Car Changing Colour - Have I Any Comeback?

slumped

Hi All

Bought a BMW 318i in March. 1998 version. Did a history check on it and it all checked out OK. Previous owner had got car NCT done and then traded it in to a dealer, where I bought it.

Got the usual 3 month guarantee but now, 8 months later, the car's blue paint is beginning to peel off to reveal a red paint.

It would appear from closer inspection that the car was red and sprayed to blue.

My questions are as follows:

1. Should the colour change be documented anywhere?
2. Should the garage have informed me that it was sprayed?
3. Have I any comeback and if not, how much am I looking at for a proper respray?

Thanks

S

Kimbot

what colour does the log book say?? if it says blue and the dealer didn't know anything about the red then something is wrong!!

A full respray can cost approx €2000!!!

louie

If is blue inside the engine bay then the original colour was blue in the first place. If part that shows the red are wing, bonnet, etc. then most likely the car has been damaged and parts replaced and badly sprayed over.

slumped

Initially it was just on the bottom part where the fog lamps are, but I've noticed it on the bonnet of the car too.

Best of my knowledge the log book says blue.

My main query is what recourse have I and should the log book state that the car WAS a different colour.

S

Gary ITR

Sounds to me like it's just the front end off a red car, check under the carpet in the boot and see what colour it is there. If the car was crashed and the dealer didn't tell you, you have some comeback.

JHMEG

Sounds like the bonnet and bumper were replaced with 2nd hand ones which were red originally, then sprayed blue. Most likely cos of a frontal smack (ie a crash)

So to answer your questions:
1. N/A
2. No. Buyer beware.
3. No comeback. To get the bonnet and bumper stripped back and sprayed again would prob be about 700 euro at a guess.

slumped

JHMEG wrote:

Sounds like the bonnet and bumper were replaced with 2nd hand ones which were red originally, then sprayed blue. Most likely cos of a frontal smack (ie a crash)

So to answer your questions:
1. N/A
2. No. Buyer beware.
3. No comeback. To get the bonnet and bumper stripped back and sprayed again would prob be about 700 euro at a guess.

Would I not have comeback if they failed to disclose an accident the card had or other major repairs?

That aside, surely when you buy a car you should expect that the paint will stay on the car.??

S

crosstownk

It may be just that seconhand parts fitted, as mentioned earlier. But I would check under the carpets and/or other concealed places. If the colour here is red then it could be something a bit more sinister............

Seth Brundle

slumped wrote:

Would I not have comeback if they failed to disclose an accident the card had or other major repairs?

Prove that they didn't tell you!

slumped wrote:

That aside, surely when you buy a car you should expect that the paint will stay on the car.??

I don't know what way it is coming off but could it look like it was originally caused by stone chips?

smash

would they usually not strip off the red and coat with a white for base before spraying blue...

louie

To get anything back from the dealer you have to prove that they new about it when they sold it to you. Very often happens for them to take a trade-in without knowing the past of the car.

The pain is coming off cause it was a cheap job done by some back street garage who didn't prepare it right before paint or the owner wasn't looking to pay the right price.

JHMEG

louie got it in one: it was a cheap job... the surfaces weren't prepared right.

Something I've learned over the years is to check around the emissions labels on the underside of the bonnet. If the bonnet was originally a different colour you'd see overspray of the new colour around the edges of those labels. They're masked when spraying, but because they have to completely cover the old colour, they can't be masked properly.

It is a 2nd hand car... the only guarantee you have is what they gave you originally.

You could go back to the garage and ask them politely why the paint is peeling. As a gesture of goodwill (to protect their reputation) they may offer to have it resprayed for you at their expense, which would be far less as they don't pay by the hour.

bazz26

louie wrote:

To get anything back from the dealer you have to prove that they new about it when they sold it to you. Very often happens for them to take a trade-in without knowing the past of the car.

I'm not so sure it is that clear cut.

If the person was sold a crashed car by a dealer and this information was not disclosed, I am not sure that the garage can claim ignorance as a defence. These people are professionals in their field of experteese and as such it is their job to spot dodgy repair works and disclose this information to potential buyers. Otherwise they would claim this defence for every car they sold, even dodgy ones.

This is my take on it anyway, maybe someone with legal knowledge or who is in the trade can shed some light on the subject?

jimmycrackcorm

You're assuming some sort of xray vision that garages have albeit perhaps garages should have an obligation to inspect certain areas for such a possibility.

slumped

Just found out from doing a HPI check in the UK that the car was written off after an accident there in 2005.

