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

[franknbeans]

what a bunch of shit. . . sorry for your pains.

[RPO_Z28]

Originally Posted by themossman

really bad advise 'pay for it and the ask the dealer to pay for it'...yeah...RIGHT. Based on your post I can guess exactly what your response would be to one of your customers.

Yes, that is exactly what my response would be. If the customer felt more comfortable having his own repair done and asked me to pay for it within reason, that's what I would agree to.

Since you don't know me, your response is really out of line and quite childish.

[detroitboy]

I've done a lot of painting thru the years, as well as buffing on old paint to try to "bring the paint back". Unless your pictures are deceiving it looks as if they burned right thru the clearcoat on your car. It appears that there is no clearcoat left on it in that spot of the picture. Thats some serious damage that cannot be corrected without a re work of the entire panel. Its hard to believe that any automotive paint expert cannot figure that out unless they are so perfect that they have never done it (we all have but don't like to admit it).

[themossman]

Originally Posted by RPO_Z28

Yes, that is exactly what my response would be. If the customer felt more comfortable having his own repair done and asked me to pay for it within reason, that's what I would agree to.

Since you don't know me, your response is really out of line and quite childish.

Childish? OK.

Your post was unprofessional and reeked of a what one could easily describe as slimy dealer double talk.

You suggested that 'the dealer didn't cause the damage'. Really? The bulk of this customers complaint is the swirl mark damage done to his paint. So, YES, the dealer DID cause the damage in question. The car went into the shop for a new front bumper...the remainder of the car should have gone 'untouched'.

The manner in which you presented yourself in your post was enough to 'know you' in this situation...in fact, you prefaced your post with 'No one is going to like this response but here it is:' and finished with 'flame suit on'.

Your public representation of yourself in this environment while operating under the banner of the dealership you work for is certainly not doing them any favors. Say what you want under your own 'flag', but when representing your employer you should attempt to level some professionalism and avoid unnecessary conflict.

I tolerate nothing less from my employees.

[sstphoenix]

I had a similar issue. My dealer pasted a mini vynl looking logo onto the rear.
i asked them to remove it n thinking i wasnt looking or something, the rep (not the specialist) removed it with their nails or something i couldnt see any tools so im not sure...
They left scratch marks over the area about 5 by 2 inches.

I tried some 3m compound for black cars (which is a miracle product) n put some mother's wax back over it. The marks are almost completely gone, but if youre like me, n know where to look, it still bothers me.

there is nothing wrong with being anal on how your baby is treated.
dont leave it to ANYONE to mess it up.

I spend about 120$ a year on car wash/detailer supplies. n do it all myself.
im no expert, but a little hard work n handling it the way you think it should be treated is the best thing.

[sstphoenix]

Originally Posted by Alarick

Even thought about having someone put vinyl letters on the rear window of my Camaro saying something like "Phill Smith Chevy's body shop did $600 in damage to my paint and did not fix it"

I like this idea.
cheap, easy to do. MASSIVE publicity damage.
but is it legal?

[Alarick]

Yet another update.

Met with a second adjuster today, he is claiming that the overspray is "industrial fallout" the body shop guys tried to argue with him, but he would not budge on that opinion.

The dealership had left the lower part of the bad clear bra on the bumper, you could see the swirls in the paint under it, adjuster said that he could not tell if those swirls where in the bra or the paint.

So, we asked one of the body shop guys to remove it, since they are repainting they removed it right there in the parking lot.

Sure enough, the swirls where in the paint.
Would have thought that was a sure fire illustration that the dealership was to blame for the swirls but apparently not.

The adjuster called me later on today with Allstates decision.
He said that his manager, his managers manager, and the first adjuster are all in agreement that....

"Swirl/buffer marks are considered normal wear and tare on a vehicle of that age."

They will be approving the other repairs basically redoing what the dealership did first, and sending a denial letter for the overspray/buffing marks on the rest of my Camaro.

I have a call in to an attorney that handles stuff like this.
I'll make sure to ask him about my custom lettering idea for the rear window.

Also called the person who has been handling my call to the Chevy 800 number to tell him that in a nut shell Allstate is saying someone else needs to pay for it, and the dealership is saying the same, and both are leaving me with a $600+ repair bill in my hands.

[JB @ C and L Machine]

Originally Posted by chain1

What are you five years old?

No...37...I would never buy a car from Paul Conte Chevy

[Alarick]

Final update, or is it....

Escalated things up to Allstate corporate, and even had someone from a local Allstate branch officer have their "Claims advocate" try to escalate the issue as well.

Allstate is standing by their adjusters.

My next step is to take it to the state department of insurance.


The dealership however is another story.

Due to my placing a negative review on their Facebook reviews section (that has since been removed) and placing one on google reviews, they have told me that they will not service my vehicle any longer.

Even for warranty work that I had parts on order for.

[Supermans]

Originally Posted by RPO_Z28

No one is going to like this response but here it is:

The dealer is not the one who damaged the car in the first place. You went there for their help and the repair was sufficient other than the swirls.

Swirl marks can be easily removed by the right professional using the right materials.

My suggestion is to go to your own guy and get the swirls removed and ask the dealer to foot the bill. Should be no more than $200 to do it the right way.

Stop the witch hunt to find out the name of the dealership when all that is necessary is a little elbow grease and the right tools.

Flame suit on!

Typical response. I wouldn't want to do business with you after that remark.

[Patriot]

I think the lesson learned is that the Camaro is an enthusiasts vehicle, so it is unwise to use any Chevy dealership's in-house body shop. Your insurance company should give you the option of picking your own shop (or change insurance comapnies).

