Am I unlucky with a smart repair ?
Discussion
I know these things are good as the operator , but I had a kid ride his bike into my Skoda and his mum said she would pay for the repair. I got some quotes from body shops for a scraped bumper, dent and scratched wing and his brake lever ( unused before impact !) did 2 scratches in the bonnet. All the body shops said to paint all 3 panels , which varied from £450 to £1200 . Got to love main dealer body shops ! . So, she says to get a Chip removal ;-) company to do the work as about £50 cheaper than the 2 body shop quotes. Yes, maybe hindsight is a great thing and maybe I should have taken her money and paid the rest at a body shop. But with 'glowing' reviews , I thought I would let her deal with it her way.
The first repair was done in freezing, pouring rain , under a tent in my drive. It was rubbish and being a metallic black car , the scratch was still visible , the lacquer went white and had contamination in it. I did complain to him a few weeks later , as being mid winter and dark, I wanted to see it in sunlight properly. He came back a couple of weeks ago, said it needed cutting in and then said he has to redo the lacquer.
So, this Saturday just gone, he was back, armed with his flock of heat lamps, in the rain with an umbrella. The small scratch that was there , is slowly pushing the repair further away from the original repair. The panel is scratched, flat, contaminated ( was really windy !) and you can see the lacquer is white again, flat and no metallic finish and round the edges and looks totally poor. Pretty dismayed with this now as dont really want him to carry on screwing up more of the bonnet
I obviously havent paid for this originally , so where do I go from here ? Being a franchise and allegedly he has been doing this for 30 years ! I was hoping this would show an experience in what he is doing. Can I complain to the head office or worryingly complain to him again to want to do more rubbish work ? I did offer him a warm workshop to do it during the week at work before he did both 'repairs' but he said it wasnt needed.
Any help from you guys on this please ?
The first repair was done in freezing, pouring rain , under a tent in my drive. It was rubbish and being a metallic black car , the scratch was still visible , the lacquer went white and had contamination in it. I did complain to him a few weeks later , as being mid winter and dark, I wanted to see it in sunlight properly. He came back a couple of weeks ago, said it needed cutting in and then said he has to redo the lacquer.
So, this Saturday just gone, he was back, armed with his flock of heat lamps, in the rain with an umbrella. The small scratch that was there , is slowly pushing the repair further away from the original repair. The panel is scratched, flat, contaminated ( was really windy !) and you can see the lacquer is white again, flat and no metallic finish and round the edges and looks totally poor. Pretty dismayed with this now as dont really want him to carry on screwing up more of the bonnet
I obviously havent paid for this originally , so where do I go from here ? Being a franchise and allegedly he has been doing this for 30 years ! I was hoping this would show an experience in what he is doing. Can I complain to the head office or worryingly complain to him again to want to do more rubbish work ? I did offer him a warm workshop to do it during the week at work before he did both 'repairs' but he said it wasnt needed.
Any help from you guys on this please ?
Cheers for the responses. I havent paid for this work, but the kids mum. I did text the chips man at lunchtime and said I wasnt happy and not sure where we go with this repair.
He has 'just' responded and basically said he is covering the area and a long trek to keep coming out ( costs for transport and time) . He said he could refund the woman for the bonnet repairs and to take it to a bodyshop , but doesnt think thats fair on me ! . He is going to come back to me in a couple of days with a solution.
At least in a way he is admitting its crap. Its rubbish . I can't paint for toffee and admit that , but I could do a much better job than that. I will see if my local paint guy is still doing stuff and ask a cost. Then perhaps ask him to contribute towards it.
Fingers burnt and all. My boss has just sorted an account for the works vans with the same people. Think he's a but dubious after I showed him the pictures today.
He has 'just' responded and basically said he is covering the area and a long trek to keep coming out ( costs for transport and time) . He said he could refund the woman for the bonnet repairs and to take it to a bodyshop , but doesnt think thats fair on me ! . He is going to come back to me in a couple of days with a solution.
At least in a way he is admitting its crap. Its rubbish . I can't paint for toffee and admit that , but I could do a much better job than that. I will see if my local paint guy is still doing stuff and ask a cost. Then perhaps ask him to contribute towards it.
Fingers burnt and all. My boss has just sorted an account for the works vans with the same people. Think he's a but dubious after I showed him the pictures today.
Well, just to keep people in the loop on this. I have not heard back from the operator, so emailed a complaint to the company who he franchises for, this morning, after being sent an email address contact. Sent photos of various works done and explained the situation of being much worse off that having just a few scratches in the first instance and how they wish to find a suitable solution to the poor workmanship. The contact is away until next week, which is how it fired back at me, but will see what happens after that. As a whole they have glowing reviews, from what I read , so they should take this problem on board and hopefully make the repairs in line with the rest of the car , as was my 'dubious' expectations and their website shows.
paintman said:
They might want another franchisee to have a look/have another go.(
)
Or tell you to take it to a bodyshop & send them the bill - which they would pay.
