[Sky11]

Hello,

I am hoping to complete a purchase of a Boxster GTS in the coming days and after agreeing a deal with a OPC. I have been made aware today that there are several stone chips on the front of the car. The OPC have suggested they will take care of these by repainting the front of the car, namely the Bumper, bonnet and booth wings. The car is Carmine Red and I’m a little concerned if the new paint will match the 2 year old paint everywhere else on the car. Ive left it that I’ll decide on whether or not I complete the purchase once the paint is done in a couple of weeks time.

In the meantime however I’m wondering if any of you guys have experienced this on your cars and what was the outcome, were you happy with the end result? I don’t want to be able to tell the cars been painted but don’t know how realistic that is. I had a nightmare with a BMW paint repair a few years back which was done 3 times in the end and still not right.

I guess I’ll see fo myself in a couple of weeks but the fact that half of the car is to be painted is putting me off a little. Or is there no need to worry about this given that the OPC is sorting it.

Any expereinces you guys have had of Porsche paint would be welcome.
Thanks

 

[B737NGWS]

I understand that Red can be a difficult colour to match exactly, particularly if the older paint has faded a little. That said the OPC should have an approved bodyshop so I don't think it will be an issue, particularly if they gently polish the old paint. I may be tempted to fetch a professional detailer to inspect the painted panels to get their opinion. PPF over the new areas may also help and protect against future chips. Good luck.

 

[T-Design]

Professional shop should be able to match the paint exactly.

I have both bampers, and one quater panel repainted (black) and there is no way to tell.

How big are the chips? It might be a way easier to just fix the chips, and then install the protective film on top of it.

 

[Sky11]

I understand that Red can be a difficult colour to match exactly, particularly if the older paint has faded a little. That said the OPC should have an approved bodyshop so I don't think it will be an issue, particularly if they gently polish the old paint. I may be tempted to fetch a professional detailer to inspect the painted panels to get their opinion. PPF over the new areas may also help and protect against future chips. Good luck.

Thanks, Yes that was my concern too. I’ll view the car and decide. Seems like its not as rare as I thought to have the front of a car painted.

 

[Sky11]

Thanks, that’s encouraging. Ive not seen the car in person as its over 200 miles away, just got a call off the sales person this morning mentioning they would take care of them which would delay delivery. I’ll go down and see their car when the works complete before committing. Thanks

 

[ELP_JC]

Here in the desert southwest, chips are an unavoidable b*tch. I always develop about 50K miles worth of chips in the north in about 2K miles here. And yes, the few front sprays I've had for different reasons have all been disastrous, even by the best shops. The worst thing is not color match, but how easily it chips compared to factory. Plus a paint meter will always tell the difference. Anyway, unless the chips are horrible, I'd take the money that will cost to respray and fully cover the car in PPF. As mentioned, the installer can touch-up the chips before applying the film, and should be hard to detect. Otherwise the car will be torn apart, the interior possibly messed up (and smell like crap for sure), and car will never be the same. If you go that route, because of the ease of chipping, you'd have to immediately (after curing) apply PPF. I bought a 2015 BGTS in Carmine Red for my brother, and also had several paint chips, but nothing major. Negotiated a discount, and it's hardly noticeable. No PPF yet, since there's no decent installer where I live. I had to drive it to Austin to get it done, and the Porsche-approved shop did a crappy job. Not only look for references, but visually check one, to make sure the installer is up to your standards. Good luck, but remember a respray always lowers value due to accident suspicion. And yes, you can always tell if you know where to look, even on the best jobs.

 

[Jim137a]

As ELP_JC mentioned a respray on any major body can seriously affect resale value so I’d keep that in mind and I’d use that in my negotiation.

If the chips aren’t that bad I’d simply have them touched up and negotiate the price down by the estimated cost of the respray.

The other option is to have the dealer respray the car and if it’s not to your satisfaction tell them there’s no deal.


Good Luck.

 

[gcurnew]

I had a new bumper cap put on my 911 GTS (Basalt Black), and even though it was done at a Porsche Certified shop it took two tries to get it ALMOST matching. Unless the chips are really bad, I wouldn't repaint; get them filled by a Porsche shop...or if you're patient and not too anal, just fill 'em with Dr. Colorchip and call it a day. Here's a shot of the hood of my 911 with 30-40 chips repaired with Dr. Colorchip. In almost all cases, it required two to three applications to get it looking good, but you would need be be two feet away or closer to see any of them after the repairs.

 

[fokai]

How much mileage and how much are they asking for the car? Unless it's a steal, there are many GTSs out there in great shape with low mileage.

