Just had car resprayed and not too impressed.
Discussion
I have to tread carefully here as i am still trying to get the issue resolved with the paint shop. I am looking for advice on how to get the issue resolved.
Story goes like this.
Go to collect car, comment that it looks patchy, painter tells me that 'yea i thought that too but not sure if its just the light'. I'm not sure what to think but pull it and pull a couple of other issues only to be fiercly defended by him. I felt very awkward looking round the car tbh
Basically in some lights not all the paintwork looks patchy. Its a 3 stage pearl and i have been told by 4 different paint people that the pearl coat has not been applied properly, it seems to suggest that the pearl coat hasn't gone on heavy or wet enough.
From most angles the car looks great, its just when a certain angle of light catches and you see this patchiness. I have tried to take pictures of it but with no real success All the other places i have been (2 painters and 2 suppliers) agree the laquer, masking and other workmanship is good. The overall look is stunning.
Anyway along with that there are a few other bits which surely arent right
drivers door is catching- apparantly he couldn't adjust it any more, it was fine when i dropped it off and now is rubbing and has damaged the paint.
I had some filling done and it looks to have slightly shrunk, not much but theres a slight lip to the paint- luckily this doesn't really notice so its not too bad, obviously i'm worried about it cracking....
There is quite a few bits of dust over the car. It was painted in an oven/booth and was low baked. The dust isn't really visible at all until you view the car under artificial light.
Theres a small crack in the scuttle panel- i suspect where it has been forced into place.
The paint seems extremely soft, i literally touched the rear wing with the roof the other day and it has chipped. Its been done for approx 3-4 weeks.
Car broke down on the way home, rad hose came off after someone slipped it on and didnt do the jubilee up very well, meaning i dumped all the coolant and had to leave my car unatended in a rather rough place (not their fault) so i could go and get water and coolant and fix by the roadside.
Theres a couple of other minor snags too.
All in all im not too happy and am looking for advice on what i should do.
The patchiness is the worst problem for me as now i can see it its the first thing i see
I am being told its 'my fault' as i 'asked' for 2 coats of pearl....yes in terms of colour but not coverage, had i of been told that 2 may be patchy then i would have had to have as many as needed. Anyway i think thats rubbish as the spray out i was shown before looked ok to me, i suspect that as it was a small area it had gone on thicker. The painter told me that he didn't know it could be patchy.
Myself the painter and the boss all agreed two coats looked good IN TERMS OF COLOUR SHADE' AND BOTH SAID NOT TO DO ANY MORE AS IT WOULD GO TOO SILVER!
The painter knows full well its there but is now saying its not and its my fault and as such i should pick up the bill to respray the car.
They are really playing on me being fussy which i agree i am fussy but when its cost proper money i feel i should be.
I was even told today that i should be happy with what i have got because of what i paid (i.e they are saying they did it cheap)
I have had to chase the boss around, i have had to keep waiting until 'tomorrow' i have even been hung up on
Its been left now at a stage where i have been told that 'their' paint supplier is coming out to look at the car to access it, of course i know they will say its a great job and theres no patchiness or other problems.
Everyone who has seen the caar has agreed with me, even when i just say 'have a look at the car and tell me what you think'....even my mum agreed
I won't name and shame just yet as i am being as fair as i can, i havent given it the large down the phone or anything like that.
I was recomended the place by someone on here who had their car done and was apparantly happy, other people had also seen it and were impressed. Fibreglass was not a problem at all etc etc.
So what would you do? Because the pearl is only patchy from certain angles when you look for it am i being unreasonable? btw this wasn;t a £1200 blow over by any means, we did a deal with a car he took in px and has basically cost me 3k plus extra work carried out.....Am i being unreasonable about the other stuff?
I don't want to lose my temper but i am starting to get pissed off as i am obviously being led down the garden path
Story goes like this.
Go to collect car, comment that it looks patchy, painter tells me that 'yea i thought that too but not sure if its just the light'. I'm not sure what to think but pull it and pull a couple of other issues only to be fiercly defended by him. I felt very awkward looking round the car tbh
Basically in some lights not all the paintwork looks patchy. Its a 3 stage pearl and i have been told by 4 different paint people that the pearl coat has not been applied properly, it seems to suggest that the pearl coat hasn't gone on heavy or wet enough.
