Higgins Panel & Paint Ltd product reviews

So... here I was with a car in desperate need of a repair less than 2 weeks before Christmas. Not a massive repair mind you, but a critical one because it was a rust hole at a structural support point. A thumb-sized hole right at the top of the drivers-side "B Pillar" - the one the driver's seatbelt is anchored to. This is enough to fail a WoF, and my car was already overdue for one. A dire situation and I was seriously thinking I would have to take the car off the road until the new year.

Well, Murray Higgins was recommended to me by the workshop manager at my local mechanics, but I never go with the first quote. The best deals are found by shopping around, not by diving in... so despite time running out I shopped around over a dozen panel beaters in Hamilton. Not only was Murray's quote one of the cheapest, but a few people told me that I would be a fool not to get him to do the job because his reputation and workmanship are the best, especially in that price range.

Anticipating disappointment, and resigning myself to being carless for a couple of weeks, I rang Murray on the 18th to see when I could book it in. "When do you need it by? Before Christmas I suppose?" he asked me over the phone. "Ideally, yes, but I appreciate that's likely to be impossible," I replied. "Tell you what, if you can get it to me by 8am on Wednesday, I should be able to have it back to you by the end of the day. I can shuffle a couple of other jobs around to make that work for you." SAY WHAT?! That was my first Christmas Miracle moment.

Dropping the car off at 7:55am, I spent the day wandering and bussing around town getting a bit of "unplugged" head-space time. Oddly, unlike my usual nature, I found myself unable to stress about the car. Thinking on it, I realised I felt utterly comfortable with my car being in Murray's care - and that's rare. As the day wore, and knock-off o'clock approached, I started to check my phone every 15-20 minutes. By 4:45pm I was checking it every 5 minutes in case I had missed a call, so I was ready when Murray rang me at 4:55pm to tell me that the job was almost completed, but the primer wasn't quite dried, so would I like a courtesy car to see me through getting to work the next day?

I had just missed the bus that would have taken me there, and the next wasn't due for an hour but it was, according to Google Maps, a mere 23 minutes walk to the workshop so I pounded the pavement. Arriving just before closing, I was greeted by one of the workers and offered the courtesy car. I mentioned where I worked and told them I could bring it back before 5pm the next day, or if they wanted it beforehand, they could find me there. Sure enough, early afternoon the following day I see my car drive up, we swapped keys, and I noticed that Murray had not only primed it (which was the deal we agreed upon for a smaller price-tag) but he had thrown some almost-matching paint on and sealed it for me so that it didn't start rusting again!

Going that extra mile, especially at this time of year, is something so rare I felt honour-bound to comment on. Thus, I write this review in the absolute assurance that should you, dear reader, ever decide to take your vehicle to these chaps, you'll drive away as pleased as I am right now - Utterly overjoyed!