mrlunecy

iTrader: (1)

My TL got sideswiped in the middle of the night, about 3 months ago (No sorry note or anything). Decided on getting repairs done at a Mercury Insurance C.A.R.S certified bodyshop. Damage was limited to minor scrape-age and a busted mirror, but pretty much, the entire left side of my car needed fresh paint. Repairs were around $2200 but I just payed my $500 deductable. Car was ready in 4 days.

Now, I know pictures hide a lot of details, but I need some outside opinions...WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?















Well, if you see too much blue pearl and a milky/brownish black finish, then I know I'm not seeing things. the entire left side of my car is this color. But everyone in the body shop says they don't see any variation....it all matches the rest of the car.

kobejunior

ok i got a question for you did you already sign the paper where it say's that u agree that they return your car to normal ? its like a release form saying you received the car .

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

why didnt they do any blending?

mrlunecy

iTrader: (1)

Shoot, I dont remember. Maybe like a "work complete" paper, or something. Pretty sure nothing stated the car was back to normal. They said if I find any problem with the repairs, I can bring it right back, they guarantee it for life.

Good question. but I believe this is just a straight up wrong NBP variation. but they say they called out their paint tech from Palm Springs to verify the mix matched my VIN and everything checked out....of course

kobejunior

oh then just push them until they change the color to the correct color talk to the shop manager and straight up ask him is he thinks the colors match and if he say's its the color that matches your vin tell him that you want them to repaint it again .

Toddy

iTrader: (5)

Take it back. The pain obviously does not match. Tell them to do it again. If they won't call your insurance and file a complaint with them against their certified shop and then file a BBB claim.

mrlunecy

iTrader: (1)

BTW the shop is Craftsmen autobody, on Studebaker in Cerritos. Right by the 91 fwy near the cerritos dealerships.

Super nice peeps at first (and probably at the end, if they fix your car right) But after I returned the car last week, the service rep said he did not see what I was talking about. He did not see a difference between the hood and right fender. Then he stated that maybe its my imagination that I see the fresh panels differently, because I KNOW they have been repainted....WTF!?!? Then after they returned the car to me, he finally stated that there is a difference between the hood and right fender...that the HOOD color is off (Hence, the hood has never been repainted). Then he offered to repaint "at cost" (so I guess the lifetime warranty expires after 3 months?) Thant's when I asked to speak to the owner.

The owner was just as useless. He also stated that he didn't see a difference, that the work is as good as its gonna get, I am 1 out of 100 customers; very picky and never going to be happy.

Now I'm working with Mercury again, telling them that I am not happy with the repairs and I refuse to work with Craftsmen anymore, and that I would like to take my car to a bodyshop of my choice for re-spray. But things are not looking very promising right now.

Toddy

iTrader: (5)

Negative publicity will make the shop owner change his ways

mrlunecy

iTrader: (1)

I had the Mercury agent that overlooks the bodyshop take a look my car in broad daylight today. He said that he had a hard time seeing the difference, but he did see some. He stated that the difference seems to be that the paint looks fresh and newer than the rest of the car, but its been my car for years, so it might be more obvious to me. He's conducting an invertigation with the shop and will get back to me in a few days.

mrlunecy

iTrader: (1)

but he's been doing it for 35 yrs, so clearly, he's good at what he does.
I hate when businesses express arrogance by bragging about years in service. All that tells me is if you're un unhappy customer, YOU must be wrong, because they've been doing it for so long so clearly, nothing needs to be changed.

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

u should have went to T&L autobody in el monte. i got a friend there who does good work for a good price

mrlunecy

iTrader: (1)

I've been reading that NBP is fairly easy to match, (as compared to other TL colors), but never seen Pictures. Has anyone ever had any major panels repainted on their NBP and been able to scrutinize the work under a shop light or bright sun light, without seeing an obvious difference?

Thanks guys, your feedback is appreciated!

mrlunecy

iTrader: (1)

I recently went to Platinum VIP in Irwindale, for a second opinion. Met with Kennedy and he knows his shit. awesome guy. he says he can take care of it. I'm just waiting for insurance to react to my dilemma.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

in direct sunlight it looks ok...but put it under the fluorescent lighting and the color is off. a painter's light could see all of this too. so no, you're not imagining things. i was also wondering why they didn't blend it. i'd be weary of taking it back to a shop that can't get it right (one more reason not to go to a certified insurance shop). find the best shop in town then have the insurance deal with them about the cost. at least you'll know it'll be done to your liking.

is it just me or is your bumper still hanging off a little in that one pic?

sounds like you found a shop that'll fix right for you. good luck!

umakemekissu

^ no it's his a-spec kit.
and yes under the sun it looks just fine but it looks like shit when under fluorescent/halogen bulbs.. did you ever give those pics to the body shop or your insurance agents? esp. the ones you took in the garage, they can't deny not seeing that shit

mrlunecy

iTrader: (1)

Thanks. Yup, that's exactly how I feel. The sunlight pics don't do it justice... it looks obvious in person.

The bumper is on tight. You mean the A-spec lip?

mrlunecy

iTrader: (1)

No I took these last night, but I should, cuz the insurance guy didn't seem too convinced about my complaint. He said he was going to verify with the shop if they used the right paint...but of course the shop is gonna tell him they did everything by the book. That's the BS they told me.

mrlunecy

iTrader: (1)

The insurance guy took his own pics in the sunlight yesterday

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

Can't be worst than my paintjob on the trunk lol

Bodyshop didn't use any clear coat so when you rub your hand over the paint it feels matte.

Also got overspray all along the driver side of my car (and not the passenger side?) which took me a full day of claybarring to get rid of.

I paid a cheap price though so I can't complain lol

coykiam

wow that looks really off...

bottom line if the shop won't fix it get some legal action

mrlunecy

iTrader: (1)

Nothing worse than getting repairs and the car ends up worse. Then they end up messing up adjacent panels, to twist the knife. When I first received the car from the shop, it was getting dark, so couldn't see it very well. but when I saw it in daylight; whole other story. Plus, There were scuff marks from where they masked the car off and they left plenty of holograms and marring from the buffer. It's no wonder they completed the work in 4 days. Timeliness is more important than quality, for these guys.

3gstealth

iTrader: (2)

For 2200 the paint match should look perfect. Black should be a relatively easy match. They screwed up so hold them accountable, that's why they get paid the big bucks for the repair. I would either get them to respray the whole car so it matches or take to a better shop that can blend. Good luck

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

probably just reflections coming off the bumper making it look off...upon further review...its your aspec lip and the flash reflections...

make a log of the phone conversations/visits (days/times/who you talked to). just in case...that way you have a timeline of what is going on.

and no you're not picky...its YOUR car and you want it to look the way it did before. it took my dealer's lot lizard two tries and one of their detailers to get the paint repair right on my MDX. and yes, i'm particular...thir service dept knows that...and now sales does too.

so bottomline, be persistent without getting mad...you're justified in getting annoyed. do not accept the car back unless it meets your level satisfaction.

mikedog4

iTrader: (1)

In some angles my frt bumper has that brownish tint too. Usually cause by too much pearl is what our shop painter says. It can and should be fixed imo.

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

And yet another reason why I would rather drive my car off a cliff and total it than have certain panels repainted. Because of crap like that.

From what I see in those pictures to me thats not being picky, that just looks downright horrible as far as matching goes. Hope you get it straightened out, but just understand almost anytime something is repainted its never gonna be as good as OEM as far as color matching, consistancy in clear coat texture etc etc.

James

jspagna1

You can clearly see the color difference in the picture so in person it's got to look like shit. Absolutely have them repant it. If the body shop has been around for 35 years they should know better.
If you ask me they are just lazy and don't care about the quality of their work.

MyTL09

iTrader: (4)

dude thats way off are they a RA-TARD

MyTL09

iTrader: (4)

Daylight yes extremley visible and sunny minor

mrlunecy

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, in no means do I expect it to look perfect, but I would expect somewhere in the 90% quality range. I see a few orange peel spots and not-so-mirror-like clear coat areas, but honestly, does don't bother me. Those are discrepancies that you see when you squint with your face up against the panel. complaining about those would make someone "very picky"

I've had repairs done on my previous cars ( '97 black TL, and '00 SSM TL) where I simply could not notice any re-paint work. THIS work, on the other hand, is clearly noticeable. Thank you guys for your inputs.

Nexson

Looks like they used Omni to do the job, Omni is a lower paint brand and has that brown shade to it in b92p

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

^words from the master

mrlunecy

iTrader: (1)

I almost forgot to "LOL" this one! ...and my girlfriend says that I'm over-reacting to this situation, and I should just let it be...but us enthusiasts are a little different. I can't help it agree with you, since I sometimes feel the same way. Like a thorn in my shoe...can't wait to get it out!

mrlunecy

iTrader: (1)

Interesting point. If the body shop didn't use cheap paint, (which of course they state they use high grade European paint), Kennedy at Platinum thinks they might have used the wrong NBP variation (one other than B92P-A). The first variation that pops up in his system is B92P-H/B, which calls for an almost equal amount of jet black and deep black. B92P-A calls for tons of jet black and very little deep black. Could that also be why it looks brownish from an angle?

HondaFan81

I have an 04 TL NBP color. Had the hood and trunk lid repainted. Shop did a good job with the paint and matching. However, I had to have hood painted a 2nd time since they installed the hood trim piece too early and paint smudged on one corner. Needless to say, that exposed the metal. I caught it right away, they painted hood again for free.

Nexson

to be honest with you, they are playing you for a fool, they know the paint is totally off, but they don't want to do it again. b92p-A is the most common match. They either mixed the paint wrong, mixed it right but wrong code, or used a lower grade paint. All in all, if they weren't going to blend the hood or rear bumper, they should at least did a spray out card.

For them to say they use the highest grade of paint can be true, but for all jobs, shops use totally different products depending on the car so they probably do use lower grades as well.. For something older, they naturally aren't going to throw something nice on it, it all has to do with the estimate and your insurance company.

Sometimes in paint you just let go, but not this, it is totally off

mrlunecy

iTrader: (1)

^ Agreed. They're trying really hard to play me for a fool. When I took the car back, they tried the "idiot" approach with me, pretty much telling me, "Nope, everything is fine with the car. Our paint specialist looked at the paint and said it's all ok. Thank you, here's the keys, have a nice day!" That's when I got serious with them. Then the service rep started to get frustrated with me and a bit condescending. They made me feel like an a$$hole...but I know that's the name of the game. Make the customer feel shitty; He'll go away and never come back... and I almost did. I decided to sleep on it, but the next morning I was refreshed and said F@CK THAT! I'm not going down that easy! So I kept taking action. I'm not quitting until my car is re-sprayed at an honorable shop, on the insurance company's dollar.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

go get em and give em hell!

seriously...persistence...be firm...be annoyed...aren't they suppose to guarantee the work for defects? i think we all see a defect....yeah the paint doesn't match...not even close! a lot of company's just don't care anymore...and they will say anything to make you go away. so if it means you come off as being an a$$...then so be it. you're going to tell the world not to give their business to this shop. it sucks, but its your car...and it needs to be done right. the lack of customer service and owning up is the problem nowadays. wouldn't it just be easier to redo the job correctly and get the customer out of your hair quicker? ya think? lazy.

mrlunecy

iTrader: (1)

^EXACTLY! The Mercury Agent said it's "double-guaranteed"; one by Mercury and one by the bodyshop. But now it's just a waiting game. More time is being spent "investigating" my dispute, than actually resolving it. I'm calling for a status tomorrow. Hopefully the ball starts rolling on this soon.

Majofo

What kind of cracker jack place did you go to? That's some of the shittiest work I've ever seen. Paint matching is difficult but that's a joke. The bumper is pathetic. Sorry OP, stick to your guns..

umakemekissu

and just to remind everyone that this job costs $2,000

you could get the whole fking car well painted for that price.