Alright guys, so I was involved in a rear vehicle collision about 2-1/2 months ago. I had the collision shop my family has used for 10+ years do the work but I’m having doubts now. I’ll attach some pictures but here’s the breakdown.

My insurance paid $10,600 for all the repairs so I’m extremely being picky about everything. The accident wasn’t my fault but in Michigan were a no fault state.

Anyways, after I got my car back, the rear headliner had hand prints everywhere and the rear bumper paint looked off. I took it back and they kept convincing me that paint lays differently on plastic than it does on sheet metal. Also, the bumper gaps seemed big making me think that they used after market parts when my insurance paid for OEM parts.

After being nice the first time around, I’m going to escalate this to BBB as they seem to not want to help. (I’ll attempt once more to see if they repaint my bumper and provide proof they ordered OEM parts).

what do you guys think? I’m very picky so I get that but let me know.. here’s some pics



The collision damage

Paint on the passenger side looks off doesn’t it? This was the undamaged section. Bumper gap also looks pretty big?

Bubbles are now appearing on the paint..




The damaged section that was fixed

 

Ugh, not good! Those paint bubbles says a lot.

Do you use a local insurance agent, or are you just a policy number with some insurance company?

 

I have All State, but this repair facility (who does expensive vehicles - range rovers, Mercedes, bmws, etc) isn’t contracted through All State, only through AAA. I have a local agent + policy number of course.

 

Call your agent and make an appointment with him to look at your car. Then drive your car over to visit with the agent to show him the dirty headliner and air bubbles in the bumper paint...and whatever else you don't think is repaired properly. Ask your agent if he would accept that pathetic repair work. Tell the agent that you want his help in obtaining a damn-near perfect repair job. See what he says...

 

Bubbles are without question, unacceptable. BBB can't help you. They are dinosaurs that no business cares about. You'll put more pressure on the shop by posting a true but negative review on Yelp. Your insurance company might be able to help if they paid the shop directly for OEM parts and these aren't. Hard to say on color from photos that have been through several servers and millions of miles of internet. Hard to say on the gap. Remember, you signed off on the work, so continue to be nice but firm. The dirty headliner and the bubbled paint (warranty issue) are the only "slam dunks" you have right now. Good luck.

 

If your insurance agent oftentimes uses the body shop that made the repairs he'll have leverage to get the repairs done right. However, you said that you wanted to use a body shop that your family has used previously, which is probably not a body shop your agent uses, so any leverage vanishes...

 

Thank you both for the replies. Yeah, unfortunately I went with a collision ship that isn’t contracted with All State, who told me they can’t do much because they aren’t contracted with them. They recommended BBB.

I’m just shocked because they did my 2 previous vehicles and they were done amazing. The owner sells clean title prestigious vehicles (Bentley’s, rolls Royce, etc).

I’ll have to talk to the owner to see what he can and will do. Just pretty upset because the Lexus IS my baby

 

Have a courteous talk with the owner about it. As swfla said - don't even mention or waste your time with the BBB. The two key items for discussion are the dirty headliner and the paint bubbles. Certainly the body shop owner does not want that kind of work to leave his shop looking like that. I would be very surprised if he is unwilling to take care of that.

As for the paint color matching - silver is hard to match anyway...and he's right about the paint laying (and looking) differently on plastic compared to the way it does on sheet metal. In you images I think I might can tell a slight difference, but I've seen a whole, whole lot worse. It's much about luck to get paint to match on plastic and metal...and any paint work is not going to match the factory paint job. As for the gaps, they look decent to me - you should be able to compare the gaps with something you find around the house.

I can't tell if you have paint bubbles all over or just in one area, but any paint bubble is a definite problem. If you get the bumper repainted, find out if the shop is going to repaint the entire bumper or just one or two areas...and if it will be done on or off the car. Also, ask what they're going to do about making sure the [total] paint thickness on the bumper is not too much - something that can be the cause of cracking, wrinkling or alligatoring.

 

How does the factory get the bumpers and metal to match I'm wondering?

 

My guess is that everything receiving paint at the factory receives the exact same cured primer base coat (probably epoxy primer) and is painted at the exact same temperature and thickness coverage. You'll still sometimes find a slight difference in the paint color of plastic and metal.

 

Man, this is why I'm glad they totaled my car. Going through this BS would annoy the living crap out of me! and yes, those bubbles for a 10k job is totally unacceptable.

 

That is why a lot of people, myself included, will more than likely get rid of a vehicle if it's been wrecked, even a little. It will likely cost some extra money to get rid of it, and you'll almost certainly replace it with a newer model that is more expensive, but dealing with the aftermath of even a minor wrecked vehicle can drive you crazy...especially if you are OCD at all about your car.

 

Same here BC! I don't think I could live with my car after repaired collision damage. I'd probably get rid of it and move on. Driving in traffic today is like driving in a demolition derby since the inception of the cell phone. I've been rear ended 4 times through the years from phone drivers. Quality collision shops a very few and far between.

 

Bclexus - thanks for all your input. I’ll do my best and see what I can work out with the collision center.

I read an article that said that the factory usually has different types of sprayers and painting machines for the bumpers and sheet metal portions. Unsure of all that lol, but might be true.

I tried to get the insurance to total it but they wouldn’t budge. Really wanted it but they just wouldn’t. Sadly!

 

glad you were okay all four times! The cell phone is the devil! Lol. Funny thing, after I was rear ended, the lady comes out and starts cussing at me saying it’s my fault!😂 the police officer told me to drive away before he gives her tickets and tells her it was her fault ... crazy people