Body damage after picking up from service

I've been using this shop for years, been very happy with their work. Since we drive old cars, and I just bought a 2001 Miata, they're seeing a lot of us for the last few years. I don't know how much I've spent there, easily a few thousand every year. A $2000 repair bill is not unusual, and I never give them any grief. 

Since I bought my Miata in February, I've had it there twice, for a total of about $2400. The last time in was this week, I provided almost all of the parts, and spent about $800 for installation of shocks, and a fuel pump and filter.

The car was there for three days, and inside the shop at night since I had the hard top off and in the back of my truck (no soft top). My wife picked it up at 5:00 closing, drove directly home and parked it in the driveway. Since she had to pick up our daughter from aftercare, she wouldn't have been able to go anywhere else (we live next to the school). 

I got home about 8 pm, and saw that the spoiler was broken, the trunk has a dent and is buckled slightly, and the passenger side trunk hinge is bent/twisted slightly. The trunk edge contacts the bracket for the hardtop on that side, and the trunk shifts to the driver's side of the car when it opens. Also, the paint on the bottom of the bumper cover is cracked. The additional complicating factor is that the car was repainted from BRG to the current Lava Orange two years ago. 

The repair is going to require a at least a replacement trunk lid with hinges and (depending on what I choose to do) a spoiler. The paint on the bumper cover cracked from the impact, which concerns me that the proper additive to make the paint flexible wasn't used, and I have no idea if that spot can be blended like on metal. Is it possible that I need a bumper cover too?

I really don't want to stop using this shop, but obviously I'm unhappy. Since there's no paint on the dents, and it's in a vertical orientation, it appears that someone backed it into a pole rather than having it hit by another vehicle while parked. 

A couple of questions for the hive: first, and most obvious, is how to approach this with the owners? It's an independent tire store, and is a connection for the local performance community. The owner is an instructor for the autocross club that I want to join, and will be racing with for the first time next saturday. They're nice people, and I really don't want to burn that bridge, but you can imagine how I feel. Nothing was said. 

Second, what about the paint? Can the bumper cover be spot painted? Was it painted incorrectly, and should I use this an an opportunity to replace it and have the paint applied properly? 

Do you think I can even get a good color match?

In reply to Floating Doc :

In reply to Floating Doc :

DANG DANG DANG.

First things first - your wife didn't back into something, right?

I would approach it as a friendly conversation with the shop owner. Just tell him what you've said here, that your wife picked up the car and didn't notice the damage, but you did as soon as you saw it. Ask him what you think should be done. Maybe one of his guys knows they did it but didn't notice the damage. They absolutely should pay for it if you're sure it was done there.

I fear that will end up on your insurance.  That is big enough there is no way the boss tried to get away with it, unless he's an idiot.  It could very easily have happened in the parking lot of the shop, but the shop insurance is, at most, liable for the deductible. If a staff member admits to it, that is different.

That is how it works here, anyway. 

while you're in there, glance at any object it could conceivably been backed into and see if there's some orange paint on it....

looks like something only a couple feet tall that maybe wasn't seen in the rearview when backing? I know at my workplace, there are some 2-foot bollards protecting a fire hydrant in the parking lot and people CONSTANTLY back into the posts since they're below the height of most rearview mirrors.....

Yeah, I'm going to have a look around for some orange paint and pieces of fiberglass when I go by tomorrow.  

Of course I considered whether my wife could had backed into something, but after 25 years of not lying to each other, it's very unlikely to happen over something like this. 

Other factors in my belief that it wouldn't have been her:

She only would have backed the car up to leave the shop, and there's nothing to back into from where she parked. She told me that the owners were in the parking lot when she left, since they got to see her stall it twice, so if she had hit something, they would have seen it. She's competent with a clutch, but hadn't driven this car yet, and it's got a 10 lb flywheel and the clutch starts to engage about a half inch off the floor.

Also, she had to come straight home since it was already 5 PM, and if we don't get our daughter from aftercare by 5:30, it's five dollars a minute. It's about a 25 minute drive that time of day. So no opportunity to back it up. 

I have no advice, just condolences, because I have never had this type of thing go well. No matter how I try to handle it, from doing nothing and figuring it out for myself to being a raving lunatic, I always end up unhappy with the result. 

snailmont5oh said:

I have no advice, just condolences, because I have never had this type of thing go well. No matter how I try to handle it, from doing nothing and figuring it out for myself to being a raving lunatic, I always end up unhappy with the result. 

Yeah, my concern is that the repair won't come out well, and then I won't be able to get over it. 

Hadn't regretted buying the car, until now.

It does look eminently repairable to me, but you'll probably end up having to repair a large part of the rear of the car so the paint can be blended in. I would guess the whole rear (bumper, license plate panel, trunk lid, spoiler), blended into the fenders. A good shop should be able to make the repair pretty much invisible.

