Quarter Panel Repair: Saab 97x

[jimmie jam]

everyone is entitled to their opinion.:furious:

 

[David Fermani]

We did not blend this repair.

You’re right. You cut off/stopped your final finish(clear) in the middle of panel.

We painted to a soft edge on a body line.

Soft edges or body lines are not acceptable cut off points. If my memory serves me right(not 100% positive), it has to be a hard break greater than a 45 degree angle.

That line will not delaminate

Yes, over time it will. That’s why paint manufactures won’t warranty it.

...the paint was cleaned and prepped correctly.

Was it? Really?

The owner would never pay $1200 to paint the entire quarter panel and bumper.

Does that give you justification to do an improper repair and create a Click N Brag for promotion?

Even the dealer who receives it won't.... they'll pay for a repair like this one here.

Many times on minor damage like this, the vehicle manufacturer won’t want the dealer to do the repair. They'll do the spot repair at the auction. Again, not the proper way. If someone gets penalized on body damage when they turn their vehicle in, many times they make a claim with their insurance company. If the insurance company pays a claim on a vehicle, their paying to do it right. If they pay to do the right thing and the shop doesn’t do it per insurance spec, it’s more or less insurance fraud. Yes, this type of thing gets done all the time, but it’s doesn’t make it right. A dealer (reputable) shouldn’t deliberately quote an improper repair either. If the repair is documented and it fails, it could fall back on them. Probable - no, possible – yes. Again, dealer body shops have the duty to return a vehicle to pre-loss manufacturer specs. Auctions don't because they more or less aren't factory certified.

So either the damage goes unrepaired, or we repair it like this. Which looks better?

Clearly yours looks better. If you were to rank this repair on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being not repaired and 10 being repaired properly, I’d rank this one about a 3 or 4.

We just fold over our masking tape, but 3M makes soft edge tape:

3M Automotive Products 3M6297 Soft Edge Foam Masking Tape (D.A.R.T) - Toolfetch.com

Per 3M’s description:

Foam tape designed to be used in masking jambs, hood or deck lid openings or other areas of a vehicle which need to be sealed during the painting operation.

• Provides a "soft edge" to prevent lines in the jamb areas



Doesn’t seem like it was used for it’s intended operation.

 

[AppliedColors]

David,



You work for an insurance company and have expressed the perspective of an insurance company here (do the expensive repair and keep rates high).



This was NOT an insurance job. I offered to paint the entire quarter panel for the customer and he declined it. He's a grown man in his 30s and can do what he wants with his car and money.



I permanently repair a bumper and quarter panel and detail the interior of his car for $500 and return his car to him in the same day and you accuse me of insurance fraud?



You insist that this bumper--with a scuff on the very edge--be removed from the car and completely repainted? Policies like that are why the average American pays over $1000 yearly for car insurance.

 

[757motoring]

You’re right, the pictures look nice. There’s lots of pictures on internet sites that look nice. The metallic looks even and the color appears to be blended right *from the pictures*.



Here’s some things I don’t like:

Didn’t remove tail light

Didn’t remove bumper to refinish ¼ and bumper

Didn’t paint the entire ¼ panel

Created a cut off point in the middle of both panels with tape

Tape around the stationary flare on bumper looks poorly fine line taped



Other concerns:

Front quarter jamb doesn’t look properly back taped

On picture #5 I see something in the bumper to ¼ body line

On picture 5, 6 and 7 I notice something weird going on around the bumper flare edge?

Was it painted in a booth or contained area?

Was the entire vehicle covered to eliminate overspray?



Will this repair pass for a lease turn-in or a car on the used car lot to eliminate doing the right repair? Yes. Will it pass in mainstream retail body applications? No.

I'm not knocking AppliedColors for what he did if thats what the customer wanted and paid for it not to pay the big cost. I have not been in the business like most of you guys for as many years I'm 27 and been it for 11 years in a production shop but I 100% agree with David Fermani and will not do this to one of my own cars and would not recommend doing it like this and firmly believe in R&I of parts to eliminate tape lines. I have to say there is times with cars like the maxima when the insurance company is not trying to go up and over to the next 1/4 since its connected to the roof were we have to put a blend up the 1/4 usually the smallest area before it meets the roof. Hope I explained that so its understood but again thats on the insurance because they don't want to pay the extra to carry the clear around. AppliedColors is correct alot of used cars you buy have alot of this type work done due to the dealer not trying to pay the big cost and if done right can look good but over the years I belive that clear edge you made will begin to break down or fail. couple years back the dealer I work for decided to make it mandatory for the used car stores they owned to send all there work thru the shop and they created a fast lane that still did it properly because they were spending about $500,000 a year with companys coming and doing it on the lot because they said it was fast turn around. This was with about 25 dealerships so the GM decided to put a end to it and keep the work in house. I'm not trying to knock AppliedColors or anybodys way of doing things so please don't take it that way.

