My parked Lexus was damaged by a dealership employee - MAKSYM
My parked Lexus was damaged by a dealership employee while it was in a clearly designated MPI customer parking space beside the building shared by MPI and the dealership. The employee struck it while exiting the nearby service garage.
The service manager then told me the dealership would take care of the repair. Filing a claim through MPI was not discussed, and I relied on the dealership’s assurance that it would accept responsibility and repair the damage properly.
The rear bumper was painted twice. After the first attempt, there was a major colour mismatch and visible workmanship issues, including debris or imperfections under the paint, white paint on surrounding black plastic and inside the wheel-arch area, and poor finishing around edges and seams. I photographed the defects and complained.
A second repaint improved the right side, which now matches reasonably well, but the left side still looks noticeably different from the adjacent panel during a normal inspection.
This was not noticed only by me. Automotive professionals inspected the vehicle, and another automotive group confirmed in writing that the bumper did not match the vehicle and that blending the adjacent quarter panels might be needed to achieve a closer match. They also provided an estimated range for corrective work.
I understand that Lexus tri-stage pearl paint is difficult to match and that plastic and metal may reflect light differently. However, that does not explain why the right side of the same bumper now matches much more closely while the left side does not. The previously repainted front bumper also matches the vehicle without the same visible difference or blending into adjacent panels.
I later inspected the vehicle together with dealership ownership, and the colour difference on the left side was visible in person. At the owner’s request, I then drove from Brandon to Winnipeg for another professional assessment—more than 500 kilometres round trip, plus my time and fuel—and obtained the requested estimate.
Because the matter had already consumed considerable time and caused unnecessary stress, I offered to resolve it using the lowest amount within the corrective-repair estimate. After I completed the trip and provided the assessment, the owner refused to contribute toward any further correction, saying he had already paid for the repair and considered the result acceptable.
That does not resolve the problem. Paying for unsuccessful repair attempts does not restore my vehicle or remove the visible mismatch. The dealership controlled the repair after its employee caused the damage. Its inability to obtain a proper result should not become my financial loss.
The owner should not unilaterally decide that the repair is acceptable simply because the dealership does not want to spend more money. It is my vehicle, the mismatch remains visible, and both the right side of the same bumper and the repainted front bumper show that a substantially closer match is possible.
Based on this experience, I would not rely on verbal assurances from this business. I followed the dealership’s process, completed the steps requested by ownership, travelled to Winnipeg at my own expense, and provided the assessment, only to be told afterward that no further correction would be funded.
I have photographs and written correspondence documenting the defects and the sequence of events. This review reflects the situation today. If the dealership resolves the matter or the circumstances materially change, I will update it.
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