Worried about work done

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PostPosted: Mon May 16, 2022 10:26 am
Hi,
I had damaged my car door (pictures attached) and a few body shops had mentioned that a new door may have been ideal since my car is aluminium and it is difficult to repair. However, my friend recommended a bodyshop that he has had a few cars fixed by and the owner said that he could get the door back to pristine condition and that the finance company will not have any issues upon return of the car. He said that nobody would ever know the door had been damaged regardless of how closely they inspected it, unless they used a micrometer tool.

I voiced my concerns about filler peeling off/cracking but he said that it would not be an issue at all since he would prep it well, he said that anybody who has issues with body filler within a few years of the repair has used a bodyshop that weren't experienced in using it.

The owner repaired the dents (I'm assuming he just used body filler now, not actually fixing some of the dents) while his staff sprayed the door and the areas around my door. The owner told me that the car was ready and went off on holiday the next day before I picked the car up.

As soon as I saw the car, I noticed lots of faults immediately and his manager agreed with me that the owner should have had his staff rectify all of this before marking the car as completed. It made me worry that if this is their standard of spraying, then how have poorly must they have repaired the dents? For all I know, the body filler could start to peel off within 6 months!

(These are the photos of the car before the repair https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing)

More in the next message



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PostPosted: Mon May 16, 2022 2:19 pm
Part 2 (The photos are in this link https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing)

As you can see from the photos, the job was very messy and I could see overspray/compounding paste everywhere I could possibly imagine from the bumpers to inside the door handles.

However, you will see from the photos that there are some parts where it looks like paint is dripping, or there are tiny patches of paint or tiny dots where they just have not sprayed it? The edges of the door was also done very poorly. I sent the owner these photos and called him to explain everything and he just said that those photos were minor issues which he would rectify. I told him that it shouldn't have been returned to me in this state in the first place and that this just tells me how poor their standards are and how poorly skilled they all are.

When I mentioned that I thought I could still see a tiny dent, he mentioned that the door was difficult to repair and he had a hard time with it. I told him that this is not what he told me when I originally came to him as he said that he could fix it and nobody would ever be able to tell including the finance company, now he is telling me that he did the best he could? If that was the case then I would have just replaced the door in the first place.

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PostPosted: Mon May 16, 2022 4:54 pm
Did you sign a contract?
Anything verbal will not stand up in court.

That is very shoddy work, especially for a so-called professional shop. The pros on here would have made that look like a brand new never worked on door.

If you didn't sign a contract, then ask him to keep his word and make the repair invisible to the experienced eye. If he refuses then you start letting everybody in the area know that he does substandard work and doesn't honor his word.

I bought a certified used car once and within two days the thing wasn't running right. I brought it back and they said it needed a new catalytic converter and I would have to pay for it. So I went into the dealer's showroom and said very loudly, "who's in charge here?" The manager stuck his head out and said, "I am." So continuing in a loud voice, I told him that his used car department lied to me, etc. etc. Now everyone in the showroom is listening and in order to look good, he said, "Sir, we will take care of that right now and for no charge."
1968 Coronet R/T


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PostPosted: Mon May 16, 2022 5:27 pm
Whether verbal or not, there are minimum standards that are considered acceptable.

If he's said that he'll fix it then give him that opportunity. If it's done right then you're ok, but if problems remain then the next step would be to take it to another shop and get them to detail and quote to rectify. Take that quote to your repairer and give him the choice of fixing it properly or you'll take the matter to Consumer Affairs (or whatever it's called where you live).
Chris



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PostPosted: Tue May 17, 2022 3:08 am
Thanks for your advice guys, I appreciate it. You are all correct that it is very shoddy workmanship and while you have asked me to let them make it right, I understand that it will be simple for them to fix the paint job but my worry is about the filler/dent repair done behind the paint job.

If they are this bad at spraying and finishing, then who knows how they filled the dents? What if the filler wears off after just 6 months or 2 years? I won't be able to go back to the bodyshop then as they will have long forgotten about me and been paid already. I have not paid them as of yet, but I don't know what else I could do now to find out how well the dents have really been repaired and filled.

The last thing I want to do is let them respray my door and pay them, then have the filler wear out next year.



