i think my brand new car was repainted at the factory

Give me the VIN and I'll run a carfax (autocheck) for you. It prob won't say anything but we can know for sure. You can pm it to me if you'd like
 
There's a much greater chance it was never re-painted. Could just be the look of the metallic. A PTG will tell the story.
 
You guys are really helpful with a lot of good insight. Thanks for your input.

I am in DFW. Does anyone know a shop with a PTG that would take a look for me? The dealer has one, but if they haven't been honest so far, they may continue to be dishonest. Plus if it was repainted, I'd like to know what I'm going to tell them prior to taking the car in.

Yes, I'll send you the VIN so you can check. Thank you.
 
Feel around the edges, are they smooth? Look for differences in orange peel texture from panel to panel. Look for "fish eyes" in the paint.
 
Definitely looks like the paint appearance is out of tolerance with the rest of the car.

It's unfortunate but it should have been caught at the factory. But the bottom line is that the Camaro is a mass produced car and each one won't get the attention of say the original production models fromr Mar-July 2010.

I think the dealer should respray and it should be warrantied.
 
I'm not seeing that...but it is weird that on both sides of your car, and on that other one, the doors don't seem to match the rest of the car. Maybe it's just the sculpting of the panels which makes the metallic paint look different because the angle of the lighting is effectively different. Does anyone know whether this car is all steel, or whether some of these panels are different materials?
Yeah, the doors don't match the rest of the car in my eyes. But different metals is no excuse. Both my wife's and my car have aluminum hoods, our hoods match the steel fenders and the urethane bumper covers. Nissan 370Z have aluminum hood, doors, and hatch. Their paint matches the steel fenders.

Where GM's painting robots having a bad day! A disgruntled working messing with the programming perhaps? Bad batch of paint? Ditto what Mark said, I would be pissed! What if you wanted to collect the car for a bunch of decades, oops bad paint, car doesn't look collectible. Raw deal. Not getting your moneys worth IMHO. And forget about collecting, say you just want good paint to take pride in your ride? For what is pretty much the most valuable part of the car, the auto industry has really been cheating the new car consumer of substance and quality. Hmmmm, I wonder if enough concerned citizens wrote their congressman we could get some paint reforms in our favor?
 
I'm definitely upset, but unfortunately a little defeated already. Even if they repaint it, the resulting panel probably won't be perfect, and I'll always know. So I'm trying not to get too bent out of shape yet.

Also I see this being an uphill battle with GM on getting them to fix the issue altogether, and at that point I'll wind up spending my own money to fix the problem. That result is definitely going to get me bent out of shape. So for now I'm trying to remain placid until it comes time to throw that tantrum.

So is the consensus to let GM repaint the panel (if I make it that far), or should I beg them to pay a reputable body shop to respray? After all it could be this very dealership that screwed it up in the first place, so a repaint by them may yield equivalent results.


Feel around the edges, are they smooth? Look for differences in orange peel texture from panel to panel. Look for "fish eyes" in the paint.

I've gone over it several times and it looks exactly like the other door panel, except with the tiger stripes.
 
This was mentioned before but..

I swear it looks like the rear quarters are much lighter than the rest of the car. Maybe the angle?
 
This is a GM paint problem unfortunately.

I have seen this in a lot of White Diamond painted vehicles. The worst I've seen is on the Cadillac DTS. It is easy to see on the side of a DTS since it's so flat and long.

Mom's escalade has the same problem.. white diamond. GM really needs to work on their metallic paint process.

I know.. it makes me sick too.
I 've also seen this on my father's white Caddie Eldo. It's very easy to see with polerized sunglasses. When looking thru polerized glasses at his white Lexus you don't see this flaw.
 
This was mentioned before but..

I swear it looks like the rear quarters are much lighter than the rest of the car. Maybe the angle?


Definitely the angle. You can see its matching in other photos.
 
I have a 2011 ram that has 8" splotches in the paint from the factory, 3 different areas of the truck. I know of 4 other trucks in the local area with the same problem. All where silver or mineral gray. Paint shop says the metal flake is standing up in spots as opposed to laying flat, What caused it Who knows. Chrysler warranty agreed to repair the effected panels.

With that said, having to do it all over again,,,,, I don't know that I would have cracked the factory paint, It has been a nightmare, the truck returned to the paint shop yesterday Day 15, might have it back at the end of the week. This was susposed to be a 4 day job. And this is a factory authorized and owned shop.

