On August 16, 2016 I pulled my 2015 Jaguar F-Type into the Texaco service station in Oregon to get some gas and a soda. The building was being repainted and the painters were working on the right rear corner away from the pumps, there were no signs or cones out directing customers away. I walked back out of the station with the soda and immediately noticed the Jaguar was covered with overspray. I notified and showed the attendant the damage and moved the Jag quickly away to wash it.

The paint wouldn't come off so I contacted the painter and he agreed to pay for a detail. Since then the detail shop owner called and said you got to come look what we have found. There is paint everywhere! When I started the Jag up the engine fan sucked paint onto the engine, the AC sucked paint up and blew it everywhere in the interior. It's on the seats, gauges, dash, trim, NAV screen, you name it's got white unremovable specks everywhere.

I have turned over the claim to my insurance and requested a adjuster with high end auto experience. They are supposed to show up Thursday.

Has anyone experienced this kind of claim? I can't imagine ever being returned to it's original glory.

 

Never heard anything like it, terrible luck and a disaster. Hopefully your insurance does the right thing by you.

 

My sincerest condolences!

 

Yikes! sorry to hear it.

It really doesn't look too bad. I would bet that could be compounded out at least on the painted surfaces.

 

Probable extensive detail work but doable.

 

Wow, that's crazy. I'm not optimistic that it can be easily removed. That paint cures and is made to last on roads through adverse conditions for years.

Fixable for sure, but make sure it is done right. Interior panels and seat covers can be replaced, engine cover too.

 

The over-spray on the paint can be removed by a professional with a paint correction, and it will probably look better than factory. Paint doesn't adhere all that well to a clear-coated finish. I'd be more worried about what to do about the interior parts.

 

What foosh said ^ clay bar the paint and use compound with a good hand above a normal Dual action polisher. Any decent detailer will know what to do. Plastic interior bits are a different story.

 

Ouch, that was one expensive soda (for the garage).

The neighbour of friend had contractors in pressure spraying the roof of his single story house with a sealant. It got everywhere. It was in neighbouring houses, on every exterior surface, and other people's cars. Fortunately my friend was at work so his car was not at home, but still his insurance claim came in at over £35k for replacing his windows, side cladding, patio and furniture, block driveway and some plants that died (about $45k USD at the time). On of his neighbours had their Renault Megane written off, but other cars were repaired. We reckon the end figure from the various insurance claims would have been over £150k.

The neighbour was aghast and apologetic, but I can't see how anyone would think spraying anything other than water anywhere near other people's property could ever not end badly. I have pulled over in the road and turned around before when I have seen contractors spraying ahead.

The contractors offered to seal his roof for free and offer a life time guarantee if he didn't claim. Needless to say he took the insurance route and the contractors phoenixed their business. As far as we know they never paid a penny and the insurance companies swallowed the bills.

Like others here I'm pretty confident the exterior glass and clearcoat of your car can be made good (likely better than before as there is little matt or textured plastic on the outside). Worse case they may need to replace your rear diffuser if you have the matt version, but it depends what the paint was. (i.e. a normal emulsion verses a two-part epoxy.)

The engine bay will hopefully be limited to cleaning or replacement of plastic covers and a professional steam clean of the rest (including the radiators which may be partially blocked). When they take the air intake hoses off hopefully the spread into the engine and sensors will have been prevented by the filter.

The interior depends on what is covered. There are a lot of plastics there that cannot easily be cleaned at would need replacing, and those trim pieces are silly expensive for what they are. Shiny black plastics and soft feel finishes will be the worst - which is most of the interior. The touch screen ideally needs to be replaced (if they clean it make sure they do not use solvent, and inspect it carefully with a torch for damage afterwards). Leather surfaces will probably clean up. Suede/fakesuede surfaces might need to be replaced depending on what the paint was. Carpets will probably disguise it well after a shampoo. The dash may need to come out to clean the front if damaged. The labour will be intensive.

I would want to take high resolution photos of every angle/surface before any correction is attempted so you can check again afterwards. It will never be exactly the same again, that is just impossible no matter how much time they throw at cleaning it, but hopefully you can get into a position where an improved exterior finish can offset any small areas of damage where it is not possible or practical to repair. You need to go in to the repairs accepting that.

I'm shocked that it made it past the cabin air filter given the size of the droplets - is there a chance it came in through the door when entering/exiting? The reason I ask is because if it did indeed make it past the filter then the heater core in the evaporator housing inside the dash should be replaced if it cannot be cleaned as it will be partially blocked and less effective.

Here in the UK a scenario where the damaging party is a large company or has insurance we would normally claim against the third party (or their insurer) directly, in which case as there is no existing contract there is no limit to the value of repairs as there would be if you claimed on your own insurance where they may try and write off a car once the costs approach 60-70%. Here they have to put you back into the same position you were in before the damage, so if you had undeclared diamond-encrusted exhaust tips they would need to cover those whereas your own insurance would not. The one time I had to do a third party claim I got a like-for-like loaner while the repairs were being done and a collection/return from my home.

 

Thanks all, I will keep you up to date on the progress. What is amazing is just how much paint is on and in the Jag. Every rubber seal around the doors and hood show flecks. It took lacquer thinner to clean the glass but the detailer said he can't find anything that will work on the plastic, vinyl, and rubber without discoloring or hazing the finishes. I had not thought of pulling the air cleaners and will do that. Where is the carbon filter for the AC?

To give you and idea just how bad the exterior is the photo below is of the glass roof.

 

I think you should probably speak w/ an attorney.

You may need some help w/ getting this all sorted out between the business, contractor responsible, and your insurance company. It sounds to me that it's going to get complicated w/ a lot of fingers pointing in different directions.

I'd also suggest you not do anything else in terms of trying to remove the paint until getting some legal advice.

 

^^ Foosh is correct.

I thought I had been everywhere in Oregon. Stayton, Silverton, Riddle, Lebanon, Dallas .... but never have been to Sublimity. My guess is an F-Type would get a lot of attention there.

 

Park the car. Contact your insurance and ask their advice. Don't file a claim until you talk to an attorney. I'd insist on a new car and a nice loaner while your new 2017 is being built.

 

Write the car off, buy-back the car from insurance, strip interior, put in a cage, and turn into dedicated track car.

 

I just can't believe how much paint is on and in the Jag. The entire front of the engine from what I can see is covered. The paint really stuck to all the hard plastic hose fittings and I can see it all over the pulleys. I think the fan was running while I was getting a soda. It was a 90+ degree day here.

The horn ring has been scrubbed several times. The paint really adhered to the shiny black interior trim.

It will be an interesting experience with the insurance company, I just hope they understand how special these cars are.

 

Update on the paint overspray disaster.

The insurance company is going to total the F-type but is having trouble finding a salvage value. Has anyone used https://www.damagedcars.com/ for getting a offer?

Anyone here willing to make an offer, from less than two feet away you would think the Jag is perfect.

 

WOW, thats quite an interesting story and im really sorry this happened to you.

i cant believe the insurance was willing to write it off. I cant imagine how bad the damage was but i dont think its just for paint correction inside and outside. most likely the paint got sucked into the intakes and tubes.

In any case.....if the engine is 100% FINE and the problem is the interior? this could work out big for you (if you're interested), depending on how much you paid for the car and how much insurance will pay you and what the value is after that, you can end up re-purchasing the car, pocketing some cash and just replacing some plastic panels.

 

the car isnt actually damaged as such, so would command a fairly high resale value for the insurance company

they need to pay you the full cost of getting an equivalent

 

I'd be interested. Let me know how this proceeds.

 

would they total your car without it having a muffler I'm in the market for a discounted R muffler