This is contrary to what you may think, being that the dealer is where you take your car for mechanical serivce, but bodywork is different. Its more of an art, that takes a lot of care to get right. The dealership in-house bodyshops are used to dealing with busy people with dented malibus and cobalts, and rental companies who, lets face it don't give a crap about swirl marks. The guy was basically admiting this to you when he said "we can't make you happy, so go elsewhere". No one should take a Camaro to a place like this. EVER.

Instead, you need to find a reputable shop that deals with nut cases like us who would complain about every stupid thing (and rightly so!), so they may as well do it perfect the first time. And they DO make it perfect the first time.

I am lucky because I happen to know a shop that deals with sticklers and they are good! I know I will never have an issue with them. If you are lucky enough to find such a shop you will use them (and recommend them) for life.

[Alarick]

I have a shop that I'm taking my Camaro to on Monday to redo the work the dealership did.
Several people I've spoken to have recommended them, and since they are also a Ferrari authorized collision center they deal with picky people.

[YankeeSS]

Originally Posted by Alarick

Updates...
Here is the "fun" part...

Apparently through the grapevine of dealing with Allstate, the several messages left for the GM of the dealership, the complaint lodged with the 800 number, and the guy running the dealership's facebook page the body shop manager heard that I was not happy with their work.

He called me up while out at lunch, and asked me to bring my car over so he could look at it.
No big deal, I only live about 45 minutes to an hour each way from the dealership, so I head on over.

Once I get there, he claims he can't see ANY of the issues in the paint, the fisheyes, specs of dirt, or even the two rather large and long CUTS in the paint from where their clear bra guy used a razor knife to trim the film while it was ON MY CAMARO at first...

After asking him how he could not see it, and mentioning that you could feel it, he acknowledged those two marks and said "oh, that will buff out"......

He then starts to berate me like a parent talking down to their child who just drew on the wall with their crayons, starts to point out some "bird crap" that was actually a bug sitting on the trunk lid and a water spot (I have not washed my Camaro since I got it back and it rained yesterday) saying that the "bird s**t bleached the paint" and that I was not taking proper care of my car.

You know, the one that's garage kept while I spend on average of 3 or more hours a day lurking on here reading posts on washing, waxing, detailing and all things Camaro, that Camaro..

I am pretty steamed at this point, and asked him since he can't tell the difference between a water spot and bird crap, how does he expect to see any actual damage, and that he should get his eyes checked.
Told him we where done here, that I'd be in contact with Allstate to take care of this.

He being the fine model of good customer service that he is snapped back "Oh yeah, I look forward to hearing from Allstate" in the most condescending tone possible.

Of course that turned off the filter that keeps me from saying what is on my mind a good 70% of the time, and I responded to him that I hope he looks forward to hearing from the Chevy CS line again (who called me back as I was writing this) like when they called while he was out to lunch earlier"

There are two sides to every story, (and this is a great story) but I wonder what the other side sounds like? It seems your Insurance company and Chevy Customer service are siding with your Dealer Body Shop, I just cant see ANY Dealer Body Shop telling an average customer to go pound sand because they cant make them happy.

Originally Posted by 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!

Originally Posted by Alarick

Final update, or is it....


Due to my placing a negative review on their Facebook reviews section (that has since been removed) and placing one on google reviews, they have told me that they will not service my vehicle any longer.

Even for warranty work that I had parts on order for.

Sounds like theres more to it to me! IMO

Originally Posted by Alarick

I have a shop that I'm taking my Camaro to on Monday to redo the work the dealership did.
Several people I've spoken to have recommended them, and since they are also a Ferrari authorized collision center they deal with picky people.

Sounds like you finally have a solution

[Alarick]

Chevy CS does not have the power to make the dealer do anything since this is not an issue with the vehicle it's self or warranty repairs, but a body shop issue.

Here is my google review, the one on their FB review page was the same.
Try to find their review section on their Facebook page, you'll need some serious luck since last I checked, they removed the option for customers to write reviews on their site.

Rated 1.0 out of 5.0 By Richard - Apr 23, 2010
The body shop at Phil Smith Chevrolet did horrible work on my 2010 Camaro. They left portions of the new bumper unpainted, what was painted had an unusually large amount of dirt contamination, and there where also many Fish-Eyes in the paint. They also did over $600 in damages to unrelated areas of my Camaro, as well as left paint over-spray over the entire car. And of course refused to pay the damages. DO NOT take your vehicle to Phil Smith's body shop if you care about the paint!‎

If you like, you're more than welcome to come take a look at the overspray on my windshield, or the buffer burns on my Camaro.
Can't really have two sides of that.

Allstate is paying to redo the work the body shop did, again that speaks in it's self about the work they did.
The only disagreement at this point is on the overspray and swirl marks.

Two body shop managers agreed that it was overspray and buffer swirls, as well as my paint correction guy.

The Allstate adjuster who was on a first name basis with the body shop manager pointed it out as overspray at first, then changed his story about what it was shortly after he found out what shop was responsible.

Pictures don't lie, thus the reason they where posted.

You highlighted the portion of my post where I said I had not washed my Camaro since I had picked it up, the mention of a waterspot, and where I said my Camaro is garage kept as if you where trying to imply something...

Rain does happen from time to time in SE Florida.

I only have a partial solution, since it will still cost me $600 out of pocket to correct the damages the first shop caused.

And for a first post YankeeSS, you seemed to have picked a great topic to reply to.
Welcome to the site.