Car Paint Disaster - how to solve with not much $?
KevinByEleven
I think I have a problem. Wondering what any of you would do with this
situation. Hopefully a few of you have the patience to read this.
Over the last couple years (expecially in a tight garage) my Mercedes 300E has
suffered all manners of bumps and bruises - ranging from scratches to cars
actually backing into me and then taking off.
I was at a service station in Northern Virginia and I ran into this guy Jerry.
He said he worked at a local body shop, which he named, and then said he
freelanced on the weekend. He offered to do my bodywork for $300 (I talked him
down to $225). The manager of the service station seemed to know him well, as
Jerry did this work every week. . Plus, I knew that fixing everything would
be $1500 at the Mercedes Dealership to fix (which is why I'd put it off), and
likely close to four digits elsewhere. So, I let him do my car - I'd done
this kind of thing once before, with good results.
Now, I have a problem...
The problem wasn't with his body work. He did work hard on my car for quite
some period of time. He did fix virtually all the various dents and scratches.
The problem pertains to paint. During the job, Jerry kept telling me I could
get my car painted at MAACO for $200, or $400 if I needed an extra special job.
I finally asked whether this meant that I would have to get a paint job.
Jerry said "no", and told me he was just recommending it, but I could have a
paint job done next week, or in eight years if I wanted..
Turns out I found out why he suggested painting. In all the places he'd fixed
something, there was a residue. (My car is Smoke Silver colored) He then used
a couple sealants; the last thing he used was a can which sprayed the spots he
worked on gray. I'm not sure whether this was the final sealant, or whether he
did this because the alternative "natural" color of his work was even further
from the color of my car. I asked him what to do about this if I wasn't going
to get my car repainted. He told me that I should go to Pep Boys and be as
careful as I could, and match a can of spray paint, and that he would apply
the paint for me next weekend.
I can't help but doubt that I can restore my car to decency from getting spray
paint at Pep Boys... (?) I figured I would investigate MAACO in case I had no
choice but to paint the car there, and 75% of the people who have written on
the web have said that MAACO is horrible. And, initial research tells me
other places are far more expensive.
I can't really complain about the body work, because Jerry did do the job he
offered to do, for 1/5 the price I'd pay elsewhere. However, I really had no
plans to professionally paint my car, nor do I really have the money to do so
right now. I'm highly unsure about this "Pep Boys" thing...
Does anyone have any thoughts on what I should do? Right now, instead of a
dinged and slighly dented car, I now have a car that looks like someone took
gray spray paint to it on a lark...
Thanks a lot, Kevin
KevinByEleven @aol
hchi...@electricrailroad.com
wrote:
>Over the last couple years (expecially in a tight garage) my Mercedes 300E has
>suffered all manners of bumps and bruises - ranging from scratches to cars
>actually backing into me and then taking off.
<snip>
>Does anyone have any thoughts on what I should do? Right now, instead of a
>dinged and slighly dented car, I now have a car that looks like someone took
>gray spray paint to it on a lark...
It be called primer, Kevin. Since this be a frugal group, leave it or
put flag stickers over the spots.
"Oh Lord, won'tcha buy me..."
Spot painting is possible with some finishes. As long as it is
properly feathered and the painter knows how to handle the gun it can
look fine. OTOH, some finishes can't be matched perfectly.
The Real Bev
>
> On 22 Oct 2001 02:23:22 GMT, kevinb...@aol.com (KevinByEleven)
> wrote:
>
> >Does anyone have any thoughts on what I should do? Right now, instead of a
> >dinged and slighly dented car, I now have a car that looks like someone took
> >gray spray paint to it on a lark...
>
> It be called primer, Kevin. Since this be a frugal group, leave it or
> put flag stickers over the spots.
Primer spots are sort of like duelling scars. Wear them proudly. At least
he sanded out the Bondo and primed it. When I had a gypsy do bodywork for
me he pulled and filled the dent, but I had to sand and prime it myself. I
never did paint it...
> "Oh Lord, won'tcha buy me..."
>
> Spot painting is possible with some finishes. As long as it is
> properly feathered and the painter knows how to handle the gun it can
> look fine. OTOH, some finishes can't be matched perfectly.
Give the Pep Boys paint a try. If it's not good enough, spring for the
paint job. Or do a camouflage/Mad Max job yourself with the paint in the
markdown bin.
--
Cheers, Bev
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Usenet is like a herd of performing elephants with diarrhea -- massive,
difficult to redirect, awe-inspiring, entertaining, and a source of
mind-boggling amounts of excrement when you least expect it."
--Gene Spafford (1992)
Bill Bonde
KevinByEleven wrote:
>
> I think I have a problem. Wondering what any of you would do with this
> situation. Hopefully a few of you have the patience to read this.
>
>
> I can't really complain about the body work, because Jerry did do the job he
> offered to do, for 1/5 the price I'd pay elsewhere. However, I really had no
> plans to professionally paint my car, nor do I really have the money to do so
> right now. I'm highly unsure about this "Pep Boys" thing...
