Wrecked WRX [Update] (Yeah, Oppo, you were right)

"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck) 04/01/2016 at 08:36 • Filed to: None

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After viewing the pics sent over by Subaru, I decided to go visit my WRX in person. First thing to note - it’s still sitting in the Subaru lot. The airbag and replacement sensor work is complete, but the headliner, the one ordered from this Subaru dealership, delivered to the body shop, then stuffed back into the WRX for delivery back to the Subaru dealer for installation, was damaged. The expected arrival of a replacement is Monday.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

The service adviser was happy to walk around the car with me and happily pointed out all of the problem she could see.

I’ll jump to the end and let you peruse the pics at your own pace. I called the body shop and spoke with the tech. Before they touch it again, we are going to go over the car with the shop manager and insurance adjuster to create a punchlist of outstanding repairs. Read on to see why I am so unhappy.

Let’s start at the front and a lesson in towing. Although flatbeds are required, tow drivers who don’t carry ramps/spacers/various doodads for getting you car on the flatbed without scraping the low-lying bits are not your friend. You know who else isn’t your friend? All the people who you pointed out the damage to but didn’t write it down, including the insurance adjuster, the body shop tech, and the body shop manager. The end result? This:

And it’s matching friend on the other side:

Then there are the misaligned and chipped panels, missing body clips, and scrapes on the freshly painted door edge:

And there there’s the paint. Oh God, what have they done to the paint?

And that back bumper cover? Not only was it not blended in, it received a plethora of new scratches and scrapes from a) throwing parts in and out of the hatch; and b) someone bumped into something with the car.

And to top it all off, they didn’t bother to paint some of the sheet metal that they were grinding on.

They say they will make it right. They damn well better make it right.

Needmoargarage > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/01/2016 at 08:42

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That is terrible, terrible bodywork. I’m sorry :(

Hope it works out.

crowmolly > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/01/2016 at 08:44

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That bodywork is terrible. See if the insurance company will let you send the car someplace else.

Gone > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/01/2016 at 08:59

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Looks like a good stone texture job on concrete. Congrats.

Oh fuck, that’s a quarter panel?


Painter obviously moonlights as a house painter and forgot what he was working on.

OPPOsaurus WRX > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/01/2016 at 09:02

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this WRX is on its way to teach them a lesson

they-will-know-my-velocity > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/01/2016 at 09:03

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It is common for sheetmetal and urethane bumpers to not quite match when painted with the same color. Even with that said, that is horrible body work and blatant disregard and lack of attention to detail.

Depending on your state and what you have in your policy, you should be able to send your car to whatever body shop you want. Do some research and find one that isn’t shit.

Also, don’t be afraid to look into contesting value of the car and repairs if the insurance company isn’t cooperating.

OPPOsaurus WRX > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/01/2016 at 09:06

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when I got hit monday, I was thinking it was a good thing it didn;t happen in the WRX. I would not have taken it well.

AkursedX > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/01/2016 at 09:07

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This level of work is not surprising. Most shops follow the ‘good enough’ work model to get the most cars in and out with the least amount of time/labor to maximize profits.

Unfortunately, this model works well because so few people actually take the time to inspect and have knowledge about the repair work. Most people are just happy to have their car back without smashed bits. They don’t take the time to see that those new un-smashed parts are misaligned and not properly reattached. Its ‘good enough’.

Now will the body shop repair all their shoddy work for you? Probably. They now know you are one of the 2% of customers they get who actually cares about the quality of work done and will tell the people who are working on your car to actually fix it ‘right’. (Although I bet you still won’t get all the body fasteners back. I swear I have never had a car in for service anywhere where it has not come out without a missing or mismatched fastener. It drives me nuts )

TheRealBicycleBuck > OPPOsaurus WRX 04/01/2016 at 09:15

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Sorry I missed that - I was traveling Monday. The Allroads took it well, but beware of the “latent” damage. The hit my wife’s Explorer took is estimated to be a $10,000 repair.

