I need advice please

sam1970

I will try to be brief...my wife had an accident two weeks ago (not her fault)..Luckily the other party admitted liability. Our insurance approved garage will collect the car next week for repair and then claim the cost from the other party insurer. The damage to our car is to the passenger door and the panel above the rear wheel. A local body shop thinks as the car is 5 years old, the whole car needs spraying as other wise the colour will not match...My question is how should I tackle this issue with the insurance approved garage? what shall I do if they say they will only spray the affected panels? and if they say so can I take the car to the local guy and will the insurance then pay for the whole car spray? The car is in immaculate condition and it will be a disgrace if there will be any color diferrences..I appreciate all advice

in_the_Cotswolds

A competent bodyshop will ensure there is no paint mismatch either by mixing the paint to match or polishing the car to match the new paint.

sam1970

thanks for the reply...I actually booked the car with my insurance garage while awaiting the third party to admit liability as taking it to a garage of my choice would have meant paying higher excess with the risk of losing it if the other party denies liability

GJ_WRX

I wouldn't worry about the paint not matching, modern paint is much better than in years gone by. Plus as your car is only 5 years old it will no doubt have not changed at all.

Just make sure you check it in good light when you collect it and don't sign anything until you are happy.

I had a bonnet re-sprayed a few years ago on a 3 week old vehicle, when I collected it they really hadn't done a good job so I rejected it and got them to do it again!

Robisere

GJ_WRX wrote: »

I wouldn't worry about the paint not matching, modern paint is much better than in years gone by. Plus as your car is only 5 years old it will no doubt have not changed at all.

Just make sure you check it in good light when you collect it and don't sign anything until you are happy.

I had a bonnet re-sprayed a few years ago on a 3 week old vehicle, when I collected it they really hadn't done a good job so I rejected it and got them to do it again!

+1 to all of that, but also, when you collect the car, stand in good light (artificial or daylight, does not matter as long as it's clear light) to the rear and slightly to the side of the damaged area, look down the side of the car, squatting down then up, move to one side then the other. Repair Shop may think you're crackers, but are more likely to be nervous if they have not made a good repair and finish. You DO NOT have to accept the repair if it is not right: don't sign if you doubt it.

aileth

I'd be very doubtful of the local garage. OH used to be a sprayer and I can't think of one time he told me of having to do a full body spray. Most of the time if it was a small area he'd just match and polish the affected area, but I do vaguely remember him saying that if it was on a door he normally has to do the whole door.

If you do get the panel affected done, make sure you do a thorough inspection and reject if it's not up to scratch.

MEM62

Any competent body shop should be able to match the paint colour on your car. If they can't then I suggest that they should not be repairing it. The paint on some vehicles can fade a little with time and, if memory serves, I believe some reds were particularly prone to this problem. However, modern cars are much better in that respect and any decent sprayer will cover a slightly larger area and blend in so any variation does not get noticed by the naked eye.