Body damage - self healing paint

[SHB001]

Hi everyone,

I have some nasty scratches on the bumper of my EX35 AWD some moron left for me (no notes either) in the parking lot. Taking the car to the dealer's bodyshop in Maryland, they have no clue about this self healing paint. They just say it is not going to show. It's about $1500 worth of damages (visual inspection). Anyone has any experience with a good bodyshop in the Washington DC area familiar with re-painting EX? Should I just forget about it and give it to the dealer's bodyshop anyway? I haven't been able to locate any that have a clue about this special paint.

[scottt]

I am really sorry about your EX damage. I would just love to catch the person in the act. While I don't know of a source, I did notice a tag, placed under my hood that mentions the special paint. I figured it was there as a notice to body shops. If you have the option of a body shop, owned by the Infiniti dealer, I would sure give it heavy consideration. Good luck, sure sorry for your predicument.

Scott

[EXceptional]

Here`s 2 earlier threads I found... for what they`re worth.

zerothread?id=410633

zerothread?id=300943

[Mark Booth]

At the body shop, open the hood of the EX and point to the sticker in the back right corner (driver's side) of the underside of the hood. The sticker says:

SCRATCH SHIELDUSE ONLY APPROVEDREFINISH MATERIALS

Hopefully the body shop supervisor can read!

Mark

[EXceptional]

Some Insurance Companies dictate how it will get fixed based on the Cost.

Around here, it doesn't matter if you get 3 estimates... 2 of the 3 Body Shops you choose, are owned by the Insurance Companies, anyways.

[Mark Booth]

I'm glad I live in California then! I can take my car to ANY body shop I like, even the one with the most expensive estimate. I have heard of insurance companies here hassling folks over doing that, but I've never had that issue. Because.... I have Triple A insurance and one of their pre-approved body shops is the ONLY place I'd ever take my car for body work. It's not even really a "body shop" in the traditional sense, more of a "restoration shop". Rather than mask off parts that don't need painting (mirrors, lights, door trim, etc.), they remove those parts and replace them after the painting is finished. They approach the repair from a "restore it like it was before the accident" approach. Their work is first rate and it's very common to see Ferraris and Bentleys getting repaired there.

And, as I said, they are a pre-approved shop for my insurance company. Meaning, I don't have to get an estimate from anyone else (not even from the insurance company). Triple A trusts their estimates and approves the work without any hassles.

Mark

[EXceptional]

Precisely my point...

Pre-approved means that your beloved Triple-A owns that particular Body Shop and because the Paper Trail is all in-house... it ends up being a cake-walk for the Customer.

[aft981]

How much damage was there to the bumper? Is it just scratched, or dented too?

I just had my drivers door replaced last month, after my friend's mother reversed into it. It needed a new door, and then they had to paint that, part of the passenger door behind it, and the whole of the front wing panel infront of it. So that was quite a bit of painting, the door itself cost just under $700, and the total job was about $2550. So for the labour, paint and other materials to completely strip the drivers door, paint and put the new one back on, take out a small dent on the pass. door, and paint and blend the panels was 1800.

Your quote of 1500 just for the rear bumper seems very high.

My dealer is owned by Holman, who also have Ford, Lincoln and Mercury on the same site, and they own a bodyshop there that does all the brands. They knew about the special paint, and got it matched perfectly, and you would honestly never tell that I have a new door.

I did actually have another scratch on the other side of the car, which was probably about 6" long, from about 8 months ago. It has faded pretty well, and you can't really tell its there anymore, I guess that's down to the self healing paint. It seems to have actually helped.

Anyway, I'd get another quote for that bodywork, perhaps Steve our resident tech can help out, he's in the VA/DC area...I think?

[Mark Booth]

Precisely my point...

Pre-approved means that your beloved Triple-A owns that particular Body Shop and because the Paper Trail is all in-house... it ends up being a cake-walk for the Customer.

I can ABSOLUTELY guarantee you that no insurance company owns this particular body show. It's a family-owned business that has grown from relative obscurity to become the "go to" place for body repair. They fairly recently moved into a new, custom-built building. Just as was the case with their previous shop, the new shop is meticulously maintained. The floors are so clean you could eat off of them. This, despite being one of the busiest shops in the county! I've had multiple conversations with both the owner and his son. I've had work done there, as have dozens of my friends. Trust me, they are an independent shop.

http://www.ptautowerks.com/

And, frankly EXceptional, as far as California is concerned, you're talking out of your butt by making the statement you made. I know of other AAA-approved shops in San Diego and they aren't owned by Triple A or any other insurance company either.

Mark

[SHB001]

Thanks everyone for your comments/concerns. I did find another dealership in Maryland (Jim Coleman) who said they are aware of this paint and will be using that. The other problem I am facing is the insurance adjuster who is only paying for a 'refurbished' front bumper. My EX is only 6 months old and obviously I would like to have a new part on it. I am not sure how end result would look like with a refurbished part though. I am trying to see if I can a get a new OEM part.

[302@12psi]

When I had paint work done to my car I was able to locate a PDF file that Infiniti released on doing paint repair work on the Self Heal Paint.

I found a body shop that used one of the recommended brands and had them do the hood, fender, and front bumper (a small tree branch landed on my car and scratched it no body damage).

They matched the paint well and while those particluar panels do not have the "self heal" on it they are still painted with a high quality paint recommended for repairs.

In my searches the "self heal" paint is only good for a few years anyway..so long run it really wasnt a big deal.

I was unable to find an Infiniti dealership that would repair the work using OEM paint...rather they would match it using whatever paint supplier they used just like any other body shop would.

[aft981]

Hmm, I didn't realise you were going to have the whole bumper replaced, in which case the 1500 sounds more reasonable....but is it necessary to replace the bumper just for a few scratches? Is it dented too then?

[gloa2000]

insurance pre-approved body shops are being picked by the insurance companies, most of them were in the business for a long time, does overall good repairs and have right equipments. I was working for a shop who were pre-approved by an Insurance company, they weren't owned by an insurance but i'm sure they were big and good.