I just got my Peper White Cooper back after a finder bender.

They painted the repaired parts a very close peper white but with a more cream look.

Should I be thankful or upset?

State Farms picked up the bill.

I'm confused why they would guess the color and try to match in rather then just get the peper white code from Mini.

OH, these was done by a body shop that is owned by MINI, BWM and Land Rover.

I need advice.

 

I absolutely WOULD NOT accept the car if it is not correct!!
donna@dcmetrominis.org

 

Scream, Kick, Complain, and talk to the management/executives FIRST.

There's no reason for the shop to paint your car the wrong color :evil:

 

take it back. I know it is a huge inconvenience but there is no excuse for that kind of poor work. I spent 3 paint jobs, 8 months, and half a lawsuit, to get my 65 mustang painted correctly after a girl I know backed in to it. So unless you are having someone paint it in their garage/homemade paint booth out in the middle of nowhere and are paying for it in chickens, don't let them get away with that. Especially since it is a new car and it's not like they are trying to match a paint color that has faded over 10 years. I know it sucks but better you get it done now when someone else is paying for it, than 3 years from now when you sell the car and a prospective buyer sees the ghetto paint job! Just my 2 cents.

Blake

 

ToeKneeC67,

Take it back and insist that it be done right (if you can live without the car a little longer). Paint matching isn't child's play, but it's not rocket science either. Any reasonably good auto body shop should be able to match the color, especially on a non-metalic, new (not sun-faded) color. It's really irrelevant who paid for it, and your insurance company should back you up and help deal with the body shop. Keep in mind, not only does this affect your perception of your car, but it can affect resale value as well.

Best of luck,

James

 

VERY sorry to hear

But absolutely, there is no excuse for not matching 100% a non-metallic paint on a new car (unless you bought your car and parked it under heat lamps for 6 months and THEN had the fender bender)...

... seriously, these days even a half-way decent shop will match a metallic paint pretty darn close so most people can't tell or they'll blend it.

But with a solid color like Pepper White, they've got no excuse. Take some digital pics, bring it back and show them the problem! Also, contact the insurance company right away and let them know that the repairs were sub-standard.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

I agree with everybody else. Do not rest until this is taken care of. All of this stuff is done with computerized paint matching anyway. It's not a big deal. Just make them take care of it, and then report back to us.

Lemme at 'em...Lemme at 'em!!!

 

>>take it back. I know it is a huge inconvenience but there is no excuse for that kind of poor work. I spent 3 paint jobs, 8 months, and half a lawsuit, to get my 65 mustang painted correctly after a girl I know backed in to it. So unless you are having someone paint it in their garage/homemade paint booth out in the middle of nowhere and are paying for it in chickens, don't let them get away with that. Especially since it is a new car and it's not like they are trying to match a paint color that has faded over 10 years. I know it sucks but better you get it done now when someone else is paying for it, than 3 years from now when you sell the car and a prospective buyer sees the ghetto paint job! Just my 2 cents.
>>
>>Blake

Way Coool Flame on the hood (sig pic) Blake Do you have that on your Mini? Where can I get one?

 

TK, there's noone here gonna tell you settle for less than complete sat-o-faction! Be tough, remind them that you are The Customer, with a capital "C"!

 

take it back...
get it done to YOUR specifications ...!!!!

Peace,
D

 

>>I absolutely WOULD NOT accept the car if it is not correct!!
>>


Listen to Donna! Painting technology today is so advanced today that no one should ever accept anything less than a perfect match. If they cannot get it right demand that they re-paint the entire car.

 

Thanks guys. I'm going to raise hell today :smile:

I'm usually a mellow guy but this stuff gets to me. I'm sure being 2003 we have improved or body shops paint matching capabilities by now.

I'm calling now.

 

Good luck and give'm ell!

 

I know a guy who runs a body shop. That's where my baby is now. He sais that factory or no factory paint, it will never completely match, that's why they always blend. While "more cream" is way off, a SLIGHT difference in color is almost inevidable.

