AutoCity Paint & Panel is the collision repair arm of Max Pennington's AutoCity, a family-owned Taranaki dealership group, located on Manadon Street in Spotswood, New Plymouth. The team calls it the largest and most modern panel shop in Taranaki — and following a recent expansion that added a brand-new spray booth and upgraded facilities, the workshop now runs with more than 20 skilled staff. For customers, that capacity means repairs are processed more efficiently and wait times are kept down.
Most people arrive at a panel shop through an insurance claim, and this is where the team works hard to make life simple. AutoCity Paint & Panel is approved and preferred by most major insurance providers, and its experienced staff work directly with insurers from the moment a claim is lodged through to final delivery. Even if your insurer initially suggests another repairer, you can still request AutoCity Paint & Panel by name, and the team will help guide you through the process.
The workshop covers fast, efficient crash repairs and vehicle customisations, WOF rust repairs, insurance work of all sizes, and free quotes for anyone weighing up whether to claim. Refinishing is done with Standox paints that carry a lifetime warranty, the business is an approved CRA member, and every job is guaranteed. Courtesy cars are available so you are not left off the road — bookings are essential.
What customers mention most, though, is the welcome. Reviewers describe being greeted at reception with warmth and a good laugh, given a clear timeline, handed a loan car, and getting their vehicle back earlier than expected and looking like new. Panel & Paint Manager Shane Weir is repeatedly singled out for going the extra mile, from removing scratches on the spot during a quote to carefully taking a decal off a campervan.
There is a moment every driver knows: the walk around the car after someone has dented it, wondering who to trust with the fix. In New Plymouth, that question has a ready answer — AutoCity Paint & Panel on Manadon Street in Spotswood. Part of the family-owned Max Pennington's AutoCity group, the workshop bills itself as the largest and most modern panel shop in Taranaki, and its customers seem happy to agree.
Panel work is really a race against downtime, and that is where the recent expansion shows. A brand-new spray booth and upgraded facilities have joined a team that has grown to more than 20 skilled staff, so repairs move through the shop faster and wait times stay down. The finishing is backed by Standox paints carrying a lifetime warranty, the business is an approved CRA member, and every job that leaves the workshop is guaranteed.
Most people find a panel shop through an insurance claim, and AutoCity Paint & Panel has built its process around making that painless. The business is approved and preferred by most major insurance providers, and its team works directly with insurers from the moment a claim is lodged to the day the car is delivered back — keeping repairs moving and downtime to a minimum.
The steps are simple. Lodge your claim and tell your insurer you would like AutoCity Paint & Panel to do the work, then book the repair in with the team, and the technicians handle the rest alongside your insurer. Crucially, even if your insurer initially points you towards another repairer, you can still request AutoCity by name — the team is experienced in dealing with insurance companies and will help steer you through it.
The workshop's list goes well beyond pranged bumpers. There are WOF rust repairs to get vehicles through their next warrant, insurance work of every size, and free quotes for anyone weighing up whether to claim at all. Reviewers describe damage being assessed immediately — one customer had scratches removed on the spot by Shane while in simply for a quote, then had the full repair booked and finished in less time than expected.
Smaller jobs are welcome too. Popping in for touch-up paint is, by one customer's account, a quick and helpful experience, and the team has even been known to carefully remove a decal from a campervan. Alongside crash repairs, the shop takes on vehicle customisations for owners who want their car to look a little different from the rest.
Practicality runs through the whole experience. Courtesy cars are available — bookings essential — so being without your own vehicle does not derail the week. Customers report being given a clear timeline up front, kept in the loop as things progress, and sometimes getting the car back earlier than promised.
Ask regulars why they keep coming back and the answer is rarely just paintwork. Shane Weir, the Panel & Paint Manager, is named again and again in customer feedback for sorting problems quickly and treating people well. Reviewers describe being greeted warmly at reception, watching bumpers and rear doors come back looking factory-fresh, and one out-of-towner who wished she lived in New Plymouth purely so she could keep using the shop.
That blend of modern equipment and old-fashioned helpfulness is the quiet formula here: a lifetime-warrantied paint finish and an insurer-approved process, delivered by people who will share a laugh with you at the counter and hand you a loan car so life carries on. If your car needs panel work, call the team on 06 751 1950 or email panel@autocity.co.nz to check availability and book a time — and when you talk to your insurer, just ask for AutoCity Paint & Panel by name.