Order a CarFax and see if it shows damage and repair to the front.
Regardless, I think you need to cover it - just to the level it was before. Their quote doesn't seem that high for quality work, but it may be far more than it should cost.
Good luck.
You've got a lot of advice thus far, and even AFTER this reply from Forrest.
But
THIS is the best one you have!
Run a CarFax on it, run a CarFax on it, RUN A CARFAX ON IT!!!!!
This will at least give you better information going in as to the state of the paint that you were working with.
This WILL NOT however release you from liability. The paint was there before you got to it, is still there on the rest of the car, and is not there where you damaged it. The fact that you didn't MEAN to damage it has no bearing.
IMHO:
These questions, and many other concerns that have
also been brought-up, should have already been
handed-over to, and already being processed by:
Your Business' insurance agent.
That's the person that you will have designated
as the steward for your Business...Not a bunch
of us well-intentioned "oopsy-daisy-experts"!
Bob
Ooops-daisy runs wild in these hea' parts!:dblthumb2:
That's not to say however that someone that knows how to do a job isn't any better at it than another fella' working at a dealership.
For instance... who here would take there car to a dealership for a "detail", knowing what most of us already do about detailing and paint correction?
I do not understand... Was there damage into the hood? If not, why are they blending into the hood? Couldn't they just blend the fender into itself?
Why are they removing and re-installing the headlight, the bumper, and the grille?
Also removing and installing the fender and fender liner.
Is all that really necessary? Wouldn't they just remove the fender, paint it and re-attach?
What is the RPR? Does that mean repair? Don't get me wrong, it is reasonable for them to prime it, paint it etc., but what are they repairing? Dings dents?
From what I read in the estimate, that's pretty standard. For the work *that they are quoting* the price is in-line. Remembering that shops use a fairly standard software to write their estimates.
Damage to the hood?
NO
Blend the hood?
In a perfect world... YES. Because new paint on THAT fender will show when sitting side-by-side against the old paint on the hood. Therefore, blending and adjacent panel is just something that's fairly standard. On MY VEHICLES it's DEMANDED!
Is it needed to blend the hood in this instance?
Not really, but again.... fairly standard.
R&R the headlight and bumper cover is so they can get around the EDGES of the fender that wasn't painted worth a flying FLIP to begin with. They need to get around the edges, sand, prime, and prep BEFORE painting. Then of course paint it.
Repair - RPR is standard nomenclature for work that is being performed. They are REPAIRING the fender.
The fact that it had been likely previously painted, not to mention the paint care overall has also likely been ignored has nothing to bear on the situation.
Question: How does the paint look on the rest of the car?
Faded, chalky, swirls, dirty, etc?
would you mind explaining how the damage is worth anywhere close to 250 just to touch up? id love to know.
doesnt the fact that the paint was shiny mean it was clear coated? isnt it more likely it just wasnt a solid clear coat?
It's worth what a professional charges for the work being performed.
Are you really saying that unless paint is clear coated it's all satin, dull looking?
That single stage paint cannot be incredibly shiny, deep, glossy and wet looking? :dunno:
OP:
Bottom line is there are several ways to "repair" the damages that were done. The quickest and cheapest would be to get a local PROFESSIONAL PDR expert to come do it. Those guys repair damage much worse than that every day, all day. Heck, CARMAX has guys on staff that do touchup repairs. I suspect a PDR pro would do it for $150~$200) if not less. (
For their regular accounts it'd be probably $50 less than they'd charge you. But you could always offer a 'cash' deal and see if they'd be willing to work with you.)
However.... YES, (
although it doesn't seem fair about now), YOU - absolutely - DID - DAMAGE the customers vehicle. Of COURSE you didn't mean to, but you did. That does NOT mean you were negligent however.
It would be interesting reading for you to search out, and study theories in "Good Faith and Reasonable Expectations". Here is a quote from one published document: "
Courts frequently use traditional tools of contract interpretation to determine the parties' intent in an insurance policy. The doctrines of ambiguity, adhesion, reformation, waiver, estoppel, and unconscionability are the interpretive tools most often applied to insurance
contracts. 20 However, these doctrines have limitations and cannot be applied in every case."
This particular document refers to the general public, and how they/we are pretty much forced to settle with insurance coverage as put forth from an insurance company,
whether or not we have any idea exactly what coverage we are getting.
