# Car Dealer Paints Car Wrong Color **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 28, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801 "2010-06-28T16:37:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/61 "2010-07-09T03:39:24Z")
> [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](#): > > I just got word from my sister. The cars been at the dealer since saturday. She spoke the the claims adjuster. **He refuses to fix the problems**. He is saying the color looks fine and that they only painted parts of the car, not all of it. But when she first brought it in she was told they had to blend all of it, the guy says he never talked to her about that, but my sister remembers it. Plus the fact the car is the wrong damn color! > > The scratches, he says they didn’t do it. But they were not there before the car was hit, so either it was caused by the crash, or the dealer scratched it. > > The guy was being a total jack ass my sister said. He was talking to her as though she was a small child, telling her nothing was wrong with it. I told her to speak to the general manager of the dealership. > > We are all really pissed off. She has a car less than a year old, and the dealer is not interested in fixing it to “like new”, or at least the right damn color. > > My sister said she will take them to court if they don’t fix it. 2+2 seems to be coming up to 35 here. There is way too much of this story that does not seem to make any sense. BTW blend just means that instead of masking off a sharp edge, they blend the paint in over a few inches. for sure it does not mean they painted the entire car. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/62 "2010-07-09T03:47:47Z")
> [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](#): > > That I do not know. But you can see the old paint in the trunk, but he seems to be saying they painted the inside of the trunk a different color :rolleyes:. The inside of the trunk is actually a different color on many cars. It’s often only halfway painted as well, especially around the spare tire. I’m not saying you, or whoever, are wrong, just that this isn’t as crazy as it sounds. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > If the car is only a year old, it may be possible to find a slate Cobalt on the dealer lot. If so, park your sister’s car next to it, and ask them, “Do these match?” **That’s a great idea.** At bare minimum, do this before anything else. I also suggest taking it to a reputable body shop and just asking if they can tell whether the entire car has been painted/blended and, if not, whether they can tell any color difference between panels that have and haven’t been painted. I really suggest a set of trained eyes looking at the car before digging in for battle. I’m sure they will do this for free in the hopes that they will get your business. When I worked in this field, we had a thick scrapbook in the waiting room with photos of improper repair work we had corrected for people. Make sure to take the final estimate she was given when picking up the car so they can decipher it for you. This will not only give you more clout when talking to the insurance and dealer, but they will explain everything and help you know what to fight over. E.g., even if you’re right about the overall color, you won’t be arguing about another part of the situation that looks wrong to you but may not actually be wrong. Plus they might find something really wrong other than color. (and I’m sorry, I’m telling you to do these things and I realize it’s not you, it’s your sister and maybe your dad and I dont think you’re anywhere near the car, but I’m too lazy to edit it) ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/63 "2010-07-09T03:56:12Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > **That’s a great idea.** At bare minimum, do this before anything else. Missed the edit: I read that wrong. While his is a good idea, I would first take it to a different dealer, park it next to another and compare them by yourself. This is a free, simple way to figure out how well the color matches without anyone looking over your shoulder or arguing with you. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/64 "2010-07-09T04:09:11Z")
Keep us posted (no pun intended)! I’m wondering if there’s some sexism/ageism going on… would those Good Ol’ Boys’d be talking to a big angry middle-age guy (with a slate gray tireiron) in the same way? ---
**Author:** ![vinniepaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@vinniepaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vinniepaz)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/65 "2010-07-09T04:58:32Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > (BTW, which insurance company is this? I want to know so I never do business with them.) You would permanently boycott a business based on one story you heard third-hand (one of those hands being on the Internet) about them being condescending to a customer? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/66 "2010-07-09T05:05:04Z")
No, not really. But it’s not just condescension but really poor service. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_In_Black)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/67 "2010-07-09T21:30:37Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > You’ve never said whether they painted the entire outside of the car or only part of it, but this sounds to me like they only painted part of the car, and that color matches the color on the part they didn’t paint (other than inside the trunk). > > If they only painted part of the outside of the car, and the new paint color matches the old paint color, what more can you really expect or ask for? The entire car is no longer the color it was before they worked on it. They say they blended parts of it. But all of the car is dark blue. The car was slate before they worked on it. There is no doubt the entire car is the wrong color. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/68 "2010-07-10T16:54:31Z")
There’s still something strange going on here, for all the reasons already given. My best guess is the autobody shop screwed up in a MAJOR way, and are trying to put it off on your sister because (in part) she’s a woman and the car world is still about 30 years behind the rest of the world. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/69 "2010-07-10T17:09:06Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > just to clarify, i did not realize that i was partially color blind, as it only occurs with color shades, and not prime colors. > > It was something i threw out to > possibly explain what may have happened. > > declan I started out in a parts dealer, which included a facility for mixing car-paints. I have since spent all my career in aftersales/service. I am confident in saying it is HIGHLY unlikely that any colourblind person would ever be allowed in a position to be fully painting a car. Even an apprentice who lied about being colourblind would have been found out long before being allowed to paint a full car. ETA: I am colourblind by the way, its scary to stand and watch people making tiny alterations to paint colours, changes I cant even see. ---
**Author:** ![J\_Cubed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@J\_Cubed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J_Cubed)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/70 "2010-07-11T05:08:51Z")
> [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](#): > > The entire car is no longer the color it was before they worked on it. They say they blended parts of it. But all of the car is dark blue. The car was slate before they worked on it. There is no doubt the entire car is the wrong color. No offense, but it sounds like there definitely is a doubt that the car is the wrong color: both the dealer and the insurance guy seem to doubt it. I think the independent body shop idea is a good one. They’ll be able to tell you exactly what happened. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/71 "2010-07-12T05:22:52Z")
