Watchdog: Action respray after Astra paint mismatch

The colour of a car and condition of its paintwork can be a big factor for most buyers, as they understandably want it to look its best when they take it home.

That’s exactly how Craig Graham, from Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, felt when he saw a used Vauxhall Astra GTC VXR back in January 2014 in a striking blue colour and wanted it immediately.

However, Craig’s enthusiasm was short-lived, as he soon started to become aware of problems and imperfections in the paintwork of his new car.

“After only a few days, I noticed a number of stone chips in the paint on the car,” Craig told us. “After numerous phone calls between Vauxhall and my finance company, Vauxhall eventually agreed to meet me with a representative to look into getting a respray.”

Craig was hoping that this would sort things out, but he said it took numerous attempts to convince the bodyshop to do the work, because his car had incorrectly fitted bumper extensions and a cracked rear bumper.

Eventually, around 80 per cent of the car was resprayed, but things didn’t go completely to plan. “The rear of the car (which was the only part of the car not resprayed, as Vauxhall refused to do this) was a completely different colour to the rest of it,” Craig said.

After speaking to the bodyshop again, Craig managed to convince it that the two colours were different, and it agreed to respray the rest of the car to try to match the colours.

Carbuyer’s sister magazine, Auto Express, spoke to Vauxhall about Craig’s ongoing issues with his car and, in particular, its problematic paintwork.

The manufacturer told them that it would look into the case to try to ascertain what exactly had happened. Following this investigation, a company spokesman told Auto Express: “We’ve offered Mr Graham £300 as a goodwill gesture.”

What should you do if it happens to you?

If you find yourself in a similar situation to Craig, ensure you keep all records of work done by various garages. It could also be worth taking pictures of your car before it goes in for work so that you are able to prove if any damage has happened while in the workshop.

Craig accepted the offer from Vauxhall, and told Auto Express: “Thank you for your help on this. I really appreciate it.”