Terrible spray repair job.. Any advice?

am!e

Hiya guys, just looking for some advice

My car was keyed when I left it parked overnight in Swords.. I left it in to be fixed in my local repair place last Wednesday

My car is now ruined, the guy sprayed the whole bottom of my car in a different shade white and it looks like someone touched off the paint while wet so there were marks in it, there must have been masking tape along the side of the car and you can clearly see where it was peeled off..

I wasn't happy with the job so I went back to him and today he re-sprayed it for a second time and promised me it would be perfect (after trying to say that it must have been like that from an old repair job, my car, 2012 BMW, has never ever needed to be repaired before there wasn't a single scratch on it before it was keyed so it was never repaired) He has now made it even worse, he painted not only the panels that were keyed but the whole length of my car is now half a yellowish white on the bottom.. There was no need for him to touch the front panel as there wasn't a mark on it. The masking tape line is all the way along still too.

The owner wasn't there when i went to collect the car and his worker asked me to bring it back tomorrow to be polished and that will 'fix it' he said after i expressed how unhappy i was with it. I can even see and feel little bits of dirt stuck in the paint.

How can anyone running a crash repair garage think it's acceptable to leave a car in that state

Is there any way of going further about this or do I just have to cut my losses and pay another place to fix the damage he has done?

bazz26

Have you already paid them?

am!e

bazz26 wrote: »

Have you already paid them?

I paid him when I collected the car last Wednesday, it was raining when i picked it up so it was wet and getting dark it was only the next day when it was dry and bright that I could see what he had done.. I went straight back to him

tcawley29

Did you get an invoice for work? This could be very difficult

am!e

tcawley29 wrote: »

Did you get an invoice for work? This could be very difficult

No I haven't got a receipt or anything from him, I think i'm screwed

_Brian

am!e wrote: »

No I haven't got a receipt or anything from him, I think i'm screwed

If you paid in cash you definitely are.

elperello

Small Claims Court if he won't play ball.

bazz26

The fact the car was sprayed and collected on the same day would have me think it was never going to be done right. Any spray work I've had done have always been left bake overnight so that the paintwork can dry properly and no dust or dirt sticks when you drive it away. You have also put yourself in a weaker position now as you have already paid them. Was it a cash job or did you get a proper receipt for the work? I'd be taking the car elsewhere to be done properly by the sounds of what your saying but you could have a real battle on your hands to get your money back now from them. You need to deal with the boss though rather than the employee doing the job.

Lefty Bicek

Is there any scope for an independent assessor to make an evaluation that would 'stand up in court', as they say ?

mloc123

How much did you pay?

am!e

mloc123 wrote: »

How much did you pay?

I paid him €200, it was just to take a key mark out..

It's not about the money i'm not looking for that back, he has ruined my car

tcawley29

I suppose you could park outside and show people the quality of their work if they don't play ball. Yes you're out your own time doing so but I think I'd be adamant on a full refund at this stage and going somewhere else

Plumbthedepths

200 sounds very cheap tbh. Is this a local 'fred in the shed' effort?

listermint

200 is very small money for a key mark which I presume was across a door or two ?

I would have said double that for a general job like that.

mloc123

am!e wrote: »

I paid him €200, it was just to take a key mark out..

It's not about the money i'm not looking for that back, he has ruined my car

Okay... I wanted to how much because... For 200e I wouldn't have expected a decent job. To repair a keyed panel, the panel needs to be sprayed and the new paint blown into the others to hide it. So.. if it is the front door, they will need to spray it and blow into the front quarter and rear door... Maybe even the quarter.

You are looking at 7-800 minimum...

Cee-Jay-Cee

am!e wrote: »

I paid him €200, it was just to take a key mark out..

It's not about the money i'm not looking for that back, he has ruined my car

£200!! He most likely sprayed it with a rattle can. That’s about the level/quality of job I’d expect for a €200 job.

All your going to get back is your money so I’d suggest finding a few quality body shops and get a few quotes to do a proper job which will most likely involve having the whole side of the car resprayed.

am!e

The first photo is what it looked like when i dropped it off with the key mark, the the end result

am!e

Plumbthedepths wrote: »

200 sounds very cheap tbh. Is this a local 'fred in the shed' effort?

I only went to him because he's local, I have no idea how much repair jobs should cost i've never had to have one done before

mloc123

The worst part is.... That mark would have buffed out IMO

Cee-Jay-Cee

am!e wrote: »

The first photo is what it looked like when i dropped it off with the key mark, the the end result

Oh sweet jeez, I could have done a better job blind folded with an arm tied behind my back!! That was done by someone who has never painted a car before and should not be allowed near a car again, an absolutely shocking level of incompetence!!!

