Repaint or Airbrush? your thoughts, please

[kcarter]

I have made some posts here about my brand new audi and the dealers incredible ability to ruin the paint. As it stands, the dealer has ruined the paint in two serious spots.



The left front wheel well has some chips in it. These were though to be glue residue, but they are not. Chips exend into the color coat and possibly the primer. This chips were there when I purchased the car.



The right front wheel well has an area about a foot long and 4 inches wide that has been buffed right through the clearcoat. There are also some minor chips similar to those on the left side. The dealer created this damage when trying to clean residue off of the wheel well.



While I plan to make my case for a new car (this one is three weeks old on wednesday, with about 1350 miles - I made a couple of long trips), I am doubtful. I may also pursue my rights through the lemon laws here in Virginia.



The dealer has initially offered me the choice of airbrushing, a technique I have never heard of, or repainting at lease the front fenders. My concerns are as follows:



What is airbrushing? Is it durable? Will it match my paint exactly? Can it be clearcoated?



As for repainting a portion of the car, I expect a FACTORY NEW finish. The car is Ming Blue Pearl Effect Metallic. Will this match perfectly? Will it reduce the value of my car?



Who would you recommend perform this work?



I am in Northern VA (Reston). Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Accumulator]

Can`t help with a referral, too far away from me.



Airbrushes are like VERY small paint guns. They are used in scale modeling, artist`s work, custom vehicle painting (think the "pictures" you see painted on custom vans and low-riders), etc.



IMO, airbrushing is NOT the way to fix the problem as you hav described it. Certainly not with a pearl-type paint (a multi-step process topped with clearcoat). Note that making a repaint of ANY kind match perfectly is gonna be tricky (pearls are harder to match than "normal" paints). I`d also be leery of letting THAT dealer do anything without written assurances. Sounds like they are weasels and that they employ less-than-competent people.



Lemon laws aren`t really about cosmetic issues like this, I`m not sure how successful you`d be going that route. Audi`s regional reps are a mixed bag. Some will want to take care of you, others will just blow you off (voice of experience).



Sorry to be so :sosad about this, but it sounds like you`ve found the Audi dealer from Hell. The fact that they damaged your car and then just returned it to you...that`s just awful. Every post like this makes me appreciate MY Audi dealer all the more.

[endus]

I would tell them...



"you know what? I don`t give a crap WHAT you do to this car, but know this: I am picky and I expect to get a car without paint flaws from you. Dealing with the how`s is not my problem. You gave me a car that was damaged beyond the point of my satisfaction...in the process fof trying to fix it you have made it worse. I don`t care what you do...if you give me a different car or fix this one or whatever...just know this: I will be looking twice as hard now that all these problems have happened. Give me the car that I paid for, or I will keep coming back to you until you do".



It seems like you are too involved in this process. Yes you are picky but asking for a car without major paint flaws or chips in the rims is not asking too much of a brand new car, especially an Audi. This is obviously a crappy dealership. You should demand some of your money back for all the hassle and days without the car you will suffer by the end of this fiasco. The bottom line is that I would tell them to fix the damn car and stop asking you about how to do their job. They are a car dealership and should be able to handle this problem. If they can`t handle it then they should give you your money back....period.



If you must tell them something I would tell them to respray the fenders. I can`t believe they`re offering you airbrushing....has anyone heard of a professional shop offering a service like that? I haven`t...probably because they can`t be sure to fully clean, match, level, smooth, etc. the paint and therefore can`t stand behind it. I can`t believe they damaged the fenders trying to fix the wheels...UNACCEPTABLE.

[tetz]

"an area about a foot long and 4 inches wide "



Thats` waaaaayyyy too big of an area to airbrush.

Twelve by four millimeters is more like an airbrush repair size.

[saab93]

As stated above, airbrush is not meant for anything not measured in millimeters.



As for repainting, believe it or not, I traded my 2-year old Jimmy after the passenger side was repainted because someone keyed it. My SUV was spotless, absolutely beautiful. But after the repaint, it did not look the same. You can easily tell that side was not factory-painted and no matter what I did, I could not get the enormous amount of swirls out (allowed 6 month for paint to dry before even hand washing it). I had the dealer do it and I actually think they did a good job, but my point is unless you have it repainted by a professional that restores old Ferrari s, you will not get factory look. This was not even an Audi paint job, just your average American car. I am not trying to make you feel bad, just giving you more things to think about when dealing with this horrible dealer.



I am not sure how far their powers extend, but you can easily contact the BBB in your area which I believe will help you contact your state Attorney General. I know my state (PA) has a Bureau of Consumer Protection.

[SamIam]

Airbrush won`t work. Sounds like the damage is too big. You will have a hard time getting a match on the metallic paint. I now have a black Audi, but my previous one was a Pearl White V8 Quattro and it is a b----- trying to match metallic pearl paint.



Good luck, but probably will have to settle for repaint, since you took possession and accepted the car. Lots easier to negotiate before they get your money!

[endus]

BTW, I do not agree with peeps about the paintshops. I think if you find a good paint shop they can make it look factory. My dad had some VERY minor damage to his brand new Tundra (not his fault) and brought it to a shop I broght my car to awhile ago. On my car they didn`t match the color perfectly since my car is 1998 and metallic....I should ahve had it blended. But my dad`s truck came out *awesome* even though they ended up doing a LOT of work to fix a minor problem I think it came out especially well since it was new and the paint wasn`t faded. It definitely looks as good as factory now.



This is a place that doesn`t lie or BS about being a little more expensive...they charge for estimates and their detailing is pricey. However they are worth it because they`re staff is smart and can deal with you at the level you`re looking to go to, and they do quality work.



