I recently purchased a 2006 997 C2S Cabrio from Carmax. I am very happy with the car, mechanically it is very sound, and in "excellent" condition as per 2 independent PPI's from certified Porsche mechanics.
I got the car for a really good deal. The only main issue I had with the car was the paint. The hood had several "spots" where there had apparently been some "acid etching" through the paint which the original owner had touched up. Also, the rear diffuser was very faded and the front bumper had an area which had been scratched, and touched up. I took the car to a very reputable body shop where I received an estimate to repair the damaged paint areas. Basically I was told that the only way to repair the damage was to repaint the damaged areas. Carmax was willing to do the necessary repairs, but using their (contracted) body shop. The repairs were done, hood was repainted to match the fenders (meaning, the fenders were also repainted), and the rear diffuser was repainted. The car's color is Slate Gray Metallic, as per the paint code for the exterior body color, 59V9. The only issue now is that the newly painted areas appear noticeably more "metallic" than the original, non-repainted areas, especially in direct sunlight. My question is the following: Is this normal? Could they have matched the hood, fenders, bumper and rear diffuser more closely to the rest of the car? I took the car back to Carmax and I was told by their service manager that when a car's panel is repainted, it would never be matched "perfectly" to the rest of the car. They did say that they would have the painter come in and take a look at the car to see if this could somehow be "fixed" by using less metallic or something to that effect. I plan on taking the car to have it evaluated by Stuttgart international Body Shop, probably the best body shop in the South Florida area (where I initially took the car) and have them give me their opinion.
I would appreciate any input from anyone who has had similar experience with paint issues such as these on their cars.

Sorry about the long-winded post, and thanks for taking the time to read!!!

And by the way,
Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!


Abdon

 

Painting, especiall repainting and blending is almost an art.......... Metallics are not the same from one manufacturer than another, clears are not the same (some will give a final result a tad darker/lighter than others), and just a difference in pressure to the gun makes a difference....... I'll also tell ya that the process of whomever the painter is to lay down the spray (again especially with metallics) is different.

You may need to ultimatedly take it to a "better" shop for repair. (I've seen places that will shoot a sample on something the size of a license plate, fully done, dry, then compare side-by-side to see if the match is correct).

Not sure if that helps or not.

 

Hi Abdon!

Nice seeing you around these parts! Never take your car to crapmax for painting. those guys are a hack. I can guarantee you that they even didn't prime the surface prior to painting. That paint is going to be flaking in no time. It happened to me and my front bumper. There is a place in Coral Gables that does all the work for The Collection called Countach Body Work. They are simply amazing and they work with all types of hi end vehicles.
Good luck!
joel

 

Metallics are tough to match, especially when the underlying material changes such as metal to fiberglass. Even the direction in which the metallic paint is sprayed and its thickness can have an effect. My factory GT Silver in certain lights shows the rear bumper looking way darker than the rest of the car. And I get odd reflections at certain angles on the hood. An expert body shop should be able to tell if it was done properly or needs a respray.

 

Well, here is an update on my situation:
I took my car to Stuttgart International Body Shop yesterday. After looking at the car, they told me that Carmax's body shop used the wrong paint, plain and simple. Also, they pointed out to me numerous areas where there were "fish eyes" and "dry spots", two terms that I was previously unfamiliar with. They also showed me how "rough" the edges were where they had taped off the areas that were not to be painted. In effect, they (carmax's body shop) had done a crappy job.

I spoke to the service manager at carmax again, and explained the situation. A couple of things happened. First, she told me that the fenders had NOT been painted, and were in their ORIGINAL state.
This is a blatant LIE.
I can tell for two reasons. First, they left the paint cap lid the ORIGINAL color, and you can really tell the difference when you shine a light on to the fender and compare it to the gas lid, or when sunlight hits the car. Second, you can really tell when you look at the fender and compare it to the door. They obviously painted the fenders to match the hood. It looks extremely "flakey" or "metallic" compared to the rest of the car.

I told the service manager at CM that I was EXTREMELY dissappointed with the results, and that I wanted the areas repainted by Stuttgart International. She told me that CM has an account with their body shop, and I had to give them ANOTHER opportunity to correct the job before they even considered a shop of my choosing.

