Am I unlucky with a smart repair ?
Discussion
Hmmmmmmm. Collected the car this afternoon and noted a lot of machining marks in the bonnet, which I thought I would just refine myself when the paint is hardened up a bit more . Had to get back to work , which this is a 30 mile run out and back in work time. So, this evening the wife noticed the n/s wing mirror had been scuffed. I then took a closer look at the car and seen that they havent masked the wing mirror on the O/S properly and it has had the raw plastics partially painted gloss black with overspray. The wing looks fine but needs refining . The bonnet, seems they didnt remove the skoda badge and painted around it. There is a small run , but on one side is a fish eye which seems to go to shiny metal. I havent opened the bonnet, but the bonnet gap is completely white with cutting compound, also in the grille and headlights have been hit too. May open the bonnet tomorrow for the surprise.
I also asked to get a dent pulled in the door from an errant door hit and run , which I was paying for myself. The dent seems fine, but the greasy hand prints on the door, inside and out , just everywhere ! Dent looks good and not 100% and other places I had quotes from said it might not completely go away, but its within a level I was hoping it to be.
Some times I think myself as a moany old sod, but if my car is damaged and it is priced to get it back to ' a pre-accident' condition, I just wonder at times if it is just me ?
I also asked to get a dent pulled in the door from an errant door hit and run , which I was paying for myself. The dent seems fine, but the greasy hand prints on the door, inside and out , just everywhere ! Dent looks good and not 100% and other places I had quotes from said it might not completely go away, but its within a level I was hoping it to be.
Some times I think myself as a moany old sod, but if my car is damaged and it is priced to get it back to ' a pre-accident' condition, I just wonder at times if it is just me ?
Take it back.
Lots of issues.
If the scratches are sandscratch caused by using too coarse a grit when prepping the surface they are under the paint & they aren't going to polish out.
The deep fisheye should have been dealt with, not just left.
The run should have been sanded out.
The badge should have been removed & refitted after painting.
Masking should have been properly done & in the event of missing a bit any overspray dealt with.
Not cleaning up polishing compound is just carelessness.
None of which are your problem to try & sort out.
I'd suggest you speak to their head office & see what other proposals they might care to make, esp as you have now had to do a lot of running around to try & get an acceptable result.
Lots of issues.
If the scratches are sandscratch caused by using too coarse a grit when prepping the surface they are under the paint & they aren't going to polish out.
The deep fisheye should have been dealt with, not just left.
The run should have been sanded out.
The badge should have been removed & refitted after painting.
Masking should have been properly done & in the event of missing a bit any overspray dealt with.
Not cleaning up polishing compound is just carelessness.
None of which are your problem to try & sort out.
I'd suggest you speak to their head office & see what other proposals they might care to make, esp as you have now had to do a lot of running around to try & get an acceptable result.
Ugh, this is giving me flashbacks... take it back, ask that they do it properly, painting around the badge is just laziness.
I vowed never to have paint done on another car after having to have my Integra painted twice by two different bodyshops, and numerous snagging trips. Bit of a pain as the bumper on my current car could do with spraying, but i just don't want to put myself through the whole process again just to be disappointed.
I vowed never to have paint done on another car after having to have my Integra painted twice by two different bodyshops, and numerous snagging trips. Bit of a pain as the bumper on my current car could do with spraying, but i just don't want to put myself through the whole process again just to be disappointed.
I have come across so many issues with this type of thing in the past, it is a nightmare.
Now I just pay the extra and go to a good main dealer bodyshop, at least any issues have manufacturer comeback and its piece of mind, that's not to say you can't get a good job done by an independant, but for me its piece of mind.
Unfortunately in your situation all you can do is go back and show them the defects, and they will need to rectify them.. hopefully it is not a repeated scenario.
Now I just pay the extra and go to a good main dealer bodyshop, at least any issues have manufacturer comeback and its piece of mind, that's not to say you can't get a good job done by an independant, but for me its piece of mind.
Unfortunately in your situation all you can do is go back and show them the defects, and they will need to rectify them.. hopefully it is not a repeated scenario.
NickCW said:
I have come across so many issues with this type of thing in the past, it is a nightmare.
Now I just pay the extra and go to a good main dealer bodyshop, at least any issues have manufacturer comeback and its piece of mind, that's not to say you can't get a good job done by an independant, but for me its piece of mind.
Unfortunately in your situation all you can do is go back and show them the defects, and they will need to rectify them.. hopefully it is not a repeated scenario.
Which manufacturer ? I ask because quite a few main dealers don't have their own bodyshops and use those dodgy independents you aren't keen onNow I just pay the extra and go to a good main dealer bodyshop, at least any issues have manufacturer comeback and its piece of mind, that's not to say you can't get a good job done by an independant, but for me its piece of mind.
Unfortunately in your situation all you can do is go back and show them the defects, and they will need to rectify them.. hopefully it is not a repeated scenario.
Thanks for the advice all. I have emailed the guy with photos this afternoon expressing my unhappiness with this work. My BMW Z4 coupe is going to my usual paint man for a front valance repaint and its someone I trust and known for a long time. Its a shame but I have to go through the ' right channels' before I go any further with this.
This is a basic car, nothing fancy , so god knows what goes on on complex stuff.
For me its a 36 mile round trip and having time away from work is annoying and luckily I have an understanding boss. But means I have an hours work to catch up on every time I have to take this car to be fixed.
This is a basic car, nothing fancy , so god knows what goes on on complex stuff.
For me its a 36 mile round trip and having time away from work is annoying and luckily I have an understanding boss. But means I have an hours work to catch up on every time I have to take this car to be fixed.
paintman said:
Smart repairs have a place but bonnets aren't one of them.
I'm inclined to think that franchisees will take on stuff that they shouldn't simply in order to be able to pay the monthly franchise fees which they are liable for whether they've had a good month or a bad one. Plus the lease cost of the vehicle if they are man-in-a-van. All on top of what they've had to pay to buy into the franchise in the first place which was almost certainly financed by a bank loan.
This does not help good decision making when choosing what work should be done.
My accountants advice for anyone considering buying any franchise is 'Don't'.
Harsh...I'm inclined to think that franchisees will take on stuff that they shouldn't simply in order to be able to pay the monthly franchise fees which they are liable for whether they've had a good month or a bad one. Plus the lease cost of the vehicle if they are man-in-a-van. All on top of what they've had to pay to buy into the franchise in the first place which was almost certainly financed by a bank loan.
This does not help good decision making when choosing what work should be done.
My accountants advice for anyone considering buying any franchise is 'Don't'.
But oh so fair.
I owned a ChipsAway franchise for 5 years (1998-2003) We serviced Jaguar, Bentley, Ferrari, Audi, BMW and Porsche and did NO private work at ALL.
I rapidly realised : A. The limitations of what the process could do. And : B. Learnt to be very open with my clients as to what WE could and couldn't do.
All too often a car would get a scratch on a quarter panel or similar, frequently less than 24 hours before the customer was due to collect it. Firstly you'd get a phone call from the salesman asking us to attend to fix the scratch, to which I'd ask what colour the car was and where exactly the damage was on the panel. More often than not I'd refuse point blank to get involved in trying to repair the damage.
Five minutes later I'd then receive a phone call off the sales manager asking why we wouldn't do the repair as requested. I would then patiently explain to them why the process wasn't suitable. Despite explaining, they'd more often than not try turning the screws to get us to attempt stuff I knew would be futile even trying to repair.
Early on in my career I caved in and "had a go", but I very quickly learned that sticking to your guns was the ONLY way to deal with these scenarios. The bottom line being, the car would HAVE to go to the body shop and be repaired properly, and there would be a cost and time attached to that, but I also came to realise that neither were my problem.
Smart repairs have their place (and their limitations), but a bonnet isn't something I'd even have entertained trying to fix.
When I spoke to my accountant about buying a ChipsAway franchise in 1997, he said this to me :
"If you get in early enough (ChipsAway had been going three years then) there's money to be made, but be aware, ChipsAway WILL saturate the country with franchises, and once they do, the prices you can charge will fall like a stone".
His words turned out to be chillingly accurate. I got out after 5 years and was still making good money out of it when I quit, but subsequently ChipsAway changed their paint system and it became compulsory to purchase their new system. Then they changed their van manufacturer and supplier, and once again franchisees were forced to change their vans ... repeat ad infinitum. Glad I got out when I did.
OP.
First word starts with an 'F' and the second word is 'hell'.
That's awful.
There's a wavy effect in the paint near the fisheye.
The plastic on the mirror looks as though something is peeling off it in addition to the overspray. There ARE aerosols that supposedly give a texture effect to look like the plastic surface but I'm not a fan. If it doesn't clean up then replacement may be the only answer.
The parallel scratches in the last pic appear to be the result of flatting by hand to remove texture & nibs from the clearcoat.
Too coarse a grit has been used which has then not been refined with finer grades before compounding. MIGHT be recoverable with very fine abrasive pads followed by compounding.
First word starts with an 'F' and the second word is 'hell'.
That's awful.
There's a wavy effect in the paint near the fisheye.
The plastic on the mirror looks as though something is peeling off it in addition to the overspray. There ARE aerosols that supposedly give a texture effect to look like the plastic surface but I'm not a fan. If it doesn't clean up then replacement may be the only answer.
The parallel scratches in the last pic appear to be the result of flatting by hand to remove texture & nibs from the clearcoat.
Too coarse a grit has been used which has then not been refined with finer grades before compounding. MIGHT be recoverable with very fine abrasive pads followed by compounding.
Edited by paintman on Friday 17th May 14:39
Think I am still truely as the thread states in being 'unlucky' and it makes me realise that mass productional 'conveyer belt' modern systems for maximum turnover gives a piss poor job and QC avoidance by abundance !
Got a phonecall this afternoon from the head guy there . He admitted to not looking over the car and believed that the guys he employed give a job that didnt need him to look at it. He admits to being very wrong with that decision. He is going to pick my car up himself from home in an evening or weekend and it will all be sorted. He will return the car when it is done .
Will be interesting on how he gets the paint off the raw plastics, sort the bonnet and badge and I will leave him to refine the paintwork too. I mentioned the wing mirror on the near side , as I said if I knew it was damaged, I would have got him to paint or repair while there, but he just said he would sort it.
This is the MK4 repaint of the car. I have obviously got to give them one last chance to sort. Sadly I never paid in the first place , but I guess I could get my paint man to do this and then invoice the franchise , if this comes back shoddy ?
I will let you all know on how Mk4 job moves forward/ backwards or maybe sideways !
Got a phonecall this afternoon from the head guy there . He admitted to not looking over the car and believed that the guys he employed give a job that didnt need him to look at it. He admits to being very wrong with that decision. He is going to pick my car up himself from home in an evening or weekend and it will all be sorted. He will return the car when it is done .
Will be interesting on how he gets the paint off the raw plastics, sort the bonnet and badge and I will leave him to refine the paintwork too. I mentioned the wing mirror on the near side , as I said if I knew it was damaged, I would have got him to paint or repair while there, but he just said he would sort it.
This is the MK4 repaint of the car. I have obviously got to give them one last chance to sort. Sadly I never paid in the first place , but I guess I could get my paint man to do this and then invoice the franchise , if this comes back shoddy ?
I will let you all know on how Mk4 job moves forward/ backwards or maybe sideways !
The more I look at the last picture the more I think they've flatted it & forgotten to compound it.
As the car came into them for rectification after the efforts of the first franchisee I'm amazed that this franchisee didn't go over it with a fine tooth comb to try & restore the reputation of the franchise.
As the car came into them for rectification after the efforts of the first franchisee I'm amazed that this franchisee didn't go over it with a fine tooth comb to try & restore the reputation of the franchise.
paintman said:
I think I ticked all the boxes on that lot Paintman 
This is a shame. I have a small dent in the wing of one of my cars which I'd like removed - and I'm in North East Hampshire too. Was hoping this would be a good experience for you and I could use them myself.
Is there anyone good in the NE Hants area?
I had a bit of metal with a sharp edge overbalance onto the wing creating a small dent and a scratch. Needs the dent removing and the scratch touched up - nothing more (not worth a respray of the wing yet)
Is there anyone good in the NE Hants area?
I had a bit of metal with a sharp edge overbalance onto the wing creating a small dent and a scratch. Needs the dent removing and the scratch touched up - nothing more (not worth a respray of the wing yet)
7:30pm and the car returns. Its drizzling here, so I couldnt really look at it and didnt want to wipe a microfibre over a fresh bonnet , which is black, marring with ease. Its been stripped again and repainted. They replaced the bonnet badge as was removed for paint.
So, its dried out a bit now and although the light has faded, I can see what a cracking job on the bonnet, he has now done. The wing mirror case was also repainted from the scuff. The drivers side plastics on the wing mirror is clean and I can see he has used something to strip the paint off as the plastics need a coat of Perl to match the piece next to it. The wing looks mint also . Cant see much on the bumper , as light has gone , but if its as good as the rest, I am chuffed that eventually after the incident in October , we have it resolved before June !.
He has been very apologetic with the car and I believe him. Just a shame we had the whole situation.
So, its dried out a bit now and although the light has faded, I can see what a cracking job on the bonnet, he has now done. The wing mirror case was also repainted from the scuff. The drivers side plastics on the wing mirror is clean and I can see he has used something to strip the paint off as the plastics need a coat of Perl to match the piece next to it. The wing looks mint also . Cant see much on the bumper , as light has gone , but if its as good as the rest, I am chuffed that eventually after the incident in October , we have it resolved before June !.
He has been very apologetic with the car and I believe him. Just a shame we had the whole situation.
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