Hi everyone,

I just recently got into my first accident and was looking for advice from people that have been in a similar situation, on how to deal with a shoddy paint match from a bodyshop outside my insurance network. The other driver was declared at fault, but this being my first accident and her insurance being "A-affordable" I decided to deal with my insurance and have them worry about subrogation. Two years ago, I hit some debris on the road damaging my right side side skirt and had it repaired as well as most of the right repainted, except for my rear bumper. This was done by one of my insurance companys preferred shops. While impressed with the paint match done by that shop, I had to return 3 or so times to get little issues fixed (Clearcoat overspray, painted my mudflap red, etc.) Hoping to avoid these issues this time, and since it really wasn't going to be on my dime, I decided to go with one of the local body shops in the San Antonio area that according to the information I found is supposedly one of the best. I went to pick up my car last thursday and did not notice how much the bumper stood out until the weekend. I returned on monday to let the shop know that the bumper was standing out quite a bit, and wanted to see what they could do. The representative told my she had mentioned before the repair the bumper may not match perfectly, which is fine, but I was expecting a better match than I recieved. She said she would speak to the painter and see what he could do, but did not give me an update later on in the day. At first I was thinking maybe I was just being a pain in the *** about the whole thing, but even my girlfriend who couldn't give less of a **** about the car noticed it. I realize 3 stage paint is not the easiest to match, and bumper color could be off due to it being plastic which is why I made this post to get opinions in terms of whether I am being unreasonable. I have already paid the shop and they are outside my network. I have attached pics in a couple different lighting conditions. Opinions and advice would be greatly appreciated! Oh, and thanks guys for everyone who read my long story. Damn, almost forgot to mention the quarter panel was the section that damaged and the shop blended the ajacent door panel for a better match. I just figured if a less reputable shop could match the paint almost perfectly, I don't see why they shouldn't be able too.

 

To blend it they would have to paint part of every body piece that touches the bumper and fade in the new paint. It would be up to the insurance to cover the additional cost of paint and body work to blend it with the other body pieces but since the insurance paid for it, they make the decisions.

When I had my front bumper repainted I had to live with having my front bumper looking bright and new with the rest of the car's paint faded. I have since had the entire car repainted.

 

They probably took Mazda's paint code instead of taking it from your car... faster way for them to paint the car. Too bad that paints fade over time...

In my opinion you should ask them to repaint it in a better matching shade of colour. Blending it in would only result in a car whose *** is different than the nose in color given the huge difference. They will have to blend the newer paint in anyway, that's the proper way to do it.

Keep calling them, send them your pictures and see what happens.

 

Basically it is a cosmetic flaw no matter how you look at it. It is obviously been repainted and would look bad for resale value. The insurance might argue that it is repaired to factory specifications. It's like when insurance pays for used body parts before buying new parts, it is their money so depending on the wording of your policy, it's their money so what they say goes.

I would fight to get a better match; luckily mine matched up much better than yours. Best of luck, insurance companies suck!

 

...that's why i'm looking forward to having my car painted in a crayon color. Easier to respray and adjust lmao.
Screw multi layer, mica paints!

 

Thanks for the replys guys! Lol, I think I could have gotten a closer color match using one of those crayola glitter crayons come to think of it..... Trust me I don't plan on giving up easily, but my insurance can't do much for me anymore since the shop is not in their network. My agent did gave them a courtesy call yesterday to ask them if they REALLY think it matches to which they supposedly replied " Yes, we are aware it doe's not match, we are going to talk to our painter to see what he wants to do." It really does look like they just painted it with the stock paint code, rather that try to make it match as bse50 said. With all the praise I've seen this shop recieve here in San Antonio, I hope they will try it one more time.

 

You could really tell that the new paint is darker than the rest of it. It could be your old paint is fading...I don't know.

 

They should repair it to your satisfaction. Period. That color is way off. They just took the color they mixed from the factory book and did no additional tinting to match the cars actual color. A big blunder on their part.
Keep after them. And if you have to, go to small claims court and show that they have diminished the resale value of your car tremendously. No one want's to buy a two tone car.
Let alone own one. Which you do now.
A reputable shop will stand behind their work. If they don't mention them to the BBB, Chamber of Commerce for your city and your local news watchdog team that helps consumers with retail issues.

 

hey man i just wanted to recomend this body shop arrow glen (2106504750)adress 14115 toepperwein rd 78233 i took my car while ago and they do a good job at good price!

 

Thanks again everybody for your your replies . Easy E1, it makes me feel ten times better that someone else who deals with customers on a daily basis doesn't feel this is right. I agree with everything you said in your comment and now I don't feel like I'm overreacting. I appreciate the number Hector Ill definitely check it out!