 

[David Fermani]

You work for an insurance company and have expressed the perspective of an insurance company here (do the expensive repair and keep rates high).

I have an expressed interest in doing my job correctly based on industry and manufacturer standards. Both parties have the duty and obligation to do the right thing, which means returning it to pre-loss, manufacturer’s standards. Apprasiers and Body Shops work together. If that wasn't the case people would be responsible for much more than their deductibles in most cases.

This was NOT an insurance job. I offered to paint the entire quarter panel for the customer and he declined it. He's a grown man in his 30s and can do what he wants with his car and money.

He sure does. That’s why I feel sorry for the next vehicle owner who won’t know what hit him when his bumper and ¼ start peeling, flaking and discoloring. Just like the 100’s of posters here that complain how their finish is doing the same thing and can’t figure out why. Vicious circle kinda.

I permanently repair a bumper and quarter panel and detail the interior of his car for $500 and return his car to him in the same day and you accuse me of insurance fraud?

You’re way off! Where did the insurance company come into that equation? You never mentioned anything about this being an insurance claim. Do you take on insurance work? Again, this repair won’t be permanent.

You insist that this bumper--with a scuff on the very edge--be removed from the car and completely repainted?

Yes! That’s the right thing to do. So you advocate repairing and refinishing bumper covers with tight body gaps to be repaired on the vehicle? I guess Body Shops don’t need bumper cover stands anymore?

Policies like that are why the average American pays over $1000 yearly for car insurance.

There’s alot of factors that go into underwriting a policy. That’s probably the last reason why rates are the way they are. Actually, I’ve been paying between $900-$1000 for my premiums for almost the last 10 years. Haven’t changed that much for me. I keep looking though…..



I guess I’m damned if I do, damned if I don’t. We either get accused of cheaping out on a claim or paying too much? Go figure? People should pray to have someone like me as their Appraiser.

 

[BuffMe]

So, if I'm understanding correctly, doing a spot repair like this will inevitably fail at the hard/soft (not sure what the difference is) line where the clear was applied?

 

[ScubaStevo]

So, if I'm understanding correctly, doing a spot repair like this will inevitably fail at the hard/soft (not sure what the difference is) line where the clear was applied?

It will over time, but with the amount of money that you save, (I would never do this on an expensive vehicle that I was planning on keeping), makes profits grow substantially. I'll be that over 75% of vehicles that were purchased used have had blended paint jobs.

 

[Stanger'66]

I think this repair is fine. It will probably last until the car loses value. Who cares at that point? If and when this repair fails there will be far more bruises and scars all over the car. This will be the least of the owner's worries. Get over it. It looks good right now so drive it and enjoy your life. I also paint and no, I wouldn't do it this way, but for the price, it isn't a bad alternative.

 

[Backer1]

I'm a complete newb at paint and body work, but it sounds like the owner of the car was surely not EVER going to pay to have the whole panel done per insurance specs, and if jimmie wasn't going to do the repair then he would just go to another place and get it done anyway (and probably with lower quality).



What an insurance company would or wouldn't approve has no bearing in this case - no insurance company was involved. It sounds like the customer said "I'm only going to spend $500, what can you do?", jimmie informed him of the partial-panel repaint option and the potential risks associated with it, and the customer made an informed choice.



My opinion is it is not jimmie's responsibility to make sure the customer makes ethical choices - that's just not possible. I'm sure on the return form for the leased car, there is a section asking about any damages and repairs, and it is the customer's responsibility to be honest about what happened, and let the dealership decide what to do from there.



I think it IS jimmie's responsibility to do the highest quality work on the task at hand, which it looks like he did. Surely the customer got what he paid for. Whether the next car owner will get what they pay for is up to the customer, the dealership, and the next buyer - not jimmie.