Just thought I'll share the nightmare I have, as some of you already know it started with the vandal.
So basically I sent the car to a bodyshop that some people swear by, they are listed in the resources list.
I was quoted a reasonable price so didn't really hagger the price.
Take 1
1. Sent the car in, was told that 3 - 4 days later it'll be done
2. Got a call on the 4th day, to say the car is done
3. Collected the car, it was raining heavily, so couldn't really check. Was told no worries, any problem bring back. But need to wait 2 weeks for paint to cure then send back for another round of polish.
4. Happily I drove home. Didn't really inspect it.
5. A couple of days later, i sent it to my regular grooming shop for a car wash.
6. After the wash, I casually asked the staff & boss there if it was properly done and what they thought of it.
7. To my horror, they actually knew my car so well... that they could tell all the flaws of the paint job!
Ok here's the actual horror!
1. They sprayed paint across both doors, so the paint seaped into the gaps and got onto my sidestep area on top of my sideskirt. So it had like blurred paint spots on it. (Car looked like a COE car paint, but the car was only 11 mths old!)
2. The paint and bubbles and drip marks and holes! What a bloody sloopy job!
3. The clear coat was not done properly so it had marks on the surface of the paint but under the clear coat... no way of getting out other than respray...
4. My rear fender which was not suppose to be resprayed, had paint marks... left from masking tape covering that area but not properly covering it, so as they sprayed the paint got on the fender and I had a star burst pattern on it...
5. My chrome trims on the boot lid had deep scratch scares and I got a lot of nasty scratches on other parts of the car.
So depressed as I was, I called the boss and expressed my unhappiness. Was ask to send the car back for a look. At this point I was pissed as hell, and after a sleepless night. I asked if the Boss of the grooming shop was free to send it back for me and run through the "flaws" or sloppy work issues with the bodyshop owner. So the wait for another 3-4 days begins...
Take 2.
1. Boss of the grooming shop called me to tell me my car is ready, so he'll be picking it up.
2. Got a call in the evening saying the car is in his shop, but its too late to do anything. But they'll work on it first thing in the morning.
3. Sat morning, got a call saying my car is alright and looking good after they've groomed it.
4. Rushed there, took a look. Wow! Looks beautiful. Was on cloud nine for the weekend.
5. By Monday, which was 2 days later, the paint started to blur again... so yeah yeah... paint needs to cure... as it blurred swirl marks started surfacing.... so its expected... sheesh... gotta wait.
6. 2 long weeks passed, when for my regular car wash within that 2 weeks, and finally after that.. tried grooming it again..... this time the marks had to be buffed off, but there are so deep machine marks (buffing) not everything was cleared.....
7. Ok the reality sits in that my car will NEVER look the same again...
8. Just then I saw that the paint looks different from the original parts that was not painted... wondering why, I spoke with the Boss of the grooming shop... he too was puzzled.
9. Ok decided that a second opinion was needed, went to another reputable shop. This time the car looks much better under their lighting conditions. But clearly the paint was different...
10. This other boss of the bodyshop was better equipped and had much better knowledge about the different marques and their paint....
11. He (Boss of bodyshop i went for second opinion) pointed out the sapphire black used on my car was for a different model/batch of cars!!!! ARGH!!! conincidentally my sapphire black looked like the 6 series that was parked about 3 meters away!
12. So 475/x ... the x is bloody important! Most shops do not know that the x is a variant code which means the paint will look different!
13. Here's the shocker... the guys from the grooming shop I use were telling me... the reflective metalic bits look closer on the new paint then the original paint.... from my layman eyes, the new paint just looks grey than black... the original paint was blacker!!!
So I'm pretty much stuck now, with thicker paint on more than half my car in the wrong paint code... pissed as hell still..... waiting for a time when I can do without the car for a week again... pay someone else to grind down the paint and respray it to the correct colour code... or sell the car a buy another to ease the pain....
Bottom line? I know paint jobs here are done by hand, its never going to be perfect like when it was done by robots in the factory... but no one can stand sloppy jobs right? no effort was made to clean up or take proper precautions when excuting the job.
1. Grooming shop knows their stuff, Boss didn't even charge me for the time he spent sending the car in and taking it back...what do I owe him? i cup of solid coffee....
2. The paintshop that did my job? I am scared of even sending my car back there.... for the sloppy job and the lack of knowledge on paint codes used on the different marques... yes basically I'm still traumatize till this very day.
3. The paintshop gave me a second opinon, I take my hats off this Boss who understands the business ... that explains why so many supercars are queuing to be sprayed by him...
To be fair to all parties, I shall leave the names out. But if you're interested in finding out who anyone of the above 3 is just drop me a PM.
Chrome trims on the boot lid, were replaced when complained and sent back after first round. (Forgot to add earlier, I think its a important point)
Cheers!
