Frisco

Hopefully I am in the right forum and you guys can answer (otherwise, please move it appropriately) - my 6 month old pewter w209 CLK just got hit by another car today. The front left fender is slightly damaged and will need to be replaced; nothing else appears to be damaged at all. I already got one quote, and they claimed that they are going to need to replace the fender, as well as repainting the hood and door so that they can blend the color to make sure the color matches. 5 minutes later I was talking to the guy at the performance shop (right next door to the auto body shop), and he basically told me that they completely over quoted the job and that they would really only need to repaint the fender and bolt it back on. He indicated that the paint shop would be able to use my VIN to get my actual color from the build, use a computer to match it, and that they would just paint the fender without any additional work. Who is right?

Kar don

I have heard both actually... not really sure what to think of it. Ideally you wouldn't want them to paint more than they needed because a repainted panel is never as good as factory. let us know what happens please!

E500Lorinser

No matter what they do,it will never match perfectly(to a certain degree).What a real good body shop does is try to fool your eye by blending the paint into the next body panel.Its called feathering I believe.Thats just one technique,there are others.All the computer matching in the world cannot help.Our eyes are very good,but by using certain techniques,a real good shop can make it look perfect,even though its not.This is what separates cars you see on the road with a door or fender painted and its so obvious,and another done by the right guy that you could never tell unless you know what to look for.Again the differences are minute,and if the body guy know his stuff,you will be very happy and only you and him will know.If you go to some ***** hole,you will be very upset with the outcome.Alot of this is color dependant as well,metallics and pearls are very difficult,and solids are easier to match up.In the end,make sure you deal with someone that does high end cars,ask to see his work,look over his shop,ask for referrals,maybe he works with dealerships etc.Some of these guys out there are amazing,really skilled,thats the guy you want.........

Frisco

Both places that I have gotten quotes from (both recommended through the local benz tuning shop) indicated that they needed to feather it and blend the paint. The funny part was that when I spoke with the rep from the tuning shop about getting Brabus bumpers installed on my car (unrelated, but good for perspective), he said that he would just use my VIN number to get the actual color on my car, paint the bumpers, and slap them on. And to make it better, he would just subcontract it out to one of the shops that he had previously pointed me to, which seems pretty ironic. He claimed that all of the feathering talk by the two paint shops was a ploy to jack up the price significantly and that they would not even perform the feathering because it wasn't required (and he seemed to be pretty concerned since their shop had sent me to them). So I guess the question is, does MBUSA send the paint to these dealers pre-mixed (and matched to my paint using my VIN) or do the shops mix it themselves custom (which seems pretty low tech and really dicey)? Next I'm headed to the dealer and I'll see what he says...

The good news is that the dent was done by a guy I work with (in his 2 week old Camry) and he has accepted full responsibility for the damage.

KOMPRESSORnSC

From my expericence...

I don't think they actually match it to you VIN. I mean, MB had 'x' number of colors for each year, and each paint has a formula that should be able to be duplicated-it's not VIN specific, just specific to your paint code & model year. And yes, they just mix it up, just like they do at HD or Lowe's.

One thing that I think is important. Make sure they use the same brand (Sikken I beleive) that MB uses. You will get a better match. I had a spoiler painted, and even though the color is matched pretty well, the metallic flakes are obviously different (different brand of paint). I think that to get the best match, I would insist on the same brand next time.

Something else I might do is to ask your dealer who they use/recommend (instead of an aftermarket shop). I've found that a) a dealer doesn't want to recommend anyone they don't have confidence in, and b) the shop probably gets a lot of business from them (direct and referral) and will do their best to make you happy. I get a lot of mileage out of saying "You come highly recommended from (insert name of SA here), and he says you'll take care of me the best of anyone in town."
HTH

Frisco

thanks for all the help and advice guys - I agree that the idea of the paint color matching sounded too good to be true. It looks like I got things sorted out; the guy accepted full responsibility and has filed a claim with his insurance.

On a sort of scary note, I almost got rear ended on my way home from work last night while driving home in traffic on the freeway. Two to three cars in front of me stopped really short, and although I stopped OK (as did the guy in the benz behind me) the 2-3 japanese cars behind him couldn't stop and plowed right into him. He came inches from hitting me. He didn't look too happy.

calboy

I read somewhere else also that they can get the paint components from the VIN sticker as well. In any case be careful, my father had a telephone pole land on his car because a service truck in front of him caught on to the cables and toppled it. It was a champagne E500. They didn't put a clear coat when they repaired it and I didn't notice until months later when I was detailing his car. The surface is horribly rough like sandpaper almost but we have moved since then and it would too much trouble to have him go back.