“Color” is nothing but reflected light. So a car will look drastically different under “daylight”(light overcast), sunlight, early morning/late afternoon light, streetlights, fluorescent, tungsten or mercury vapor lights. Check the car under as many different conditions as you can. My parents had a Chevy convertible in the 50s that was much bluer in afternoon sunlight than they’d seen under the dealer’s lights. (But I still hope you return to tell us that someone lost their job, and your insurance agent broke down in tears over this, and the dealer’s buying you a whole new car to apologize…) ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/72 "2010-07-12T05:41:56Z")
The trunk is a different color? What about the door jambs? What about the underside of the hood? What about peeling away a bit of rubber weatherstripping and comparing lines? No signs of masking anywhere? What about a speck of painted-over dust on any surface not connected to the repaired panel? Again, I’ve seen situations where a comedy of errors led to shooting the entire car, but a shop that can so perfectly paint as to leave no signs behind is probably not going to have screwed up so badly. Hmm… maybe the car _looked_ slate when it came in. Slate is a \*grayish \*dark blue, isn’t it? Now it’s just dark blue. Perhaps … perhaps they merely _washed_ it? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_In_Black)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/73 "2010-07-21T22:45:50Z")
I was gone away on vacation. Am now back. The dealer will not fix it. Beyond doubt, the car is a different color. It was washed many times in the past, not that isn’t it. You can look at it under any light, and it looks much more blue than it did beforehand. Apparently, their is no local rep from her insurance who can look at it. I am getting this second hand, so may not be totally accurate. But for whatever reason, her insurance isn’t getting involved. I do not know all of the details of the matter. I do not understand how her insurance is not doing anything. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/74 "2010-07-21T23:26:24Z")
What is the name of the insurance company and what state is your sister in? The website of the insurance company may have information about how to escalate a problem, and the website of the state insurance commissioner may have information on how to appeal to them for assistance. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Skinley\_Von\_Clipper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@Baron\_Skinley\_Von\_Clipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Skinley_Von_Clipper)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/75 "2010-07-22T00:59:57Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > it is HIGHLY unlikely that any colourblind person would ever be allowed in a position to be fully painting a car. I used to work with an electrician who claimed to be colour blind.:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/76 "2010-07-22T01:21:02Z")
> [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](#): > > I was gone away on vacation. Am now back. > > The dealer will not fix it. Beyond doubt, the car is a different color. It was washed many times in the past, not that isn’t it. You can look at it under any light, and it looks much more blue than it did beforehand. > > Apparently, their is no local rep from her insurance who can look at it. I am getting this second hand, so may not be totally accurate. But for whatever reason, her insurance isn’t getting involved. > > I do not know all of the details of the matter. I do not understand how her insurance is not doing anything. All kidding aside, unless the shop took _extraordinary_ pains to conceal their work, signs that it’s been painted are going to be obvious. Not a cursory–or even close–look at the exterior finish to compare current versus recollected color, but rather looking for things like mask lines, imperfections in the paint (dust, small bubbles), or borders between painted and unpainted surfaces (i.e., on top of and under the hood, behind weatherstripping). These are just a few examples of places to look at. Factory-painted parts are done in such a different manner and under such different conditions as to be all but unreproducible in an aftermarket shop. A good shop can come close, but that is absurdly expensive and time consuming, way beyond any attempt to hide an error. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/77 "2010-07-22T01:29:07Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > The trunk is a different color? What about the door jambs? What about the underside of the hood? What about peeling away a bit of rubber weatherstripping and comparing lines? No signs of masking anywhere? What about a speck of painted-over dust on any surface not connected to the repaired panel? > > Again, I’ve seen situations where a comedy of errors led to shooting the entire car, but a shop that can so perfectly paint as to leave no signs behind is probably not going to have screwed up so badly. > > Hmm… maybe the car _looked_ slate when it came in. Slate is a \*grayish \*dark blue, isn’t it? Now it’s just dark blue. Perhaps … perhaps they merely _washed_ it? > [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > All kidding aside, unless the shop took _extraordinary_ pains to conceal their work, signs that it’s been painted are going to be obvious. Not a cursory–or even close–look at the exterior finish to compare current versus recollected color, but rather looking for things like mask lines, imperfections in the paint (dust, small bubbles), or borders between painted and unpainted surfaces (i.e., on top of and under the hood, behind weatherstripping). These are just a few examples of places to look at. Factory-painted parts are done in such a different manner and under such different conditions as to be all but unreproducible in an aftermarket shop. A good shop can come close, but that is absurdly expensive and time consuming, way beyond any attempt to hide an error. For these reasons, until some more information is forthcoming, I have going to have to go with TPEBTSWATS \* \*(the problem exists between the steering wheel and the seat.) ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/78 "2010-09-21T04:04:59Z")
did we ever get an update on this? Inquiring minds want to know. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/79 "2010-09-21T05:31:23Z")
> [@Baron\_Skinley\_Von\_Clipper](#): > > > [@bucketybuck](#): > > > > it is HIGHLY unlikely that any colourblind person would ever be allowed in a position to be fully painting a car. > > I used to work with an electrician who claimed to be colour blind.:eek: \*OK, you’ve got ten seconds to defuse the bomb! Cut the red wire! \* \*\*Cut the where wha..? \*\* _The red wire! Cut the red wire!_ \*\*Did I ever tell you guys that I’m colorblind? \*\* _Wow, so you can’t tell red and green traffic lights apart?_ **No, this is a common misconception. You see…** B O O O M . ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801/80 "2010-09-21T05:49:53Z")
This is one weird fucking thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-dealer-paints-car-wrong-color/544801.md?page=5)