Need advice...body shop problem

B

BMW335i

New member
I made a thread a a month or so back because I had my car at the body shop, and wasn't happy with the result......I had the rear bumper repainted and the back of the trunk repainted (the side where you see the license plate).



I decided to leave it because I didn't want them to cause more damage if I asked them to fix it...



The problem is that I got the work done in Mid April '07...its now July 19 '07...and almost every other day I have been this constant nag in the back of my head because of the little sanding scratch they put on my trunk and the "not so great" trunk alignment, which I noticed when I got it back but they basically had no solution to straighten it when I told them.



I am constantly pissed off at the sub par work on almost a daily basis now, it hasn't subsided in three months...which I find very odd for myself. Whenever I'm driving, I always think (ugh, I have a sanding mark on my trunk, and improper trunk alignment, and not so great paint matching). I know, I'm weird, and maybe slightly, overly, OCD and neurotic?



They had to repaint the bumper and part of the trunk, and left a dense, compact, isolated sanding scratches on a moderately small part of the trunk and it's only visible in certain lighting (direct sun), while on cloudy days you would never be able to tell it's there even from 1 inch away.



Should I take it back and demand them to fix it? I know, it's been so long since I got it done but I thought I would get over it but I haven't. I already paid and I am not sure if they would fix it free of charge, although their work is guranteed (which probably meant before I paid they would fix things). Should I just man up and forget about all of it?
 
Seems like a lot of time has passed. You should have scrutinized their work when you went to pick the car up, before you paid them. If i were you i would drive down there and talk to who ever is in charge and see what they are willing to do (if anything). Got pics of the trunk misalignment?
 
I would never put up with not matching paint (well, I did on the fifteen year old beater, but it is beater).



Alignment is something I *can* deal with, but it gets on my nerves, and usually won't just go away with time.



Sounds like you two options: go back to them and get it fixed or find a better place.
 
I have prep marks, imperfect matches, and other repaint-related problems on most of my vehicles, even the S8 :( I've had some of them redone numerous times and often they just replace one problem with another one. While I think I'm as particular as the next (Autopian) guy, I live with the flaws. Maybe someday I'll get them fixed by my new/better painter, but I'm sure not in any hurry to do so.



So I'd say to work on your mindset and try to live with them...but hey, that's easy for me to say huh? I'm not you....



The alignment issue I *would* get taken care of. I'd fully expect the shop to take care of it even after all this time. Give 'em a call, be *very* nice and polite, and I bet they'll tell you to bring it by so they can fix it while you wait.



That would be a good opportunity (*after* they've fixed the alignment ;) ) to point out the other flaws and ask how big a deal it'd be to fix them. We both know the answer, but let *them* see the problem, hear how it still bugs you, and well....just see what they say.



FWIW, when I pointed out flaws that Stoddard's guys left in the MPV, they tried to talk me into letting them try again even though it'd been over a *year*. It was *VERY* hard to see the flaws in their shop's fluorescent lighting and they understood that between the need for special lights and the possibility of paint shrinkage making things more obvious over time, some problems don't come to light right away. I didn't take them up on it for fear they'd mess up something else, but they genuinely wanted to try to improve upon their imperfect work. Maybe your shop will be the same way, never know until you try.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top