One of our cars went in for repair under insurance after a minor nose to tail. I picked it up yesterday and overall the job looked good aside from a mismatched headlight which they have agreed to fix. Upon closer inspection at home however I find what I can only describe as a cluster of chips in the paint, they look a bit like stone chips but they are on a guard over an area about the size of a dinner plate. It is minor, if you step back 5 or 10m you may miss them but I am certain they weren't there prior to repair. It is a ten year old car but it was very tidy. Firstly, am I asking to much to get it back exactly as it was! Secondly, is my gripe with my insurer or the panel beater!
nzdoug,
Oct 20, 4:59am
Its not done properly. Talk to insurer so payMent with held until job signed off.
gammelvind,
Oct 20, 5:31am
Doesn't sound right, first talk to the panelbeater, it may be that one of his staff sent it out without a final check. Most firms will prefer to sort the issue in order to keep their name clean with the insurer. I deal with panelbeaters daily, and most are very reasonable and are happy to correct a mistake that has happened, though I do see some clients expectations to be higher than what the car was originally.
treachug,
Oct 20, 6:17am
You wrote 'minor nose to tail' & the area in question is on the guard! Was the guard damaged at all! Maybe, just maybe the area was there before & you may not have noticed it!Sadly the panelbeaters get knocked down (aka screwed over) by the insurance co all the time re labour & repair & may have been told by the assessor its pre accident & will not allow repair time etc. Go back to the panelbeater & ask them to look at it. As mentioned above most are good & reasonable. Dont go in all guns blazing & you will get a better response
grangies,
Oct 20, 6:29am
Sounds like silicone/wax contamination.
An easy fix, but will need repainting. They really shouldn't have let it go in the first place.
attitudedesignz,
Oct 20, 7:53am
Was my thought also.
usdefault,
Oct 20, 8:00am
Thats nothing, I had primer overspray on the leather seats, on the seatbelt, drivers side door and guard and across the engine bay and new front bumper.
Took it back for the third time and was finally fixed, but unfortunately didnt notice the overspray on the seat and seatbelt till a few weeks later.
Insist it is fixed.
tlharrex,
Oct 20, 10:12am
Thanks for the input guys. I shot into town after work this morning and ran into the owner outside the workshop. After a little to and fro he agreed to tidy up and paint the guard for $90 which I am happy with, this is somewhere around half price. I am willing to accept paying for half due to the fact that the panel is the only one that wasn't painted and as such is not quite a perfect match now. As I mentioned it really is a minor problem and I think I would have struggled to convince anyone the damage was not there previously. I forgot to mention above it is on a panel which was not damaged in the accident or worked on, I have a photo showing the guard in good condition taken recently but of course I can't prove the date is correct. I am pleased I didn't have to stew over it till Tuesday!
lookoutas,
Oct 20, 10:19am
If it wasn't touched, then it had to be like that before, so why do you expect him to fix it for even half price!
tlharrex,
Oct 20, 10:59am
They had to work around said panel, I don't know how it was damaged the only idea I can come up with to match the damage would be a set of keys in a power drill slapping the panel. Not likely right! It wasn't there before. . . If I wasn't sure believe me I wouldn't have posted on here let alone made the trip to town.
lookoutas,
Oct 20, 2:37pm
I'm only defending coz you would be amazed at the amount of times we are accused of damaging customers vehicles. That's why we have a policy of photographing and noting all other damage whilst the assessment is being done. Can't always get everything, but it's sure saved our butt on many occasions.
The Insurance Co's specify that we do this anyway - along with a shot of the odometer & fuel gauge. But we know they really want all this for auctioning in case it's a write-off, and they want us to do all their donkey work for nothing.
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