CARSTAR Chain Lake

1 Star – I deeply regret ever trusting TD Insurance and CarStar Chain Lake

If I could give zero stars, I would. My experience with TD Insurance and CarStar Chain Lake has been nothing short of infuriating, disorganized, and completely dismissive of the customer. What should have been a simple insurance repair has turned into a seven-month-long, unresolved nightmare and somehow, both the insurer and repair shop have made it worse at every step.

Here’s what happened:
•In September, our parked vehicle was involved in a hit-and-run.
•We immediately contacted TD Insurance, who confirmed we were covered. Based on a past positive experience, we requested repairs through their recommended shop: CarStar Chain Lake. That turned out to be a huge mistake.
•From the moment I walked in to drop off my car, I was treated like an inconvenience. No greeting. No clear direction.
•I picked up my vehicle in October. Once I got home, it was glaringly obvious the repairs weren’t done right. There was a visible ripple, a misaligned door, and a poor paint job with orange peel texture.

When I called CarStar Chain Lake, they scheduled a follow-up appointment. That’s when I learned they skipped installing a new door skin because it was on backorder. They simply made a patch repair without our consent. We conveyed we were willing to wait as long as necessary to get it done right, whether that meant a new door skin or better repairs. All we wanted was honesty and quality, not shortcuts and deception.

But the lies didn’t stop there.
•On December 17, I was told by Claudia at CarStar Chain Lake that TD had approved the proper repair and that they were just waiting for the part.
•Then, in January, I received an email saying my claim had been closed. I followed up with my TD Claims Advisor — only to be told that TD had never approved it. So, I was blatantly lied to by CarStar.

Since then, we’ve had to bring the car back FOUR times, and it’s still not properly fixed. Each time, there are new issues:
•There’s been new problems or botched repairs.
•One time they didn't even bother to remove plastic body moldings and just poorly taped and painted around.
•Most recently, they painted over dirt and a dead bug, and then had the nerve to call that “industry standard.”
•They now refuse to fix it further.

Claudia Belzile, the CarStar Shop Manager, has been consistently dismissive throughout this entire process. She has made us feel like a nuisance rather than valued customers. The last two times we came to pick up our vehicle, she didn’t even come out to speak with us. Instead, she sent out someone we had never met — who knew nothing about the months-long backstory — making it clear she wants nothing more to do with us.

Our TD claims advisor, Chantal Piercy, has been virtually absent. After promising to support us in resolving the issue, she went silent. No follow-ups, no coordination with CarStar, no ownership of the problem. TD’s so-called “drama-free” claims experience has been nothing but stressful and disappointing.

I’ve now started getting quotes from other insurance companies and will be moving both my auto and home policies away from TD Insurance. I can no longer trust a company that not only endorses a shop like CarStar Chain Lake, but allows this level of negligence to go unchecked.

Let me be perfectly clear:
•I didn’t care whether it was a new door skin or a high-quality repair — I just wanted it done properly.
•I didn’t care how long it took — I only cared that we weren’t lied to.
•I didn’t expect perfection — but I did expect basic honesty and accountability.

After months of wasted time, emotional exhaustion, and complete dismissal from both TD and CarStar Bayers Lake, I can confidently say this is the worst customer service experience I have ever had.

Avoid TD Insurance. Avoid CarStar Chain Lake. Especially if you expect to be treated like a human being or have your vehicle repaired to a professional standard.

Avoid the body shop Carstar in Bayer's Lake at all costs. TD Insurance required me to use them. Carstar Bayer's Lake had my car for 3 weeks doing some body work as a result of an accident that was not my fault. I've had this Hyundai Kona EV for 2.5 years and bought it brand new. During those 2.5 years, I never had any issues with the charging port. Immediately after getting the car back from Carstar, my charger got stuck in the charging port and would not release, meaning I could not use the car. Carstar sent a mechanic out to release it but he used excessive force both in getting the charger out (didn't work) and then yanking aggressively on the override release cable. It finally released but this is not normal. Bringing it to the Hyundai dealership confirmed that the charge port actuator was seized and the override release cable had excessive play, all things that only showed up after Carstar had the car. The chances of this happening randomly, without Carstar's fault, are 0.000123% and do not include the tiny chance of these parts failing spontaneously. Even so, Carstar does not take responsibility for the costs of repair or my rental (about $3,400). I am furious! It claims this is normal wear and tear despite Hyundai calling this a rare repair and the car only being 2.5 years old. This is an unethical, horribly run business and I will certainly be taking them to small claims court.