Paint changes color on your car over time (even a few months) and the paint composition is not totally consistent either, so from the time your car was painted at the factory to the time the body shop got the paint, it could have been mixed differently.

Also, MINI (or any car company really) don't make their own paint, they all get it from a big paint company that produces for all manufacturers.

Go complain anyway! Too much cream is bad. The difference has to be almost invisible...

 

>>Also, MINI (or any car company really) don't make their own paint, they all get it from a big paint company that produces for all manufacturers.
>>

do you know what company that is? i've been trying to find out but the idiots at my dealership say "mini makes it"..

 

>>I know a guy who runs a body shop. That's where my baby is now. He sais that factory or no factory paint, it will never completely match, that's why they always blend. While "more cream" is way off, a SLIGHT difference in color is almost inevidable.
>>
>>Paint changes color on your car over time (even a few months) and the paint composition is not totally consistent either, so from the time your car was painted at the factory to the time the body shop got the paint, it could have been mixed differently.
>>


That's why if they cannot get a perfect match for a panel/fender/whatever, they re-paint the whole car.

 

I would have a problem having the same shop do the re-work. If they f***ed it up the first time their attention to detail has to be questioned. I would surely question the ethics and committment of the shop manager if he were to allow stuff to go out like that. Would he treat the owner of a new Z8 with the same disregard? I am angry just hearing about this. You should also demand a loaner car free during the re-work period!! I wish you all the best.

 

Just called. They are telling me that the paint comes from the manufature of the car. They order it on the paint code that is on the car (by the door he said).

It takes the guess work out. He did point out that even then it won't be perfect. What they can do is ether blend it in witht he back half or paint the whole car.

One thing I didn't post is that they also scratched up my dash, put scratch ont he other door (which was perfect), and also somehow cause the driver door chrome handle to bubble. I dind't post these because they took repsonsiblity and are going to fix them.

It just gets me. I picked the boby shop that is in Lake Forest IL. Why, because only the rich live here (even Michael Jordon is about 1 mile away). They sales BMW, MINI, Land Rover, and so on. You would think they are the best around.

 

>>Just called. They are telling me that the paint comes from the manufature of the car. They order it on the paint code that is on the car (by the door he said).
>>
>>It takes the guess work out. He did point out that even then it won't be perfect. What they can do is ether blend it in witht he back half or paint the whole car.
>>
>>One thing I didn't post is that they also scratched up my dash, put scratch ont he other door (which was perfect), and also somehow cause the driver door chrome handle to bubble. I dind't post these because they took repsonsiblity and are going to fix them.
>>
>>It just gets me. I picked the boby shop that is in Lake Forest IL. Why, because only the rich live here (even Michael Jordon is about 1 mile away). They sales BMW, MINI, Land Rover, and so on. You would think they are the best around.


TAKE PICTURES!

Take it to another body shop. Don't give them any details, just say you want to fix it right and ask if this other shop can do it. Ask as many questions as possible. Get a quote.

Go back to the first body shop and point out your problems... the dash, the door and the mis-matched paint. Say, that they can either fix it correctly (including their new damage), or you are going to bring it to the second body shop, have your attorney contact them to pay for it (and all legal fees, rental fees etc) and contact the BBB.

Ask them how they want to handle this, the hard way or the easy way.

 

Man oh man....this is just silly. They ordered the freaking paint based on the code? Unless I'm way out of line, that's not how it works anymore. You use a little computerized color scanner to match the paint, and then usually you end up blending on the panels that are next to the affected areas so that it all basically matches up right. I didn't know you were in the Chicago area...that makes it suck even more considering how many really great paint/body shops there are around here. And how the hell did they screw all that other stuff up? Who are these clowns?!?!?!

 

Sounds like a lazy bodyshop....

 

I would be seriously upset if I were you.But I also do some of my own body and paint work on my older vehicles.White is a REAL pain to try to match. I once painted some fender flares for one of my trucks , with the factory paint code, same color,same brand paint,same primer,mixed exactly the same, and it didn't match. But it was my pickup truck, and there was a thin black bead between the flare and the body, so it wasn't too noticeable.But I would bring yours back.You paid the bill, it should be done right even if they have to repaint the whole car to get it to match.

