riotgear

OCBen, thanks for the info. I bought the car off the lot with 24 miles on it. My sales rep is investigating this issue, so I hope to have some answers soon. I'll examine the car tomorrow morning to see if I notice a difference in the metallic flakes. The chipping is so bad that I seriously doubt touch up will help. In one area there are several dozen chips.

OCBen

Touch-ups can be professionally done. They first isolate and prep the areas well, then fill with paint color and top it off with clear. Then they color-sand until it is level with the adjacent paint surface and then polish the entire area to blend. You won't be able to tell where it was done if it was done professionally, especially after the protected film is applied. Take it to an independent quality paint shop and ask them if they think they can do a professional touch up. Don't ask which is best - to repaint or to touch up, because they will more than likely tell you what would be in their best interest; i.e. what is most profitable to them. But if they admit that they can't touch it up and then volunteer that the only way to fix it is to repaint, then you'll have a better evaluation of the condition.

The good news is that since your car is a darker color it should be easier to match the color.... I know first hand from experience having had several body panels painted on my 20 yr old dark pewter 300ZX.

Good Luck!

jfraser

Riot
Real easy to tell if its been repainted...Use a paint depth gauge. Unless the whole car was repainted, it'll be really obvious. Typically the depth of a repainted panel will be a lot thicker.

Paul523

Riot,
California law taken verbatim from DMV website:


Material Damage: Disclosure of Repairs

9991. Every dealer shall disclose in writing to the purchaser of a new or previously unregistered motor vehicle, prior to entering into a contract for the vehicle or, if unknown at that time, prior to delivery of the vehicle, any material damage known by the dealer to have been sustained by the vehicle and subsequently repaired.

Added Ch. 1373, Stats. 1990. Effective January 1, 1991.


One would think that even if any repaint had occurred at the port the dealer would have knowledge of that?
Here's the link: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d03_6/vc9991.htm

It's crazy because every state is different re new vehicle repair disclosures:
Illinois, for instance, only requires written disclosure to buyer of "damage
in excess of 6% of MSRP, excluding damage to glass, tires, bumpers, and in-dash audio equipment".

Btw, lots of recent travel to many dealers I have personally looked at 40 to 50 997 and have yet to notice one without the clear film on rear quarter.
An experienced professional body guy will be able to discern repaint indicators as OCBen discussed.

SYMA

A Tip wheel with a 6 speed tranny!!!! Who's building these fuc%ing things now Chrysler??

riotgear

Assuming a high quality body shop did the work, which option would look better, having the panel repainted or touched up.

PV

riotgear, what a situation. I have the protection on, but thought it was part of the invisible bra, ignorantly.

Good luck. Maybe you should claim total new panels with a good paint job on them with protection and an invisible bra as a sort of freebee for the suffering.

riotgear

PV, I am considering a repaint, but I am reluctant that it'll be noticeable. Has anyone had a panel painted and it was hard or near impossible to tell the car was repainted?

Sobe

It is done at the factory at times when cars get damaged at Porsche ..... I have a friend that works at the factory and says from time to time a car is scratched or damaged on a test drive or just moving it around . They simple repaint the damaged piece and move on . Also when cars are damaged in shiping to the U.S. they are painted before they get to the dealer .. Porsche has a facility to do paint and body work right at the port .

riotgear

Sobe, that is encouraging news. The sales rep and manager have been helpful, so hopefully things work out in my favor.

Sobe

How bad are the chips ... you have a black car ... Black is a very simple color to match , just make sure the body shop is the best in town. What city are you in ..

PV

At the time they did mine (not a Porsche) I had a dark blue car. I'm pretty particular about paint jobs, but I had a hard time to find the panel they repainted. They need to take their time to match the color and do the job.

PV

I see Atlas grey on his footer. Nevertheless, painting is doable, but make sure the damage is on the top layer only. As soon it is already on the metal, I would argue a new panel or panels.

Agree that you should get the best guys doing it with dedication. Better without the car a day longer than a constant pain when looking at it after a bad job.

OCBen

Riot, if you go for a repaint, see if they can confine the repaint to that area that will end up being covered by the protective film. The film slightly changes the optical properties of the area it covers and any repaint underneath will be difficult if not impossible to detect. If the repainting extends beyond this area a critical eye will more than likely notice it, since this is not a detachable body panel that can be repainted separately but one that will have to be blended into the adjacent area. I strongly recommend that you have the body shop limit the repainting to this narrowly confined area if possible, that is if the chips are totally within it. That's my recommendation. Good luck. Hope it turns out to your satisfaction.

PV

I like that suggestion too. Over the weekend I several times looked at the side of the car and how you would paint it. It is either that little spot or the total panel.