Really silly question, but could someone have hit it in your driveway? Maybe a truck backing up?

As to approaching the shop, it's hard to do when you're not 100% sure that it happened there. And if your car was parked outside and got hit by someone else there, that might be a bit problematic, too. IME a good shop will own up to this having happened and you probably would have been told by them.

The only time I ran into something like this was when the paint on my freshly painted RX7 TII was damaged by angle grinder sparks in a shop and any discussion was flat out refused by "we don't do that around here".

Yes, could have been hit in the driveway, but it would be a long way from the street, further than this. 

I'm also on a corner at the other end of the lot, so easy to turn around right there. 

Was going to go to the shop as soon as possible this morning, but wife's at work. Since we need to pick up my truck there, I'll wait until this afternoon so she can come with me. 

It was picked up on Friday afternoon, so I already lost the chance to bring it right back. 

It's conjecture to say it backed into a pole instead of someone hitting it.  From that damage, there's really no way to say for sure, so I wouldn't even go down that rabbit hole. 

If...and it's a big if...it happened at the shop, they have what's called garagekeepers insurance to cover this specific type of event.  Liability isn't relevant.  However, you'd have to show (or the shop would have to admit) that the damage occurred while it was in their possession on their property.  If they don't, then you'll have a tough hill to climb. 

The deck lid probably needs replacing.  If the bumper paint is "cracked", then yeah whoever repainted it probably didn't use flex or didn't do it right.  You don't blend from a bumper cover into adjacent panels, but they may have to blend a little from the trunk into the quarters, then clearcoat them.

No question that the trunk lid has to be replaced. It's bowed and twisted.

Sounds like the bumper cover will need to be replaced also. It wasn't properly painted to begin with, and I doubt that the current paint can be stripped from the plastic. The bumper cover and license plate surround are all one piece.

That bumper, at least from the photo I see, is easily fixed.

Klayfish said:

That bumper, at least from the photo I see, is easily fixed.

I agree, but without the addition of flex to the paint that's already there, it's just waiting for another small impact to crack it again.

I am thinking that if the car is going to need paint, then this is an opportunity to correct that. 

Off topic: what spoiler is that?

Floating Doc said:

Klayfish said:

That bumper, at least from the photo I see, is easily fixed.

I agree, but without the addition of flex to the paint that's already there, it's just waiting for another small impact to crack it again.

I am thinking that if the car is going to need paint, then this is an opportunity to correct that. 

They can...and should...strip it down and then repaint it, using the proper flex that may not have been done before.  No reason to replace the actual cover, from what I see it appears in good condition.

Dusterbd13 said:

Off topic: what spoiler is that?

Not sure, came on the car. I guess it's the "ducktail", but I'm not sure. Perhaps Keith or one of the other resident experts might comment. 

Didn't we have a similar post a couple years back with a custom painted S2000 it was someones son's that the shop damaged and admitted but then couldn't fix?

Any chance the shop has security cameras?

glueguy said:

Any chance the shop has security cameras?

Oh, that's a good question! I'm going to take a ride there in a few minutes and I'll ask. 

I feel for you about the damage, it's a bummer.   But, I think the time lapse has you screwed.  Lesson learned about giving your car the once over, before hopping in  it.  Do you have collision?  May be time to do the hokey pokey with insurance.  Touchy subject with the shop, interaction depends on you relationship with the owner.  Not sure how to approach it without hard feelings.  Good luck.

Dirtydog said:

I feel for you about the damage, it's a bummer.   But, I think the time lapse has you screwed.  Lesson learned about giving your car the once over, before hopping in  it.

^^^ This. Since it wasn't pointed out right there at the shop when it was picked up, short of them admitting it happened when you bring it up to them this is going to be an uphill battle for you.

I get the Friday afternoon pickup situation and everything on your end, but from their perspective I would be skeptical of someone bringing a car back three days later, after a weekend, accusing me of damage. Short of a smoking gun like security footage or an employee admitting to it you probably do not have many options.

No help now, but whenever I need to take my modern sports car to th dealer (arranty work for example) I stop it outside their shop, and take a series of about 6 pictures on my cell phone to document time and place and that the car was in good condition when I brought it in.  Then I tell them that I have done that so they know that if they do any damage at all I can prove that they did it.  I also tell them I took the mileage and if there is no road testing needed for the repair, it better be exactly the same mileage when I pick it up.

wspohn said:

No help now, but whenever I need to take my modern sports car to th dealer (arranty work for example) I stop it outside their shop, and take a series of about 6 pictures on my cell phone to document time and place and that the car was in good condition when I brought it in.  Then I tell them that I have done that so they know that if they do any damage at all I can prove that they did it.  I also tell them I took the mileage and if there is no road testing needed for the repair, it better be exactly the same mileage when I pick it up.

Lesson learned. Good advice for next time. I'm sitting in the Enterprise car rental next door while they review their security camera footage.