Replacement rear bumper

[carmanvw]

Hi there,
Just had some young guy in his dad,s car run into the rear of my 6 month old Scirocco.... Thankfully insurance will cover the damage which appears to be surprisingly little considering the shunt.
So my question is, what is the best way to ensure that I get a factory quality finish when it's getting repaired.... Can VW supply a factory painted bumper rather than trusting the repair shop to supply a top quality finish??

[Cuprabob]

The factory don't supply the bumper painted, only primered. Unfortunately the finish is going to be down to the quality of the bodyshop.

[carmanvw]

Many thanks, that's what the bodyshop says, but I'm happy enough as the place (in Dublin) is recommended by vw so warranty etc will remain intact. Was worried the paint might come off after a few washes but got a guarantee that the paint will be guaranteed for life of the car so I can relax.
Waited since the original was out as a teenager before I could finally afford a Scirocco, so had to do some serious counting to ten when I was hit.
Really surprised how well the car took the pain- bumper and my head seemed to absorb all the momentum, but all other panels, lights and shut lines perfect so far- bumper not off yet though for further inspection.
But cheers anyway, wasn't gonna accept anything but 100% for a
Nearly new car. Probably would have if I drove a Toyota!!

[carmanvw]

Update- collected the car today..... The bumper arrived yesterday and was sprayed in advance of bringing the car in.... The car was in in the morning and got a call to collect it in afternoon..
WHAT A DISSAPOINTMENT.....
In fairness I'd have to agree, it was technically a blue bumper they put on the car, but the match to the rest of the car, is a bit like the match my school uniform was to everyone else's at school, after having a home made jumper.
Very poor colour match, so I'll see how well they rectify the problem ....................
And they're approved by the main dealer??
Hope you guys have better luck.

[trix]

Usually when they paint a panel they will blend the other panels ajoining to match it better, with them only having the car a day they will not have time to do this. The colour match will never be exact if panels are painted at differing times, it is not lack of skill or ability, its simple fact that paint shade will vary slightly in every can even if they are all mixed to the same spec.

The other persons insurance were paying so they have got it properly cheap by the car only being in a day & painting a singular panel rather than blending the whole rear end. If you were not happy with the finish you should not have accepted the car back, now you have accepted the work done I don't believe you have little if any recourse

Its not their error or incapability, they have painted a bumper & if the bumper is to a good paint finish then they have done their job as was requested.

[carmanvw]

I can see your point, if I asked them to paint the bumper, but I requested the car to be returned to original condition. The naming and shaming related to the fact that the manager stood over this work.
I wasn't gonna leave the car there for the sake of it but I noted my issue with the paint colour and have requested they do it again.
I expected they'd have been able to somehow identify the colour when it was previously brought in for estimate (which I didn't mention here), but no, they seem to have worked purely from computer codes. If insurance company doesn't pay them, then I think that's recourse, and I have informed them as soon as I picked it up. But it can't be rocket science painting a car??
I'd just like it fixed, we'll see what happens next

[RW1]

The bumpers are hard to match cos the base is black plastic, so the top colour appears slightly darker if matched at the point of spraying. Even the factory fit bumpers do not match.

And they can't blend into adjacent panels because the paint is mixed with plasticiser (makes the paint elastic), so isn't used on adjacent metal panels (and vice-versa standard car metal body panel paint).

Red matching is the worst from the factory. Also, paint tones down over 6 months, so if it is only a little different now, ageing process will bring it in as the aging levels with the existing car panels start to match up.

C.

[carmanvw]

And that makes perfect sense- the car is rising blue metallic, and the original front bumper looks darker than the adjacent panels but still looks well.
Problem is, the rear bumper is a lighter shade than the rest of the car.
The guy did say he'd fix it if I wasn't happy, so let's see. I know they had a problem with another new car and they did a few attempts to get it right,?it doesn't have to be 100%, but right now, it's just too far off.

[RW1]

Problem is, the rear bumper is a lighter shade than the rest of the car.

That is what I would expect day one after spraying. It will go darker with time over 6 months.

