Need professional advice re. bodyshop paint job on repairs

[maggiethegeek]

Hi guys, I haven't much luck finding good advice and hope you pros can help me! My car is being repaired after an accident under my collision policy. It was close to being totaled but I believe they put an unreasonable value on my SUV...you know how well they are selling...and the insurance company insisted on fixing it. I am amazed at how well it looks considering the amount of damage. The real test will be in the driving of it. However, before even driving it, am very unhappy with the paint job. The SUV is red and 6 years old. They said they used the OME paint and I believe they did but the colors are not the same. It isn't a case of lighter and darker, though, it is a completely different undertone! My original red has a blue undertone. This new red has a yellow/organge undertone. They did do a good job of blending, where they blended, but there are sections of the car that were not damaged the jut up to the repaired areas and the difference is so obvious! I am meeting the insurance adjuster out there this afternoon and maybe he will agree to fix this but I am not feeling too good about it since on the phone he said is all they had to do was have an "industry standard" paint job. Well, what the heck is Industry Standard? They did a nice job of painting except they didn't have the right hue/undertone to the paint. I have paint charts I am going to take with me to show the different family of paints but anything that any of you can do to help me - any suggestions - would be greatly appreciated. I have spoken with the Dept of Insurance and he said the different undertones would be a cause for concern but again, this is my collision policy and apparently they don't owe me anything to make it really right. They chose to fix it, I would have been more than happy to have it totaled, and if I had known the paint wasn't going to match would have really raised cane!.

Lost in a sea of bad paint,

MaggietheGeek

[txscbr600]

The shop that did the work should realize that they messed up and take care of it IMO. Especially if it like night and day in which you describe.

[maggiethegeek]

Thanks for your reply. The shop changed their tune when even the adjuster could tell the difference and agreed it needed fixing. We came up with a general compromise and they will blend that entire side of the car up to the trim breaks at the roof...that should make a huge difference. This has been very frustrating and at least I'm getting the fix I deserve. Thanks again, MaggietheGeek

[Pyrocite]

Glad to hear that, nothing like driving a car with 2 different shades of a color.

[maggiethegeek]

Exactly, I told them except for the damaged areas, the car didn't go into the shop with two tones and it shouldn't leave the shop looking two toned!

I hate to say this but I think it is still a man's world out there when it comes to automobile issues. I am sure they thought I was an absolute b@#$% for objecting. Continued to find a few structural things that hadn't been fixed, too. So does that make me b@#$%y or just very observant! LOL

[David Fermani]

I have a few comments & questions….
Is the vehicle being repaired at one of your insurance company’s Direct Repair Shops? Who told you it was close to being a Total Loss? Did they give you’re the ACV value? How well or bad a vehicle is currently selling for doesn’t have *a lot* of bearing on the Actual Cash Value (ACV) and/or the repairability of your vehicle. If you’re having it repaired at a DRP, they MUST return the vehicle to the condition it was in prior to the accident. This means all paint work needs to be properly blended and not obvious. If you took it to a non-DRP, you may have no other choice but to sue the shop for improper workmanship if you can’t work things out. As far as “industry standard”, I think he means “Like, Kind & Quality”. They’ll never be able to use “OEM paint” because that paint is only available at the OEM or factory level. But, the same companies (PPG, Dupont and even AKZO, SW) can supply you with a proper refinish to match the existing one. The biggest mistake you can make is by taking delivery and accepting the work the shop did without completely inspecting and test driving it. If they still can’t make it right and it was repaired at a DRP, I’d push to have to Constructively Total Lossed based on a repaired total loss. Insurance companies buy back vehicles that were repaired incorrectly at their shops all the time and then end up taking them to the auction to recover a large portion of the money already spent.

[maggiethegeek]

Thanks for your help with this. Nice to speak with someone who is knowledgeable about the situation.

My daughter was by herself in the car when she had the accident. She had just dropped me off at a shopping center to get a birthday present for her brother and she was driving to get ice cream. We were at a new shopping center with a very confusing layout. She stopped at a stop sign and thought the lady further down the road had also stopped. My daughter pulled out to make a left turn and the lady ran straight into hitting the left wheel and driver's door. The impact forced my car to turn 180 degrees in the opposite direction. I was told that night that the tow guy said I had a cracked suspension and car was totaled. That has not been the consensus though by the adjuster and the repair shop.

