Garage Damaged Car...

Author
Discussion

777GE90

Original Poster:

58 posts

90 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
I recently took my car to a reputable garage to get some work done, however unfortunately they accidentally bumped my vehicle whilst driving it within their garage area. The guys at the garage have been absolutely awesome, they admit their mistake and are more than happy to get this fixed for me. They have also been extremely responsive in terms of communication, so no problem there.

The damage is a small dent on the top of the rear boot lid, about 2 cm x 2 cm in size. I was hoping they would just be able to get the a dent repairer to pull out the dent and it would be a nice quick and relatively low cost job for them.

However, the garage have been in touch with repair companies who have told them that they will need to fill in the dent and then respray the entire rear boot lid as I understand. The garage has no problem with doing this but once they told me I am now a little worried as it is a much bigger job than I was expected.

My car is only about 3.5 years old and I feel if I get the trunk resprayed it probably won't match with the rest of the body and after some time I will start getting issues with lacquer peeling off, not being satisfied with the finish, the trunk paint no longer matching the body, etc, it just seems a route down to reoccurring nightmare, all to repair a tiny 2 cm x 2 cm dent.

So now I am really confused as to how I should proceed. Should I request the garage just compensate me the repair cost and leave the dent without repairing it? Has anyone had experiences repainting part of a car before? I would have probably gone the respray route if my car was older and cheaper, but it's a 3 year old Audi that I want to keep for a good while longer.

LordHaveMurci

12,085 posts

175 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
777GE90 said:
I recently took my car to a reputable garage to get some work done, however unfortunately they accidentally bumped my vehicle whilst driving it within their garage area. The guys at the garage have been absolutely awesome, they admit their mistake and are more than happy to get this fixed for me. They have also been extremely responsive in terms of communication, so no problem there.

The damage is a small dent on the top of the rear boot lid, about 2 cm x 2 cm in size. I was hoping they would just be able to get the a dent repairer to pull out the dent and it would be a nice quick and relatively low cost job for them.

However, the garage have been in touch with repair companies who have told them that they will need to fill in the dent and then respray the entire rear boot lid as I understand. The garage has no problem with doing this but once they told me I am now a little worried as it is a much bigger job than I was expected.

My car is only about 3.5 years old and I feel if I get the trunk resprayed it probably won't match with the rest of the body and after some time I will start getting issues with lacquer peeling off, not being satisfied with the finish, the trunk paint no longer matching the body, etc, it just seems a route down to reoccurring nightmare, all to repair a tiny 2 cm x 2 cm dent.

So now I am really confused as to how I should proceed. Should I request the garage just compensate me the repair cost and leave the dent without repairing it? Has anyone had experiences repainting part of a car before? I would have probably gone the respray route if my car was older and cheaper, but it's a 3 year old Audi that I want to keep for a good while longer.
Seriously? rolleyes

777GE90

Original Poster:

58 posts

90 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
LordHaveMurci said:
Seriously? rolleyes
Yes I am serious, am I missing something here? I have a disease of over thinking things frown.

Edited by 777GE90 on Tuesday 12th September 16:20

MorganP104

2,605 posts

136 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
If the garage is reputable, and the bodyshop they use is equally reputable, then any paintwork they undertake will be of the highest quality.

A decent job (which you have no reason to doubt at this stage) will mean you cannot see the repair.

Let them do it, and worry about potential fallout if the car comes back looking rough.

lucido grigio

44,044 posts

169 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
777GE90 said:
LordHaveMurci said:
Seriously? rolleyes
Yes I am serious, am I missing something here?
Accept a quality repair and move on.

If it peels off or whatever,return and complain .

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

132 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
777GE90 said:
My car is only about 3.5 years old and I feel if I get the trunk resprayed it probably won't match with the rest of the body
How do you know other bits haven't already been resprayed?

777GE90 said:
So now I am really confused as to how I should proceed. Should I request the garage just compensate me the repair cost and leave the dent without repairing it? Has anyone had experiences repainting part of a car before? I would have probably gone the respray route if my car was older and cheaper, but it's a 3 year old Audi that I want to keep for a good while longer.
So you're quite happy to leave the damage...?

777GE90

Original Poster:

58 posts

90 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
lucido grigio said:
Accept a quality repair and move on.

If it peels off or whatever,return and complain .
That's the problem, I don't want the hassle of having to complain. I know someone who had their bonnet resprayed under insurance and was having to go back and complain every 18 months because the lacquer kept peeling off, respraying just feels like it is asking for more trouble.

Also, the garage who did the damage are reputable but they don't do resprays and I have no idea who they will ask to do the resprays or whether they are reputable or not.

TooMany2cvs said:
So you're quite happy to leave the damage...?
If I was compensated then yes I guess so, the damage does pain me but it is so small and insignificant that I think I can get used to it. But if I end up with a whole trunk looking odd after the respray I would probably end up more annoyed in the long term.

SHutchinson

2,117 posts

190 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
Compensation for a small and insignificant mark? But not repair it? Compensation for what? Emotional trauma? You certainly sound emotional!

