and straight forward in his recommendations and pricing. Service is also terrific. We dropped the car off late Saturday afternoon and picked it up on Monday.
Overall a five star experience for customer care, value, and craftsmanship.
. -
Review from t k.
San Francisco, CA
11/19/2007
Of the three estimates I had done for the cosmetic damage on the front of my car (low-speed collision left the front paint scraped and cracked and maybe damage underneath), this one was the lowest. Especially after he found out that I was going to have to eat it (high deductible), and offered me the coupon price (they have a 15% off coupon in the phone book).
I don't have any way of telling how good their service is, but they seemed to have a fair amount of business. -
Review from Ak S.
El Cerrito, CA
12/17/2008
Can always count on getting a great price here. I dunno if the owner is just a nice guy, but he gave me discounts on two different occasions for fixing dents and dings. Very friendly, cheap, great price. No complaints.
Just got my car back, and couldn't be more pleased. Basically I got careless and scraped the side of my car (the quarter-panel behind the door) against a pillar. It was shallow, but still required some bending of the panel back, paint blending.
I sent it in Monday morning, they gave me a courtesy ride from Alameda back to Oakland. By Wednesday morning it was done, and looked pristine! Finish looks OEM quality, the blending is perfect--you can't tell when the new paint starts (granted my car is relatively new so it's a lot easier to blend).
In conclusion, they give an awesome price, do a great job (this ain't no ghetto repaint from Maaco), have great service, and have a great turn-around time.
The only downside is--well, my driving. Sad that I keep cutting turns too narrow. This is my second time now doing that... =_=
Edit: oof, bad news. With the weather getting nicer I decided to wax my car, and noticed paint drip marks on the bottom of my door. Since I haven't taken it anywhere else, it's definitely due to Miracle's last job. I'll take it back in, and depending on the response my rating can change.
Edit #2: Took back to shop, the owner (well the guy at the desk I'm just assuming is owner, haha), and he buffed/wetsanded 95% of it away. It's in between the lower sill and the door so you'd have to really be looking for it. I always get courteous service here, so the five-star stands. -
Review from Anna S.
San Francisco, CA
11/21/2009
Thank you for the miracle you performed on my car! The owner, Don was very professional and nice. They were quick, efficient, and definitely charged me a good price compared to other estimates I got from other auto repair shops. I hope to never come back here, but sometimes accidents do happen, and if it does I know where to take my car to, where I know that they do good quality work & I won't be getting ripped off. I would definitely refer this shop to people. =)
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Review from A K.
Washington, DC
6/28/2010
Miracle Collision Center lives up to their name and their 5 star rating. Don was as friendly and low pressure as you could hope for. They were willing to work with me and just address the issues that bothered me and boy did they deliver. Dropped the car off at 9 and it was ready promptly by 5 and they did a beautiful job.
Other Auto body shops - ~$1100
Miracle Collision Center - $350
Did I mention they gave me a 3 year guarantee?
Me = Very happy
Highly recommend. -
Review from El Q.
San Lorenzo, CA
12/2/2009
Those positive reviews must be from relatives because their work is awful. I recently had a Honda painted there for the same reasons, the car runs great it just needed a "face lift". It went in with faded paint and came out with runs throughout. I don't have the time or patience to be out of a car for another week so I will not be taking it back in. I guess it is true you get what you pay for.
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Review from Mark B.
Alameda, CA
2/24/2011
*I highly recommend this place.* Great body shop -- I took my old car here to get my leaking sunroof repaired -- Don found me a good used sunroof online and replaced it -- I am very happy with the result. (All the other body shops i consulted said they couldn't fix it.)
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Review from Craig B.
Alameda, CA
10/30/2010 1 photo
This is a tricky review to write. I brought my 1968 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight, which I had just purchased (one-owner survivor) to Miracle Collision Center in September for a repaint. The car was solid and almost rust-free, but the years had taken a toll on the exterior, even though it was garage kept. The original turnaround time was estimated at about one week, but once the crew started working on it, it became a labor of love and they spent much time prepping the car for the new paint; way more prep work than I expected. I checked out the car's progress ever few days, taking many photos along the way. This car is a beast and the more they dug into it, the more prep work needed to be done. Despite all the additional prep time, including some rust repair around the windows from the aftermarket vinyl roof trapping moisture, the final bill was only for four more hours of labor than originally quoted. Owner Don Thayer was patient and professional during our visits, and Odel Banuelos, who did most of the work on the car, is outstanding in every way. When I picked up the car, the repaint color was noticeably darker than the original, but the paint was the correct color code for the make, who I guess the original simply faded (though the door jams and inside of the trunk lid are also lighter). My car looks almost new again, and as I drove it home (after also having a new vinyl roof installed at Foss Upholstery across the street) the car got several looks. One final note. I've had a few classics before and had them repainted. Miracle Collision Center is the only paint/auto body shop where the employees aren't typically loaded on one substance or another. When I commented on this to Don, he told me that his crew is made up of "family men" who have been with him a long time - a very good sign of a good place to work. I would recommend Miracle Collision Center to anyone who wants a great paint job for a great price (be sure to check its website for discount coupons - I saved $200). If you happen to see a beautiful classic Olds 98 tooling around Alameda, its appearance is the result of Miracle Collision Center (and no, I didn't get paid to write this!).
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Review from Jay S.
Alameda, CA
3/11/2010
I have a 97 Honda Accord that needed some body work. I was ready to go to another body shop in Alameda before reading Yelp and finding that they only had one star. I decided to check out Miracle due to their Yelp rating and it was well worth my effort.
Don Thayer runs the place and they did a fantastic job. There price was very competitive, they did exactly what they said they would do in the time frame they quoted. They even drove me to Bart so I could get to work when I dropped it off. Make sure to check these guys out the next time you need body work or painting of your car -
Review from K L.
San Francisco, CA
1/2/2010
I have been wanting to repaint my car for a long time, but I was looking for the right place and the right price. Someone recommended Maaco, but I didn't want to sacrifice quality for a cheap price. I also didn't want to spend a fortune repainting an aging car. Happily, I found Miracle in Alameda.
Don Thayer was straightforward and courteous. He listened to what I wanted, gave me a couple of options, and let me choose. He also gave a very fair and reasonable price.
Not only was my car ready on time, but it looks GREAT. My first comment was "Wow". I've looked the entire car over, and I have no complaints. I am so glad that I waited until I found Miracle in Alameda. I will return in the future, and I recommend them highly. -
Review from Countess A.
Alameda, CA
8/22/2010 1 photo
awesome service. fast. great job. Longevity in the staff speaks for itself.
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Review from Kim M.
San Francisco, CA
9/4/2010
Great paint job, great price. They lived up to their yelp reviews. They delivered the car on time and as promised.
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Review from Lori P.
Alameda, CA
8/9/2010
I was going on vacation and finally had time to take care of that nasty crunch on my left rear quarter panel. I also wanted my car serviced while I was away. Not only did my quarterpanel look fabulous but the owner coordinated the transfer of my car from his shop to the mechanic. I didn't worry that I would come home and the car was still hiding in his garage somewhere. They're on it. Quick/fast/good workmanship!!!
