Fourth time is the charm
10-05-2015, 11:35 AM
#1
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Fourth time is the charm
Back in 07' when my TLS had only 17 miles it got hit by an old lady in the passenger quarter panel. So, it went to a body shop here in north jersey and a friend recommended the shop because he knew the owner. 2 months later I got the car back and it was fine, then a year later the inner lip of the wheel well broke out in rust. They repaired it & it happened again & again, always the same two exact spots, top dead center up underneath the wheel well & forward lower area. The 3rd repair the owner said "We got it all this time for good" but after 2 years it came back again, this time the rust came back quickly and spread fast. The rust isn't on the side of the quarter panel, but rather on the inside lip wheel well edge, and the rust formed underneath the paint each time which tells me its rusting from the inside out. Its just been repaired again, but took 3 weeks, they actually cut out the rusted section of metal & welded in a new piece. I also had the shop repaint some of the A-spec spoiler which had scrapes and peeling in a few areas and 2 door dings. Out of pocket was $700, but the quarter was repaired under their lifetime warranty. I'm confident it will rust again, and I explained to the shop there is a seam they missed when they initially installed the quarter panel & is resulting in water to leak from the top right corner of the trunk down inside. But then I noticed something else, the driver side quarter panel has actual stampings from the factory for the outer quarter & inner shell, small dimples spread apart every few inches. This secures the panels tightly but the repaired side of my car doesn't. I asked the owner and he said they have no equipment to stamp the outer & inner quarter panel shell together. What I believe is happening is moisture is getting trapped between them & its constantly wet and results in rust. Friends have told me to sell the car many times, but I'll take a beating with the car fax report for sure. It just really sucks that this keeps happening, and here's what really scares me: The owners wife told me "You wash it too much that's why it keeps rusting" 
10-05-2015, 11:43 AM
#2
Race Director
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It will always eventually come back...
Usually body shops tell you that there's not guarantee how long it will last.
Usually body shops tell you that there's not guarantee how long it will last.
10-05-2015, 11:48 AM
#4
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10-05-2015, 11:57 AM
#6
Race Director
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Those pictures are back from 2012.
I drove it for two years and got it repaired in July 2014.
It got much worse than in the pictures. When I washed my car at the coin wash in the winter, the paint just came right off. The bubbles got much larger, too. The paint lifted off the metal, and I ended up picking the paint off with my fingers. The metal lip was so deformed, I put on gloves and ripped off the entire lip.
A few months after the repair, surface rust started showing.
No bubbles, just surface rust.
I just talked to the body shop a few weeks ago and he told me to make an appointment to come back and get the surface rust sanded off and repainted, at my cost of materials.
I drove it for two years and got it repaired in July 2014.
It got much worse than in the pictures. When I washed my car at the coin wash in the winter, the paint just came right off. The bubbles got much larger, too. The paint lifted off the metal, and I ended up picking the paint off with my fingers. The metal lip was so deformed, I put on gloves and ripped off the entire lip.
A few months after the repair, surface rust started showing.
No bubbles, just surface rust.
I just talked to the body shop a few weeks ago and he told me to make an appointment to come back and get the surface rust sanded off and repainted, at my cost of materials.
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