I had a tiny accident some time ago and decided to get it repaired at a local Acura dealership. Last Friday I got the car back and was impressed by the work they did. Yesterday, however, I noticed that the top of the bumper was covered in tiny cracks. Now I'm guessing that it happened because they possibly didn't prep the bumper well before painting.

Here are the pics in question:

http://img155.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bs001kh2.jpg
http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bs002bg5.jpg
http://img155.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bs003lk4.jpg
http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bs002bg5.jpg
http://img155.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bs003lk4.jpg

So what do you guys think I should do, give shit to the dealer and tell them to repaint it? My concern is, if they redo it, it will be the same bullshit job.

Another thing that should be mentioned is that the dealer subcontracts all their bodywork to a company called Carstar. I didn't know that fact until I was picking my car up from the dealership. They did a good job fixing everything, but the paint sucks balls; it doesn't reflect as nicely as the 10 year old paint on my car and there's the bumper problem.

Anyway, what do you guys think that I should do?

 

I would def go back and complain. They obviously didn't do a good job sanding down the old paint before repainting. They should have to re-do it.

 

It's a new bumper so there was nothing to sand, I'm guessing bad preparation before painting. I was reading on the net and saw a few stories about MB owners going to get their bumpers repainted at the dealer and then having to go back numerous times because of simmilar problems. I don't want to drive there every week and argue, so do you think I can suggest them to take it to a reputable shop instead of Carstar?

 

Did you pay for it or insurance took care of it?
I would def go back to the dealer.

 

def go back to the dealer and have them fix it...

 

Insurance took care of it. They're supposed to send me another check since the repairs cost more than they estimated, so I guess that I'll talk to them at the same time that I drop off the check. My only worry is that they do the same BS job.

 

To my understanding, if this is an Acura dealership, they should stand behind their work. If they didn't prime the bumper right the first time, they should do it right the second time. They don't want you to keep coming back either, they have to re-do it for free

 

Take it back...

 

So I went to the place where they did the repairs and they told me that they'll call me on Wednesday or Thursday, however no one called me yet.

As I mentioned before, the new paint doesn't reflect nowhere near as nicely as the old scratched up paint. I asked the guy why, and he told me because they used to use oil based paint, but now it is illegal because of the ozone and they use water based paint. I have no idea if it's true or just a load of shit - anyone care to enlighten me? This kinda sounds like nonsense because I see brand new cars with paint that reflects like a damn mirror, so I'm really doubting what he told me.

 

That's a load of shit...do not pay them. Def make your stand. They have no option but to make this good for you.

 

I'm not going to pay them, it will be done for free, but the paint they use is shitty. How can I force them to use decent paint?

Edit: The paint does reflect, but the reflections are really blurry compared to the the reflections on the old paint. If you look at a sign for instance which reflects partly on the fender and hood(or door) you can see that it's really blurry and not readable on the fender, but on the hood/door it looks fine. The paint looks nice and shiny from a distance but at closer inspection it's clearly visible that it's not as good as the original.

 

Tell them that you are going to take your business else where if they don't do it right or there will be consequences.

 

wow just painted and its cracking. well... its not that surprising since they cant even paint the bumper correctly in the first place. of course its gonna crack. I would be pretty heated if my car came out of a shop looking like that.

 

no flex was added for painting

 

What was the outcome?

Oil based paint, that's complete BS. Most shops use solvent based paint. It is possible they are switching over to the newer ozone friendly water based, and having problems converting over. OEM Acura bumpers come primed, not raw, ready for base or sealer, after sanding and final prepping. Most likely you've got an aftermarket bumper, again most come primed as well. Some aftermarket bumper covers have crappy primer though and need to be sealed.

That is pretty bad for fresh paint, they had a serious error.

 

They told me to drop the car off on the 29th of this month so they could redo it. What I hate is the fact that I dealt with an Acura dealership and they subcontracted their work to some other company. I'd imagine that they used an OEM bumper, but then again, I've no idea. If it's not satisfactory after they repair it this time, I'll have to go to the acura dealership and tell them to send the car for repairs elsewhere.

 

That old of a car, most likely it's an aftermarket or reman'd bumper.

Dealers using a third party body shop is very common, nothing out of the ordinary. An Acura dealer should be using a high quality shop though. After dealing with this, I would inquire about their warranty and what warranty details they can provide in writing. I use to be a painter, the shop I worked at offered a lifetime warranty on the paint materials through the paint manufacturer, and a limited/discretionary warranty on the shops workmanship.

I agree with you though, if they can't do it right the second time, they are a waist of time/lost cause.

 

yeah needs a repaint bro

 

More likely they did not use an adhesion promotor like Bulldog.