So basically I sent the car to a bodyshop that some people swear by, they are listed in the resources list.
I was quoted a reasonable price so didn't really hagger the price.
Take 1
1. Sent the car in, was told that 3 - 4 days later it'll be done
2. Got a call on the 4th day, to say the car is done
3. Collected the car, it was raining heavily, so couldn't really check. Was told no worries, any problem bring back. But need to wait 2 weeks for paint to cure then send back for another round of polish.
4. Happily I drove home. Didn't really inspect it.
5. A couple of days later, i sent it to my regular grooming shop for a car wash.
6. After the wash, I casually asked the staff & boss there if it was properly done and what they thought of it.
7. To my horror, they actually knew my car so well... that they could tell all the flaws of the paint job!
Ok here's the actual horror!
1. They sprayed paint across both doors, so the paint seaped into the gaps and got onto my sidestep area on top of my sideskirt. So it had like blurred paint spots on it. (Car looked like a COE car paint, but the car was only 11 mths old!)
2. The paint and bubbles and drip marks and holes! What a bloody sloopy job!
3. The clear coat was not done properly so it had marks on the surface of the paint but under the clear coat... no way of getting out other than respray...
4. My rear fender which was not suppose to be resprayed, had paint marks... left from masking tape covering that area but not properly covering it, so as they sprayed the paint got on the fender and I had a star burst pattern on it...
5. My chrome trims on the boot lid had deep scratch scares and I got a lot of nasty scratches on other parts of the car.
So depressed as I was, I called the boss and expressed my unhappiness. Was ask to send the car back for a look. At this point I was pissed as hell, and after a sleepless night. I asked if the Boss of the grooming shop was free to send it back for me and run through the "flaws" or sloppy work issues with the bodyshop owner. So the wait for another 3-4 days begins...
Take 2.
1. Boss of the grooming shop called me to tell me my car is ready, so he'll be picking it up.
2. Got a call in the evening saying the car is in his shop, but its too late to do anything. But they'll work on it first thing in the morning.
3. Sat morning, got a call saying my car is alright and looking good after they've groomed it.
4. Rushed there, took a look. Wow! Looks beautiful. Was on cloud nine for the weekend.
5. By Monday, which was 2 days later, the paint started to blur again... so yeah yeah... paint needs to cure... as it blurred swirl marks started surfacing.... so its expected... sheesh... gotta wait.
6. 2 long weeks passed, when for my regular car wash within that 2 weeks, and finally after that.. tried grooming it again..... this time the marks had to be buffed off, but there are so deep machine marks (buffing) not everything was cleared.....
7. Ok the reality sits in that my car will NEVER look the same again...
8. Just then I saw that the paint looks different from the original parts that was not painted... wondering why, I spoke with the Boss of the grooming shop... he too was puzzled.
9. Ok decided that a second opinion was needed, went to another reputable shop. This time the car looks much better under their lighting conditions. But clearly the paint was different...
10. This other boss of the bodyshop was better equipped and had much better knowledge about the different marques and their paint....
11. He (Boss of bodyshop i went for second opinion) pointed out the sapphire black used on my car was for a different model/batch of cars!!!! ARGH!!! conincidentally my sapphire black looked like the 6 series that was parked about 3 meters away!
12. So 475/x ... the x is bloody important! Most shops do not know that the x is a variant code which means the paint will look different!
13. Here's the shocker... the guys from the grooming shop I use were telling me... the reflective metalic bits look closer on the new paint then the original paint.... from my layman eyes, the new paint just looks grey than black... the original paint was blacker!!!
So I'm pretty much stuck now, with thicker paint on more than half my car in the wrong paint code... pissed as hell still..... waiting for a time when I can do without the car for a week again... pay someone else to grind down the paint and respray it to the correct colour code... or sell the car a buy another to ease the pain....
Bottom line? I know paint jobs here are done by hand, its never going to be perfect like when it was done by robots in the factory... but no one can stand sloppy jobs right? no effort was made to clean up or take proper precautions when excuting the job.
1. Grooming shop knows their stuff, Boss didn't even charge me for the time he spent sending the car in and taking it back...what do I owe him? i cup of solid coffee....
2. The paintshop that did my job? I am scared of even sending my car back there.... for the sloppy job and the lack of knowledge on paint codes used on the different marques... yes basically I'm still traumatize till this very day.
3. The paintshop gave me a second opinon, I take my hats off this Boss who understands the business ... that explains why so many supercars are queuing to be sprayed by him...
To be fair to all parties, I shall leave the names out. But if you're interested in finding out who anyone of the above 3 is just drop me a PM.
Chrome trims on the boot lid, were replaced when complained and sent back after first round. (Forgot to add earlier, I think its a important point)
Cheers!