Aaron M - MasoFiST > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/01/2016 at 09:33

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That’s rough. When I got rear-ended, I took my WRX to a body shop near my parents which had worked on their cars in the past. On one hand, the body work was flawless, and after they were done the only hint the car had been hit was some glass pieces left in the bottom of the spare tire well. On the other hand, GEICO balked so much at me not using their “authorized service center” that it took a month to get my car back (after the work was already done). And the person who rear-ended me was 100% at-fault and paying, mind you.

shop-teacher > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/01/2016 at 09:41

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That looks like fried hell! Good luck dealing with them!

TheRealBicycleBuck > crowmolly 04/01/2016 at 09:43

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That’s going to be a tough sell. I selected the body shop based on a recommendation from the Subaru dealer. They are 90% complete with the work (shoddy as it is).

I think my best leverage is to convince the body shop that their reputation is at stake, both with me and with the Subaru dealer.

crowmolly > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/01/2016 at 09:45

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Are you getting any type of guarantee/warranty?

If you can see the poor spraywork just think of what’s underneath. You don’t want longevity issues.

TheRealBicycleBuck > they-will-know-my-velocity 04/01/2016 at 09:49

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I appreciate the reminder. I’d read that before. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to go to those lengths given that I used a shop recommended by my usual service tech.

OPPOsaurus WRX > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/01/2016 at 09:50

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yea i think the air ride has been deflating at a higher rate than usual. the little dents on the hatch were there already. There are some scrapes on the underside of my muffler. I dont even think i’ll need and paint. him.... yea a couple parts

sonicgabe > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/01/2016 at 09:55

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I feel your pain. About 18 years ago, I had this Tercel that some not paying attention guy rammed at about a 45 degree angle on the driver’s side front quarter panel. It pealed back the panel like a sardine car and messed up the door enough so that it wouldn’t open. Somehow, the jolt also blew out my clutch master cylinder (I had the clutch in when I got blind sided. Clutch worked just fine before the wreck, but cylinder was shot after and it dumped all items fluid in my driveway after. I have no idea how it happened).

The car was drivable after, enough to at least get it home. The (other guy’s) insurance folks picked it up the next day and brought it to a Toyota dealer to have it fixed, said it would take about two weeks. Three weeks go by and they call and say I have until the end of the day to return my rental because they decided to total the car. What?

I told them I wasn’t given the rental up until I had a check for my car (which I had just recently bought “used” but was only three years old and I was making payments on. Literally only had it about 4 months) and then had time to buy another. They agreed and offered me like $1000 less than the payoff on the car. I told them to screw themselves. After a day of me not backing down, it got paid off and I got $1000, which was the original down payment I had recently made when buying the car. Sorry for the aside. Now, on to why it was totaled...

They started taking the broken bits off. For some reason, they had to remove the dash, which meant removing the windshield. They took the driver’s door off as it was messed up. The took the quarter panel off as well as the hood and a few other odds and ends. Sounds like a through job by the dealer. Nope. After they spent one day taking it apart, they sent a list of parts to the adjuster for approval before ordering. The adjuster never got back to them. Parts never got ordered. For three weeks, my car sat all taken apart. Outside, uncovered, in a dirt lot behind the dealership. In hot, humid Florida. In the very rainy summer. It got rained on for, if I remember correctly, 15 of the 23 days it sat. The car was now destroyed. Ruined. Totaled. When I went to get whatever stuff of mine was left in the car, it looked like it was some abandoned junker in a field.

This is probably why they let me keep the rental for what turned out to be another two weeks and gave me the $1000. Before this happened, I had plans to go up to Atlanta for a concert and to visit some friends. I totally blew the mileage restrictions on that rental. The Atlanta trip was 900ish miles alone. I put about 2500 miles on it in the 5 weeks I had it. I’m sure they paid handsomely for that.

