So I took my new car to be detailed yesterday (to a place I've gone since I was 16) and I get it back with metal showing. I went back there with the pictures from when I bought the car (just a few days ago) and the owner claims that there's no way it happened there. He actually tried to tell me that the dealer must have covered it up with a magic marker! Are you f'ing kidding me! I showed him the before pictures which show absolutely no blemish what so ever and he just said it musty of happened in my driveway! The car isn't even registered yet! I'm livid. I think I'm going to have to take him to small claims court.
Yeah, it seemed pretty obvious to me too. He tried to say that they only use foam pads and that this couldn't happen. I told him he was being ridiculous and that you could do this with cotton ***** if you attached them to a high speed buffer.
Just out of curiosity....did you take the car home and then come back and show him or was it discovered when you picked it up?
Since it's on the passenger side, I didn't notice it until I got home. By then it was too late they were closed. I had to come back the next morning. I wish I had seen it when I picked it up. Though I bet the clown would have said the same thing.
Only recourse is if you paid with CC, i know it may be alot less than what it would cost to fix, but at least dispute it w/your CC company. Had to do this with partsgeek when i bought a bad power steering pump in march and 3 months later, it made noises and grinding internally.Had to buy another ps pump elsewhere, get it installed and pull the PG p/s pump. Returned it in July and only last week did it get resolved finally. Luckily Amex was on my side and did a charge back.
Only recourse is if you paid with CC, i know it may be alot less than what it would cost to fix, but at least dispute it w/your CC company. Had to do this with partsgeek when i bought a bad power steering pump in march and 3 months later, it made noises and grinding internally.Had to buy another ps pump elsewhere, get it installed and pull the PG p/s pump. Returned it in July and only last week did it get resolved finally. Luckily Amex was on my side and did a charge back.
I did pay with a credit card. Good call. I'll dispute the charge. It won't fix things, but at least I won't have actually paid for them to destroy my car.
I wonder if you could report a destruction of property claim with the local police.
By law the guy has to have insurance in order to operate a business. If he doesn't have insurance, or a license, a little pressure (sorry for the bad pun) might go a long way.
I would go to a reputable body shop and get their opinion on the damage, plus an estimate to fix it. Then see about filing charges.
Good luck!
Yeah, it seemed pretty obvious to me too. He tried to say that they only use foam pads and that this couldn't happen. I told him he was being ridiculous and that you could do this with cotton ***** if you attached them to a high speed buffer.
You need to call them out and tell them that someone on staff is inexperienced in using a rotary buffer and that for those who don't know how to use one, to stick with using a random or a dual-action rotary buffer instead. This business needs to take accountability. Then again, I've seen dealerships try to squirm out of similar situations with their detail services on site...
Sorry to see this but that's a buffer burn. It's easy to get a buffer burn where the paint is the thinnest, on the edge of any contour on a car. If you look at the edge where that spot is you will see the paint is feathering. No line or drag marks through that spot (vertically or horizontally) as if something drag against the car. Sorry but his excuse "you musty of happened in my driveway " is off base.
Not sure who your CC issuer is, but I know AMEX can be a pit bull on your side when there's legitimate wrong-doing. Good luck with getting that resolved.
Guys, I am a hobbyist Paint Correction Specialist. I want to say that is an extreme burn through. I actually have never seen such a burn that has gone through to the metal. Normally someone would burn through the clear coat on an edge and there would be discoloration to it. BUT.... looking at the picture, notice how the rubber trim gasket is chewed up also, and the actual spot is ground down smooth to the metal. I want to say that looks like a 3" sanding disc mark then chewed up the other areas. IF a foam pad you would literally have to have a rotary buffer on 1800rpm with a 3" or so pad and grind it down with a ton of pressure to get that result. i.e...... would have to be done on purpose for that to happen. Not something with a foam pad that would have happened by accident. Thats my .02 for the detailing part.
OP- the members are telling you the best way. CC dispute to prevent funds being payed to the shop. Police report for property damage can or could be done, but ask the CC company if they want you to get one. Other than that, INS or Small claims court would be the only other reason to get one.
Dispute the charge, follow the companies guidance on the situation, then find a REPUTABLE (maybe custom) paint shop to get that blended in. A pain, but not a hard thing to fix. The only part I wonder about is the rubber strip, that might just be a pain to get replaced.
So sorry this happened. I do high end cars quite a lot for paint corrections and do not carry INS. I do this on the side. However, I am extremely careful with how I go about my work. I do not do anything I have not done before and am careful with wires, machines etc..... I treat it like my car. I just turned down a 458 due to the owner wanted the orange peel taken out. I am not comfortable taking down a Ferrari's Clear Coat to level it perfect due to the orange peel. Too much has to come off and most of it was on the engine cover vents. WAY to much risk. I gave my advice and he decided to ship the car to Ohio to have Esoteric do the work. A proper detailer knows when to say when.
Guys, I am a hobbyist Paint Correction Specialist. I want to say that is an extreme burn through. I actually have never seen such a burn that has gone through to the metal. Normally someone would burn through the clear coat on an edge and there would be discoloration to it. BUT.... looking at the picture, notice how the rubber trim gasket is chewed up also, and the actual spot is ground down smooth to the metal. I want to say that looks like a 3" sanding disc mark then chewed up the other areas. IF a foam pad you would literally have to have a rotary buffer on 1800rpm with a 3" or so pad and grind it down with a ton of pressure to get that result. i.e...... would have to be done on purpose for that to happen. Not something with a foam pad that would have happened by accident. Thats my .02 for the detailing part.
OP- the members are telling you the best way. CC dispute to prevent funds being payed to the shop. Police report for property damage can or could be done, but ask the CC company if they want you to get one. Other than that, INS or Small claims court would be the only other reason to get one.
Dispute the charge, follow the companies guidance on the situation, then find a REPUTABLE (maybe custom) paint shop to get that blended in. A pain, but not a hard thing to fix. The only part I wonder about is the rubber strip, that might just be a pain to get replaced.
So sorry this happened. I do high end cars quite a lot for paint corrections and do not carry INS. I do this on the side. However, I am extremely careful with how I go about my work. I do not do anything I have not done before and am careful with wires, machines etc..... I treat it like my car. I just turned down a 458 due to the owner wanted the orange peel taken out. I am not comfortable taking down a Ferrari's Clear Coat to level it perfect due to the orange peel. Too much has to come off and most of it was on the engine cover vents. WAY to much risk. I gave my advice and he decided to ship the car to Ohio to have Esoteric do the work. A proper detailer knows when to say when.
Just saw his work on that red LaFerrari, came out like GLASS.
Guys, I am a hobbyist Paint Correction Specialist. I want to say that is an extreme burn through. I actually have never seen such a burn that has gone through to the metal. Normally someone would burn through the clear coat on an edge and there would be discoloration to it. BUT.... looking at the picture, notice how the rubber trim gasket is chewed up also, and the actual spot is ground down smooth to the metal. I want to say that looks like a 3" sanding disc mark then chewed up the other areas. IF a foam pad you would literally have to have a rotary buffer on 1800rpm with a 3" or so pad and grind it down with a ton of pressure to get that result. i.e...... would have to be done on purpose for that to happen. Not something with a foam pad that would have happened by accident. Thats my .02 for the detailing part.
OP- the members are telling you the best way. CC dispute to prevent funds being payed to the shop. Police report for property damage can or could be done, but ask the CC company if they want you to get one. Other than that, INS or Small claims court would be the only other reason to get one.
Dispute the charge, follow the companies guidance on the situation, then find a REPUTABLE (maybe custom) paint shop to get that blended in. A pain, but not a hard thing to fix. The only part I wonder about is the rubber strip, that might just be a pain to get replaced.
So sorry this happened. I do high end cars quite a lot for paint corrections and do not carry INS. I do this on the side. However, I am extremely careful with how I go about my work. I do not do anything I have not done before and am careful with wires, machines etc..... I treat it like my car. I just turned down a 458 due to the owner wanted the orange peel taken out. I am not comfortable taking down a Ferrari's Clear Coat to level it perfect due to the orange peel. Too much has to come off and most of it was on the engine cover vents. WAY to much risk. I gave my advice and he decided to ship the car to Ohio to have Esoteric do the work. A proper detailer knows when to say when.
[QUOTE=biggking;6227821]Just saw his work on that red LaFerrari, came out like GLASS.
Todd Cooperider does do excellent work. He has an added benefit of having his shop right next door the Ferrari service center so for owners shipping their cars for annual services, he can just do his work at the same time. Works nice for him.
IF anyone wants to learn more about detailing and how to do it, Larry Kosilla has his website (ammonyc.com) where you can watch his videos. Very informative.
Its always mentioned how amazing those red cars are, and others of the same caliber when a detailer like these guys get ahold of them. However, and I cannot remember his name, he is another member on this forum, I appologize for not remembering, there are a few of us who can absolutely make our cars look as good or better than most of the supercars appearance. I saw a 360 last Sat at Charleston Cars & Coffee that was definitely a drivers car, but was so horribly kept I didn't even take a picture of it.
Hope the OP doesn't mind, but here is what a Black Merc can look like if a good paint correction is done. This is my old one, my new one is Black also and Dec will be the time where I take 60hrs and do a restoration detail on it so it will be once again perfect.
Just saw his work on that red LaFerrari, came out like GLASS.
Todd Cooperider does do excellent work. He has an added benefit of having his shop right next door the Ferrari service center so for owners shipping their cars for annual services, he can just do his work at the same time. Works nice for him.
IF anyone wants to learn more about detailing and how to do it, Larry Kosilla has his website (ammonyc.com) where you can watch his videos. Very informative.
Its always mentioned how amazing those red cars are, and others of the same caliber when a detailer like these guys get ahold of them. However, and I cannot remember his name, he is another member on this forum, I appologize for not remembering, there are a few of us who can absolutely make our cars look as good or better than most of the supercars appearance. I saw a 360 last Sat at Charleston Cars & Coffee that was definitely a drivers car, but was so horribly kept I didn't even take a picture of it.
Hope the OP doesn't mind, but here is what a Black Merc can look like if a good paint correction is done. This is my old one, my new one is Black also and Dec will be the time where I take 60hrs and do a restoration detail on it so it will be once again perfect.
I am in both Charlotte NC and near Charleston SC. I am happy to help members with the process and guide them to achieve these results. I do or can travel to do this work, but Gets to be quite expensive to do that. Honestly easier for me to reach out to other professionals and get you in touch with them. GO MTSU Lived there in 90-92
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
Lived there in 90-92
