Does this look like a bad repair job?

[jjones]

Hi, I was given a 1999 Yellow GLS as a gift from my dad yesterday. I was admiring my new baby and couldn't help but notice a slight difference in the color on the hood and the front, left fender from the rest of the car. I didn't think much of it, but then today when I took pictures of the car it was more noticable than ever.



What does this look like to you? I doubt the car could fade in just those places.

[Kermit]

Hum, did you or can you run a CarFax? Seems like it's been repainted, but I'd kinda like to know why??? CarFax would/should show accident history if it was reported to insurance. Kind of odd that it would be those two panels, although...my old Camero got backed into and it was the drivers quarter and hood that had to be replaced.

[GINA]

Could also be sun damage, especially if it's a 99

[Breez]

Originally Posted by GINA

Could also be sun damage, especially if it's a 99

I almost agreed untill I looked on the driver side where the wheel well is... that also has the color change... so the bumper has been replaced.

Did the carfax say anything?

PS: I love yellow!!! Congratulations on your new baby!!!

[marvins_dad]

Is there a color shift from your gas flap and the fender?
If so then it looks like the paint on the metal parts of your bug has faded. I haven't seen a yellow do this, but us cyber green folks all experience this.

[hestersu]

If the car was repainted, it could be the paint shop used the wrong yellow. There was actually a slightly different yellow in 98/99. There was a problem with it fading on the plastic pieces. Later in 99, it changed ever so slightly. But enough to tell the difference.

The paint does appear different between the hood and the fascia. Reminder that the fascia is plastic and takes the paint differently. It could have faded on the hood, but my guess is the the wrong color was chosen and the paint shop didn't do a very good job of color matching. In their defence, the difference is so subtle that most shops would have a problem and wouldn't know there was a change.

[jjones]

The car is still with my dad so he can get tags and insurance all straightened out, but I'm going to run a carfax check on it as soon as I get the VIN. Thanks for your help!

[dunno513]

Buy a bra, and you won't be able to tell..

Appears that paint faded, then, crunch or whatever, then the shop just used the paint code, and never bothered to check it for fade.

Doubt it was an insurance fix, cuz no one would have accepted that, so my guess is it was minor damage, probably to the right front since the fender was also painted.

Where does the new paint stop? If you really want, I'm sure someone in the paint business could steer you towards something that would "whiten" to match, but I would just buy a bra and call it a day.. Nice GIFT tho....

[jjones]

That's an awesome idea! I probably wouldn't have thought of that.
Do you think minor body damage could cause any major mechanical problems?

[dunno513]

need to stick you head down in places you otherwise wouldnt. check brackets where things attach, door allignment, etc. someone probably just caught a bit o' road debris. I would think that hood would have damage, should it have been a good smack..

check and see if it looks like a new oil pan. or steering linkage has been replaced. Compare the rust from side to side on components. Check for one wheel which looks new, and the others have pits, or wheel weight marks. That will tell you if the rim needed to be replaced. Check to see if coolant tank or windshield washer tank is new.. doubt it since the hood looks ok.

I'm still guessing on a parking lot fender bender which caught the right front wheel.

[jjones]

I'm pretty stupid about parts of a car, but next time I see it I'll try my best to look out for those things.
So you think the parts that are brighter are the ones that have had damage?

When you look at the car from the right, everything seems to match up.

Same for the left.

(Sorry, bad picture)

But then when you go to the front it looks like this.


Anyway, got any suggestions on which bra to get and where?

[Breez]

I love that "crawler" style bra... I think a bra is your best bet.

You are going to have soooo much fun in that yellow beetle!!! Congrats!!!

[jjones]

Originally Posted by Breez

I love that "crawler" style bra... I think a bra is your best bet.

You are going to have soooo much fun in that yellow beetle!!! Congrats!!!

Thank you!
It's all I've been able to concentrate on for 2 days!

I just looked at a picture of the crawler a few minutes ago and it really is beautiful. Do you know if Perfect Fit is a good brand, or are all of the bras going to be pretty much the same quality?

[AmyJane]

Originally Posted by marvins_dad

Is there a color shift from your gas flap and the fender?
If so then it looks like the paint on the metal parts of your bug has faded. I haven't seen a yellow do this, but us cyber green folks all experience this.

Yeah. My fuel door is darker than my fender.

[marvins_dad]

Originally Posted by jjones

Thank you!
It's all I've been able to concentrate on for 2 days!

I just looked at a picture of the crawler a few minutes ago and it really is beautiful. Do you know if Perfect Fit is a good brand, or are all of the bras going to be pretty much the same quality?

There are apples and oranges with bras.
Perfect Fit is def. one of the best ones out there.
I have seen the VW Bra, Wolf and owned a WCM and they are all inferior to the Perfect Fit Bra.

[mezonesxbox]

My cyber green suffers from this. I have noticed that the paint looks better in the plastic fenders and bumper BUT the metal is really faded. Mine is a 2000 so i guess its expected, and the first owner used to live in Taxas and we all know how how hot it gets overthere.

[Breez]

I think "Mattsbug" is selling a bra for a 2.0... you might want to PM him.

[jjones]

I just ran a carfax report and it came up clean. Does that just mean that something could have happened that wasn't reported?

[Breez]

Not all carfax are completely correct. My Jetta was totalled with Airbags deployed, and it states that no airbags were reported as deployed.

Another interesting example is my beetle, it says it was produced and delieved in February of 2000.... it was actually February of 2001, so it completely has the wrong date.

So carfax isnt always correct, maybe the past owner just had a parking lot "incedent" and just replaced that bumper and fender section. I wouldnt loose sleep over it if it feels like a "solid" car... just get a Bra if it bothers you