Gareth79

8,015 posts

252 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
The compensation would be for the loss in value, eg. if you sell it with the damage then it would be worth less than one without a dent. This might be less than the cost of repairing it.

It's exactly what happens with some lease/PCP returns - they charge your for the damage but don't repair it - it compensates them for the loss vs. a perfect car.

777GE90

Original Poster:

58 posts

90 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
SHutchinson said:
Compensation for a small and insignificant mark? But not repair it? Compensation for what? Emotional trauma? You certainly sound emotional!
Sorry compensation is the wrong word, honestly I am not interested in money. But what I mean is, if I tell them not to repair it and reimburse me the costs they would have incurred to repair it and then leave it as is.

ZX10R NIN

28,298 posts

131 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
777GE90 said:
lucido grigio said:
Accept a quality repair and move on.

If it peels off or whatever,return and complain .
That's the problem, I don't want the hassle of having to complain. I know someone who had their bonnet resprayed under insurance and was having to go back and complain every 18 months because the lacquer kept peeling off, respraying just feels like it is asking for more trouble.

Also, the garage who did the damage are reputable but they don't do resprays and I have no idea who they will ask to do the resprays or whether they are reputable or not.

TooMany2cvs said:
So you're quite happy to leave the damage...?
If I was compensated then yes I guess so, the damage does pain me but it is so small and insignificant that I think I can get used to it. But if I end up with a whole trunk looking odd after the respray I would probably end up more annoyed in the long term.
Stop talking wet man & let the garage do the repair, the bodyshop they're using are obviously doing the job properly rather than a patch job so be happy with this.



Bradley1500

766 posts

152 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
777GE90 said:
That's the problem, I don't want the hassle of having to complain. I know someone who had their bonnet resprayed under insurance and was having to go back and complain every 18 months because the lacquer kept peeling off, respraying just feels like it is asking for more trouble.

Also, the garage who did the damage are reputable but they don't do resprays and I have no idea who they will ask to do the resprays or whether they are reputable or not.
With a quality repair this should never happen. In some cases, a bodyshop will have a better paint finish than OEM.

The garage who have caused the damage sound good with how they've dealt with you thus far, so I would assume they'll use a reputable bodyshop so they have no further comebacks.

talksthetorque

10,820 posts

141 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
Scrappy for a similar coloured boot lid?

Mandat

3,992 posts

244 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
777GE90 said:
Sorry compensation is the wrong word, honestly I am not interested in money. But what I mean is, if I tell them not to repair it and reimburse me the costs they would have incurred to repair it and then leave it as is.
If you are willing to accept a financial settlement in lieu of them repairing it, then that woould be a win-win all round.

You get the cost of the repair works in your pocket, without the worry of the body shop doing a bad job.

The garage pay out the cost that they were going to pay out anyway, but without the worry of you coming back to them post completion, should you feel the repair was sub-standard, etc.

777GE90

Original Poster:

58 posts

90 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
talksthetorque said:
Scrappy for a similar coloured boot lid?
Not sure they would agree to this, but I guess the cost would be similar. I tried searching on the bay but couldn't find any for my model year.

Mandat said:
If you are willing to accept a financial settlement in lieu of them repairing it, then that woould be a win-win all round.

You get the cost of the repair works in your pocket, without the worry of the body shop doing a bad job.

The garage pay out the cost that they were going to pay out anyway, but without the worry of you coming back to them post completion, should you feel the repair was sub-standard, etc.
Ye exactly, that's why I posted this thread. What would you guys do in my situation, get it repaired anyway and risk potentially more hassle or just take some money and leave it be.

talksthetorque

10,820 posts

141 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
777GE90 said:
talksthetorque said:
Scrappy for a similar coloured boot lid?
Not sure they would agree to this, but I guess the cost would be similar. I tried searching on the bay but couldn't find any for my model year.

Mandat said:
If you are willing to accept a financial settlement in lieu of them repairing it, then that woould be a win-win all round.

You get the cost of the repair works in your pocket, without the worry of the body shop doing a bad job.

The garage pay out the cost that they were going to pay out anyway, but without the worry of you coming back to them post completion, should you feel the repair was sub-standard, etc.
Ye exactly, that's why I posted this thread. What would you guys do in my situation, get it repaired anyway and risk potentially more hassle or just take some money and leave it be.
Just get 3 quotes from the repairing garage in writing, get the money off them saying that you will save them the hassle and sort it yourself and then pocket it. They will guess you will pocket the money, but hey ho, they probably won't care.



DuraAce

4,255 posts

166 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
Good lord man.

Just get it fixed and get on with your life. It'll be absolutely fine. 1000s of cars are painted every day - how many cases of peeling laquer do you see? Not many IMHO.

You do know your car was originally unpainted metal that has had paint and laquer applied to it?! It wasn't born in a laboratory!

OldGermanHeaps

4,162 posts

184 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
Why does your car even have any elphant parts?

777GE90

Original Poster:

58 posts

90 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
OldGermanHeaps said:
Why does your car even have any elphant parts?
Elephant parts???

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

132 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
quotequote all
777GE90 said:
OldGermanHeaps said:
Why does your car even have any elphant parts?
Elephant parts???