Back to your ride, CAN you live with it? I couldn't, but sure wish I could have.
 
The first step should always be to take the car back to your dealer. Give the dealer a chance to address the issue. [This is where having a reliable dealer and having a good relationship with them comes in handy.] Personally, I would recommend documenting this process for yourself just in case it does need to be escalated later.

If your issue hasn't been resolved to your satisfaction and you feel that the dealer is not being helpful, you should contact GM's Customer Assistance Group at 1-800-508-3060. This number has been established to assist you in getting a resolution to your problem.

By the way, I have a 2012 45th Anniversary Edition Convertible. They are nice cars, but we paid A LOT of money for them. I would get on this ASAP.
 
I don't know that I would have cracked the factory paint,
.
BINGO!!!!!

I highly doubt the Camaro has been re-painted.

For me, if I have to re-paint my car for any reason, I just don't feel like it's the same car. I'm VERY anal about having all factory paint! As stated earlier, a PTG will reveal the truth.
 
Did you order it new or was it at dealer for a while? May have been repainted at dealership. Shipping damage, lot damage, test drive mishap?

Sometimes they will repaint at factory if they don't come out right on the inspection.


Whenever and wherever it happened, on the assembly line or at the dealership, from this picture it looks like mismatched paint.


WP_000184.jpg





You need to be able to show the Dealership owner or top manager this same view of your car in the same lighting so they can see what we can all see...


Heck I even have an article on this topic...

Mismatched paint


:xyxthumbs:
 
You need to be able to show the Dealership owner or top manager this same view of your car in the same lighting so they can see what we can all see...

A great painter can match metallic paint and you usually can't tell but not all painters can do this.

This is where my concern lies. Even if the dealership is willing to repaint the door, should I let them do it? If metallic paint is that hard to get right, it sounds like I need to really research painters in my area to find one that can make the door panel look right. I doubt the dealership will be as energetic about finding someone to do the repaint that will do it properly, not to mention they may find it insulting if I even make that request.
 
This can easily be the lighting, IMO.

You mean the picture that shows two different shades of color?

I guess I've seen a lot of mismatched silver/gray metallic panels and they all look like the picture kiteman posted and I included in my article on mismatched paint.

You could be right, maybe it's just lighting but to me according to the picture it looks like mismatched paint.

A way to troubleshoot would be to have someone polish out the driver's side to perfection and then place the car in a similar setting and inspect it in person and also take a pro quality high resolution picture.




This is where my concern lies. Even if the dealership is willing to repaint the door, should I let them do it? If metallic paint is that hard to get right, it sounds like I need to really research painters in my area to find one that can make the door panel look right.

You're right. Getting an exact match with silvers and grays and getting a painter to spray it so the flake lays down in a matching, uniform pattern will be key to a successful re-paint.



I doubt the dealership will be as energetic about finding someone to do the repaint that will do it properly, not to mention they may find it insulting if I even make that request.


The term "Horror Story" as used on detailing discussion forums has mostly to do with the frustration and let down people experience when dealing with dealerships and the paint finish on their vehicles.


Here's two articles on just this topic...


The story of 3 H's - Horrendous, Horror Story and Hack Detailers...


DISO = The Dealership Installed Swirl Option

I don't think I've ever seen a car so swirled out by the mis-use of a rotary buffer...
Horrendous005.jpg



Good luck with whatever course of action you decide to take...


:xyxthumbs:
 
The fade from lighter to darker on the door is not from lighting. That's a botched repair.
 
This can easily be the lighting, IMO.

:iagree:

A 3M sun gun (or similar tool) should uncover if it's really mismatched paint or just the angle. I'm sure there would be a body shop around your way that would have one.
 
I special ordered a Supercharged Thunderbird in 1989 and when it arrived I refused to accept it. The paint on the left rear quarter was noticeably different from the rest of the car.
They just ordered me another one and it arrived absolutely perfect. When I spotted the paint problem the salesman said that those kind of problems happen from time to time. He said the cars are damaged in the factory, pulled out of the line and sent to their repair shop. About one in 200 comes in with some type of repair done on it. Funniest one he saw was a truck came through with mis-matched seats. One was cloth and the other was leather. Someone must have been hungover that day.
 
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