From most angles the car looks great, its just when a certain angle of light catches and you see this patchiness. I have tried to take pictures of it but with no real success
All the other places i have been (2 painters and 2 suppliers) agree the laquer, masking and other workmanship is good. The overall look is stunning.Anyway along with that there are a few other bits which surely arent right
drivers door is catching- apparantly he couldn't adjust it any more, it was fine when i dropped it off and now is rubbing and has damaged the paint.
I had some filling done and it looks to have slightly shrunk, not much but theres a slight lip to the paint- luckily this doesn't really notice so its not too bad, obviously i'm worried about it cracking....
There is quite a few bits of dust over the car. It was painted in an oven/booth and was low baked. The dust isn't really visible at all until you view the car under artificial light.
Theres a small crack in the scuttle panel- i suspect where it has been forced into place.
The paint seems extremely soft, i literally touched the rear wing with the roof the other day and it has chipped. Its been done for approx 3-4 weeks.
Car broke down on the way home, rad hose came off after someone slipped it on and didnt do the jubilee up very well, meaning i dumped all the coolant and had to leave my car unatended in a rather rough place (not their fault) so i could go and get water and coolant and fix by the roadside.
Theres a couple of other minor snags too.
All in all im not too happy and am looking for advice on what i should do.
The patchiness is the worst problem for me as now i can see it its the first thing i see
I am being told its 'my fault' as i 'asked' for 2 coats of pearl....yes in terms of colour but not coverage, had i of been told that 2 may be patchy then i would have had to have as many as needed. Anyway i think thats rubbish as the spray out i was shown before looked ok to me, i suspect that as it was a small area it had gone on thicker. The painter told me that he didn't know it could be patchy.
Myself the painter and the boss all agreed two coats looked good IN TERMS OF COLOUR SHADE' AND BOTH SAID NOT TO DO ANY MORE AS IT WOULD GO TOO SILVER!
The painter knows full well its there but is now saying its not and its my fault and as such i should pick up the bill to respray the car.
They are really playing on me being fussy which i agree i am fussy but when its cost proper money i feel i should be.
I was even told today that i should be happy with what i have got because of what i paid (i.e they are saying they did it cheap)
I have had to chase the boss around, i have had to keep waiting until 'tomorrow' i have even been hung up on
Its been left now at a stage where i have been told that 'their' paint supplier is coming out to look at the car to access it, of course i know they will say its a great job and theres no patchiness or other problems.
Everyone who has seen the caar has agreed with me, even when i just say 'have a look at the car and tell me what you think'....even my mum agreed
I won't name and shame just yet as i am being as fair as i can, i havent given it the large down the phone or anything like that.
I was recomended the place by someone on here who had their car done and was apparantly happy, other people had also seen it and were impressed. Fibreglass was not a problem at all etc etc.
So what would you do? Because the pearl is only patchy from certain angles when you look for it am i being unreasonable? btw this wasn;t a £1200 blow over by any means, we did a deal with a car he took in px and has basically cost me 3k plus extra work carried out.....Am i being unreasonable about the other stuff?
I don't want to lose my temper but i am starting to get pissed off as i am obviously being led down the garden path
Edited by badpearl on Monday 2nd April 20:34
If many people can see a paint issue then it must be wrong.I have ocd and can notice any defect.my wife and family hate me cos i am so fussy with the paint and car in general.most people cant see what i can see ......but i must admit my mum has the same eyes and issues as me...good ole mum.
I am sure alot more knowledgeable people than me will be on here to comment on this topic, but you are the customer and if your not happy well thats the main thing. Pearl colours are hard to get a true reflection with the camera, if you can take some pics outside under natural lighting and see what everyone thinks on here that would help.
Mark
ps I agree with the previous post and go with your first instinct
Good luck
Mark
Mark
ps I agree with the previous post and go with your first instinct
Good luck
Mark
Thanks very much for the replies.
It's very sad really, i have my own very small buisness which i take seriously, god forbid if a customer was unhappy i would bend over backwards to ensure they had only good things to say. When i think of the effort i put in and this is what i get back when dealing with someone else my initial feeling is being truly gutted for myself and then when someone hangs up on me it brings out anger.