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PostPosted: Tue May 17, 2022 10:40 am
rather sloppy work. i can't imagine a shop putting out work like that, the problems could easily have been done right. :shocked: BAD for buisness! very BAD
Jay D.
they say my name is Jay



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PostPosted: Tue May 17, 2022 11:44 am
badsix wrote:rather sloppy work. i can't imagine a shop putting out work like that, the problems could easily have been done right. :shocked: BAD for buisness! very BAD
Jay D.


You're right, it could have easily been corrected and that is what the bodyshop owner said when I went to see him earlier too, he said that he had rushed my job. He apologised and said that he wanted to make it right as they're easy fixes and that he does not want other people to think that this is their standard of work. (Which he wasn't worried about when he gave the car to me like this! )
However, I told him that I will most likely need a new door now because while it is simple for them to respray the car and make it look good, I have no idea how well the filler has been applied (to cover the dents) and whether it will bubble or cause problems later down the line.

He assured me that he had prepped the filler well and applied it in thin stages however I only have his word to go by and judging by how rushed he claimed he was, I would not be surprised if he just applied a thick layer of filler instead of actually taking time to repair the dents. I left the car with him for a week and he said he only got round to it in the last few days as he took on other jobs and prioritised other last minute customers to prevent losing jobs, while he had asked me to book few months in advance!

He also admitted that he had seen this big piece of dust stick on to my stone guard (photo below) while he was doing the car but he did not have the time to order a new stone guard (or he just did not want to pay for it!) so he gave the car without telling me about this. I told him that it was disrespectful for him to give my car back like that after knowing the job was not complete and without offering to buy a new stone guard.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Fm3O0maXaqtQFNol0nSnM7pTjnngquTr/view?usp=sharing

I told him that I would not be able to pay him for this job and that I would have to buy a new door to be on the safe side with the finance company, he must not have wanted me to take this further (as it means a lot more problems for him legally and his reputation/reviews) so he agreed to allow me to walk away without paying and buy a new door elsewhere or to allow him to rectify his mistakes. However, after you all have seen his workmanship, you will probably agree when I suspect that the filler won't have been applied correctly/rushed and it is risky to pay him just to have issues with the filler later.

He did offer to give a warranty with his work (to ease my concerns about the filler) but I feel disrespected with the work, especially after he admitted that he knew what he had done with my stone guard, and still gave the car back like that.



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PostPosted: Tue May 17, 2022 3:29 pm
i think your over thinking this a little. why not give him the opportunity to fix it and give you an extended warranty on the filler aspect thats bothering you so much. its rather hard to screw up filler application, especially from someone that has experiance. the only real thing i saw was the unfinished filler at the bottom of the door, nothing alarming and a easy fix. most of the other things could happen to anyone. who is going to pay for this new door and the finish work that its going to need, could get expensive.
Jay D.
they say my name is Jay



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PostPosted: Tue May 17, 2022 3:53 pm
badsix wrote:i think your over thinking this a little. why not give him the opportunity to fix it and give you an extended warranty on the filler aspect thats bothering you so much. its rather hard to screw up filler application, especially from someone that has experiance. the only real thing i saw was the unfinished filler at the bottom of the door, nothing alarming and a easy fix. most of the other things could happen to anyone. who is going to pay for this new door and the finish work that its going to need, could get expensive.
Jay D.


I guess I can see it from your point of view and I will probably let them sort it. I was just concerned about it as I know a few people who said they had dents repaired but they had issues with the filler peeling/bubbling within a few years and they were advised that this is what happens with cheap/quick filler jobs. And from what the bodyshop told me, they did say that the job was very rushed.

In your opinion, how long do you think the filler (and everything part of the dent repair) should last if applied correctly? I'll only have the car for 2 years, but I was just wondering for any future repairs on other cars which I might be keeping for longer.



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PostPosted: Tue May 17, 2022 8:50 pm
i have a cars i did in my local area that are 20+ years old and still look very good, no filler problems, and products have gotten better. filler today properly put on should last for years 20-30 years with some life dependance on weather and exposure. its really hard to pinpoint a life span.
Jay D.
they say my name is Jay
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