C.

[carmanvw]

Without meaning to sound like I have a problem for every solution, I did ask, and the guy was honest enough to say it won't. But he did say he'll fix it if I'm not happy, so let's see.

[Fifer]

I think this thread is helping me towards a decision. When I picked up my new roc two an a half months ago, the dealer (after doing most of the handover process) apologised profusely with a grave look on his face, for a paint defect they'd spotted, but not to worry, they'd rectify it, give me a courtesy car during the repair and a free tank of fuel for the inconvenience. They seemed quite horrified that it had happened. The paint defect is very minor and is hidden when the boot is closed. It's on the top lip of the rear bumper and looks like someone has touched the wet paint slightly with a fingernail. There is full coverage of paint, but the surface of the paint is 'dented' or 'dragged' on a small area about 5mm x 5mm. I honestly believe I would never have spotted in, had it not been pointed out. It's also probably the first area the paint will become marked in any case, being at the lip of the boot opening and will inevitably be caught when putting stuff in the boot over the high lip.

I was concerned at the prospect of a full bumper respray (which is what they proposed) so said I wanted to think about it. I did ask if they would consider a small financial gesture as an alternative, but the salesman reckoned that the only cost to the dealership would be the paint as their paintshop isn't working at capacity, so it wouldn't be much (although I reckon they'll claim for paintshop hours from VW under warranty). I'm now thinking of just going for the compenstatory tank of fuel and whatever other money/gesture I can negotiate as I don't think I want to risk ending up with a non matching bumper.

Any thoughts?

[Cuprabob]

I think this thread is helping me towards a decision. When I picked up my new roc two an a half months ago, the dealer (after doing most of the handover process) apologised profusely with a grave look on his face, for a paint defect they'd spotted, but not to worry, they'd rectify it, give me a courtesy car during the repair and a free tank of fuel for the inconvenience. They seemed quite horrified that it had happened. The paint defect is very minor and is hidden when the boot is closed. It's on the top lip of the rear bumper and looks like someone has touched the wet paint slightly with a fingernail. There is full coverage of paint, but the surface of the paint is 'dented' or 'dragged' on a small area about 5mm x 5mm. I honestly believe I would never have spotted in, had it not been pointed out. It's also probably the first area the paint will become marked in any case, being at the lip of the boot opening and will inevitably be caught when putting stuff in the boot over the high lip.

I was concerned at the prospect of a full bumper respray (which is what they proposed) so said I wanted to think about it. I did ask if they would consider a small financial gesture as an alternative, but the salesman reckoned that the only cost to the dealership would be the paint as their paintshop isn't working at capacity, so it wouldn't be much (although I reckon they'll claim for paintshop hours from VW under warranty). I'm now thinking of just going for the compenstatory tank of fuel and whatever other money/gesture I can negotiate as I don't think I want to risk ending up with a non matching bumper.

Any thoughts?

That sounds like a wise decision to me.

[carmanvw]

yeah, i agree- wise decision. or you may spend the rest of the car's life trying to convince yourself it looks ok with the new paint.
in relation to my situation, i have been contacted by the repairers, who are going to work with the paint manufacturers to try to find a solution, so i'm happy enough that its not gonna be left as is.
if any useful tips come out of this, i'll be sure to post them, and share same.

[carmanvw]

well, the latest update is that the repair centre had a couple more attempts at the colour match, and called in the experts at the paint manufacturers, and they managed to get the colour really close to the colour of surrounding panels, perhaps as close as the factory had originally managed, which was very good considering they didnt blend in the body panels which would have been very hard to take, on a car i had minded since new.

[alannmoris]

so, if they really want, they can do a great job after all.

[carmanvw]

Yeah, i guess possibly. They weren't too keen to give me the written guarantee for the paint job once the car was in.
The best I can say about the job in general is disappointed to be honest. Perhaps if they'd done a better job to begin with, I'd have been happy. And the fact that I changed for another Scirocco, same year kind of sums up my overall feeling about the repair.
I won't ever go back there again.