I bought my car new in 2001.
At that time, I also purchased the extended warrantee, which included "paint protection".

In 2003, some damage required the rear bumper and trunk lid to be repainted.

A few months later, the clear coat started to bubble up in a couple of places on the bumper.

The body shop has a lifetime guarantee on paint jobs against defects.
This is obviously a painting defect.

Because of various things going on in my life, I didn't see it as a big hurry to get it fixed.
Lifetime guarantee is for a lifetime, right?

Until a couple of weeks ago when there was a VERY minor collision.  

(lady tapped me so lightly that my wife literally didn't even feel it.  
I got out of my car, and the lady sped off.  I got her license plate number.)

I was able to polish out 100% of the mark in the bumper.
Essentially, some of her paint was smeared on my car.  (helped the investigation)

The problem is, some of the clear coat sluffed off where the vehicles touched.
The base coat is still perfect.  Not a scratch.

I took it to the body shop that repainted it in 2003.

They say they are no longer responsible for honoring the guarantee because
"other" damage has been done.  

The question is, should I expect them to honor any of their guarantee?

[edited to remove some rambling]

Back to top for the morning crew.

if they had been made aware prior to the second collision, I'd say yes without a doubt they should honor the warranty.  After the second collision.....I'd have to go with no they aren't obligated but it would be the honorable thing to do...I certainly wouldn't hold it against them

I wouldn't really expect them to stand by it after a second collision.

Quoted: if they had been made aware prior to the second collision, I'd say yes without a doubt they should honor the warranty.  After the second collision.....I'd have to go with no they aren't obligated but it would be the honorable thing to do...I certainly wouldn't hold it against them

Well, I took it back soon after the clearcote started peeling.
They agreed it was a bad paint job, and they would repaint it.
But they were backed up, and couldn't get me in right away.
Then our schedules didn't match up, and here it is 3 years later.
Unfortunately, with their employee turnover rate, nobody that looked at it then still works there.

Quoted: I wouldn't really expect them to stand by it after a second collision ever.

Nobody stands behind warranties now.  Why would you expect the paint shop to be any different from companies like Dell, Kel-Tec, GM, Ford, HP, DeWalt, and Sharp that I've had all rip me off either personally or at work in the past year.  It's the new American way.  Promise a long warranty then don't honor it.  Companies know now that it's much cheaper to lose a small claims or lemon law case here and there than it is to actually honor warranties.  They're good at math.z

You mean that for 3 YEARS you couldn't get your schedules sync'd up? After the second collision I'd have a hard time holding them to a warrenty. It would be a very honorable thing for them to do but I wouldn't get in a tizzy about it.

Quoted: You mean that for 3 YEARS you couldn't get your schedules sync'd up? After the second collision I'd have a hard time holding them to a warrenty. It would be a very honorable thing for them to do but I wouldn't get in a tizzy about it.

I hope I'm not in a tizzy.

It isn't that our schedules didn't synch in 3 years.
It is that after a few months, I realized that there was no hurry to things fixed
because it was a "lifetime" guarantee.  I didn't see a need to get it fixed ASAP.

The insurance guy said he would pay to have the area of the contact repainted,
but that he felt the body shop should stand behind their paint job and fix the
rest of the bumper.  The body shop doesn't think they should be responsible
for anything.  THAT is enough to make me want them to fix it all on their own dime.

I left the car with them on Tuesday.

I was told that they would call me when they found any paperwork proving they had
previously painted the car.  

The body shop is owned by the dealership where I bought the car,
so I went to the dealership manager and asked if he remembered
helping me get the bumper repainted a few years ago.

Amazingly, he remembered.

I explained the entire situation, and I was truthful about the collision.

He said he would go to the body shop and have a talk with them.

I expected a phone call on Wednesday to let me know what they were going to do.

They didn't call me, and I wasn't going to call them.
I went there in the evening after they closed shop, and my car was right where I left it.

No phone call Thursday either.
I went back Thursday evening, and the car was no where to be seen.

I just got a phone call telling me it was finished and ready to pick up.

I hope that "finished" doesn't mean that they painted it pink.

Now, do I own the painter a beer?
Is he hourly, or paid by the job?