It`s Woburn Foreign Auto Body in Woburn, MA if there are any Massholes here looking for a paint job.

[MST3K]

I had a simmilar situation. My story is here: http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22895&perpage=18&pagenumber=1



Unfortunately your choices will be living with it, or painting it (correctly, not airbrushed). If you paint it I must suggest very strongly, to try to find a good shop to take it to. Ask around, and do some research, and make him pay whatever shop you choose. I can`t stress how lousy the dealer`s chosen shop will probably be. I can`t guarantee he`ll agree to that, but it`s worth fighting for. He`ll tell you how great their shop is of course.



The advice I recieved in my thread above was overwhelmingly to have it painted, but let me mention what happened after that:



The shop they took it to was a little place they use. This was the simplest of paint jobs, just paint the lower panel on the rear door. However, the paint was wavy and uneven feeling. I was upset and tried, as you said, to make him take the car back. He did not budge. It is AMAZING how their tone changes once you have paid them already!! I was literally fighting with the dealership General Manager in the parking lot for an hour, while he claimed it looked "fine". I told him I simply wasn`t taking it and he had to replace it. He refused to do anything more, not even to take it back to their lousy shop to see if they can do better. So prepared for these previously super-friendly guys to suddenly turn insensitive.



I actually did go back to their body shop MYSELF and they agreed, and buffed it for one half-hour, and afterward it looked almost perfect. It wasn`t completely perfect because it was a bit "shinier" than the rest of the car, but since it was a downward facing panel, you had to get down and look directly at it, and compare the reflection of some object to see the difference.



So the realities are: You might not like the outcome of a repaint (though it will be better than an airbrush), and no, the dealer won`t care and won`t take the car back for a new one. (My car was a week old, had about 100 miles on it, and he refused). Be professional but stern with them, dont` threaten but make it look like you are not going to settle for less than perfect results and make it seem you are the type to take them to court if not. This might make them take an interest and you might get better results.

[kcarter]

Thanks for the info.

I have decided if they will not give me a new car, I want new body panels shipped from audi, painted at Audi. The question is is this possible? Will Audi ship painted panels?

[Autoeng]

Doubtful that you can get painted panels and they probably wouldn`t match with the rest of the car. Pearl would be especially difficult for even Audi to match.



Autoeng1

[Accumulator]

Originally posted by kcarter

Thanks for the info.

I have decided if they will not give me a new car, I want new body panels shipped from audi, painted at Audi. The question is is this possible? Will Audi ship painted panels?



I`m just FULL of bad news :o Nope, Audi doesn`t ship panels like that painted.



You just need to find a good paintshop. Yes, pearls are tricky, but they CAN be done fine. Especially since your car is new and you thus don`t have to take "aging" into account.



And yes, you`ll often have to be an intractable SOB to get what you want, just be polite about it. Gotta be right up-front about how you will only settle for work that is undetectable.

[MST3K]

People have already answered the question but I thought I`d add, that even if they did ship panels that way, it might be worse. (I was hoping to do the same thing, in my case as well.) But ssuming the paint DID perfectly match (still a risk since it was painted at a different time and possibly location so the paint might still be "thrown" down differently) you would have the problem of removing and reinstalling the panel "aftermarket", so the paint on the bolts would be "broken" and it might not align exactly right, something an appraiser would look for. So it actually would look like the car was in an accident and repaired, to an expert apraiser. How would he know why the panel was removed after all?



Let us know how this turns out.

[cabrachian]

I`m not sure if the Commonwealth of Virginia has weighed in on the issue, but in some states you can recover the difference in the value of your car between its pre-accident and post-accident condition without regard to the quality of the repair.



The context is subtly different, but the information in this excerpt from somewhere on the web is valid:



Recently, some insurers have attempted to avoid paying Diminished Value claims by stating that the policy does not cover diminished value. While this may serve as a deterrent, do not be fooled ! If an insurer can get just 10% of the people who are eligible for a DV settlement to back down, they will save millions of dollars.



An insurance policy is an Actual Cash Value (ACV) policy, that means that the insurer guarantees the CASH VALUE of the vehicle. Logically, the diminished value would be a covered part of the policy. Some states, such as Georgia, have ordered insurers to pay diminished value, while some insurers in other states have been voluntarily paying diminished value for a while. DV claims have been filed and successfully collected in several states - among them Florida, Arizona, Pennsylvania and California just to name a few. If your company is one of the insurers that is attempting to limit coverage you may need to enlist the aid of an attorney. The good news is that this only applies to "First Party" claims - a claim where you are going through your own insurance company, it does not govern "Third Party" claims (where coverage is through the other party`s insurance company).



On third party claims, where you are the claimant, it is nearly impossible for an insurance company to deny payment for diminished value, although they frequently try. You are entitled to have your automobile restored to pre-loss condition - which includes restoring it to preloss VALUE. Since this is humanly impossible, and we have established that a vehicle that has been damaged is worth less than one that has not, the insurer owes for the depreciation. Third party DV claims are the easiest to file and collect on.



If you are interested in filing a DV claim and want to have Collision Consulting help you, please email or call us at your earliest convenience.

[Autoeng]

I would go to my insurance carrier and see if they would help me in any way. Walmart damaged my vehicle and what my insurance company (Farm Bureau) did was to pay for the repair then they went after Walmart for reimbursement. I suffered nothing in increased premiums or worry that the repair done by somebody I didn`t know or trust wouldn`t live up to my requirements.



Autoeng1

[kcarter]

Thanks for the help, everyone. I am going to the dealer today to meet with the painter. The deal is HBL in Northern VA. Supposedly they are building a new repair facility, the largest in VA, that is operational right now. Any experiences with them?