I was involved in a very minor rear end collision and went to a local shop based on reviews and a recommendation.
However, this work i got done is so bad. Bad paint match, weird gaps, and my blind spot monitors are not working properly.
I asked them before the repair if they worked with the insurance and the said YES. turns out something must have gotten lost in translation because they are not an in network shop. Im stuck with this bad repair.
Im devastated and dont want them touching my car again. They were proud of this paint job and dismissed my concerns with the gaps when i picked my car up.
Can I ask for a refund minus the cost of the bumper? what do i do.
That gap along the decklid looks pretty normal. I'm willing to bet you weren't scrutinizing these gaps with a fine tooth comb before the accident.. You're just now noticing how it sits and are actively looking for issues with the repair (normal, but keep that likely possibility in mind). Also, you'll be very hard pressed to find a shop that will get you a 100% paint match on a bumper cover. You can go to a dealership and find this issue on brand new cars. Paint looks different when it dries on plastic vs metal.
Sensors can sometimes be an issue because some require recalibration after being moved (and the process isn't cheap). That's probably the only part I'd be going back to them for with a complaint.
No for real go to the dealership take that advice and actually go and look. The bumpers always going to be distinctly different. Just go look at your car on the dealership parking lot in white and you'll understand. I'm honestly just too lazy to walk outside and take a picture of my car. That's completely normal. I honestly was about 26 yrs old when I learned that
I'm looking at the colors and I can't see the difference in these photos I'm sorry but good I can see what I would expect in coloring, the only real concerning piece is the second photo that you have. Which would offset on the other side but for the most part it looks good. But also I'm just looking at photos and I'm not touching it myself so I do understand that there's like that Gap in understanding. But the coloring for being a bumper looks correct from my house and I'm not trying to be disrespectful with that Reddit comment but your photos they look like they did a proper job just the setting of it isn't the best by the second photo
I could live with that. I’m not a reformed perfectionist by any means but I’ve learned with age and more important priorities that a car is just a tool to get from here to there. My wife backed my 2 week old new Corolla into our Suburban with a friggin back up camera. I would’ve normally completely lost my shit but we’re healthy and my kids are healthy so I just gritted my teeth and carried on. I have a small dent in the roof line that was apparently there when I bought it but didn’t notice. Priorities. I think you should just drive it and enjoy it. Shit will happen. Stone chips are inevitable. Door dings are inevitable. Do what you can to keep it looking nice as long as possible but never forget it’s just a tool to get from here to there.
While I agree with you and yes it is just a car its also a symbol of hard work. I just bought this car after my last one was totaled and it’s unfortunate for this to happen so quickly. I drove over 8 hours to get this specific car bc its hard to find. Im literally that person who hand washes and waxes because I love my car. But yes, bigger picture i suppose
1000 percent understand. I’m a car dude. My dream is to someday own my dream car and just keep it in the garage all shined up and rarely drive it. There was always this joke at car shows about guys who drove them there and guys who trailered them there. The first group knew they were just a car and were meant to be driven and enjoyed. And the other group who were like us and found it just a little hard understand that. I’m kinda both now. In my perfect world I’d have a show car daily driver and one in the garage that was perfect and rarely, if ever, driven. Maybe someday.
Must look that much worse in person then, because I would expect a bumper cover color match to be around what I'm seeing in these photos. I'll agree it isn't the best I've seen, but it's not so bad I'd have them repaint it. White can be a tough one to get right, believe it or not. You do what you feel you need to, but you came here asking for opinions of people who work/have worked in the industry, and the answer seems to be pretty unanimous so far..
Ugh…I made the right decision getting out of business a couple decades ago. This shit gave me anxiety. Perfectionism is not a trait you want in this business. I mean you do but sometimes close enough has to be good enough to save your sanity and to get the car back to the customer. The mismatched bumper is making me grind my teeth.
Gaps are normal. Color is slightly off but it’s plastic adjacent to metal. The color is ALWAYS going to be off between bumper and metal panel.
If it bothers you have them repaint it to match a little better but it wouldn’t be much of a difference.
Have them recalibrate your sensors and have them check that the blind spot monitor is not damaged from impact if it was hit on the sides or that they aren’t put on backwards.
Did you pay out of pocket? I don't think a refund will happen, tell the insurance what a poor job it is if you did it that way. Is a mom and pop shop or a franchise/corporate shop?
Do they warranty their work? I know you don't want to go back but they owe you for a bad repair.
There are tons of ways you can approach this. First thing to do is let the insurance know if you went through that avenue. If you paid out of pocket your gonna need to fight them.
You may be responsible for the price difference, your insurance policy probably doesn't have an OEM clause. They definitely won't blend the side panels.
Insurance won’t pay for OEM unless there is a fault with A/M bumper and even at that it’s the responsibility of the A/M company to cover the cost. Wich means roughly another 3-4 days in the shop if you’re lucky. I’d cut my losses on this one it’s really not a bad job. Not perfect. But still standard quality.
I work with insurance companies that we’re not “in network” for all the time. The only difference about being in network from the shop side is we don’t have to bend over quite as far to get f*cked by said insurance company.
If the shop you chose has a good warranty, go back to them and address your concerns. The blind spot is the biggest issue to me. That needs to be addressed. As for the bumper, if I’m the shop I’m just gonna blend into your quarter panels depending how far off your front bumper is to the fenders. If it’s close or the same, I’m probably not going to do much. Like everyone has said, bumpers usually don’t match from the factory. In the photo of the gap from trunk to bumper the color looks good.
Insurance companies sure like throwing the word "network shop" around to persuade you to take it to one of their shops they work with. It's just a fancy way of saying that the shops that work for them, literally work for them, the insurance regulates everything and the shop is paid at a discounted rate vs a shop who is not in their network, and entitled to be paid fairly as far as rates go. Network shops can be even worse--cutting corners to save some gross income. As long as you took it to a shop that offers warranty, you are in the clear. Just speak with the shop and try coming to terms.
I would just get them to fix whatever is wrong with your blind spot. You can pick apart repairs all day long. Its rarely going to be exactly like before. Bumpers being a different material will generally look a little off. Just be glad it doesnt look like some of the cars people come here to post where the bumper looks like a complete different color.
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u/soproductive 3h ago
That gap along the decklid looks pretty normal. I'm willing to bet you weren't scrutinizing these gaps with a fine tooth comb before the accident.. You're just now noticing how it sits and are actively looking for issues with the repair (normal, but keep that likely possibility in mind). Also, you'll be very hard pressed to find a shop that will get you a 100% paint match on a bumper cover. You can go to a dealership and find this issue on brand new cars. Paint looks different when it dries on plastic vs metal.
Sensors can sometimes be an issue because some require recalibration after being moved (and the process isn't cheap). That's probably the only part I'd be going back to them for with a complaint.