So i should maybe write a letter? I'm not sure what i want them to do tbh. I am very worried that if it gets painted again by them then it would be a case of a blowover and not doing door and boot shuts leaving a different colour, i am also worried the painter may actually do something to the car as he really is pissed off that i'm not happy.
Infact its quite clear why its not his own paintshop but anyway.....
I suppose i would accept the car being resprayed by them or i would accept some kind of refund, i would want at least 50% of what i paid as its going to cost me more than that to get it re done.
Should i threaten a small claims court in the letter?
I'm not too experienced with things like this (which is a good thing i suppose )
Again thanks to you all
It's very sad really, i have my own very small buisness which i take seriously, god forbid if a customer was unhappy i would bend over backwards to ensure they had only good things to say. When i think of the effort i put in and this is what i get back when dealing with someone else my initial feeling is being truly gutted for myself and then when someone hangs up on me it brings out anger.
So i should maybe write a letter? I'm not sure what i want them to do tbh. I am very worried that if it gets painted again by them then it would be a case of a blowover and not doing door and boot shuts leaving a different colour, i am also worried the painter may actually do something to the car as he really is pissed off that i'm not happy.
Infact its quite clear why its not his own paintshop but anyway.....
I suppose i would accept the car being resprayed by them or i would accept some kind of refund, i would want at least 50% of what i paid as its going to cost me more than that to get it re done.
Should i threaten a small claims court in the letter?
I'm not too experienced with things like this (which is a good thing i suppose
)Again thanks to you all
portzi said:
I am sure alot more knowledgeable people than me will be on here to comment on this topic, but you are the customer and if your not happy well thats the main thing. Pearl colours are hard to get a true reflection with the camera, if you can take some pics outside under natural lighting and see what everyone thinks on here that would help.
Mark
ps I agree with the previous post and go with your first instinct
Good luck
Mark
I really can't get a picture of it, i managed to get a very vague picture of it but its almost impossible to see. Its quite odd as my eyes can see it but the camera can't.Mark
ps I agree with the previous post and go with your first instinct
Good luck
Mark
The car is white so in the light it is extremely bright, almost blinding so its difficult to get a pic of it.
cuneus said:
Don't mention court (yet!)
Try and be factual.
List all that has happened in order
Was there a quote/written requirements ?
How much did you pay ?
The quote was verbal and was paid for by exchange of a car he sold for me which we verbally agreed a price for. I could see this possibly causing a problem however the car will have a book price....right?Try and be factual.
List all that has happened in order
Was there a quote/written requirements ?
How much did you pay ?
The price he agreed to give me was £3800 for the car he sold, i then had to give another £200 or so on top.
This covered the respray, which we agreed at 3000 and the rest was made up of extra works they carried out.
I did leave them a list of requirements, things like where i wanted things masked, things i certainly didn't want them to do etc.
They did liase well with me throughout but somewhere it went wrong
The prep was great, the actual quality of respray is great, its let down largely by the pearl and these other bits which i believe for some reason he rushed to get finished.
It's a terrible shame
Edited by badpearl on Monday 2nd April 22:29
I cant remember exactly but it was
Take out headlights NOT mask them
Stone chip along bottom sills and in arches
fibreglass repairs- was walked round and shown these.
make sure to cut out any mastic around glass- no masking and then re mastic in
I really cant remember what else i had on the list tbh, but i made it VERY clear i wanted a factory or better finish which was promised to me. Up until the day i collected i had no doubt it would be good, i did notice headlights were left in but was assured i would never know- well when the paints dry round them and i can see evidence of masking i do know
Do you think i should await this 'inspection' from their paint suppliers? The painter told me today he spoke to a supplier who told him that pearl on a tvr will come out patchy because of all the curves and the way the light hits it........i'm not sure if he made this up or dreampt it.
I can see the supplier giving me the brush off too.
Take out headlights NOT mask them
Stone chip along bottom sills and in arches
fibreglass repairs- was walked round and shown these.
make sure to cut out any mastic around glass- no masking and then re mastic in
I really cant remember what else i had on the list tbh, but i made it VERY clear i wanted a factory or better finish which was promised to me. Up until the day i collected i had no doubt it would be good, i did notice headlights were left in but was assured i would never know- well when the paints dry round them and i can see evidence of masking i do know
Do you think i should await this 'inspection' from their paint suppliers? The painter told me today he spoke to a supplier who told him that pearl on a tvr will come out patchy because of all the curves and the way the light hits it........i'm not sure if he made this up or dreampt it.
