Paint Job on my sons car

[jims-terrano]

Hi Guys got a good one for you.

Basically my oldest son needed some paint and body filling doing on his car. He got several quotes and settled on the cheapest at £350 which is £100 cheaper than the next.
The paint reacted and looked like it had been brush painted under the lacquer. So the chap told my son it needed to come back in so in it went following week. It came back just as bad two weeks ago with grit or something in the surface of the lacquer. We went straight back down to see him and he's agreed to flat it and polish it. I did mention at the time refund because it is so bad which he point blank refused. It's due in this Saturday but yesterday some bird pood on it and don't know how but my son was washing it off but now looks like hes got a brillo pad or something. It's a mess to say the least.

What do you guy's think? I'm thinking give him chance to put it right on Saturday and then ask for refund. Wife is worried cos the chap knows where we live. The chap has so far blamed age of car and it's been painted before with synthetic.

 

[perelaar]

He is the painter, not you - so he should have taken the age of the car and the state/type of paint in consideration. If bad result on Saturday, definitively ask for refund.

Who cares if he knows where you live? If he threatens you, go to the police. Or threaten back, you know where his shop is

 

[don simon]

Hi Guys got a good one for you.

Basically my oldest son needed some paint and body filling doing on his car. He got several quotes and settled on the cheapest at £350 which is £100 cheaper than the next.
The paint reacted and looked like it had been brush painted under the lacquer. So the chap told my son it needed to come back in so in it went following week. It came back just as bad two weeks ago with grit or something in the surface of the lacquer. We went straight back down to see him and he's agreed to flat it and polish it. I did mention at the time refund because it is so bad which he point blank refused. It's due in this Saturday but yesterday some bird pood on it and don't know how but my son was washing it off but now looks like hes got a brillo pad or something. It's a mess to say the least.

What do you guy's think? I'm thinking give him chance to put it right on Saturday and then ask for refund. Wife is worried cos the chap knows where we live. The chap has so far blamed age of car and it's been painted before with synthetic.

Not a valid excuse in my opinion, this guy is the paint expert and should have told you this before he started the work.
I think it's fair to, at least, talk to him and allow him to offer suggestions before letting him loose on the car again. Have a chat with another bodyshop to get their opinions on the paintjob & synthetic problem (not the rest of the beef) before talking to him.
I guess legally he has a duty not to leave the car in a worse state than it started and has a duty to repair any damage that he has done free of charge.

 

[makeitfit]

Record as much as possible via camera and write down what's happened so far. No doubt you have many shots of it so far.
On your next visit, have your phone on record and discuss calmly the likely outcome of this 3rd attempt. Also mentioning in the same statement your concerns as he didn't manage the last two attempts.
You should say you've been tolerant enough to give him 3 goes at it and this time if it isnt right you'd like your money back.
Regardless of his reaction keep calm . Then more than likely you'll need to go to trading standards .
Nothing you have relayed about this twonk fills me with any hope. He's got no clue by the sound of it.
Car age, previous paint bla bla, is his job to ascertain and deal with accordingly.
I feel for your son mind, poor sod, pride n joy and dodgey paint = sad times

 

[rickydicky]

Hi Guys got a good one for you.

Basically my oldest son needed some paint and body filling doing on his car. He got several quotes and settled on the cheapest at £350 which is £100 cheaper than the next.
The paint reacted and looked like it had been brush painted under the lacquer. So the chap told my son it needed to come back in so in it went following week. It came back just as bad two weeks ago with grit or something in the surface of the lacquer. We went straight back down to see him and he's agreed to flat it and polish it. I did mention at the time refund because it is so bad which he point blank refused. It's due in this Saturday but yesterday some bird pood on it and don't know how but my son was washing it off but now looks like hes got a brillo pad or something. It's a mess to say the least.

What do you guy's think? I'm thinking give him chance to put it right on Saturday and then ask for refund. Wife is worried cos the chap knows where we live. The chap has so far blamed age of car and it's been painted before with synthetic.

A bird pood on my car the other day, but I wish she'd taken her stilletos off first !!!

 

[panelbeater]

putting paint on paint is not the answer.it will make it worse.
depending how big an area it is it should be taken back to good and then an isolator applied so then can be painted as normal.even over dulux house paint.

 

[jims-terrano]

It's the whole of one side, he had to fill a dint in front wing which can still be seen and a dint on the rear corner too.

Just to add a complication my son tells me the bloke didn't give him a receipt and because my son hasn't got a cheque book he paid cash.

Think this is a lost battle and a hard lesson for my son.

 

[don simon]

Think this is a lost battle and a hard lesson for my son.

Not necessarily. How does this guy win business? Word of mouth? Advertising? What effect would naming and shaming have on his business?
No bad mouthing, just an honest yet negative report of his behaviour. I certainly would be grateful for the heads up.

 

[Sweety]

Sounds as if it's just been flashed over with paint with very little if any prep work done, you shouldn't see any signs of the dint at all my Son's car door got kicked in but my mates brother pulled it out well & used a little filler & there is no sign of the damage at all even the colour match is perfect & only the door was painted:thumb2. I know 2 pack & cellulose react badly if you spray one onto the other which I think has happened in this case. I would see if he can sort it out but also try to get a part refund for the job but as he never gave your Son a receipt I think this job was done off the books to avoid Mr tax man:augie

 

[jims-terrano]

I take it back, he did get a receipt after all.

Going to be reasonable when we take it back on Saturday and see what happens. Suspect I'll have to keep my temper when we collect it if it's not right and then tell him we want a refund and then suppose it'll be trading standards after that.

 

[emjaybee]

I know this is a touchy subject, so please don't feel like I'm having a pop. I'm afraid it's the old adage, "if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys ". I am self-employed and often lose work to cheaper quotes. A first-hand recommendation and being able to see previous work is the way to go.

We fell into the cheapest quote trap with double glazing, the company went bust before they had been round and adjusted all the windows. Had to get another company to finish, cost another, £500!

I think you are handling it the right way, giving the bloke a chance to rectify his errors. After that, as you say, trading standards.

Hope it works out.

 

[jims-terrano]

You are indeed totally right and I've pretty much told my son this a short time ago. The quote I suggested was from the same place that I use for mechanical repairs a few miles away. I understand his thinking as a £100 difference is a lot of money when you don't have a great deal to begin with. I feel sorry for him as the way the damage was done was unpleasant to say the least but we won't go into that on here.

I'll wait and see what it is like at the weekend, I think at best it'll have the lacquer flattened with imperfections in the base coat. At worst it'll still be a mess and I'll have to insist on a refund whether the bloke moans about losing money or not and if needs be report him to trading standards.

 

[emjaybee]

It's always a tough decision to make when you're on a tight budget, we've all been there.

Let's hope that one way or another it get's sorted.

 

[rickydicky]

Hope you get a result and the guy is reasonable. He can deny all he likes but at least you have the receipt of "work" done. Does the receipt state what was undertaken ? The trading standards route can be long and drawn out and all the time the car is still in state it's in now.

Good luck.

 

[AlexD333]

Don't know how much work that's for but to give you some examples a front more respray is 420 labour plus vat and 120 materials plus vat...

A rear quarter your talking about 1200 quid...

Stay well clear for that sort of money, prob an outdoor job, won't have a professional finish