Post-paint cleanup

[WylieCoyote]

As expected, the body shop did a less than stellar job on my paint job. This is their second try after I flatly rejected the car the first time I went to pick it up, due to paint runs I can see from ten feet away. Caliber Collision, if you're curious What can I use to get overspray off rubber & plastic?

 

[gregk24]

What about taping off the surrounding area and using goo gone since I assume the paint job is still fresh?

OP, I'm sorry the body shop didn't provide you with a proper job the first, or second time. This is exactly why we chose not to have our first Jetta repainted after discovering a factory paint flaw, yet everyone here gave me such a hard time over it claiming body shops provide nothing less than factory paint jobs.

I would take it back until they provide you a satisfactory paint job.

 

[WylieCoyote]

Thanks. I'm not a happy guy right now. Trying to decide if I'm going to keep taking it back for them to let the same maroon work over my car, or if I should reach out to my adjuster so we can discuss Liberty Mutual's preferred shop and work out a different arrangement.

 

[KGMtech]

I would be starting over with a different shop, doubt the flawed shop will ever meet the minimum standard.

 

[Carmudgeon]

Caliber has been buying formerly indie body shops left and right, good and bad. I guess you had the misfortune of encountering a bad one.

I had a good conversastion with the former owner of a venerable shop, known for good work, and a repuation among the local enthusiasts. They started to struggle after losing the referral business from the local dealer, and that's what shops need to survive now, both from dealers and insurance companies. Assembly line body work, much like assembly line health care, based on volume, not quality, with pre-negotated terms.

They decided to sell out to Caliber, with the co-founder retiring, and his son, the manager, who stayed a little while, before jumping to the insurance side.

 

[SatinSilver]

Yes, have a different shop fix it while going through insurance.

Any pics of the 85 Laser? Haven’t seen one of those recently.

 

[Gimpy1]

Contact Caliber corporate and your insurance company. If Caliber is a DRP for your insurance company, your insurer will have significant pull because the last things they want is to lose their drp status. Most insurance companies have a reinspector that audits the repair process to keep drps honest. Find out who the reinspector is from the material damage department and arrange a meeting with the caliber collision manager, the reinspector and you. I guarantee you that will light a fire under Caliber Collision, because a negative report or a complaint from a reinspector has serious repercussions to a drp program that is worth alot of money.

 

[WylieCoyote]

Yes, have a different shop fix it while going through insurance.

Any pics of the 85 Laser? Haven’t seen one of those recently.

Sold it on Saturday. It now lives with some distant cousins. It went from being the oldest car on the block, to the youngest car in the warehouse.

 

[WylieCoyote]

Contact Caliber corporate and your insurance company. If Caliber is a DRP for your insurance company, your insurer will have significant pull because the last things they want is to lose their drp status. Most insurance companies have a reinspector that audits the repair process to keep drps honest. Find out who the reinspector is from the material damage department and arrange a meeting with the caliber collision manager, the reinspector and you. I guarantee you that will light a fire under Caliber Collision, because a negative report or a complaint from a reinspector has serious repercussions to a drp program that is worth alot of money.

I messaged my claim adjuster and told her everything. She referred me to someone else at Liberty Mutual, who referred my case to whomever oversees the Calibers in my area. Caliber's regional manager called me last night, offering to make things right. I said I'm perfectly willing to allow him to make things right, but under no circumstances is the same guy to touch my car again. We're meeting at the McKinney Caliber on Friday to go over everything. He believes his guys there can fix what the other place screwed up. He better hope he's right.

 

[RhondaHonda]

Like was mentioned earlier, Caliber buys lots of independent shops and some are better than others. The good thing is they are a DRP for almost every insurance company and should have a shop that can make it right. I hope it gets fixed correctly for you as that is definitely not acceptable.

 

[RyanY]

I am a few weeks late to this thread but I had a similar experience few years ago with a different company. Wife hit a deer and GEICO highly recommended using their preferred shop. Against better judgment we went with their recommendation. The repair involved replacing the door skin, repaint fender, etc. When the car was "ready" we immediately saw that they did not replace the door but, instead, just filled it with putty. We refused and they insisted it was the only way to repair. After a call to the adjuster he indicated we could take it to another shop. We then did just that, and either GEICO or the previous shop paid for the full repair. In other words, the insurance company will make things right. Just be persistent!

 

[atikovi]

Stevie Wonder could tell the difference in color between that bumper and fender.

 

[Imadentguy]

I was a production painter for years before i got into PDR. I saw the writing on the wall and I got out while the gettin’ was good. All of the corporate body shops are trash and are ruining the whole industry.. The collision industry is a “you get what you pay for” industry. All the good techs are phasing out. There is simply no way to make money doing it anymore. Low pay combined with CONSTANT turn around time pressure promotes “hacking”. Wham bam thank ya’ mam is the mantra of the day in these places. I mean for crap sake i was in one of these places a few weeks ago that was a GEICO DRP. They had a 24hr turn around time on bumper jobs. That means from the time you drop the vehicle off and leave in the rental the shop has 24hrs to complete the repair and refinish and get the customer back out of that rental. Cars were in detail and the clear was still wet. They brought one back around for the painter (out of detail) to wet sand and buff the bodymans fingerprints out of the bumper sides from when he reinstalled the fascia before the clear had even cured. Dude told me it is a constant occurrence at which point i told him i dont miss painting cars one bit! Lol. I worked a hail storm at a caliber years ago and was absolutely blown away by what they were turning out quality wise. It was mickey mouse mayhem. These facilities play a numbers game when it comes down to come backs. You OP are a 3%’er. Your an enthusiast. 97% of America is not. Sally Johnson and her 2017 civic could care less if there are runs, fisheyes, and color match issues. All sally Johnson sees is that her civic is no longer run up the back of the f150 she hit 9 days ago. OP keep pushing and they will make it right. Next time (if allowed in your state) take your car to an independent shop and stay away from the corporate DRP’s. Most all of them are hack shacks.