SD5Series

Color matching the paint not* matching very well





I just got my car back not to long ago from the body shop. They fixed and painted the front bumper, the side skirts, , trunk spoiler. I can start to see a different white versus stock color. They was suppose to repaint it, but now the owner is being a dick and doesn't want to do no more cause I hit up his painter to do a de-nib on the side skirts. I have their warranty. The insurance paid this amount for the front window, hood, and front bumper, I paid on another invoice for the side skirts and trunk spoiler.

I am thinking of doing a credit card dispute since they won't do nothing about it. What other options or route should I go?

tonyb635

If I understand you correctly, you had the painter de-nib your side skirts at no charge to you? I'm thinking this should have been included in the price if they looked at the parts and provided you an accurate estimate. Sounds like the owner is ticked because it cost him to de-nib when you contacted the shop guy. You might have luck if you contact the credit card company, not sure how that would work in this case. What was the price range for this work? Cheaper is not always better and in some cases they have just about every second accounted for so any additional time to the process they start lose money.

pukka

If the body shop used the correct paint based on the code that's on your car's data plate then there shouldn't be any problems. They most likely effed it up or thought they could cheap out and use another color type that looked like it would be a match.

If you paid using a c/c then file a WRITTEN dispute IAW the credit issuer's guidelines. Take pictures for your records. I've done this a few times before (although not with a body shop) and in every case the card issuer took quick action and I got refunded. Good luck!

jgt

Color matching light colors especially white is always tough.
Maybe they were just inexperienced or they tried a few times and just said fuck it. Who knows.
CC should refund the cash pretty quickly. Good luck,
If they're truly being dicks you can always file a complaint with the BBB.

whoyuwit

+1 I have filed with the BBB in the past and they helped me resolve my claim with a dealership.

AchtungE60

What is a de-nib? Anyone?
If you use the color code you will get a variation of the paint and then it has to be tinted and then spray matched to the car which means blending it into other paint and then clearcoating. To be quite honest, ALL BMW paint is not an easy match. I have painted 3x on alpineweiss and it was not so easy to match without good sunlight and a good eye.
I am assuming that you had the painter touch up the side skirts and you paid him separately?
I'm assuming you took the money from insurance and then paid separately via CC?
I'm not going to give you advise about doing a CC dispute but if you took possession of the car, it's your issue unless the in charge person at the bodyshop wants to be nice about it. Doing a CC dispute isn't going to get your car fixed that's for sure, you're just going to piss off the owner and probably lose in the end. Too many people are doing that these days and unless you play your cards right the bank isn't going to side with you. From what I am hearing, unless you lie about everything, the CC is not going to side with you. And you know what happens when you lie? Eventually it becomes a habit that will go unnoticed. And then you'll probably grow older lying. And then you'll probably form a new religious sect because your understanding is skewed and you'll find some people to follow. But the good thing is that BMW coolant is colorful so it will have no problem passing as kool-aid to your crew.

SD5Series

Insurance company paid him for the job already for front bumper/hood/windshield to be fix. I paid the $250 deductible on it. I paid using a CC for that + I paid for the side skirts and trunk spoiler to be painted. They already stated to the insurance company that they would repaint it, but went back on their word and said their not going to do it anymore since I hit up his painter to DE-NIB the side skirts. They said it would be an EXTRA charge to do that( ). I don't know where your coming up with all this LIE stuff, but owners pride is butt hurt and doesn't want to do it now. He stated to me, "go ahead and report it, I'll just tell your insurance company that you took a hammer to the hood and damaged it yourself for me to fix. I'll tell them you told me this after your car was painted and i'll report you for fraud"

Only Bimmers

A friend of mine did a bunch of research before having his car repainted. It turn out that BMW paint is very high quality and tightly controlled to match exactly no matter what batch you may get. This is made by 3M/Glasurit in Europe. It is very expensive to purchase, and hard to work with compared to other options out there. This is why body shops always go with a different brand. Problem is unless they are really good, this is what you get. You have to paint the entire car. No matter what the body shop says, unless they are using OEM, its not the OEM color nor quality. Although some shops do a darn good job matching it.

pukka

^^^This whole story seems kinda suspect.

First off you shouldn't have "hit up" the painter to do extra work off the books. Now the owner realizes he can't trust one of his employees and most likely thinks the two of you are in cahoots to screw him out of more money - can't blame him for that. The painter was stupid for agreeing to do the work in the first place and is lucky if he still has a job at that place.

Filing a complaint with the c/c company will only get you back what you actually charged on it. Normally when insurance pays out a claim you have to co-sign the check before the body shop can cash it. You aren't supposed to sign the check until you are satisfied with the work that was done. Body shops usually try to get you to sign earlier and in almost all cases make free minor corrections to fix problems you don't notice when you pick the car up.

Going behind the owner's back was a no-no. Since he's so pissed at you I wouldn't consider bringing my car back to him under ANY circumstances. Best thing for you to do is plead your case with the insurance company and BBB.

SD5Series

I'm not trying to get back what the insurance paid already paid, just my portion on what I paid for the other parts.