This a Nationwide Blue Ribbon repair shop; it was my choice to go this one. They apparently give a much discounted rate to Nationwide on their labor. They said they got the paint from the Mfg...whether they did or not...it did not blend as well as it should have. I met with the adjuster out there yesterday and he did agree that the blending was not good enough. We agreed to blend that entire side of the car, up to where the black molding strips at the roof line. They are working on that now.

The near total comes from the fact that the insurance adjuster said the car was worth $10,008 and at 75%, $7500 in repair would total it. This was Nationwide's formula for the ACV, I guess. Something I don't have access to. They said that the NDA was close but not the same. I have taken better care of this car than any car I have ever had and that has come back to hurt me. My fairly new tires and very low mileage added value to the car.

They had an original repair estimate of $6123.72

Parts $3315.97
Body Labor 27.0 hrs @ $ 42.00/hr $1134.00
Paint Labor 16.6 hrs @ $ 42.00/hr $697.20
Mechanical Labor 4.0 hrs @ $ 65.00/hr $260.00
Frame Labor 2.0 hrs @ $ 40.00/hr $80.00
Paint Supplies $325.00
Sublet/Misc. $87.72
SUBTOTAL $ 5899.89
Sales Tax $ 3315.97 @ 6.7500% 223.83
----------------------------------------------------
GRAND TOTAL $ 6123.72

There was also some hail damage from a previous claim that had never been fixed. That hail repair amount came to a little over $1200. When I went to pick up the car the other day, the actual cost of repairs came closer to $5,800 (not including hail). That amount was before I pointed out to them several things that hadn't been fixed and that the new tire flare was cracked...they have already fixed those things. Do you think they did those repairs for no added cost? I did go ahead and drive the car, yesterday, while the adjuster was there. It seemed to do well but the steering wheel turned much more freely than before. They brought the mechanic out to talk to me and he explained that the right side of the car (non-damaged side) was out of alignment and that the shims(?) had never been adjusted. I have had the car aligned on numerous times (always pulling to the right) but he thinks the other mechanics have just been adjusting the tow, nothing else, and a tighter steering goes with that and a looser steering goes with a better alignment. He said it was now aligned back to how it was when it left the factory. All repairs do have a guarantee for as long as I own the car.

After the test drive, I also found a dent in the driver's door by the window stripping and that the stripping wasn't sitting right - funny thing, they only showed up after I was inside the car and rolled the window down - pressure of window staying up had kept it straight...purely accidental find! I had already pointed out where the outside stripping by the window that had been bent. All of those things are being fixed now. Again, just wonder, will they be fixing those items at no extra charge since they had already said the car was fixed?

Since the adjuster didn't accept the paint job, do you think the all over blending will be at no extra fee or will it be at an additional cost? My agent has assured me that if there are things done to the car, even after it is fixed, that brings the total spent to over $7,500, the car could still be totaled. Is that what Constructively Total Loss is? The rental car time ran out, which they reminded me would happen, but luckily for me, my son will let me use his car whenever I need one so that won't be forcing me to take a car before it is completely ready. Funny thing, they were trying to get me to go ahead and take the car the other night when I pointed out that the paint wasn't right. They said to take it and give it thirty days to change color and if it wasn't good then, they would fix it. It was Monday after daylight savings time and so got dark quickly that afternoon couldn't compare paint well for them and since I had found the damaged flare and a few other problems, I left the car. Before going back, I called my agent and said I wasn't happy and didn't want to wait 30 days to see if the paint ever changed. He is the one that told me not to take it if I wasn't happy. When I went back to the shop the next day, they had replaced the new flare but it was raining. Even in the rain, I could still see that the car was not blending. We agreed to let the adjuster meet with all of us and so that is what we did yesterday. I was afraid he was going to accept the job and at first he was but when I pointed out the color differences seen from a variety of angles, he agreed it was unacceptable. Right now they are saying it will be ready by tomorrow afternoon...we'll see.

I guess what I should also do is have some sort of structural inspection. Can I accept the car on contingency that it passes my mechanics inspection? Or do I have them take the car to my mechanic before I accept it? I can find the visuals but I know nothing about what is under the hood!!! I did have the car in for maintenance and repairs a couple of mos before the accident and so the Misubishi mechanic was the last one to work on it and he has the most recent knowledge of my Montero. More ideas from you will be greatly appreciated. Do you have access to the ACV for a 2003 MITS MONTERO SPORT 4X2 XLS 6-3.5L-FI 4D UTV Burgundy Int:Grey with 48,747 miles? No sunroof, no power seats, cloth seats, CD, navigation, running boards, and automatic windows and locks. I have a pdf file of the entire estimate that would gladly email to you if it would help.

