[Walkure]

On both sides of the car, I have paint chipped off of the rear quarter panel in the area shown.
I was recently rear-ended (low speed, probably 2-3 mph) and Geico replaced the bumper. They are saying the chipped paint can't be because of the accident and suggest it is a manufacturer defect that Chevy should fix.
Has anyone experienced paint damage like this? I'm about to call my insurance company and tell them Geico is jerking my chain, but I'm holding off for the moment.

[1hprush]

Hard to tell in the pic, but I would get 2-3 different opinions from other body shops and then present them to Geico. You could also have their claims adjuster look at it first. If they say it's a production issue, then you could take that to GM, I know.... all this running around sucks! But worse case, that's not an expensive re-spray, you might just have it repaired on your dime and be done with all the back and forth BS!

[HackSaw]

If the chips were not there before but were after IMO it has to be crash related. Just on one side.... Might be different. But also I think this matter should have been settled before the bumper was replaced.

[Pi kappa alpha]

I wouldn't even worry about it. No one can see what you're talking about from the pics and that tells me we're probably talking about a pencil tip size chip. Seriously, you're going to go through all this for something that small and unnoticeable. To some things up: You're making a big deal out of nothing and people are starting to get tired of hearing it.

[Walkure]

To provide additional information.

1. Geico did the repair and I didn't notice the chips until after I had the car home and was washing it. I'm 99% sure they weren't there before or I would have noticed them when I washed the car 2 days prior to the accident, but of course I can't prove it.

2. The chip on one side is about 1/8" x 3/8". The chip on the other side is 1/8" x 1". Paint, clearcoat, everything, gone exposing bare metal. I don't want the panels rusting out in a few years because this hasn't been resolved.

3. The picture I posted was from 6 months ago so there are no chips to see. The picture was just showing where the problem is. I'll take another picture that shows the actual chips and post later.

[Tr6]

Dr. Colorchip or just a good old touch up paint pen (do NOT use the applicators that comes with it... use a tooth brush instead).

Trunk lid chipped off my paint and as a warranty fix they suggested painting the entire roof and taking off the rear window etc... I said no and just had them get me a touch up pen instead. Not flawless like paint but it covered up the chip...

[Walkure]

Here's a pic of the driver's side that shows exactly what I'm dealing with.
Not only is the paint chipped off, but it's cracked further along the seam and more will probably come off in the future.

Oh - and a correction. It's not the quarter panel that is chipped. It's the small panel behind the door, under the quarter panel.

[mcintyre1969]

I would start with the shop that did the repair, if they believe it was accident related, they should talk to Geico on your behalf.

[lt4camaro]

Originally Posted by Walkure

Here's a pic of the driver's side that shows exactly what I'm dealing with.
Not only is the paint chipped off, but it's cracked further along the seam and more will probably come off in the future.

Oh - and a correction. It's not the quarter panel that is chipped. It's the small panel behind the door, under the quarter panel.

That piece is part of the rocker panel cover made of plastic and it moves back and forth a little when you push it at the wheel opening area. No way possible to have damage that far forward from a minor rear bumper cover hit. The rear bumper cover energy absorbing material and the aluminum bumper reinforcement would have to be damaged to even consider damage further forward on the outside of the body.

[dpevans]

It's from the accident. Same thing happened to my Caddy and it only takes a slight jar to chip the paint. If they give you grief just get a paint pen and fix it yourself. I looks small enough no one would notice except you.

[Camaro_QC]

It just looks like it was badly painted from factory... seems like that paint chip goes deep inside and towards the front of the car.

I'd check with the dealer.

[50MileSmile]

I was involved once in a low-speed accident that sounds a lot like what you experienced. Even though it appeared the only damage was to the bumper, the body shop couldn’t get the new bumper to fit and discovered the trunk floor was wrinkled under the spare and the rear suspension mounting points had shifted forward slightly. Including time on the frame straightener, the final cost for repair was something like 5 times the original estimate.

So, take it back to the body shop and have them look for concealed damage, other components that may have shifted and maybe a misalignment on the rear end. If what you’re seeing now wasn’t there before you got nailed, something’s wrong. At that low a speed, the bumper should have absorbed the impact or sacrificed itself - without transferring the forces of the crash that far forward.

[Hero_Camaro]

here's the thing man I strongly believe that your rear end could've caused more damage than there is already, the rear could've been misaligned so badly to the point that the plastic rocker moulding reached to the metallic finish but here is what doesn't make sense, those rocker mouldings come in black primer, metal exposure is pretty weird when sanding the mouldings down at say beyond its primer I believe you get plastic not a metallic finish.

[gringo]

It looks like that panel was resprayed red over silver. Perhaps those pieces were damaged on the lot before you bought it or maybe it happened at the body shop.