Me off to my solicitor. Can't discuss anymore here.

S

kluivert

Another reason why you should buy in the UK as they keep records like this.

MarkR

Once it's done and dusted (hopefully soon) let us know how you get on!

JHMEG

slumped wrote:

Did a history check on it and it all checked out OK.

What check did you do that showed up blank?

Fey!

He may have just checked the history here.

How many owners did your paperwork show for Ireland? And was it registered to the garage (ie, had the garage brought it in, registered and NCT'd it themselves, then sold it on, rather than taking it as a trade in?)

JHMEG

Fey! wrote:

He may have just checked the history here.

How many owners did your paperwork show for Ireland? And was it registered to the garage (ie, had the garage brought it in, registered and NCT'd it themselves, then sold it on, rather than taking it as a trade in?)

A history check here would only show 1 year. There would be 7 years unaccounted for. I seriously hope he checked more.

The reason I ask is because if there is an unreliable site/company etc that is not providing all info I'd rather know so that I can avoid them myself.

MercMad

I've said it before but I would do a UK HPI check on any car imported from there before purchasing it !

Assuming of course one knew it was imported, which is why you should examine all the paperwork until everything adds up !

Hope it all works out for the OP !

JHMEG

MercMad wrote:

Assuming of course one knew it was imported, which is why you should examine all the paperwork until everything adds up !

All Vehicle Registration Certs (the euro-wide replacements for VLCs) show the reg number if previously registered in another country. My '91 Integra VRC (owned 3 years now) shows the original Japanese reg, as does my recently acquired Accord Coupe (shows former UK reg).

Mc-BigE

slumped wrote:

Hi All

Bought a BMW 318i in March. 1998 version. Did a history check on it and it all checked out OK. Previous owner had got car NCT done and then traded it in to a dealer, where I bought it.

Got the usual 3 month guarantee but now, 8 months later, the car's blue paint is beginning to peel off to reveal a red paint.

It would appear from closer inspection that the car was red and sprayed to blue.

My questions are as follows:

1. Should the colour change be documented anywhere?
2. Should the garage have informed me that it was sprayed?
3. Have I any comeback and if not, how much am I looking at for a proper respray?

Thanks

S

Slumped, hope you get your day in court to sort this out.

How did the previous Irish owner get a car which was written off in the UK registered in Ireland in the first Place?

I reckon the Dealer was probably unaware that the Car was written off, but not sure legally whether they would be liable along with the previous owner.

Best of luck.

Always get a HPI check done on any UK reg car, even if its been in Ireland for a few years

Hotblack Desiato

Mc-BigE wrote:

How did the previous Irish owner get a car which was written off in the UK registered in Ireland in the first Place?

Written off does not necessarily mean fit for scrap, it does mean uneconomic to repair with new parts at the sort of labour rates the places which do insurance repairs charge.
But to answer your question, the Revenue do not examine cars (mechanically) when you pay VRT or require you to NCT them before registration. All they're interested in is whether it's got any extras to increase the price above their book value, not whether it's got any defects that could reduce the value.

JHMEG

Even if the car was technically scrapped in the UK, while it would illegal to put it back on the road there, there would not be anything to prevent it being repaired and put back on the road in another country (afaik).

If it was scrapped in the UK it would strengthen the OP's case.

Mc-BigE

JHMEG wrote:

Even if the car was technically scrapped in the UK, while it would illegal to put it back on the road there, there would not be anything to prevent it being repaired and put back on the road in another country (afaik).

wouldn't the V5 document say the car was scrapped? and in turn the Irish VRO office would see this and not allow the car onto irish roads?

unless of course its the just VRT money there after and couldn't care less about the cars history;)

zilog_jones

JHMEG wrote:

My '91 Integra VRC (owned 3 years now) shows the original Japanese reg

Did it include the place name part of the number plate? It's probably translated as a 2 or 3 letter abbreviation (see here) at the beginning of the registration. I tried looking up a friend's Nissan March on Cartell.ie (when it was free), and it was missing this - it'd be like missing the county/city letters of an Irish reg!

Maybe the VRO are just too lazy to look up the kanji...

JHMEG

That's a good point there zilog. No, mine only has the 12-34 bit of the reg. Which I thought was a bit short alright when I first saw it.