So, good luck with getting them to make it all right again. Don’t take “No.” for an answer, unless that’s the answer you want. As soon as they get it back to you, have a trusted shop look over everything they did. Even if you know enough to determine good/complete work from bad/wrong/not at all work, they won’t take your word for it if you think something’s not right. And if they fuck it all up or refuse to fix something, so long as the car runs and is safe, don’t hesitate to get an attorney. But you probably know all these things. Hopefully, it all gets done correctly and with a quickness.

Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/01/2016 at 10:01

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Not to play devils advocate, but I run into these situations often having managed body shops for a number of years. Most people don’t bother looking at their cars this thoroughly until after a repair.

The scrapes on the bottom of the front bumper cover really look like curb damage, they’re even visible in the photo you posted of the car on the rollback just after the accident.

The front bumper cover to right fender misalignment looks like shit, as do the chips at the corner of the front cover where it meets the left fender/wheel opening. The rocker molding misalignment looks rough, as well (both at the fender and quarter dogleg).

The holes in the rear bumper cover with no fasteners to the fender liner are designed, if I’m not mistaken. Just finished a Forester and a Legacy Outback that had them, they’re there for optional mudflap mounting.

The rear bumper scuffs should polish out, and regarding the blend, bumper covers usually don’t get a blend for match. Plastic components adjacent to metal usually have a color difference. Again, refer back to your first posting after the accident. The last photo you posted shows your rear cover has been about three shades darker than the body of the car for awhile.

As for the last item, showing burnt paint from spotwelds to the inner quarter from the replacement quarter skin: that is the most alarming. If they didn’t bother to paint the inner quarter pinchwelds at the window, I’d be leery of the rocker/centerpost/wheelwell/lower inner quarter flanges. It’s doubtful that any of them received proper refinishing/corrosion protection/seamsealers/NVH foam (noise and vibration harshness to eliminate road noise in the hollow areas between panels).

Essentially, you’ve got a number of valid and concerning items, but a couple appear to have existed prior to the accident and the body shop’s involvement with the car. Not trying to be a dick or a collision repair pedant, just trying to keep you from getting aggravated with things that may not be their fault and they may fight you on, as there’s plenty of items on the punch list to focus on that are both legit and concerning.

Another thing to consider, if you didn’t run the claim through your own carrier (i.e. you were the claimant against the other person’s insurance), you may be able to seek what’s known as diminished value from the at fault carrier.

TheRealBicycleBuck > crowmolly 04/01/2016 at 10:05

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I have to look into it. The Explorer, after it was hit the first time, was covered under a paint warranty. We were in the process of getting a repaint under warranty when it was hit again. Lucky for the body shop- they are getting paid to repaint the same parts!

crowmolly > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/01/2016 at 10:06

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Keep us posted, I hope they do right by you.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever 04/01/2016 at 10:29

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The Devil’s Advocate! I’m glad you are here! This will give me an opportunity to discuss some of the finer points.

“The scrapes on the bottom of the front bumper cover really look like curb damage, they’re even visible in the photo you posted of the car on the rollback just after the accident.”

Yes, the scrapes are there after the car was loaded. This is after I warned the driver that the front end was too low and he pulled it onto the flatbed anyway, scraping the front end in the process. I cringed as I heard the rusty bed remove a layer of plastic and paint. I cringed again as he repeated the process when he unloaded it.

“The holes in the rear bumper cover with no fasteners to the fender liner are designed, if I’m not mistaken.”

Unfortunately, you are mistaken. The Subaru tech pointed out that they are missing. Here’s a parts diagram (driver’s side) for reference:

“The rear bumper scuffs should polish out, and regarding the blend, bumper covers usually don’t get a blend for match. Plastic components adjacent to metal usually have a color difference.”

I have pics where the difference is much less pronounced. Considering that they have to repair chips along the top of the bumper cover caused by parts being flung in and out of the hatch, I’ll push for a respray.

“As for the last item, showing burnt paint from spotwelds to the inner quarter from the replacement quarter skin: that is the most alarming. If they didn’t bother to paint the inner quarter pinchwelds at the window, I’d be leery of the rocker/centerpost/wheelwell/lower inner quarter flanges.”