That scratch could have been buffed out, there was no need for paint!!

That's a dreadful job. And you're right, he put newspaper or masking tape or something on it, and then removed it.

As far as I know (and I'm no panel beater) the idea for 'spot repairs' is to try and 'fade out' the paint job to blend it in, as it'll rarely (never) look the same otherwise.


I would agree that €200 is very, very cheap. However, you did write 'the boss wasn't there' so i presume it's a legitimate, above-board business, which means things could be okay for you ultimately, if they accept the work isn't great.

Looks like he tried to use the 'crease' in the bodywork's shape to try and hide the hard line of the paint.

Toyotafanboi

You wouldn't expect much for €200 but that is shocking.

Take it to a real body shop to get it sorted. Anyone who would let a car leave like that clearly has no standards, there's hardly any point trying to reason with them.

am!e

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Oh sweet jeez, I could have done a better job blind folded with an arm tied behind my back!! That was done by someone who has never painted a car before and should not be allowed near a car again, an absolutely shocking level of incompetence!!!

That scratch could have been buffed out, there was no need for paint!!

I could have done a better job myelf 😅
And I just realised my petrol cap has been glued closed by the paint 😴

kdevitt

mloc123 wrote: »

Okay... I wanted to how much because... For 200e I wouldn't have expected a decent job. To repair a keyed panel, the panel needs to be sprayed and the new paint blown into the others to hide it. So.. if it is the front door, they will need to spray it and blow into the front quarter and rear door... Maybe even the quarter.

You are looking at 7-800 minimum...

They actually don't. Blowing it in in only necessary if they can't match the exact shade.

Recently had a quote for work on our 3 series from Soraghans, who are just about as good as it gets - two full doors painted, no blowing in required - and it was €680. That was an insurance quote too - and on a silver car which are notoriously hard to match.

Depending on the size of the job, €200 is on the cheaper side but still reasonable and frankly I'd expect it done in a day - after the spray bake and any tidy up. Attached pic is quarter panel damage to a friends car which Carcraft in Ballybough repaired perfectly - and for not much more than what you paid.

In relation to the OP, if they're a registered company it doesn't matter if they gave you an invoice or not. Go down and meet the owner, attempt to keep it civil and explain that they're actually caused more damage through their attempts to fix up the initial damage. I think you'll be pushing it to get any more than your initial outlay back without going the legal route, but at least it'll go someway towards a better paint job.

bazz26

Stevie Wonder must have sprayed that.

eurokev

It looks like he used Dulux weathershield

Atlantic Dawn

How could someone hand a car back to you like that and have any remote sense of pride in their work. Even if they were a complete novice who watched a Youtube video on spraying a car an hour before they attempted this I'd expect a better result.

Atlantic Dawn

eurokev wrote: »

It looks like he used Dulux weathershield

Or Tipp-Ex.

Stallingrad

Masked along the swage line?! That is one of the worst paInt jobs I've ever seen. Forget about them putting it right. Rear 3/4 and door need respraying now by someone who knows what they are doing.

DaveyDave

Jesus Christ that's bad. Hopefully you can get it sorted. I'd be looking for my money back and be done with them. They should be paying the cost of a professional crowd to fix what they've done.

am!e

Stallingrad wrote: »

Masked along the swage line?! That is one of the worst paInt jobs I've ever seen. Forget about them putting it right. Rear 3/4 and door need respraying now by someone who knows what they are doing.

The only parts that would have needed to be repaired were on the bit in pink.. But he also sprayed the parts in marked in Red today in an effort to blend it in so now it's looking like i need the whole side of the car re-sprayed

PsychoPete

He could have at least used soft edge masking tape. Personally I wouldn't be chasing him to fix it if that's his quality of work

Plumbthedepths

am!e wrote: »

I only went to him because he's local, I have no idea how much repair jobs should cost i've never had to have one done before

My advice would be to suck it up and get it repaired in a proper body shop if the car is important to you. You could take a claim to the small claims court, costing you 25 euro but is it worth the aggro?

JoeA3

Write off that €200, move on, and take it to a professional to be done properly. That’s a shocking job and he’s not going to make it any better. Be thankful he only took 200 off you.

A proper job will cost you at least €500 but it’ll be 100% perfect.

Lefty Bicek

Plumbthedepths wrote: »

My advice would be to suck it up and get it repaired in a proper body shop if the car is important to you. You could take a claim to the small claims court, costing you 25 euro but is it worth the aggro?

How much aggro is involved ?

Plumbthedepths

Lefty Bicek wrote: »

How much aggro is involved ?

Trying to enforce the judgement if the OP gets it. Personally it's not worth the effort.

