Help! Dealership put swirl marks in my paint and has refused to fix them!

[Alarick]

Recently I had a little run in with a tire tread in the middle of the freeway that resulted in needing a new bumper, replacement clear bra, and to have the front driver side quarter panel repainted on my Camaro.

When I went to pick it up on Tuesday...
The paint work that the shop did (Allstate approved dealership body shop) was great, you could not tell from looking that the bumper and panel had been replaced/repainted.

However, the clear bra work was crap, there where large amounts of dirt/sand under the bar, and some black hair too.
On top of that under closer inspection I saw paint swirls under the new clear bra, and the after looking over the rest of my Camaro they where all over the whole car.

I talked to the body shop manager about this, he said he would get the guy they used for their clear bra to come back out, re do it, take care of the paint swirls and put me in a rental for the day it would take to get this done.

They called the guy while I was standing there, he said he could make it out on Thursday, and arrangements where made to drop my Camaro back off Thursday morning.

Thursday afternoon rolls around, no contact from the shop.
When I call them up the rep I had been dealing with could not answer as to how far along they where in the repairs and said it would be done Friday.

Every time I called on Friday, the rep was either in the shop, at lunch, at the front office at the dealership or for some reason unavailable.

So, I drive over there.
When I get there the body shop manager comes out, tells me that they removed the clear bra and that "there is nothing we can do here to make you happy, clear bras on Camaros are just too difficult, it would be better if you took your car elsewhere for the clear bra"

All this after being paid by my Insurance, he did offer to have Allstate reimburse me, and that he "had already spoken to someone at Allstate about bring reimbursed and it would not be an issue" but did not offer any details.

Then said "we are finished with all repairs on your vehicle"

I asked him if he had taken care of the swirl marks and his response was on the lines of "we applied a compound to take care of them that did not have any abrasive in it" I smelled the BS so I pressed him for details by saying "so, you just waxed it?" his reply was alot of ums and errs saying that he would have to be a chemist to tell exactly what the compound was, and that "you can't just go buffing out all the swirl marks because soon you would not have any clear coat let"

And again said that "nothing we can do here will make you happy, we think it's best if you take your vehicle elsewhere"


*Highlights for the lazy*
Body shop cashed check from insurance company, fixes damage, detailers at body shop put swirl marks in paint, clear bra guy sucks, body shop offers to fix swirl marks and clear bra, says car will be done end of day Thursday if it's dropped off in the morning, Friday afternoon body shop removes crappy clear bra, waxes car, tells me to pound sand.


I already have a call into Allstate about this, and to the GM at the dealership.
Being that this happened on Friday afternoon I'm not expecting to hear from anyone until Monday.

Is there anything else I should be doing in this situation?

[Shuffler]

Name of dealership.

[jrpimp00]

I would talk to the insurance company and explain.

[firehawc_69]

Keep asking for bosses, keep going up the chain.

[ron10]

call insurance co.,BBB,detailer,body shop and anybody else involved.let them know the next phone call they receive will be from your lawyer.
if these people can't do the job right they shouldn't be in the business.

[Alarick]

As much as I would like to name the dealership, I'm going to give it to Monday just to give the general manager there a chance to make things right.

It was looking like it was going to just be a simple buffing to take care of the swirls, but now it looks like the new bumper may need to be repainted.
The GF spotted a 6 inch cut in the paint from what looks like a razor knife from the clear bra guy.

That could explain why they where telling me to pound sand, hoping I would not notice it.

I already have a call in to my insurance, and I'm going to try and see if the GM is in his office tomorrow, I've even debated calling Chevy corporate and lodging a complaint against the dealership.

[SlingShot]

I don't understand, did they repaint the whole car when fixing the frontend ? Was just the front end have the bra or the whole car?

[SSizzle]

Clear bras are not a body shops expertise. Anytime you are dealing with aftermarket parts like that, it is best to take directly to a professional that specializes in it. Swirl marks are going to happen no matter what, it is normal for clear coat to swirl after washing and waxing. The paint I'm sure has not yet cured. After the paint cures a professional should be able to wet sand and buff it out. If the swirl marks are just in one small area it was probably where they found a blemish in the paint after painting, and sanded it out. I am not a professional, but have friends in the body industry

[Alarick]

They repainted the front bumper and the front drivers side quarter panel.

They had their detailers wash the whole car, and that's where the paint swirls came from.

And the swirl marks where not in one small area.
All over the bumper, the quarter panel, and the rest of the car on the original paint.

*Edit*
Oh, and they made no attempt at buffing any blemishes since there is still foreign material visible in the newly painted bumper.

[Buffnshine]

Dont ever let a Dealer Detail (or wash) your car. There are very few dealerships that have quality technicians to even analize the corrections needed let alone perform the work and those are not going to be in a Chevy Dealership. Use the Forum and other Detailing forums to find a good shop then get a quote and take that to the dealership for them to pay.

[detroitboy]

I went thru that with my wife's car. Believe it or not....they had gotten overspray all over the whole car from painting something else in the shop without covering hers when it was in for minor rear bumper repair. I had to go through the insurance company, back to the manager of the dealership, back to the insurance company, and back to the manager of the dealership again to get them to pay the bill for a highly reputable local shop to detail out the car and get rid of the swirlmarks they put into it as well as all they overspray that was on other parts of the car which they did not (fortunately) buff out.
They wanted it back again to try to fix it and I flat out told them I would not let them touch one of my cars again after what they had already done to it. I'd suggest you go the same route and locate a quality shop in your area that specializes in high end foreign cars and insist that they pay the bill. Just tell them that you've already seen an example of their work and don't want the rest of your car to look like that and don't want to lose any more of your clearcoat to them.

[2010 SS RS]

Not defending anyone but I had custom stripes painted on my IBM Camaro by a dealer. When I picked up my car you can guess what I found. Yep swirl marks on the hood and trunk. When a dealer buffs out the clear coat they obviously use pads that are not in primo shape. But rather than fighting an endless battle with body shop and going elsewhere knowing that no one would treat my car they way I demanded, I used Adams Polishes swirl and haze remover, fine polish, and then used the wax of my choice. Obviously I used a clay bar before to remove any contaminants or overspray in the paint before starting. After about 6 hours work the paint is pristine and perfect. However, since you have a insurance company involved you can more than likely have a professional detailer do this work but you will have to prove that no swirls existed prior to taking your car in. Word for others. Make sure you do a detailed walk around and have lack of swirl marks noted and no scratches or dents if you expect it returned the same way. Lot man sprays the car thru a wash then prob towel dries with a old towel. If you expect better care you have to make it clear up front. Good luck with your situation.

[camaro4mybday]

id say speak to the gm and then if they dont do the right thing and make your car perfect as it should be call the chevy rep and lodge a formal complaint, dealers dont like that cause it damages there reps and they cant win awards

[Orange5thGen]

Squeaky wheel gets the greese....

Let me know if it helps. Does the dealer have a FB page? Mine does one post up there and Bam it gets major attention. and resolution!