Note that
ambiguity and
unconscionability were used.
This would be one of those things where a phrase like 'reasonable care' might come into play, even if you DID have insurance. As in, you applied all reasonable care, you did not have any intent, yet damages occurred. Most policies would not pay for damages like this.
Now if you drove the car into your garage wall, or dropped a tool (buffer) on the fender and damaged it that'd be different. But something as benign as painters tape being applied to paint, with the end result being damages such as we're seeing would not be 'reasonable'. (
At least to most 'reasonable' people that is.)
We all have those times when unreasonable things happen to reasonable people however. Heck, I had a BMW a while back that the windshield cracked on, just SITTING in my driveway. I'd noted in my inspection however that it had a small chip, right next to the edge of the top, (near the molding). It was a 13 year old car that she was trading in and just wanted to clean it up a bit before trading it in, but honestly wasn't worth what she paid for washing the darned thing! Seats broken, body damage in several places, interior bits missing, broken, etc. Yet with it doing nothing but sitting in the sun after being washed and spray waxed that little chip ended up splitting and turning into a rather nasty 2' crack! Thankfully I'd noted the chip in my detailed inspection, AND I'd gone online and noted hundreds of cases of the same car cracking windshields while parked.
Do take into account however that even if the vehicle HAS been painted before, that the owner may not have known about it. Heck, my wife (CarMomma) is a title manager at one (of only two) of nationwide salvage auctions, that sell cars for dealers and insurance companies after they've been recovered, repossessed, totaled out in accidents. There isn't a year goes by that one of their buyers somewhere around the country isn't involved in selling "salvage vehicles" to the
unknowing public that sometimes end up on the news, if not in jail!
And if you want to muddy the waters a bit more. Take a look at this verbiage from Arkansas Law Review.
"The recognition that there is an obligation of good faith in every contract has been regarded as one of the most important advances in contract law in the twentieth century. Nevertheless, a half-century after the doctrine’s incorporation into the Restatement (Second) of Contracts and the Uniform Commercial Code, great controversy and confusion remain about it. Recent articles describe the doctrine as “a revered relic,” “a (nearly) empty vessel,” and “an underenforced legal norm.” A scholarly dispute about the nature of the doctrine framed more than thirty years ago has hardly been advanced, much less resolved. More importantly, although nearly every court has announced its support of the doctrine, often using similar language and familiar sources, many judicial opinions are confusing or confused.
The controversy and confusion stem from a fundamental misunderstanding about the nature of the good faith obligation. That misunderstanding is a belief that good faith is a special doctrine that does not easily fit within the structure of contract law. Indeed, the doctrine is seen as potentially dangerous, threatening to undermine more fundamental doctrines and the transactions that they are designed to uphold. As a result, good faith must be substantially restricted in its application. In particular, the doctrine needs to be closely tied to the terms of the contract, limited to cases in which a party has willfully violated its obligations under the contract, or both.
All of this is wrong. There is nothing special about the doctrine of good faith. It is continuous with the rest of contract doctrine. Although it is distinct from other doctrines, it is only distinct in the same way that the rules about formation are distinct from the rules about consideration. Good faith is simply another embodiment of the basic principle of contract law—the protection of reasonable expectations. The application of that principle through the good faith obligation leads to the proper understanding of the content of the doctrine and a rejection of many of the ways that courts improperly cabin it."
Lots of legal mumbo jumbo for sure. What can I say... I've been the past chairman of our state towing associations insurance committee, then ended up later in life as an Executor of not one, but three estates (which required a crash course in probate law). Then my daughter was pre-law in school, and is now a paralegal. (
She's an office manager now however and wanting to go back for her MBA rather than Law School.)
Bottom line is you need to work out a situation with the owner that'll, at the least, placate her.
If the vehicle has been repainted previously, (AND YOU HAVE THE CARFAX TO SHOW IT) they may be glad to have that information. That information is worth the cost, and can also help you to negotiate. Is it clear coated or single stage? Who cares! It's got to be repaired.
BTW, you can test that with a pad and a little compound.
Pad stays clean, it's clear coated. Pad turns white, single stage.
End of the day you'll need to compensate her for the damages. Does it have to be to the tune of $850 plus a rental? I'd say not, but that's because I know how to navigate those waters. Does that mean you won't end up paying what she want's? Unfortunately.... that's not a bet I'd be willing to take. :dunno:
