Ooops - an off-topic rant

[charlesp]

Late last year my other half took her virtually brand new Peugeot Cabriolet out and had a small collision with a wall. It happens. No big deal, a panel (rear nearside wing) needed repairing. She didn’t want to involve the insurance company, so off we went to a local outfit that had been recommended. They have a website :

http://www.ooops.net/

We got a quote, and the assurance that the work would be ‘perfect’, and left the car.

A couple of days later I went to pick it up; it was raining, and all looked OK.

I went back a couple of days later because the newly repaired panel was a sort of satin finish; they said they would fix it. I picked it up a couple of days later – all looked fine apart from the car being filthy.

A few weeks ago summer sort of kicked in, and I gave it a polish after its first thorough wash for ages. The recently repaired panel had gone all dull again, and the repaired area below it gave odd reflections – it looked distorted. So I popped up to my local body shop and asked him to look at the car, which he did. He told me that the repair had been rushed – something about the paint having been applied too thickly, such that curing was incomplete. He also told be that if I looked closely the door adjacent to the repair had been mucked about – made a little duller so that the repair would blend in better. He also pointed out the abrasive marks under the paint, and agreed that the filler must have shrunk under the distorted bit, and he recommended that I should take it back and tackle Ooops about it.

Ooops were very understanding, and undertook to have it back and do the job afresh. Their man agreed that the panel should match the original condition of the car, and that the door would be repolished to match the other panels. The repair would be – to put it simple – done again.

Two days later I’m looking at the third attempt. The upper surface of the repaired panel was a shiny smooth almost perfect surface, lacquered and glossy. Apart from a few dust nibs it looked like a Rolls Royce. The lower part of the panel hadn’t been touched, nor had the door. So they had another go, having agreed that all panels should match in finish and colour.

I picked it up last Friday, and said I would take it away and think about it. This was because there was tree sap all over the upper surfaces so it was a bit difficult to properly inspect.

Today is my first real opportunity to really look it over. There are swirl marks from the polisher on all the panels on that side of the car and on the boot lid. There is overspray on the front wing. The lower part of the repaired panel is still distorted. The worst part ids that they have now resprayed the door and the orange peel (‘We thought you wanted orange peel’) is simply embarrassing. The colour (graphite) is different.

They keep on saying they’ll fix it, they keep on telling me it’ll be perfect. But they keep on using language about it not being ‘the way I want it’ when I would much rather they acknowledged that it was simply a very poor job.

What I need to know is what do you do when the firm keep on saying they’ll fix it when you have already realised they simply aren’t capable?

What would you do?

[Horsley-Anarak]

i would try soaking the whole car in sodium hydroxide.

That will sort out any areas of the paint that look a bit dull

H-A

[charlesp]

Great idea H-A!

Just shows I should have read through a few threads before posting. I'll try that first, then I think someone else mentioned Hydrochoric acid. Worth a try!

The car has done just over 5,000 miles now so it can't really do any damage, can it?

[CatiGull]

Charles - let me see - ive lost count of the number of times they have tried to fix it, and failed.

If this were an employee doing a job, I think they would have been fired by now....

I would take it to a new shop, get the car as I want it, then decide if I want to pursue a refund. Obviously, I hope you took pictures of each step ????