I know I'm asking for a great deal of free help and I appreciate what you have already said and any other suggestions you can give. I'm a single mom of fairly strong character I'm also a very nice person and can be an easy pushover. When it comes to the auto world, have continuously run into the "she's just a b@#$%y female" syndrome. I try to be as knowledgeable as possible so I don't get run over and that is why I came to this forum. As I said, I do have a mechanic that I do trust and maybe I should have him review the car before I have the final signoff. Is that a usual option??

Thanks so much for your words of wisdom,

MaggietheGeek

[maggiethegeek]

David, was intrigued by these statements from you: "Constructively Total Lossed based on a repaired total loss. Insurance companies buy back vehicles that were repaired incorrectly at their shops all the time and then end up taking them to the auction to recover a large portion of the money already spent."

I have a GAP policy that will help me with loss coverage. I almost feel like it jinxed me and b/c I did have GAP, company wouldn't total car. GAP was not through them, bought it from dealer. What frustrates me is that I still owe on the car and the amount of payments I have left are considerably more than this car is going to be worth even with the repairs. There was a chip on my hood that I didn't know was there but during the inspection, someone did check to see there was rust under it and they made it worse by examining it. It wasn't covered under the collision but I did go ahead and pay to have it repaired since it looked so bad beside the fix and turns out insurance paid a portion, too. My portion of repair was $183. If there are no more charges from the autoshop on the final fixes, the total of repairs (including my portion) has come to around $7183. For a car with an ACV of $10,008 to have had $7183 in repairs, how do we calculate its new ACV - how much of a hit in value did it take? Is this where you are saying that I still may have a chance to get the car totaled?

After the hit it took, I really, really did'n't want it. I have had it for almost 5 years and it had been the dealer's car before I took it. In addition, several years ago, my sister ran into the back end of the car and she paid to have the bumper repaired and that had been about an $800 fix. Honestly, I didn't think it was a smart decision to fix this car and I protested as much as possible but was over ridden. Not being as savvy as I needed to be, by the time I found out about the option of an independent appraisal, I was at my agent's office when she got the call that the parts were in and the car was almost totally repaired...well, so they said, it has been three weeks since that conversation. I did have a rental and I told them I would pass on the rental if it would help to total the car and they said Nationwide considers that separate...so they were responsible for $1500 in rental and my total bill came to $1348.89 - turned it in already so there was no mistake on coverage.

Economically, this just doesn't make sense!!! However, if I am understanding you right, it may not be over, yet?! Are you saying if the new ACV of the car, after repairs, is equal to less than the cost of the current repairs, I can still get the car totaled???

Since I wrote my last reply, I have made an appt to take the car into the Mits dealer and have them do a structural inspection. I just called to see if they could give me an ACV appraisal and they said they couldn't but he suggested that I take it to CarMax and they would give me a written estimate of value. Wouldn't be surprised if CarMax wouldn't be willing to buy it, either due to the amount of repairs done to it. What do you think? Is that a good idea???

David, thanks for your post and look forward to hearing back from you. I have renewed hope that there is still a chance I can get out of owning a 5 year old car that has had a significant amount of damage repaired!

Much more hopeful,

Maggiethegeek

[maggiethegeek]

I wrote David Fermani to thank him for his help and to let him know that the insurance adjuster called today to tell me that he agreed to total my car. All along I questioned the ACV for the car but the insurance company insisted it was not totaled and proceeded with the repairs, even though I didn't agree. When the paint job was unacceptable and I came to this site for advice, David said it was not too late to have the car totaled...armed with his advice, I proceeded to gather info from the Ins Com., local car dealers as well as the onsite car estimators and between all of that evidence, was able to prove the ACV of the car was such that it should have been totaled from the beginning. Happy to say, am now having the positive outcome I wanted...didn't want to have a car that had suspension damage...and now I won't. Thanks again for all of your support and for being a valuable resource for someone who doesn't know much about the auto industry...I do, however, know much more now than before!!!! Thanks, MaggietheGeek

[Pyrocite]

Nice to hear that everything turned out ok

GJ on the info David Fermani (i know i learned something new as well)

Just dont forget maggiethegeek to come back to the site when you get your new car (so you can keep it new).