Hi all,

Got some bad news yesterday...went to get my car appraised for possible sale, and was told that since the paint job was "horribly done" (I'll explain in a minute), the car is only worth ~$23K (it's an '02 coupe with 31K miles...should be ~$28-30K) because of all the paint work they would need to do (and I believe them after they showed me the problems).

OK, now on to the reason for the paint problem:

My car was stolen about 1.5 years ago and the &$#@&'s keyed it in addition to stealing the wheels/tires and airbags. Cost the insurance company about $15K to fix (paint, replacements,etc). The GM dealer in Dallas that it was taken too (I won't name any names, but let's just say that I'm not "Friendly" with them any more) seemed to do a good job, and being the idiot I am, didn't try to fight anything they did or have the car checked out after they were finished. The paint job that they did to fix the scratches is OK when looked at from afar, but when an expert looks at it, they see lots of problems.

QUESTION: Do I have any recourse against the GM dealer that did the work after 1.5 years? I'd love to sell the car, but won't sell it in it's current condition for $23K...it's worth more than that to me...and I'm not about to try and pass it off to an unsuspecting person at $28-30K either.

Any thoughts?

Thanks
Eric

 

I dont think that you can do anything now, that is bad news sorry

 

Check back with your insurance company. Some insurance companies stand behind the repair work and if was not done correctly, sometimes they will pay to have it redone. Of course you have to fight for this, but it has been done in the past, especially if you brought it to the place the insurance company recommended.

 

No surprises here! They are the worst at all things, from sales to service. (I could tell you some stories...) If you want to have a dealer do the rework, check with Frank Parra in Irving. They fixed my 2000 and you could not see where it was repainted. Of course there a lot of non-dealer shops that will do as well or better. Good luck.

 

Just remember, your car is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. I hope you can find someway to recover some of your loss. Good luck.

 

Your appraiser may have been too stringent. All you may need is to have it buffed and new clear coat. That usually isn't worth thousands off the value of the car.

NO everyday production car has a perfect paint finish and a trained eye can usually find something to gripe about.

Because this guy knocked his appraisal down doesn't mean you have to sell it for that figure, either.

 

A lot of insurance companies guarantee the work if it's done at a shop they recommended.

 

You may also be able to show "diminished value" of the car now, this versus what it "should" of sold for in good condition. I'm not sure with your state, but this may apply...the insurance company will pay you the difference. Worth a look! And good luck.

 

Check if the insurance company will stand behind it. Otherwise, I doubt that the dealer will do anything. Good luck - hope this all works out for you.

 

I agree with the above!!! Dimished value is something that the insurance company can deal with.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone....I'm going to talk with the insurance company and see how that goes.

 

I'd also look at selling it outright instead of trading it in. I doubt the average person would try to knock off $5,000 for less than average paint. Hell, you can get the car repainted for that much.