I can see the supplier giving me the brush off too.
badpearl said:
Do you think i should await this 'inspection' from their paint suppliers? The painter told me today he spoke to a supplier who told him that pearl on a tvr will come out patchy because of all the curves and the way the light hits it........i'm not sure if he made this up or dreampt it.
badpearl said:
The painter told me today he spoke to a supplier who told him that pearl on a tvr will come out patchy because of all the curves and the way the light hits it........i'm not sure if he made this up or dreampt it.
I can see the supplier giving me the brush off too.
What a load of rubbish, so all TVRs with pearl paint have a patchy finish do they? I don't think so.I can see the supplier giving me the brush off too.
I'm sorry to say that however justified your complaint, from a quasi-legal point of view you're on shaky ground.
If i've understood, there are no written instructions/specification and it seems that if pushed you can only "prove" paying £200 for the job as a cash payment.
Strongly suggest the only way forward is to try and appeal to their pride in workmanship to help you out.
So many threads on here (self included) where we've approached contractors on an informal friendly basis and in return we've been bent over.
Treat like any other tender process : detailed specifications, quotation and timeline in writing before you start and payment only on satisfactory conclusion. Learned the hard way !
If i've understood, there are no written instructions/specification and it seems that if pushed you can only "prove" paying £200 for the job as a cash payment.
Strongly suggest the only way forward is to try and appeal to their pride in workmanship to help you out.
So many threads on here (self included) where we've approached contractors on an informal friendly basis and in return we've been bent over.
Treat like any other tender process : detailed specifications, quotation and timeline in writing before you start and payment only on satisfactory conclusion. Learned the hard way !
Right:
Put it in writing. All issues and keep it factual. Make sure you send it to the owner of the company as well as the manager etc. Get other paint shops that do Tvr's to provide independent view on car. I'm sure you asked this place if they had experience of doing tvr's , pearl etc and saw a gallery of work? Spoke to some of their customers? For 3k I would have. If you didn't, well you set yourself up for a fall straight away. Hopefully you have an itemised invoice/bill/specification? If not, then not do good as its wriggle room for them.
Following that if they fail to address your issues then check with citizens advice bureau while it still exists.
I would then write a letter to them indicating that based on independent advice from other body shops, the painting of the car is not satisfactory and you have no other recourse but to take legal action. Most places will look at this and want to resolve the matter as its their reputation and cost of a solicitor.
It's relatively simple to represent yourself. Just be structured. Take loads of photos. Have the independent reports from other experienced body shops.
Good luck
Put it in writing. All issues and keep it factual. Make sure you send it to the owner of the company as well as the manager etc. Get other paint shops that do Tvr's to provide independent view on car. I'm sure you asked this place if they had experience of doing tvr's , pearl etc and saw a gallery of work? Spoke to some of their customers? For 3k I would have. If you didn't, well you set yourself up for a fall straight away. Hopefully you have an itemised invoice/bill/specification? If not, then not do good as its wriggle room for them.
Following that if they fail to address your issues then check with citizens advice bureau while it still exists.
I would then write a letter to them indicating that based on independent advice from other body shops, the painting of the car is not satisfactory and you have no other recourse but to take legal action. Most places will look at this and want to resolve the matter as its their reputation and cost of a solicitor.
It's relatively simple to represent yourself. Just be structured. Take loads of photos. Have the independent reports from other experienced body shops.
Good luck
I had a similiar problem with a front end respray, won't bore you with the details but it had to go back 3 times, they got it almost perfect on the 4th try but I decided I would finish the small imperfections off myself than take it back again!. (this is a well known TVR bodyshop!)You should not accept a poor job. Talk to them and explain they should correct the mistake. If you can get another spray shop to write down what they think is wrong with yours, it might cost you £20 but this is power in your favour to get the paint to an acceptable condition. If they refuse to fix it I would take them to the small claims court. (I have done this 4 times for various problems won 2 and settled out of court for the other 2). Be nice and polite when talking to them. If you need help with the small claims court procedure let me know.
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