My new s60 recently suffered some vandalism and some jerk keyed 3 letters into the rear panel of my car (between the rear passenger door and the trunk). I was going to have a body shop do the repair, but the insurance adjuster told me the paint sometimes doesn't match the factory paint 100% and that the shop would paint halfway into the rear door so the color difference wouldn't be as noticable. I've also heard the after market paint isn't as durable as the factory paint (i.e paint chips easily and wears faster). Is the repair even worth it? I intend on having the car for at least 10 years. What are the pros and cons of after market paint?

 

Speed,

Not sure what the adjuster is talking about as far as durability. A two part paint done by a reputable professional body shop should be as good or better than the factory paint.

How new is the car? What color?
Do the scratchs go all the way to the primer or bare metal?
How big are the letters? Can you post pic's? You might also get away with compounding them out if they are not deep.
Sometimes if only the clear coat has been scratched a body shop can do a "spot" repair.

 

I have a '07 S60 in barrons blue.




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I would try buffing it out with polishing compount before you do anything else. It looks to me like it didn't go down to the primer. Buy a small can of 3M POLISHING compound.Clean the area real well with wax remover. Then using a wet Terry Face Towel. Polish the immediate area of the scratch. Then using a good cleaner wax like Meguires or Mothers polish the whole area around it. If it doesn't fix it it will at least minimize it.