maxenHow to tell if body shop just re-used damaged rear Element cladding?

I have been having trouble getting a body shop to match the color on the right rear plastic cladding of my 2008 Element EX. As I posted earlier, a guy backed into the right rear corner of my Element puckering the cladding and bending the metal behind it. The body shop was supposed to replace the cladding and paint to match it. It is stated on the work order that the cladding was replaced but on closer inspection, it looks like they may have just used the original damaged cladding and just tried repainting it. First of all, is there anyway to tell if they did this by removing the cladding and inspecting behind it? Is the any identifying marks that are different from stock parts to replacement parts? How hard is it to remove the right rear side cladding?

The things that make me think they did this is; there is an obvious masking line along the top edge of the cladding. The color on either side of the masking line look slightly different. There is a slight distortion at the same spot where the cladding was puckered during the accident. After the accident, the top rear corner of the cladding was pulled away from the car so that you can push it in against the car. It is still like that after the repair. The accident caused one of the plugs along the fender to pop out. The body shop never replaced it. A set of new plugs should have come with the new cladding. The body shop owner told me they had to wait to order the new cladding which no longer comes in color so he would have to paint it to match. The work order states a new cladding was ordered for $260.

you might be able to see cracking on the reverse side if you remove it, but the problem is that removal may damage it. based on the lack of clip you describe, it sounds like they did simply re-use.

explain your suspicion to the insurance company and state yet again that you're not satisfied, either that new parts were used or with the color match, and keep on at them. eventually, they reach a point where their cost for your persistence causes them to cave and send you to the honda dealer for factory-quality repair. seriously - persistence causes them financial head-ache*, and at the end of the day, that is all that matters to them. that is after all /why/ they tried to cut costs in the first place sending you to the shop you've been to so far.

good luck.

seriously, someone i know a guy who had a lexus suv that had electrical problems. he'd drove that thing 2 years, 30k miles, before the problems started to arise. after a bunch of repairs and dissatisfaction, he bullied toyota so hard and for so long, for another full year, that not only did they take the vehicle back, they gave him his money back too. and not just a fair value amount, every single cent that he'd paid, no depreciation. now, that guy is a GIANT pita-kinda guy, but the moral of the story is - if you want satisfaction, keep at it. once time starts costing money, things get escalated and resolved.