fugazi

If someone with a Carbon Grey Pearl could take a picture of their right rear panel and bumper, it would be greatly appreciated. The body shop I took my car to did a *horrible* job lining up the bumper, and then tried to tell me that it looks the way it's supposed to. Here's some pictures to show you what I mean:






I need some photos that I could print out and take with me, so the better the quality, the better it works for me. I really appreciate it. Also, maybe a side shot of that part of the car would help too. Anyone who has the time to do this will be my biggest hero. I love you.

stingerbtry

I can do it and have an 8mp camera if you want really detailed pics. I can't tell what part you're talking about though. Right rear, as in passenger side rear? I can't see where that is the passenger side rear of the car. Let me know and I will go outside and snap some pics and link you to them.

vp911

Perhaps e-mail him high resolution files. When you post them on the web they convert to a lower resolution. But feel free to post low res files here also

fugazi

Emailing would be great. If you look at the car, the point that I'm looking at is on the driver's side. It's right behind the wheel well, in the first picture you can see the chrome of the bumper. Thank you very much! And my email is tylt33 AT aol DOT com

edit mod: vp911

gbriank

That body work is totally bogus. I ran down and checked mine...it looks NOTHING like that.

Did they use OEM parts?

feeenux

Let me know if you need another photo...mine is Carbon Grey also...and looks nothing like the mess you ended up with.

stingerbtry

Emailed you a few pics. Let me know if they will work for you.

stingerbtry

Tried emailing you and it bounced back. I've uploaded a zip file of them to my server:

http://www.suzukablue.com/images/rl_bumper.zip

fugazi

Thanks everyone- Stinger, those pictures were perfect. I got one more question for you all- what is the paint like on your bumper? I seem to remember mine having a mirror like finish, but now it looks like it has a billion little divots all over it, and it's not smooth to the touch. Reflections in it are minorly distorted- is this how they are normally, or do they produce a mirror reflection?

fugazi

Thanks for checking! Yeah, they did use OEM. A terrible job they did! I just got rear-ended again yesterday (the day I got my car back), so now I think I'm still going to go to the original shop and complain, but not have them fix the new damage.

vp911

Mine produced a mirror reflection.

fugazi

Here's what I mean by the reflection- look at my arm in the reflection- those little imperfections are all on the paint, not due to the camera. Looks like a really bad paint job. Do they need to sand and then paint or something? GAH!!!

mg7726

dude, that is fucking bad. it looks like they didn't even at least try to give an effort!

stingerbtry

When mine is actually clean, unlike the pics I took for you, the entire car's paint is mirror like. I had a body shop do that to me before with identical results on my wife's car and when I took it back to complain they said "yeah it's supposed to look like like right now, didn't we make another appointment for you the last time you were here to have you come back and get it refinished?". It was a total load of BS and they claimed that the first go at it will be rough like that and that they need to let it cure for at least 2 weeks before they can finish the job. Either way, they need to do something for you as that looks like complete shite.

My_1st_Ac

Wow... I'm sorry to hear what happened to you. I also lost my car (99 Honda Accord) due to a flood - Hurricane Katrina. That's the reason I bought my RL in October. I have been loving her ever since.

Also, a few years ago, my mom was watching a program on TV about what to do if you are trapped in your car while submerged in water. Soon after I received a "gadget" in the mail from her that would cut my seat belt and break my windows. I hope I never have to use it, but reading your story makes me glad that I have it. Here's the one she got me: http://www.store.yahoo.com/safetybud...uesemreha.html however, there are other tools out there.

I hope everything works out for you!

Teresa

jftjr

There's nothing magical about the RL's paint -- it's just a good quality factory paint job.

That orange-peel effect on the paint is a result of poor surface preparation and/or bad spray technique. There's no way a reputable body shop would let something like that go out the door.

Problem is, reputable body shops are few and far between.... and GM, Ford, and Hyundai cars have had paint jobs like that from the factory for years, so most people just don't notice.

If you went to the body shop assigned by your insurance company, you usually have recourse through the insurance company. The two-week cure thing is bogus -- they need to strip it and re-paint it.

When I had a small parking-lot hit with my Honda a few years ago, the body shop used the wrong paint code for my silver paint -- then sprayed the car anyway. They tried to then get ME to pay for a "paint blend" to spray the adjacent body panels with the WRONG COLOR, so that it would "match." When I called them on their bullshit, they said "we do this with insurance companies all the time." I said, well, I'm not an insurance company, I'm not paying for your mistake, and I'm not accepting this car back with the wrong paint... so fix it right.

They did, finally, but not without a lot of whining.

So, march it back there, demand to see the manager, and tell them that orange peel is NOT acceptable on your car. If they give you any grief, call your insurance company. I'd also ask your dealer to recommend someone who does good paint work -- if they can't, call a local Mercedes or BMW dealer and ask them who they would use.

PixelHarmony

Man, sorry to hear what happened. I own CGP TSX and I can tell you that my paint looks nothing like that. When I detail my car the reflection looks like smooth glass. Also without a doubt I can say the fitment on your bumper is wrong. Good luck getting back at them!

1HOT NSX

I'm with jftjr here - good advice all around. What you see is orange peel without a doubt and it is unacceptable! Period! Many new cars have it, especially new BMWs but I have not seen one Japan made Acura with it yet. If you are in N. California I can recommend a couple of shops for you but insurance companies will not allow you to switch shops once you let one do the initial work, good or bad. Insurance companies are required to fix your car to your satisfaction so it's worth the fight - you will prevail in the end.

fugazi

Yeah, I appreciate all the advice for sure. The thing is, the day I got it back with this crappy work done, I got rear-ended AGAIN! 5 hours after having it back. Now I'm faced with a dilemma- do I go back to the original shop, complain, and hope they do a better job this time, or do I pick a new shop? A family friend recommended a local shop to me- he worked as a classic car restorer, and one of his co-workers opened a shop. I went and talked to him today, and he said if I wanted to do the new insurance claim through him, he'll make sure things are done right. He runs a small operation, but I guess he's really really good, so I think I may just go through him.

gbriank

fugazi, you've got some serious bad luck. have you ever thought of investing in a bumper car? lol..... in all seriousness, i'd probably take it to a new shop (if the bumper will need replacement....again...). maybe check with your local acura dealership and see whom they use.

AcuraRLBlue

I would not go back to the original shop at all cost. Now your second incident gave you the prefer opportunity to have the car repaired right. Go with a shop your insurance would deal with.

fugazi

I'm starting to feel like maybe I should have purchased a different car... the nearest Acura dealership is almost 2 hours away. I never quite realized how important having a local dealership is. When I move in a couple years, I'll move close to a dealership

fugazi

Yeah, I think I'm gonna take that opportunity and run with it. After I got hit and found no one injured , the thought went through my mind "Hmmm... I guess maybe that was kind of good luck." A pain in the butt going through insurance for all this stuff though!