:shocked That brings back bad memories. I've had some horrible experiences with various bodyshops over the years. Years ago, I had the bumper on my Honda CRX repainted only to have it bubble up and peel off. The paint looked like it had been brushed on. I sued the bodyshop, was awarded a judgement but never collected because the owner took off to Florida. In the end I would up paying for a new bumper and repaint out of my own pocket.
I had a black Mustang that was repainted completely. The paint literally peeled off the car in strips not once but twice. Fortunately the shop reimbursed me to have it done correctly someplace else. After much hassle it came out OK but black is a very difficult color to get right even by the best bodyshop. Add incompetence to the mix and it becomes a living nightmare.
I've also had problems with rust coming back after so called "repairs", horrible prep jobs with sandmarks in the paint, etc, etc..you name it, I've had it done.
The place I've been going to for the past 15 years is super-expensive, which guarantees nothing, but they are very good. I'm lucky to have found them. A few times my insurance wouldn't cover their entire labor rate I refused to take it someplace else and payed the difference in price myself. My loyalty has paid off because in all the time I've used them I've never had to have anything repainted and any problems there have been have been fixed to my satisfaction. I had a problem with some swirl marks after my repaint and the shop took it right in and polished it and it's pretty much where I want it to be. Some detailing on my end should bring it up to my standards. The paint job itself is flawless so all in all I'm very happy and can't wait to do the first detailing.
A good bodyshop is worth it's weight in gold but they are hard to find. When you do find one then hold on tight and don't let go! My other car is in getting some minor bodywork done and I'm praying all goes well. I'm assuming it will but it only has 7000 miles on it and reading all these horror stories is quite worrisome, to say the least. Those memories of the bad old days are still there and I can certainly relate to what you've gone through.
Duckman, those pics are horrendous. That paint doesn't match whatsoever and the swirls and holograms would have me waking up screaming in the middle of the night. I sincerely hope you get it fixed. Personally, I wouldn't let this shop touch the car again. I'd insist that it be fixed at their cost someplace else. IMO it should be repainted again because that color is off and never going to "wear in". That's B.S if I ever heard it. I'm wondering why the insurance company should care who does the fixing, as long as it's done right. Sounds like they just want to make this go away with as little extra expenditure as possible.
I really hope you get it fixed and believe me, I feel your pain. Please let us know how it goes. Best of luck.