I appreciate this warning. The Subaru techs are supposed to put it on the lift and inspect for driveline damage not caught by the body shop. I’ll have them do a thorough inspection of the other body work - at least that which they can get to.

On your last note, since both insurance companies are involved, I already started the conversation on diminished value. That is to be settled the day of delivery.

Thanks for playing Devil’s Advocate. I have a better idea of which battles I might win.

ronmler3 > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/01/2016 at 10:44

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Do you really think those were unscuffed before? You should see the underside of my front bumper cover! It will definitely take you out of your “safe space” and “make you literally feel violence!”

ronmler3 > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/01/2016 at 10:45

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I am sure they will be quaking in their boots.....

dustynnguyendood > they-will-know-my-velocity 04/01/2016 at 10:58

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^this^ Several manufacturers have come out with TSBs regarding the color variation between bumper covers and surrounding sheet metal.

I agree with some others here that the most alarming pic of all is this one. I have serious concerns about corrosion protection and weld strength. I recall seeing an I-CAR video years ago where they spot welded through a couple layers of material without proper prep and an identical stack of material properly prepped and then pulled them apart. There was significant reduction in weld strength on the improperly prepped panels.

Nevermind the fact that the techs cared so little as to not throw any paint over that - if they had done that, then nobody would have been the wiser (not saying its okay, just that they’re idiots). That side glass was out to make those welds, throw some damn paint on it - jesus!

BKosher84 > Aaron M - MasoFiST 04/01/2016 at 11:12

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Geico is the worst. We dropped them like a sake of potatoes the second I got a better price from Allstate.

Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/01/2016 at 11:18

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I wish I had an Impreza wagon here to climb over to steer you to some of the common corner cutting areas that are easy to hide, but just as easy to check.

One thing I did think of, pop the scuff plates off at the bottoms of the door opening and peel back carpet, weatherstripping, and lower interior quarter trim a bit. There’s a pinchweld there where they would’ve been welding the outer rocker/quarter section on (very similar to the flange behind the quarter window you’ve spotted) that presumably didn’t get any paint, or even primer.

The Suby parts diagram is showing a front fender liner, which should have those fasteners. It was hard to tell from the photo, but I thought it was the passenger side of the rear bumper, which does have those open holes for flaps.

(You can barely see them open in this photo; my error).

Going back and looking at the rollback photos as well, what in gods name did the rollback driver put his winch hooks on, your lower control arms?! There’s a cap that pops out of the front bumper masking a threaded bolthole in the bumper reinforcement, in line with the right frame rail. In your spare tire tool kit is a threaded eyelet that fits the bolthole for safe winching/towing. If he didn’t hook control arms, check the holes in frame rails for tears. I had to total a Chevy Equinox from a rollback driver that put anchoring hooks in rear frame rails, tightened the winch in the front to secure the vehicle down, and proceeded to put a pair of six inch tears in the rails by dragging the car forward with the winch and eviscerating the rear structure (oops). Even though the impact didn’t touch your front wheels, make sure the camber and caster are right; request an alignment spec sheet. I’m hoping I’m wrong, but the cap is installed when the car is loaded, so I doubt they used it to winch.

Poor memory edit/addendum: Another thing to remember, any incidental damage from the tow is to be considered part of the accident. The only reason you needed a tow was due to the negligence of the at fault driver, thus their insurer should be held responsible for the front cover scrapes, as well as any damages related to anchoring/securing the vehcile for transport.

And if you need to show anyone photos from the scene of the accident to verify things, don’t show ‘em this one, they’ll fight you all day on the rear bumper color. It was an overcast day, which tends to magnify mismatches on silver. Bright, sunny, clear days, the light tends to wash out a lot of the color and minimize any mismatches.

Feel free to reply to this thread or PM me (are there even PMs in Kinja, and if so, do they actually work?) if I can help with anything. I’ve been fortunate having started in collision repair at a quality focused shop, and selective with where I’ve worked based off of technician skill level and abilities. It pisses me off when shops write, charge for, and sell customers on quality repairs, and then try to half ass and hide things they don’t think the average consumer will catch.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever 04/01/2016 at 11:40

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Thanks for all of the pointers. I will definitely follow up. It’s great that guys like you are a part of this community and willing to help those who are enthusiasts, but not experts.

DrZ > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/01/2016 at 13:13

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I also agree with the choice of photos for your color comparison. As a former paint engineer at Subaru, I can attest to lighting conditions being a total b*** to address color differences in body vs. bumper panels. Lighter colors like your silver car are especially prone to this and are among the hardest colors to get right from the manufacturer, let alone spray correctly at an aftermarket shop.

DrZ > they-will-know-my-velocity 04/01/2016 at 13:16

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It’s especially common for light, metallic colors to be off, even direct from the manufacturer (I used to be a paint manufacturing engineer at Subaru in Indiana where they make the Outback and Legacy). Those parts are painted on completely different paint lines in the factory and are matched up only when they get to final assembly. The paint even comes from different mix tanks! That makes it quite difficult to get right and it’s a bloody miracle (haha- more like hundreds of hours of work by robot techs and manufacturing engineers) that it gets done right as often as it does. Silver and white cars were the bane of my existence when I worked at Subaru, so pardon my hatred for them if it bubbles through a bit.

DrZ > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/01/2016 at 13:19

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Where do you live? If you’re close enough I’d be happy to give your paint re-spray the professional once over since I spent the better part of a year looking for paint defects on the Subaru production line and know what to look for. Or if you’re too far away I can send you some resources on what to keep your eye out for. :)

they-will-know-my-velocity > DrZ 04/01/2016 at 13:55

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I have a yellow GTO. Same paint, same mix, same time it was sprayed, front (and 10 year old rear) bumper doesn’t match metal exactly. It’s close. But it’s just slightly off. Not worth it to dedicate the time to reprep and paint to end up with something probably similar though so, whatever.

TheRealBicycleBuck > DrZ 04/01/2016 at 14:41

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I’m in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

TylerJ > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/04/2016 at 09:15

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I’m from Leesville, but I know a bunch of car guys in Baton Rouge. Do you need/want some repair shop names in case this doesn’t pan out correctly?

Also, one of my friend’s has a silver WRX, but he has the sedan not the hatch.

TheRealBicycleBuck > TylerJ 04/04/2016 at 10:06

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I looked at it again over the weekend and checked some of the hidden weld locations. It appears they only failed to paint one of them. The service adviser at Subaru went over it with me and will be pointing out the problems when the body shop comes to pick it up. Subaru is also having their master mechanic inspect the suspension/drivetrain repairs to make sure the body shop did them correctly.

I would like to see your list of recommended shops. It would be interesting to see if the shop I’m using is on that list. :)

Thanks again for your feedback. It has been helpful.

DrZ > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/05/2016 at 08:08

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A bit of a commute for me, so I’ll dig up some resources for you and post them here. :)

DrZ > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/05/2016 at 08:14

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http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0LEVvL2q…

Here’s a great resource from BASF, the primary coatings company that Subaru uses. It might be a bit more detailed than you need, but it’ll give you an idea of what various types of paint defects look like and what you can ask your shop to do about fixing them (or how to prevent them in the first place!). If you’ve got any questions about this topic feel free to ask!

TheRealBicycleBuck > DrZ 04/05/2016 at 08:18

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Thanks!

DrZ > they-will-know-my-velocity 04/05/2016 at 08:18

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Yeah sometimes because of the way the pigment and metallic flakes reflect light from different angles it will look off because you’re looking at the bumper panel at a different angle than the body panel.Or there’s always environmental effects, defects introduced from spraying at different angles or gun pressure, etc. Lots of things that can go wrong in a spray even if the paint is exactly the same.