 

ToekneeC67,

Sorry to hear about your paint. I had a similar bad experience with a repair. My MINI had a factory paint flaw on the bonnet that was only visible in yellow light (afternoon sunshine). It showed as a fifty-cent or silver dollar size shadow under the clear coat.

MINI authorized a state of the art, MINI/BMW trained (what I was told) Ford body shop to do the repair. I expected everything to be perfect, because I had heard so many good things about the shop.

When I received my MINI, it had been raining, so the car was covered with water droplets. It was impossible to see the detail of the paint job. When I got the car back and washed and dried it, I was shocked by what I saw.

I had huge areas of overspray on the door, clearly visible as flat red paint. On closer inspection, I found overspray on both doors, the front bumper, and even on the bonnet, itself.

There were so many fine scratches on the bonnet on the passenger side of the car, in some places the paint looked fogged and in others, it looked almost greasy, like it was covered with petroleum jelly. It was from the light refracting off of the swirls. And you should see the swirls. It looks like the person used a buffer that had been dropped in sand.

I went over the paint with a fine tooth comb and found scratches all over my previously perfect paint. I found them on the window frame trim pieces, the bumper, the doors, and the body panels between the bonnet and the doors. I also found specks of dirt in the clear coat all over the top of the bonnet.

There are also fish eyes in the clear coat in several areas (caused from impurities left on the car) and the real kicker is that they introduced a new dark spot under the clear coat near the passenger-side headlight assembly.

I had a real professional look at the paint, and he just shook his head in dismay. He said that much the damage could be fixed by wet sanding and buffing, but the impurities under the clear coat could only be fixed by stripping and re-spraying.

You cannot just spray over the top of the paint, because paint thickness is the number one reason paint fails.

I have been waiting now for over two weeks for a call from the Southeast regional rep for MINI. Great customer service, MINI. :evil: I called my service advisor, yesterday, and asked yet again that he ask the regional rep to contact me. I have filled out two surveys stating my dissatisfaction with the paint repair, and I called the 800 # for MINIUSA and explained the situation, and still no action has taken place from MINI, no follow-up, nothing. Let me be clear, I'm very happy with my dealership and my service advisor. They have treated me well.


I will not allow my MINI to be touched by the same sloppy, careless workers at the Ford body shop again. Heck, they didn't even get my bonnet stripes on evenly. I have driving lights, and one stripe is centered on the light while the other stripe is about 1/2" in too far toward the center of the car. My MINI will be fixed properly this time by a true professional, or it's going to get mighty unpleasant for all involved.

I take great pride in the appearance of my MINI, so much so that I asked the dealership to NOT detail my car, to reduce the likelihood of swirls and scratches. Now, my paint is in terrible condition. Add this to the fact that my MINI runs so poorly due to the faulty engine management software (stumbles, hiccups, etc), and you might say that so far, my MINI experience hasn't been the greatest, and that's a shame, because the car can be so much fun when things work properly.

Yours in disgust and disappointment,
JS

 

All I can say, JS, is...Well, ****!!

 

You said State Farm was paying for the repair work. I was under the impression that if you are not satisfied with the quality of the work completed that under State Farms agreement with their approved vendors that if you are not 100% satisfied with the work that they would have to re-do the job.
Our Mini-Van :smile: was hit from behind and State Farm the insurance agency that processed the claim for us. We had the work done at a Ford/Dodge dealer. The paint is a special 3 stage with clear coat. When the service rep took us to look at the car he told us that the repairs are warrentied by State Farm for the life of the vehicle. If the paint did not match or there were imperfections they would re-do the work to our satisfaction. We got lucky I guess and it was done correctly the first time.

I would definitely contact State Farm and tell them that the work performed was not to your satisfaction!
I am so very sorry to hear about your Mini! :???: -Stacey