>
> Does anyone have any thoughts on what I should do? Right now, instead of a
> dinged and slighly dented car, I now have a car that looks like someone took
> gray spray paint to it on a lark...
>
How was he supposed to fix the dings without doing what he did?
Billy
>Right now, instead of a
>dinged and slighly dented car, I now have a car that looks like someone took
>gray spray paint to it on a lark...
The moral to the story...we get exactly what we pay for. Take your car to the
body shop at the dealer and get it fixed to MB standards.
cozyhome
said. When we as customers say, 'will I need to get my car repainted after
the work?" and he replies "you can if you want to or you can wait 8 years,
it doesn't need it" - then we think it means it will be fine and look right
and no 'leftover' problems showing. To give another example of this same
type of misunderstanding:
We were on vacation and asked a waiter in the restaurant if it was ok to
park behind the restaurant, he said it was fine. Half way thru our meal we
found out our car was being tolled away. When we asked the waiter he
said, "yes, this even happens to me, and I work here". So, in his mind,
when we asked if it was ok for us to park there, it was OK WITH HIM. I
meant, would we get in any trouble, and because he didn't address the real
meaning, we did get in trouble.
Now when you asked about if it would need paint and he said no, any
idiot should have known that someone driving that kind of car and getting
the dings fixed is concerned with APPEARANCES or you wouldn't have the car,
and wouldn't be fixing little dings. He should have replied "it will not
require it, but the car will show the repair work on it and for cosmetic
reasons you will probably want to go ahead and get it painted."
Unfortunately, people too often only respond to customers from the
viewpoint of only their own work, and not really answering us completely.
I know how frustrated you must feel, but at least you did get your dings
fixed cheaper, now you only need the paint to make it perfect again.
Here's hoping the same thing don't happen to you as happens everytime I get
a perfect looking car - whack! and ruin it all.
--
Cozy
http://www.geocities.com/cozyhomelife
2batgirl
than the whole cost. I had accidently drove over a yellow line. What I
didn,t know was that it was wet! LOL- My whole car was yellow on 1 side.
Insurance is wonderfull:)
I had no problem whats so ever:) My rates have not gone up either!
"KevinByEleven" <kevinb...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20011021222322...@mb-cg.aol.com...
babeedoll
very very east to make my mind up to wait till I had so many dings
that rust and dignity were an issue and then go ahead and have the
whole side painted. I saw a really good quarter panel job done on a
rather sun faded (but decent) finish that was matched and looked great
and the guy said he had priced around and settled on a shop with a
good referral for $450 with restriping, etc. I think in this instance
it would truly be getting what you pay for. Just my .02.
Matt Hall
"cozyhome" <cozy...@prodigy.net> wrote:
> Unfortunately, people too often only respond to customers from the
> viewpoint of only their own work, and not really answering us completely.
I disagree with this. Poor communication is almost always the fault of
the speaker, especially in a question/answer format. People can only
answer the questions they're asked; nobody's psychic.
The Real Bev
Or better, do a little research beforehand. Anybody who thinks that
bodywork can be accomplished without repainting SOMETHING is woefully
ignorant.
--
Cheers,
Bev
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Sign on restroom hand-dryer:
"Push button for a message from your congressman."
EBest
> situation. Hopefully a few of you have the patience to read this.
>
the cost of a GOOD paint job? MAACO is considered to be "not good" and that
is being kind. I'm not familiar with the various models of Mercedes; so I
can't guess at the age of your car based on the model. However, since this
is a Mercedes I would pony up the cash for a good paint job if the car is in
otherwise good condition and less than ten years old.
Alpha Male
> I thinkI'm highly unsure about this "Pep Boys" thing...
> Does anyone have any thoughts on what I should do? Right now, instead of a
> dinged and slighly dented car, I now have a car that looks like someone took
> gray spray paint to it on a lark...
the cheapies do an ok job on complete repaints using solid colors, but
not so good on paints with metallic particles in them. If trying
yourself, first get the mfg's paint number off the car, or the dealer
will have it. You can probably buy touch-up cans of the exact paint,
but it'll never match the same, somewhat weathered paint on the rest
of the car. Sometimes we get "outfrugalled"(:
~^ beancounter ~^
"Alpha Male" <newle...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:312bac96.01102...@posting.google.com...
EvelynMcH
for touchup paint for the exact year and model of your car. The match is
usually very, very good, tho it can depend upon the exact type of paint.
IHMO, if you are at the dealership, take a few seconds to ask them where they
would recommend you get the car painted. Most dealership have somewhere that
will do a decent job, although not cheap. I think you will find that the other
four-fifths you saved on getting the car repaired is going to go towards
getting his work to look decent. You might want to try touching up the paint
with a dealer's kit yourself if the spots are not huge - I would not let a guy
that left your car painted in primer come within 100 yards of it again, because
primer is not meant to replace finish paint, is not weatherproof, and
eventually, everything he filled in with bondo or whatever is going to crack
and fall apart. That's not how anyone with a clue would leave a car. That's why
he's working out of someone's garage on weekends.....