My 2014 991 had 50k when I bought it. Not only did it had stone chips all over the front end, the windshield was plastered with rocks chips too.

Ask them about the windshield too!!!!

 

[BlueNorther]

I had a new bumper cap put on my 911 GTS (Basalt Black), and even though it was done at a Porsche Certified shop it took two tries to get it ALMOST matching. Unless the chips are really bad, I wouldn't repaint; get them filled by a Porsche shop...or if you're patient and not too anal, just fill 'em with Dr. Colorchip and call it a day. Here's a shot of the hood of my 911 with 30-40 chips repaired with Dr. Colorchip. In almost all cases, it required two to three applications to get it looking good, but you would need be be two feet away or closer to see any of them after the repairs.

Did you do the Dr. Colorchip yourself? I have a kit, and by now a number of chips, but I haven't bothered to use it yet. Is it easy to do?

 

[ELP_JC]

Is it easy to do?

Yes, it's relatively easy to do, but not easy to get good results. Ha ha. And I'm pretty handy myself, but gave up on that kit. Maybe you'll have better luck. Since you already have the kit, try it. Worse case scenario is you end up wiping out what you did with the 'Sealact', which is exactly what I did time after time, until I gave up. Tried using the paint alone as touch-up, but didn't work out either, as it's very 'gooey' (and dries out in a couple of months). Ended up using factory touch-up paint ever since. In that case, surface won't be flat, but would be perfect if you're going to apply PPF on top of them. By the way, as most smart people know, you can't believe advertising. On the Dr.Colorchip one, they pretend you can fix huge blemishes like they were never there. That's absolute crap, even for the small ones. Yes, you could make them less visible, but upon close inspection, you can find any fixed chip, and without a magnifying glass. And that's exactly what a smart person expects, so why lie? Anyway, good luck.

 

[gcurnew]

I've found a few techniques that make Dr. Colorchip easier to work with...and the repairs much better.

1) Don't wipe the paint away immediately. Let it "set" for a few minutes. How long will depend on temperature and humidity...but better to leave it too long than take it off too soon.
2) Use one of the hard plastic squeegees they sell...the small ones look like erasers. They stay flat on the paint surface and won't gouge the paint out of the chip like a gloved finger.
3) Don't rub the chip area with a cloth soaked in the thinner fluid...just drag the cloth across the filled chip with the absolute minimum pressure.
4) Super dense 100% cotton diapers work better than microfibre.
5) Be patient...you will need to fill a chip two or three times in most cases to get good results.

 

[takeshi]

Seems like its not as rare as I thought to have the front of a car painted.

From what i understand, bumper covers are frequently repainted on used vehicles from dealerships. Chips on the front are pretty common on cars like this. Our S2000 tended to collect them as well.

 

[RickH]

It's hard to understand why they need to paint both wings to get rid of some bumper chips. Perhaps the chips are more extensive than described or perhaps that is the only way they can make sure that the new paint blends with the old. Matching the paint should not be an issue with a car that is only 2 years old, unless the shops your going to are truly second class outfits. As someone else stated repainting the front bumper on resale cars is very common and should not be an issue, nor in my mind impact the price much. Make sure you save the job receipt that describes the work done. That will be handy when you sell in order to verify that it was just a respray for stone chips and no body damage was involved. Personally I would not have a problem with this car assuming it passed my visual test. Look at it from all angles standing and kneeling in the sun and in the shade. Walk around and around the car. And of course, do not pick up the car if it is raining! Drive it as little as possible for a month while the paint cures out, and then get a reputable house to put on a good clear bra on. IMO quarter bras work fine and cover the front surfaces. Good luck!

 

[GT3fien]

OP, this doesn't sound right to me, that much repainting will bring the value down. All else equal, during resale (if you sell it one day), someone will always decide to buy a car that wasn't repainted on several panels. The bumper is one thing, but that many panels is suspicious. I would look for another car if you could.

Also, keep in mind, they'll be generally trying to spend as little as possible to get this repaint done, so you have to ask yourself how good can it be? are you willing to just trust them without knowing the quality of the repaint?

 

[Westcoaster]

Thanks, Yes that was my concern too. I’ll view the car and decide. Seems like its not as rare as I thought to have the front of a car painted.

Repaints happen all the time, nothing to fear if they are done correctly. I changed out the front bumper of my car from GTS to GT4 and the colour match is perfect, they also painted the new side scoops and roll-bar cover, also perfect.

As long as it looks good, I wouldn't worry, especially as it not because of an accident, that is a different situation.