Wetbench4

Sorry to see that paintjob, its painful to look at. I personally would accept that the €200 is gone but i wouldn't give up on getting some justice.

Have a look here from the ccpc website --> https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/contracts-and-services/car-servicing-and-repairs

Or small claims procedure --> https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/how-to-complain/small-claims-procedure/

Might be worth ringing them..

mickdw

I'm not buying this.
I don't believe this came from a car shop.
Are you sure you didn't go to Halfords, ask the spotty teenager for all the stuff needed to fix the damage and then attacked it in the driveway.
Everything about the job suggests that's how it was done.

am!e

mickdw wrote: »

I'm not buying this.
I don't believe this came from a car shop.
Are you sure you didn't go to Halfords, ask the spotty teenager for all the stuff needed to fix the damage and then attacked it in the driveway.
Everything about the job suggests that's how it was done.

You would think so! It probably wouldn't look half as bad if that had been done

millington

am!e wrote: »

The first photo is what it looked like when i dropped it off with the key mark, the the end result

:eek::eek::eek: That is amazingly bad, even for €200. Would expect at least €450 for that repair really.

E30i

What area are you in OP and was this 'Bodyshop' local to you. Did you search for any feedback from previous customers on Boards or Online?

kona

Not a chance that work was done in a bodyshop.

MetzgerMeister

Am!e - I'm sorry to say that the mark in question would have easily been removed using a polishing machine by someone who knew what they were doing for about €50. Having said that, you may have had to get a few more panels polished in order to make it uniform but you wouldn't have had this hassle.

I think your best option is to speak with the owner, get your money back and go to a proper crash repair specialist and have the whole side of the car resprayed. It was a bad job in the first place but it was made worse by a bad "fix" on top of it and that masking tape line is absolutely ridiculous.

Kenny Logins

That looks like somebody just "had a go" at it. ...and failed.

The rough masking edges is something you'd learn how to avoid on your first attempt.

am!e

I've just come back from his garage again, he offered to polish it out for me this morning and i left it with him for half an hour to be polished.

When i went back after 45 mins the car was all masked up again, he apologised and said sorry that they've made a mistake in the work and he's going to spray the whole side of the car again. He wanted to paint it again for a third time, in a different shade of white this time, the entire side, so what started with just a key mark and seemed to me like a straight forward repair has now turned into the whole side of my car needing painting because of his 'mistake'. He was saying look just give me another chance i'll put it right.

He told me his garage is there and he's in business 28 years and if he does 12 cars in a week sometimes one or two will have a problem. As if that justifies anything. I don't trust him to touch the car again, god knows what condition he'd leave it in.

I left for a few minutes to think about what to do, called into Sundrive Garda station around the corner while the car was still in his workshop and asked if there's anything I can do to go down a legal route and they said it's a civil matter which is fair enough.

I went back to his garage then, got him to take all of the masking tape off and took my keys, got the money back from him.

I've brought the car to another crash repair place that my uncle recommended to me, they know of him and said this isn't the first of his jobs they've had to fix.

So it's going to cost me alot more to fix the damage he's done and i'll be without a car for 2 or 3 days that's how long they said it will take but lesson learned, i'll do my research in future before leaving my car anywhere again.

I hope none of you ever end up calling to his garage because his work is shocking!

Thanks for all of your replies

am!e

E30i wrote: »

What area are you in OP and was this 'Bodyshop' local to you. Did you search for any feedback from previous customers on Boards or Online?

I'm in Drimnagh, he is local. He's there 28 years he told me today so surely he'd have been decent being in the business that long, but i've learned my lesson.

am!e

Kenny Logins wrote: »

That looks like somebody just "had a go" at it. ...and failed.

The rough masking edges is something you'd learn how to avoid on your first attempt.

The attached photo was his first attempt and the reason i went back to him for a second time, you can see where he went onto the drivers door halfway with the wrong colour paint. Which he tried to say wasn't him! Then offered to fix and decided to spray the whole bottom of the length of my car

MetzgerMeister

am!e wrote: »

The attached photo was his first attempt and the reason i went back to him for a second time, you can see where he went onto the drivers door halfway with the wrong colour paint. Which he tried to say wasn't him! Then offered to fix and decided to spray the whole bottom of the lenght of my car

Oh my good God :eek: :eek: :eek:

mordeith

I know nothing about car detailing but that is catastrophic. Looks like he used a brush and some oil paint!

Stallingrad

am!e wrote: »

He's there 28 years he told me today so surely he'd have been decent being in the business that long

28 years, LOL! Would last 28 days painting sheds doing that class of work.

mloc123

did he even wash the car before spraying I wonder...