I also spoke to the owner of CM's body shop, and explained my situation, and expressed my dissappointment. In short, he told me that I was "expecting too much" and he would "not be able to provide the kind of work I wanted". The difference between CM's body shop and S.I is HUGE. For starters, CM's body shop leaves all panels on the car, and they "cover" areas not to be painted. They have no enclosed areas where they do the work.
S.I. REMOVES the panels completely, and repaints them in CLOSED rooms. They work almost exclusively on high end German automobiles. They also use Porsche certified German paint, "Glasurit" and "Spies-Hecker". When I told the body shop at CM about this paint I think their brains short-circuited!

I am planning on going back to carmax tomorrow to meet with the service manager once again, and hopefully have the bodyshop's owner come by as well so we can all meet. I am not really optimistic about the body shop manager showing up however.
I really do NOT want CM's body shop touching my car again. I really do not think (nor do THEY apparently) that they can do the job properly. I doubt that carmax will approve of having the job done at Stuttgart International. Should I just bite the bullet and pay for the job myself? As per Stuttgart Int., it would be a ~$2000 job. I also considered telling (asking rather) CM to pay for 50% of the cost to do the job at S.I. and providing a loaner.
Is this fair? Am I being too picky over this whole issue? Everything else has been fine with CM, I'm just getting very dissapointed over the paint issue, and I want them to either make this right, or at least provide some help in making this right.

Again, any advice would be appreciated!

Thank you all, and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Abdon

 

you are not picky. you are asking what needs to be done.
In another story, the carmax extended warranty is really good and The Collection takes it...

 

Thanks Joel! Yes, I got the extended warranty. Don't think it will cover the paint issue though! LOL!

 

Well it's obvious at this point that only SI should be touching your car. Whether you pay for it entirely out of your pocket is the question. I think 50% is fair, but negotiate as hard as you can. They f'd up and you can prove it and could potentially even argue that they made it worse. But in the end if you wind up paying for it all at least you'll get it done right and be satisfied. The cards have been dealt and the flop isn't going to change, hopefully the river card will work in your favor.

 

Your car should have been painted properly, pure and simple. If CM can't do the job then they need to let a real shop handle the work. I had my front bumperets removed from my Turbo. I took the bumper to a reputable shop to be filled and painted WITHOUT THE CAR. The shop did a great job and the bumper matches perfectly and is guaranteed for as long as I own the car. You don't want to remember your purchasing experience with a sour note. Good Luck and keep us posted.

 

Thanks for the responses and well-wishes guys...I'll keep you all posted.

We'll see what happens tomorrow!

Enjoy Thanksgiving!!!!

 

You may (unfortunately) be in a situation here where CM did agree for the repair, but obviously using their shop as you mentioned. I think your idea might not be all that bad. Considering this........ CM did not do an acceptable job (and granted they did not use the higer end paints mentioned.....truth be told that you can get some great stuff from PPG and a good painter can get a match also.

I strayed away...........Sooooooo. In your meeting, if CM knows that what they had promised to deliver has not been (in your eyes), at some point are they really gonna go through this time-after-time with you. (NYET).... The offer of 50% coverage to another shop seems reasonable.

A question here. Doesn't CarMax have a XX day warranty on a car return? (I ask that because if you are inside that window, just tell them the car is on its way back unless the repair is not satisfactory)

 

Yes, Carmax has a 5 day return policy. I bought the car on 11-03-10, so the 5 day return is way over.
They also have a 30 warranty, where they will repair/correct ANYTHING that I might find wrong with the car free of charge. I have less than a week before that warranty runs out, which is why I am trying to resolve this issue asap.
At the very least, I hope they accept the offer to cover 50% of the cost of the re-paint at the shop of my choice. If not, the worse I can do I guess is to let them know I am a very dissatisfied customer, and will NOT be shopping there again.

 

A two tone car is a nightmare and can be the result of many things. Poor paint quality is one possibility . Improper match is another.
However --sometimes a good quality paint can fade or show wear against a fresh coat --especially in a place like Florida if parked outside in the sun for years.

 

They did an excellent job on my white car's door dent/scratch . +1 .

 

These are the pitfalls of buying from a NON Porsche dealership .
2K actually sounds reasonable .