Both of which would be passed by them to the original franchisee for him to pay them.
If it's who I think it might be.
They called while I was at lunch ............... damn............ called them back and got a ladies voicemail. So, they seem to be doing something. As to what, who knows but I do have a quote from a reputable paint shop to repaint the 3 panels. Hopefully these will work as you all like photos)Or tell you to take it to a bodyshop & send them the bill - which they would pay.
Both of which would be passed by them to the original franchisee for him to pay them.
If it's who I think it might be.
Edited by paintman on Monday 15th April 18:04
https://ibb.co/fnXL3Dg
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Edited by Justin S on Monday 15th April 19:42
Edited by Justin S on Monday 15th April 19:43
Edited by Justin S on Monday 15th April 19:45
Well, just had the 'company' call me about the car. Its is going to their body shop in Reading . Taking it in next week to assess, but he is going to strip back the wing, bonnet and bumper and repaint the lot, as wont paint on top of 'whatever' has been done . Also I get a courtesy car thrown in and a bill of Zero ! . They then invoice the guy who did the original works. Apparently he is used by Aston Martin and Range Rover just round the corner and seems dismayed with the photos he has seen so far.
Have a car park dink in the door, so will get him to sort while in , so we will be back to 100% again soon . Will let you know how I get on, although like anything good, you have to wait a few weeks to get a spot to book in. Watch this space.
Have a car park dink in the door, so will get him to sort while in , so we will be back to 100% again soon . Will let you know how I get on, although like anything good, you have to wait a few weeks to get a spot to book in. Watch this space.
A lot of head shaking this morning after seeing the car in the flesh 
Said there is a kink in the wing too, which the the other chap hadnt seen. Impact from the wing going backwards and the wing has a cut out in the arch to fold in an accident. This needs addressing. Also to remove the bonnet, strip out the repairs ( scratch is visible still as filler had sunk in the wing and bonnet ) and repaint the bonnet. Remove the bumper and strip. Remove previous repairs and paint runs ! flat out and repaint up to the centre on the bumper and blend. Strip front wing, remove kink, remove filler and repaint .
Cost for the work is £670 plus vat . Its going back to head office to be OK'd and then being sorted middle of next month as he is very busy.
Good progress this morning and was pretty dismayed with the quality ( if thats the right word, which I doubt) of the repairs done.
Smart repairs have a place , but not on my cars , even if someone else is paying for it in the first instance.
Said there is a kink in the wing too, which the the other chap hadnt seen. Impact from the wing going backwards and the wing has a cut out in the arch to fold in an accident. This needs addressing. Also to remove the bonnet, strip out the repairs ( scratch is visible still as filler had sunk in the wing and bonnet ) and repaint the bonnet. Remove the bumper and strip. Remove previous repairs and paint runs ! flat out and repaint up to the centre on the bumper and blend. Strip front wing, remove kink, remove filler and repaint . Cost for the work is £670 plus vat . Its going back to head office to be OK'd and then being sorted middle of next month as he is very busy.
Good progress this morning and was pretty dismayed with the quality ( if thats the right word, which I doubt) of the repairs done.
Smart repairs have a place , but not on my cars , even if someone else is paying for it in the first instance.
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 ?
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.
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 !
paintman said:
I think I ticked all the boxes on that lot Paintman 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.
Its been a while since I started this thread ..................... and seems we arent finished yet ! I cleaned the car on Friday and noticed at the back of the bonnet a 'rash' of bubbling in a half moon shape and another small area near it in a circle. I believe its where someone has lifted the bonnet and not decontaminated it , before it was painted. this is the palm of their hand and thumb prints ! The colder damp weather has caused it to bubble up and the paint go flat too.
So, I emailed him Saturday and he is organising to get the car collected and redone . What a faff this has been ............. sometimes I just think I will buy a crash damaged cars bonnet in black and just swop it over.
So, I emailed him Saturday and he is organising to get the car collected and redone . What a faff this has been ............. sometimes I just think I will buy a crash damaged cars bonnet in black and just swop it over.
Difficult to photo , but if this works then this shows some of it. The initial repair from the smart repairs were somewhere else, but this looks like contamination.
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipNFWs_cF50K6S...
There is a couple of areas above the main area, which could be fingers and thumbs and the light is stopping showing about 50% of the bubbling.
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipNFWs_cF50K6S...
There is a couple of areas above the main area, which could be fingers and thumbs and the light is stopping showing about 50% of the bubbling.
Call me a glutton for punishment and car is booked for next Tuesday for Round 5 of 'Paint my Bonnet' . I hope I don't get that ghastly low rent Juke again, as it wont move on the drive.
I did look at a replacement breaker bonnet in black and was £249 , which was a bit steep and to collect from Southampton, was no hardship but lets see how this 'version' turns out.............
I did look at a replacement breaker bonnet in black and was £249 , which was a bit steep and to collect from Southampton, was no hardship but lets see how this 'version' turns out.............
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