paint peeled off customers car when removing 3m tape! customer is asking to pay for damage

[GSKR]

Saw pics very bad adhesion,poor prep maybe u should of been a little more conscientious 350 to 450 at most ,paint is not cheap,If you have a liscense to operate this little business,maybe u can retract that estimate, some how ,no liscense you're done she will be compensated by the judge,then he will deal with the fact u have no occupation certificate now ,more money he will impose a fine sorry hope this works out for u.

[GSKR]

I would just pay for what's damaged ,now this is turning into a front clip repaint.i would seek counsel for a 150.00 see what he or she has to say,or go to court and arbitration this nightmare,

[cardaddy]

^ Thanks for the reply...
but what I dont get it is you mentioned you got out of paying for the ladys car whose windshield cracked while it was in your care.

According to your logic, you should have paid for it because "at the end of the day" it was in your care, not hers, but you chose not to because you didnt feel responsible for the damage that had occurred under your care. I guess what youre saying is the court may see it that way at least and still hold me liable.

Also, ive called several bodyshops and all said a carfax would be a waste a money becuase most bodyshops and customers try to avoid repairs being listed on the carfax when possible and most dont get recorded. I dont know if this is true or not but this is what ive heard.

I dont make a lot of money to begin with and the truth is i just cant afford the top dollar repair. If the lady wants to sue me over this then so be it but she will be wasting as much time and money as me in a court when i have already offered a secondary solution. Hopefully this can be worked out reasonably via a touch up job but if isn't adequate enough then i guess theres a good chance i will be in a court battle but we will see. Its been several days and i still havent gotten a reply from my last email.

also thanks for the tip on testing whether its single stage paint or not i will remember that.

Wow... THAT is what you got out of my reply? Really?

I never said "I got out of paying for it" (while it was in my care). As if somehow I might have been responsible. Which in that instance had nothing to do with the services we performed.

What I was trying to get across was that in a thorough inspection, I noticed it, noted it on the inspection form, (as we all should) and the customer signed off on having a windshield that was cracked (albeit slightly). Yet that crack was in a high stress point.

Then I did my homework after the crack got larger, further following the CYA approach, showing literally thousands of instances where that car has that problem. That car however had so many problems it was amazing it even made it here! One door didn't even open from the inside! One seat didn't slide. The other seat didn't recline but on one side of the hinge. Imagine not noting the broken door handle, or seat problems and having an owner want you to pay for those as well?

Without a thorough inspection form... I'd have ended up NOT noticing it, and could have been on the hook for a problem that pre-existed BEFORE the car ever came to me.

Although honestly... had she not been trading the car in the next day I'm sure she'd have pushed for me to cover the windshield. H


As for finding out about the numerous windshield problems on those cars. Same thing say if you did a Google search and found that CLK 320's are well known for and well documented to have problems with paint flaking off around the headlights (or sharp edged body lines for instance).

Inspecting, and FINDING resprays isn't that hard. Not all you'll find of course, and some are all but impossible to find
.
But the bad ones... they'll be as obvious as a dancing banana on a street corner.

You surely don't want her dragging you into small claims court. That in and of itself will not cost her much at all, but to be on the losing end you'll end up paying whatever (outrageous) estimate she throws in front of the judge, PLUS court costs.

Your best route about now is to be proactive. I wouldn't be waiting on her to contact me. I'd be contacting her. She shouldn't be feeling like you're waiting on her to go away, or trying to avoid her. (That's just going to get her ire up even more.)

Offering her a secondary solution is great. Perhaps asking her if she minds if the PDR company contacts her directly, what would be a good time, etc. Things like, dealership A, B, C and D all use this company, this company has done XXX thousands of similar jobs, or even I contacted my insurance company and they recommended this company etc. (Or that ALL major insurance companies use this, or similar companies.) You could open, for instance like: "I could have the scheduling coordinator contact you and setup an appointment if that would be ok. They come to you, and can do it at your home or even your office if you like."

Hopefully it'll resolve itself, just make sure you stay in front of it and it most always works out in your favor.

[Jbirk]

I helped a friend do his dodge bumper... We painted HALF that bumper... the half closest to the camera. See your reflection in it?

We painted it with rattle cans! Duplicolor PS2 and UPOL Clear #1




If I can do it... you could do it, too.

[skwidd]

I must have somehow missed the memo...but:
Are you now my manager; and, is your above
retort one of your "coaching moments"?


Bob

I don't think I am qualified to be your manager. But like Nicholas@Autowerx, I, too, did laugh uncontrollably for a few moments.

[SameGuy]

Whenever I read a Bob post I feel like I'm reading haiku. It's probably just the unnecessary carriage returns every few syllables, but it sure does read like Japanese poetry.

[SameGuy]

Yeah, this is a good wake up call to dedicated sideliners that registering a sole proprietorship (and DBA) is just one part of the sideline; getting garage liability and garage keeper coverage on top of a CGL policy is just good business. I should call for some quotes...

[skwidd]

I have no clue why anyone in this business would not form an LLC under which to conduct their operations. It's just not smart not to do it.

Now, for the OP, the problem here is he has a PR problem. I think his question was how to handle that PR problem.

The way to handle that PR problem is to fix the car to the client's satisfaction, which may not happen. So good luck.

And, yes, general liability insurance would help.

[apme123]

Painted this out of a spray can, had the base mixed at napa and the clear is Spraymax 2k clear in a can. 60 bucks later including sand paper it looked like this. It's not perfect but better then some jobs that come out of some bodyshops.

[jeff79]

Painted this out of a spray can, had the base mixed at napa and the clear is Spraymax 2k clear in a can. 60 bucks later including sand paper it looked like this. It's not perfect but better then some jobs that come out of some bodyshops.

wow that looks pretty damn good. did you respray the entire bumper?