In November, someone backed into my TR3A and damaged the left front wing. We
exchanged information and had a cop come to write up a report. So far, so
good.
Liberty Mutual gives me an estimated payment that seems low, but said that
they would discuss it with the body shop if there was a problem. This is where
I should have started to worry.
I brought the car to a shop that specializes in Hot Rods, Corvette, etc. and
has a very good reputation in the area. My TR3A is Silverstone Gray, a local
paint shop, that I purchased my paint original paint from, used a computer
plus ended up doing some additional hand mixing to match the original 40+ year
old paint in order to get an almost identical match (operatitve word is
almost).
In fact I went back to get a pint of touch-up color made up and they weren't
able to match the color they sold me. I told this to the Body Shop guy and
he said that it would not be a problem, they could match the paint. The body
shop that I chose uses the same PPG paint that I used. Great! I told him that
I expect an exact match as this is not an 81 Ford escort that he will work on.
Just before Christmas I get a call, the car is ready. Great job on the body
work, flawless paint finish, Siverstone gray is a warm gray, the new gray on
the fender is a cool gray. I bring this to the shop owners attention and he
said that the went thru two batches of paint and that was as close as they
could
get. He then agreed with me that maybe he could do better. Last week I get
a call that the car is ready. Match is much closer, but no cigar. Shop owner
states that the only way to get it better is to paint the whole car. In
order to do that I need to get cheapskate Liberty Mutual to spring for it.
Today, Liberty Mutual sent a superviser down to the paint shop. The shop
owner gives me a call a leaves a message that the Liberty Mutual superviser
states that the paint job is fine. Get a hold of the snotty superviser but end
up
with no resolution.
I am going to report this to the Connecticut Insurance Commisioner, to see if
I can get some remedy. I don't know what the shop owner expects from me, but
I am reluctant to cash the check from Liberty Mutual, they make take that as
acceptance of their pitiful allowance. I may try to see if the body shop will
take the portion of the estimate for only the bodywork.
Does anyone have any other suggestions on what to do. Am I being too picky?
If I can't get a resolution, the way I feel right now, I will probably put
the TR3 up for sale.
Any suggestions are welcome.
Gary Bouffard
59 TR3A (probably going to arbitration)
59 Bugeye (work in process)
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