orange peel/dent. should i bother?

[jksgoh]

long story short:
-brought car in to fix faulty door lock.
-care came back with scratch.
-they tried to fix, door then had major difference in orange peel compared to rest of car and a new dent.
-they tried to fix again, they now resprayed both front and back door, orange peel a bit better but still noticeable. dent is also better but also noticeable on angles.

now one part of me just cbf following this up and dealing with the dealer. but then what irks me the most is that they caused all of this!
what would you guys do.

first time orange peel

orange peel by jksgoh, on Flickr

second time orange peel

orange peel by jksgoh, on Flickr

[poyta]

I think most people would say go back to the dealer but I know from experience that this will only waste more of your time- Last time I had a colour matching issue with another car I had to go back to the shop 4 times before they got it close to right. If it were me I'd just ignore it but I'd maybe try and negotiate some kind of % discount on your next service for the hassle of it all. If they get their back up and refuse then sure F%K em , make them re-spray and re-spray until you're happy.

[triode12]

Take it to a better smash repairer and get them to pay for it.

[jksgoh]

poyta, i agree with you and the time wasted, and effort put into talking to these dumb wits is what really puts me off doing anything about it.
triode12, good idea, i've given their repairer 2 shots, why should i give them another. I wonder if they decline this idea, if i could just go to my insurance company and make a claim against them as vandalism or something similar.

[Jamie]

If the damage was done by a VW dealer and not satisfactorily repaired the first time, I'd be onto VW Australia and demand they sort it out for you. VW is dependent on their dealers doing the right thing by owners, and if a dealer damaged your car, they must repair it to you satisfaction.

Any good paintshop can do a spectacularly good job these days with the equipment and info they have if they put the time into it.

Jamie

[jksgoh]

Yesterday arvo/this morning, i had another couple looks at the car. They had obviously tried to clean the car, but in the process have decided to put swirl marks all over it and at least one hologram!
tried calling the dealer this am, and was told i would have to speak to the service manager, but that they wouldnt know what time they would be turning up to work?!
Just had a word to VW aus, they suggested i find my own repairer that i am happy with and talk to the dealership. if that doesnt work out talk to vw aus again.

Anyway, what panel beaters in Melbourne can you guys suggest?
i've used charlie batiste and mr gloss for other cars with good results in the past.

[maxrob200]

I have had very good results with Paint and Custom in Thornbury

[VWVIC]

Rugolo in Ascot Vale have done good work for me in the past.

[jksgoh]

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

Spoke to the dealer again and told them that vw aus suggested I find my own repairer. They basically said it was the 'law' that I go back to the same repairer as they have a right to rectify the fault, anyone else heard of this??? Sounds like a load of crap to me. Anyway I had to re explain that the repairer already had had 2 chances!
They then said I have to talk to the original repairer and ask them to pay the repairer of my choice, ie the dealer was turfing the responsibility to the body shop. So I told them that it was their responsibility to fix it and not the original repairer. The dealer responded by saying that they would contact their solicitor and call me back within an hour, which didn't happen. I had to go to work so couldn't follow it up.
To make things worse this was all communicated from the service manager via a junior staff member who is obviously extremely green (he had to put me on hold and talk to the manager at least 3-4 times).

[Jamie]

The problem with taking it back to where they stuffed it up the first and second times is that the repair area will grow from being just around the scratch to half the bloody car, because each time they try, they have to extend the repair beyond what they've already done.

You need expert technical advice from an expert paintshop to prevent this from happening. Tell the dealer that you are reporting all conversations you have with them to VW Australia, and get back to VWA to let them know the dealer won't assist you. You have a fair claim if they damaged your car.

I had a similar problem once with a BMW bike dealer workshop. They damaged the fuel tank during service, but had it painted up before I picked the bike up in the afernoon, and didn't tell me what they'd done. I have a background in spraypainting, so could smell the acrylic lacquer thinners still coming off the repair, and it was dull. I argued with them that afternoon, they said they'd done all they were prepared to do, so I rang BMW Oz in Melbourne the next morning... Within a week, a brand new factory-painted tank arrived from Melbourne, supplied and fitted at the very unhappy dealer's expense.

Don't be bullied or lied to!

Jamie

[jksgoh]

Well the service manager finally gave me a call, there were some interesting points in what he had to say:
-a legal requirement to let the repairer rectify the problem - i pointed out that they had already had an opportunity, and he just kept rambling on about being a legal requirement. I then asked how many times does this "law" state that the repairer is allowed to attempt to fix it, he ummed and ahhed a bit and finally stated "3" times... which sounds coincidental that my car will be going back for the 3rd time.
-I told him i contacted vw australia, and gave him the representatives name. he had a bit of a laugh and said he was merely a out sourced personnel and that he had no right to say that i should find my own repairer. he then went on to say that this has nothing to do with VW aus. i pointed out that he is a representative of vw essendon, which is a representative of vw aus... but he refuted this saying that because it is not a warranty issue it has nothing to do with vw aus. so apparently vw dealers dont represent vw aus in terms of customer service or anything apart from warranties? i also asked that if the person i talked to from vw aus was simply a "out sourced" worker, then who could i talk to from vw aus who was not out sourced, his reply was "no one"
-interestingly he also noted an insurance claim that me and my partner have not followed through with. The story with this was that we were at a petrol station - fat lady next door opens her door and hits the edge of out door making a small mark on the edge of out door, and she denied the whole thing. so we initially called insurance and nominated the same repair shop that has been screwing up the paint. Now I'm totally confident that this incident had nothing to do with the dent that the dealer/repair shop created as it was on the edge, as opposed to this new dent being quite far from the edge. I am however a bit concerned as to how the dealer got to know about this, ?breach of confidentiality by the repair shop?.

anyway, i will be away for holidays for a fortnight, but have agreed to meet up with the service manager and a representative from the repair shop when i return. I still however plan to notify vw australia, and further investigate this "law" he talks of, and also follow up this possible breach in confidentiality.

any legal eagles here who would know much about this "law" of 3?

[ian]

I have a similar dilemma,When i got my car back after the accident,i found the radiator wasn't clipped in and scored the air intake ,also the windscreen bottle wasn't bolted also the bonnet switch wasn't connected ,also a couple of small parts were missing,
When i returned to the panel shop i pointed out a couple of small dents in both guards which couldn't be seen in normal daylight but under florescent they stood out like a beacon, he told me they weren't there when i picked up the car, but after i explained to him all the other things that were not fixed correctly he said to bring it back and he would remove them using a dent removal system.
I'm of two minds to call my insurer and have the car throughly checked.

[Jamie]

His law of '3' would have to be a total fabrication. I'd report the whole conversation to VWA - I'm sure they'd be thrilled to know one of their dealer's representatives has basically said you are powerless in this situation, and that no-one at VWA has the authority to help you.

If you can't get it resolved to your satisfaction with this clown, a complaint to Consumer Affairs would be a useful next step.

Try and find out who might be a principal of the Essendon crowd - well above the Service Manager's head, and send them this email. I recently had a very GOOD experience dealing with staff at Chatswood VW in Sydney, and sent an email to the principals of Inchcape in Australia reflecting my great satisfaction with the three individuals who helped me. It goes both ways... Not sure what the corporate background of Essendon VW would be, but lots of these dealers are part of big automotive conglomerates, and the bosses like to know how clients are being treated.

Go for the throat!

J