Hey guys, need your input on this.

I have a brand new G37xS that I took to a pretty good, reputable local shop to get tinted. The installer calls me this afternoon to tell me that 1) the tint looks good and 2) he “accidentally dented my door” while moving the car in the shop. Awesome.

When I arrived at the shop, it actually does not look bad. He apparently left the rear door open while moving the car and the very edge hit something. Now that I look at it, it is barely noticeable, unless you know to look for it. When I showed it to my wife, she LOLed at me for caring about it so much. A typical Camry or a rental car has about 2-3 of these on each door. But the dent on the very edge of the door is still there, visible if you get up close, and you can definitely feel it if you run your finger on the paint.

The tinting shop wants to make it right and pay for the repairs, and I am glad that they actually called me to call this out rather than hoping I would not notice.

I have a couple of estimates from body shops to fix this dent, and they are both around $1200 and 3 days of work. Even though the dent is very minor and visible apparently only to me, they have to repair and repaint the door and blend in the rear quarter panel and the pillar, take off the molding, take the door apart etc…

What bothers me about this is that I have a brand new car with barely 600 miles on it that needs a repaint on two panels. When things are put back together, they are never the same, at least in my experience. I will sleep on this but I wanted to see what you guys think. Should I go ahead and fix it or say screw it and repair it later on? This is a lease, but I care about the car and there is a possibility that I will just buy the car out at the end of the lease. How would you proceed?

At least the tint looks good so far (Huper Optik 20% all around).

 

If it isn't noticeable , i would say just forget it since its a lease and just have the shop pay for the tint installation. Is it really worth it to keep your car away for 3 days and hit the poor shop with $1200. Sure they made a mistake, but accidents happen.

 

Get the shop to pay for the repairs asap. You will sleep better at night and won't be eyeing the dent everytime you are near your car.

 

This is what the damage looks like BTW:




from inside the door:

 

I've had a lot worse damage than that and after the body shop fixed it up you couldn't even tell. Haven't had any problems since. It depends on the quality of work the body shop performs and how good their paint mixing is. Since you won't be paying for it, take the time to find a reputable one that has good reviews. It seems like you are doing your research. Good luck.

 

IMO, #1 never buy out a lease. #2 just have them give you the tint. #3 like you said things never line up just right. #4 what happens when the auto body makes it worst? just cut your loss and get a free tint job. maybe just have the dent pulled out no paint.

 

OP,

I had a couple minor dents that I had fixed at Dent Wizard in Bellevue/"Redmond. They did a great job and charged me 100 bucks. Talk to them and see what they say. I believe they do a lot of work with Barrier.

Seafoolll

 

Do you have any reasons to back up your opinion on this? At the lease end you have the option to buy a used car that you know the complete history of, you know if it was ever in an accident, has ever had any mechanical problems, exactly how it was driven and how well maintained it was. Unless comparable used cars are on the market for less than your payoff, why wouldn't you take advantage of that? Unless of course you have reasons to not want to keep it, or just want to keep leasing new cars all the time....

 

I agree that the poor shop made a mistake, and accidents do happen - no one is perfect, but what about poor me? I paid good money to have a brand new car, I don't have a problem holding someone accountable for their ****up. My main concern right now is - do I live with the damage or do I live with the car painted over?

 

I am thinking the same way. Why would not you want to buy out your leased car if it is a good deal? I think of it as try before you buy.

 

Hmm, I will check them out but it does not look that easy. The paint is cracked and that panel needs to be refinished for sure, at least that's what the body shop told me.

 

Can you give them 3 body shop estimates and have the tint shop cut you a check? You have the option to pocket the money or use it to repair the damage later on.

 

I'd have the shop give you the tint job for free, rather than pay for the repair. Less of a loss for them, and you don't have the PITA of a body shop repair. It's not your car, so don't worry about it.

Isn't that one of the reasons why people lease?

 

This^^
Nice that the shop admitted it, but they have insurance for these kinds of things. If the damage is something you can live with (and it sounds like it is) and your lowest estimate is say $750, you're on your way to a new exhaust, or wheels, spoiler, etc., etc.

Or if they do home tinting and you live in a hot place might have them tint a bunch of your home windows

 

Have them cut you a check averaged out from 3 estimates. Keep the cash or take it to a Dent Buster type place. No need IMO to get that whole door reprinted.