Screwed by the body shop? Advice needed.
#1
Screwed by the body shop? Advice needed.
Some time ago some idiot ran into the side of my '98 Max and made a mess of the driver side fender. The responsible party's insurance company set me up with a bodyshop in Santa Monica, CA called M's Body Shop. The Maxima GLE is my first car, and this is my first experience dealing with a body shop.
The shop replaced and painted the driver side fender as well as the outer panel of the driver side front door. When I looked at their work, after five days of waiting, I was rather disappointed with the quality I saw. While the paint job looks fine from five feet away, closer inspection reveals tiny imperfections all over the place. There's at least one hairline crack; small blisters can be seen from a slant angle; there are even dimples that can be felt when I run my fingers over them. All this suggests that the room in which the panels were spraypainted weren't very well protected from contamination.
To make things worse, there're scratch marks all over the chrome door handle and the weather stripping.
Being so inexperienced in these matters, I would really appreciate some advice from fellow Max owners. Is this the level of quality that I have to settle with? Is it too much to expect factory-spec work from an ordinary repair job, as I have? The insurance company supposedly has lifetime warranty on repairs; how difficult would it be to make a claim on such warranties, and if it's worth it, what should I do differently, on my part, the second time around?
Thanks in advance for any tips.
The shop replaced and painted the driver side fender as well as the outer panel of the driver side front door. When I looked at their work, after five days of waiting, I was rather disappointed with the quality I saw. While the paint job looks fine from five feet away, closer inspection reveals tiny imperfections all over the place. There's at least one hairline crack; small blisters can be seen from a slant angle; there are even dimples that can be felt when I run my fingers over them. All this suggests that the room in which the panels were spraypainted weren't very well protected from contamination.
To make things worse, there're scratch marks all over the chrome door handle and the weather stripping.
Being so inexperienced in these matters, I would really appreciate some advice from fellow Max owners. Is this the level of quality that I have to settle with? Is it too much to expect factory-spec work from an ordinary repair job, as I have? The insurance company supposedly has lifetime warranty on repairs; how difficult would it be to make a claim on such warranties, and if it's worth it, what should I do differently, on my part, the second time around?
Thanks in advance for any tips.
#2
Re: Screwed by the body shop? Advice needed.
Originally posted by bluetentacle
Some time ago some idiot ran into the side of my '98 Max and made a mess of the driver side fender. The responsible party's insurance company set me up with a bodyshop in Santa Monica, CA called M's Body Shop. The Maxima GLE is my first car, and this is my first experience dealing with a body shop.
The shop replaced and painted the driver side fender as well as the outer panel of the driver side front door. When I looked at their work, after five days of waiting, I was rather disappointed with the quality I saw. While the paint job looks fine from five feet away, closer inspection reveals tiny imperfections all over the place. There's at least one hairline crack; small blisters can be seen from a slant angle; there are even dimples that can be felt when I run my fingers over them. All this suggests that the room in which the panels were spraypainted weren't very well protected from contamination.
To make things worse, there're scratch marks all over the chrome door handle and the weather stripping.
Being so inexperienced in these matters, I would really appreciate some advice from fellow Max owners. Is this the level of quality that I have to settle with? Is it too much to expect factory-spec work from an ordinary repair job, as I have? The insurance company supposedly has lifetime warranty on repairs; how difficult would it be to make a claim on such warranties, and if it's worth it, what should I do differently, on my part, the second time around?
Thanks in advance for any tips.
Some time ago some idiot ran into the side of my '98 Max and made a mess of the driver side fender. The responsible party's insurance company set me up with a bodyshop in Santa Monica, CA called M's Body Shop. The Maxima GLE is my first car, and this is my first experience dealing with a body shop.
The shop replaced and painted the driver side fender as well as the outer panel of the driver side front door. When I looked at their work, after five days of waiting, I was rather disappointed with the quality I saw. While the paint job looks fine from five feet away, closer inspection reveals tiny imperfections all over the place. There's at least one hairline crack; small blisters can be seen from a slant angle; there are even dimples that can be felt when I run my fingers over them. All this suggests that the room in which the panels were spraypainted weren't very well protected from contamination.
To make things worse, there're scratch marks all over the chrome door handle and the weather stripping.
Being so inexperienced in these matters, I would really appreciate some advice from fellow Max owners. Is this the level of quality that I have to settle with? Is it too much to expect factory-spec work from an ordinary repair job, as I have? The insurance company supposedly has lifetime warranty on repairs; how difficult would it be to make a claim on such warranties, and if it's worth it, what should I do differently, on my part, the second time around?
Thanks in advance for any tips.
#3
Member who somehow became The President of The SE-L Club
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Join Date: Jun 2001
Posts: 16,033
Re: Re: Screwed by the body shop? Advice needed.
Originally posted by Sin
The shop was probably instructed by the insurance company to do it as cheaply as possible.
The shop was probably instructed by the insurance company to do it as cheaply as possible.
They may substitute aftermarket parts to keep the cost of the repair at a reasonable level if the car is older or request a panel be repair instead of replaced. The quality of the repair must be acceptable to the customer, no matter what.
By law you are entitled to have your car repaired back to the condition it was in prior to getting hit.
From your description, it sounds like the paint was not applied in a clean spray booth. Even so it should have been wet sanded and polished to get that dirt out. Bring the car back and complain about the quality of the paint work. Contact the insurance company as well if you like and tell them your not 100% satisfied with the repair. Point out all the areas your not happy with and have the shop refinish them for you.
#4
I dont think youll have too much to worry about if you contact the insurance company. However, ive had a similar experience and i told them i wasnt happy right then and there.
I know they thought i was an AHole, but i inspected it and pointed out the flaws.
They did it over perfectly which is what they should have done in the first place.
I know they thought i was an AHole, but i inspected it and pointed out the flaws.
They did it over perfectly which is what they should have done in the first place.
#6
do not settle for what you have. it wasn't your fault, therefore, there's no need to walk it off with crappy work.
best bet is to talk to your lawyer/insurance company. you ARE entitled to a better job.
best bet is to talk to your lawyer/insurance company. you ARE entitled to a better job.
#8
I used to work for nationwide and we sent people to body shops that did cheap work all the time. But it was only our suggestion that you get the work done at these places. we got a ton of complaints, and bascially, you can take your car anywhere to get it repaired. Anytime we heard anyone talking lawyer stuff, we did anything they said.
#10
Take it back. I managed to bump up my front bumper cover and the body work was very apparent the first time. I took it back and calmly pointed out the imperfections and they redid the bodywork and repainted the bumper. It looks great now.
#11
so what happened??
complain to the insurance company, get a rental, and keep doin it until you are happy. What you are describing are obvious things that even the insurance company can send an agent to verify. You shouldn't have any probs, good luck!
complain to the insurance company, get a rental, and keep doin it until you are happy. What you are describing are obvious things that even the insurance company can send an agent to verify. You shouldn't have any probs, good luck!
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Omar Abdurrahman Siddiqi
5th Generation Maxima (2000-2003)
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08-26-2016 05:18 PM