Colour mismatch after respray

[thebook]

Evening all,

I am after some advice.

After my car was hit on the M1 in December it went off to the insurers preferred bodyshop for repair. Rear offside panel needed replacing and now when I look at the car, it is really apparent the new panel doesn't match the rest of the car.

The colour is Iridium silver which I understand is notoriously difficult to match exactly, but my eyes cannot ignore the colour difference. This, together with the fact the passenger door doesn't align perfectly makes it abundantly clear the car has had an accident which in turn will affect the resale value. Can I ask/demand it be rectified?

I always assumed (perhaps naively) the insurance company needed to return the car to the original condition? Thoughts please.

Thanks

 

[brucemillar]

There should not be a colour mismatch or bad panel fit. Tell them you want it sorted properly.


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[thebook]

Thanks for the reply. The work was carried out in December and I have tried to live with it (ignore it) but every time I look at it I can feel myself get more and more wound up. Even my 4 year old daughter asks why is that part of the car a different colour daddy?

 

[John]

The problem with "Approved Bodyshops" is they are the cheapest ones the insurance companies can find.

I guess the number of people who just accept the repairs vs those who complain to have it sorted properly must mean it is financially viable.

 

[Codger49]

An insurer's preference is more likely to be driven by cost rather than quality of the finish.

There have been many posts on this forum regarding the ability to specify your preferred bodyshop rather than than the insurer's. This seems to be acceptable in many cases.

As Bruce says above, tell your insurers it has been both poorly repaired and painted and needs to be rectified. I would ask for an insurance company engineer inspection, so they can see the issues for themselves.

 

[sturgeon]

The insurer should put it right! You didn't sign up for 2nd rate insurance so why should they provide a substandard repair?
This Would adversely affect the car's value if not corrected.

 

[NOMONEYBUTAMERC]

Nothing worse than badly matching panels . Car seems to scream "look i`ve had botch repair " . If a vehicles condition cannot be fully restored to its previous condition it is a write off . Get on to your insurers and insist they either get a proper repair , find you another one in equally good pre-accident condition ,or pay out . A good paint shop will do a perfect match.

 

[Martin 1]

Sorry to be negative, but, after the repair, if you signed the car off as seen and accepted then you may be up against it. That doesn't mean I don't think you should try ! Been there, but I wish you the very best, I hope you'll come back and let us know how you got on. Martin.

 

[markjay]

The only positive aspect of using the insurer's preferred bodyshop is that in most cases the insurer guarantees the repair (but check your policy).

This means that if the bodyshop refuses to put things right, you can submit a claim to the insurer.

And yes any shade of silver is difficult to match (been there....), and it will look different under different lighting conditions. Additionally it might fade over time at a different rate to that of the rest of the car, making it even more noticeable.

Said that, the main difficulty is usually getting the garage (and insurer) to accept that the work is substandard. If this proves to be the case, you may need to get a report from an independent engineer (e.g. the AA).

 

[l5foye]

How much of the car was repainted? The usual way to avoid a mismatch is to paint the whole side of the car which was damaged. If the car is not restored to pre-accident condition, you can claim for the devaluation.

 

[optimusprime]

Today all paint repairs should be a good match,, to the other paint on the car .. All paints are computer mixed to the rest of the car .If the guy doing the job is any good, you should not see a change in colour from one part to the other .

 

[brucemillar]

Today all paint repairs should be a good match,, to the other paint on the car .. All paints are computer mixed to the rest of the car .If the guy doing the job is any good, you should not see a change in colour from one part to the other .

Yes the theory is correct. But Mercedes Silver is a nightmare to match even when using Computer Matching, Scanning etc. It just reacts so well to the light it becomes a ball ache to get it perfect. Losing the new paint through swage lines or painting the entire side is a your best bet.

Now here is the thing. If, as a layman you can spot it and your daughter can spot it then it's bad, very bad and should be returned to the insurer with a note to that effect. I have seen professional painter call out differences that I cannot see, but that is their job. When you can see it? It is bad.

 

[Joderest]

there is some small excuse for a slight colour mismatch on a vehicle, but absolutely no excuse what so ever for a body panel mis alignment.
Take the car back, if told you signed to say it was ok, tell them you are not a body shop expect, and in the light you viewed it, it seemed to be ok.
stick to your guns and it will be sorted out.

 

[CJD]

When I had my Golf, some low life decided to try and steal it by sticking a screwdriver through the passenger door skin.
I insisted with the insurers that it went back to Volkswagen to be repaired as it was only a few weeks old. One of my more unfortunate decisions, in daylight the paint looked fantastic, under street lights it was absolutely awful - I wish I had used the approved repair centre, who had a very good rep.
Never mind, I didn't keep it long, it was probably the most unlucky car I've ever owned.

 

[jaymanek]

Return it... They should have blended into adjacent panels...
Silver can be a pain and so they should have blended anyway.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

Could it be that the new paint is nice and new/shiny where the other panels are the same colour but a duller finish?

 

[zipdip]

This whole game of matching colours is a minefield,your panel must be at least half a tone out because most people can see that ,a third out and only a few will notice it,one of the problems with paint is just how the colour is arrived at,some years ago 001 in the paint chart was Post Office Red,there was at least 6 ways to get to that colour,and over the years each one will slowly be different,Fords used to say that their paint would look right in "Northern Light" whatever that was? I would tell the spray shop you want it put right I suspect they will say you accepted it so it is not their problem,then get onto the insurance company as Markjay said look at your policy.

 

[sturgeon]

But this is 2018. They have digital spectrophotometers, and no excuse!

 

[brucemillar]

But this is 2018. They have digital spectrophotometers, and no excuse!

These still only take a sample and cannot match over a wide area


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[sturgeon]

Well, they've still got their Mk1 eyeball as cross (eyed) reference, so you'd think they would get it close enough. Or just paint more of it until they lost the difference?