-=>epm<=-
In matters of truth and justice,
there is no difference between large and small problems,
for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.
- Albert Einstein
suzn
of a
> dinged and slighly dented car, I now have a car that looks like someone
took
> gray spray paint to it on a lark...
Its probably primer.....
If you can live with the spots then leave it as it is or get it repainted.
What did you expect after the body work? Did the guy who did the work say
he was going to also paint the car? Same thing if you were to take your car
to a paint shop and tell them to paint it, they would do just that unless
you specify you want the body work done also. Those cheapy paint shops are
ok, you get what you pay for, just be careful if you choose MAACO, they dont
live up to their warranties. OTOH you can go get an expensive paint job but
you'll soon end up with dings and scrapes again.
The Real Bev
> I would not let a guy
> that left your car painted in primer come within 100 yards of it again, because
> primer is not meant to replace finish paint, is not weatherproof, and
> eventually, everything he filled in with bondo or whatever is going to crack
> and fall apart.
Not necessarily. We had an old pinky-beige Chevy truck that had a lot of
primer over Bondo, and the Bondo never fell off/out in the 20-some-odd years
we had it. YMMV, of course. It was kind of neat, like desert camouflage.
Anybody who would spend what a *good* paint job costs on a paint job doesn't
belong in a frugality newsgroup :-)
--
Cheers,
Bev
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Nobody needs to speak on behalf of idiots, they manage
to speak entirely too much for themselves already.
cozyhome
so that they could study everyone else's job to make sure they knew the
other person's job as good as they did. The professional should already
know that you are not a car body fixer, or you wouldn't be there, and he
should come forward with all information so you will know what to expect.
ANY car repair person should already know that you don't want to drive
around with spots all over your car and the question about needing
repainting was related to if the car would look odd after his work. No,
people who don't repair cars or have never had it done before, don't have
any idea that they could return it looking like a dalmation. If it didn't
matter how the car looked to the owner, they would have never brought it in
for the dings. In other words - this guy knew exactly what was being
asked, but weasled around the answer by saying she/he could have it painted
any time or never - because if she/he realized it would come back spotted up
they would probably have decided not to do it.
This was nothing short of hiding info. The answer the car repair
person should have given was "the car will have spots where it was repaired.
If you don't want spots, you will need to have it painted".
--
Cozy
http://www.geocities.com/cozyhomelife
suzn
"cozyhome" <cozy...@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:kn6B7.4220$mZ4.76...@newssvr15.news.prodigy.com...
>- because if she/he realized it would come back spotted up
> they would probably have decided not to do it.
> This was nothing short of hiding info.
How else would one expect their car to have body work repairs and NOT have
any visible spots?
The repair guy said body work. I dont think he misled anyone.....
cozyhome
take it to someone else then. It looked new when I got it back.
--
Cozy
http://www.geocities.com/cozyhomelife
The Real Bev
>
> when I've had body work done, it always came finished. I never had to
> take it to someone else then. It looked new when I got it back.
Yeah, but the guy probably didn't do it in your driveway. Dead giveaway,
that.
--
Cheers,
Bev
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Judges are our only protection against a legal system that can
afford lots more prosecution than we can afford defense.
Bob Ward
I'd have to say that, as with anything else, results at MAACO can and
will vary. At this year's Route 66 Rendezvous in San Bernardino, I
saw a really good-looking 56 Plymouth with a good-looking paint job.
I was impressed, so I asked the owner which shop had done the paint -
he told me it was a two-year-old MAACO job - he prepped and sanded it
himself, but it was not a premium job.
Dennis
wrote:
>I'd have to say that, as with anything else, results at MAACO can and
>will vary. At this year's Route 66 Rendezvous in San Bernardino, I
>saw a really good-looking 56 Plymouth with a good-looking paint job.
>I was impressed, so I asked the owner which shop had done the paint -
>he told me it was a two-year-old MAACO job - he prepped and sanded it
>himself, but it was not a premium job.
It can definitely be a crap shoot. Many years ago, a friend tried
something similar with a local discount paint shop. He did the prep,
sanding and spot priming and took his (older, but not classic) car to
the cheap shop to be sprayed. Unfortunately, sometime between parking
his car in the lot and it being painted, birds crapped on the roof.
They painted right over it. When he complained, they tried to fix the
spot, but it never really blended in well. You pays your money and
you takes your chances.
Dennis (evil)
--
"There is a fine line between participation and mockery" - Wally
Kasper
Heh .. one way to protect against that kind of crap shoot would be to
put a cover on the car after you get it to their lot. I cannot
believe anyone would paint over bird crap ... what maroons!
Kasper
suzn
> when I've had body work done, it always came finished. I never had to
> take it to someone else then. It looked new when I got it back.
I would imagine you took it to a body shop, auto dealer or similar to have
the work done?