I posted a few weeks ago asking for good bodyshops in NJ/NYC. I went to what was considered the best due to their reputation here and their concours wins. My car is a gaurds red 96 coupe. The left rear fender got dented in my garage. I wanted the best repair possible cost no object and I made that clear from the beginning. This shop agreed to to beat the dent out by hand and filing it to avoid using filler,they considered this the proper way to do it. I was impressed by this attitude. Considering the location of the dent and depth they did a nice job of restoring the contour to the rear fender. You really have to hunt at odd angles to notice any imperfection in the reshaping of the metal. The problem comes with the horrible paintwork they did. From the beginning, I emphasized the need for the color match to be right again price no object.I was concerned that my car is 9 years old(low miles 20k) and that the paint might have aged. The owner quickly quieted my concerns by saying that all 96's were clear coated and that clear coated reds rarely fade and that the color match would not be a problem especially with the condition of my car. Boy was he wrong! When I went to pick up the car the story changed completely. First off my car is not clear coated! The owner explained that they blended in the red paint over the area of the repair and then clear coated the whole fender and rocker. The fender matches at the rear decklid but when viewded from the side the door does not match the fender and rocker area where the new paint and clear was applied. Then I was told that my car has faded in the door area and that nothing could be done so i would have to live with it. I think that it is wrong that they cleared one body panel and it seems like they do not have access to computer paint matching. My original paint looks great and only looks different when up against this brilliant new clear coat. My question is what to do at this point. I am willing to pay another shop to make my car look right, can computer matching do this, do iI need to have the paint work extended to the door, does the whole car need to be painted, is it wrong to clear coat just one body panel. Maybe you guys can help answer some of my questions. I just want my baby to look good again. I do not want these people anywhere near my car. I paid 3300$ for this work and I am pissed. Their level of service and attitude was unacceptable after our first encounter. There is more to the story including overspray of clear coat and primer and the fender liner not being reinstalled properly that I had to take the car back to them for. they were not happy when i asked for these things to be cleaned up and they wound up scratching my decklid when I brought the car back for these fixes. There was a whole other round of excuses with these issues that I do not even want to get into right now. I just want to know what to do to get my car looking good again. For now I will with hold the name of this shop, but contact me if you are considering getting paintwork done in the ny/nj area so I can warn you.

 

Sorry to say that this kind of work is prevalent. It is very difficult to find a shop that does decent work any more, but there are still some around. I had a very minor scrape to the side of my GR 95 when Bozo tried to pass stopped traffic by driving in the ice plant in his Suburban. I took it to a shop that is well known with local car nuts, including the hot-rod gang (these guys can be incredibly picky). I the shop that I wanted it done right, no hurry. When I got the car back, it was PERFECT, even after I got it home, and had time to really look at in in sunlight and in fluorescent light. Don't accept this shoddy work. If there is an insurance company involved, complain to them, and they can pressure the shop to make it right.

 

no insurance involved I just want to know the truth in terms of what to do in terms of getting the work done right. I do not want these peolple near my car.

 

Why not? It would have been covered under your comprehensive coverage and you would have been liable for only your deductible. You might want to check with them to see if it's not too late to make a claim.

 

Guys any advice on what to do with the paint. Please help

 

Contact Metro NY PCA and see if they have any pull.

Very sorry to hear of your troubles. What a complete nightmare.

 

I'm with Mark...contact local PCA or look on their website. They usually have a list of sponsers, I would assume a few would be Auto Body and Paint types. You could also call the local president or any board member for recomendations. They will know the shops to go to. Good luck in your resolution!

 

So what do you guys think I should have repainted in order to make this look nice again, fender only, door too, or the whole car?

 

tell then to remove all of the paint thats clearcoated and start over, this time without the clear to get your car back to as original as possible.

My car, before I owned it, had the hood repainted as a ladder fell onto the hood and dented it. Of course the bozo's who painted it, clear coated it as well. The rest of my car is original and NOT clear coated. This doesnt bother me too much, but if I spent that kind of money to fix a rather small dent, I would be absolutely FURIOUS!!

 

Amen, and I'd leave it there until its right For less than that, I had my entire front end done, painted my rims, fixed a nasty front fender dent and a few other odds and ends. I know thats no conselation and I'm not trying to rub anything in, just that they robbed you and you NEED to step up and call them on crappy work!

Good luck, hope you come to a reasonable end soon.

 

Sorry couldn't read the original post.. that was one big paragraph, but did read the replies.

For what is worth, I had a bodyshop once tell me that regardless of whether a car is clearcoated or not, they always clearcoat the resprayed areas. The reason they clearcoat regardless is that it is the only way they can match the factory finish... something about not be able to match the sheen of a non clearcoated finish.

p.s. I think the above is bull****... but then again, what do I know... I think the Bengals are Super Bowl bound.

Rob

 

josephla: you have a PM