Garage have scratched my car - what do I do? 28 October 2022 at 8:52AM in Motoring 4 replies 403 views

andyr24

Hello,

My vehicle has recently just come back from the garage after two months for a fuel tank replacement which insurance is hopefully going to cover. 

I’ve had it back for about a week and have just given it a wash, but on inspection I have noticed numerous small scratches around the car and also one long glossy patch on the boot lid which looks like a touch up pen has been applied. This would not usually bother me, expect my car has a factory satin finish which usually requires a full panel re-spray by a certified specialist for this colour finish. If it was a metallic car, I would buff and polish it out - no problem, but I am slightly disheartened by it as I know there is no product you can buy to conceal it. 

Please can anybody advise me what I should do? Proving it to the garage may be impossible, but I know as a fact that they were not there before as I am very meticulous with my vehicle. I have just spent several thousand with them and quite frankly would not have expected any scratches. Please could anybody kindly advise me what to do in this situation or whether I’m being unreasonable. I think the damage, however minor, will bother me and affect the car’s value. 

Many thanks in advance. 

Grumpy_chap

andyr24 said:

Hello,

My vehicle has recently just come back from the garage after two months for a fuel tank replacement which insurance is hopefully going to cover. 

I’ve had it back for about a week and have just given it a wash, but on inspection I have noticed numerous small scratches around the car and also one long glossy patch on the boot lid which looks like a touch up pen has been applied. This would not usually bother me, expect my car has a factory satin finish which usually requires a full panel re-spray by a certified specialist for this colour finish. If it was a metallic car, I would buff and polish it out - no problem, but I am slightly disheartened by it as I know there is no product you can buy to conceal it. 

Please can anybody advise me what I should do? Proving it to the garage may be impossible, but I know as a fact that they were not there before as I am very meticulous with my vehicle. I have just spent several thousand with them and quite frankly would not have expected any scratches. Please could anybody kindly advise me what to do in this situation or whether I’m being unreasonable. I think the damage, however minor, will bother me and affect the car’s value. 

Many thanks in advance. 

Proving and claiming against the garage would be difficult at the best of times.
Try after you had the car back for a week before noticing the scratch will be nigh on impossible.

You may be left with either claiming off your insurance or obtaining a quote to get a repair through a local independent body shop.

How old do you expect the car to be by the time you come to sell?  On older cars, small matters like this tend to decrease in significance and make little change to the value of the car.

lisyloo

I'd say that's impossible to prove.

When I pick up hire cars now, I take pictures when I get them of anything not pristine inside and out.

Won't help you this time but what I think you need to do in future is take pictures (preferably on the forecourt) of your car when you drop it off (all panels) and then immediately when you pick it up again.

once you've taken it anywhere it's impossible to prove.

andyr24

Grumpy_chap said:

Proving and claiming against the garage would be difficult at the best of times.
Try after you had the car back for a week before noticing the scratch will be nigh on impossible.

You may be left with either claiming off your insurance or obtaining a quote to get a repair through a local independent body shop.

How old do you expect the car to be by the time you come to sell?  On older cars, small matters like this tend to decrease in significance and make little change to the value of the car.

Many thanks for your replies and advice. I suppose there is no way I can prove it, but do you think it would be worth mentioning it in passing just to make them aware, regardless of outcome? 

I had hoped to sell it maybe next year, which it will then be six years old, but is quite a high end model which is partly why I’m so frustrated with them for not taking more precautions.. so assuming any repair is at a cost to myself even through insurance. Even though I was very happy with the work, this has put a dampener on it. Hmmm.

lisyloo

Yes by all means have a friendly chat with the boss and point out someone did a repair (so very unlikely to have happened on the street).
Don't make accusations, just ask if they are aware of anything that happening whilst the car was with them.
you never know boss might be furious to find out.