Will the 4S shop keep a record of painting?
3 Answers
4S shop painting will leave a record. The following are the precautions about painting: 1. There are particles in the car paint: If it is caused by poor paint filtration during painting, the dirty spots are difficult to remove by polishing. Because it is too deep, it will leave traces, so after polishing, you should carefully observe whether there are small dots with different colors from the topcoat at the dirty spots. If there are, for the sake of interest, you should let the 4S shop re-polish and repaint. Because after polishing, the paint layer becomes thinner, and there are still small dirty spots, the paint layer will eventually start to deteriorate from here. If it is dust that falls after painting, polishing is no problem, it is easy to remove, and the gloss of the painted area will be almost the same as the original gloss. 2. The car paint changes color: 4S shops usually retrieve the original car paint color from the computer and then match the color. However, no matter what color the paint is, it will fade after long-term exposure to sunlight. Therefore, it is usually recommended to use the fuel cap as a reference for color matching when repainting the car. Whether in a 4S shop or a repair shop, if you want to repaint your car, you must remind the repair personnel to refer to the fuel cap color for paint mixing to avoid the embarrassment caused by the color difference of the car paint.
A friend of mine just sold his car, and the buyer slashed the price drastically because they found records of paintwork done at the 4S店. He was furious! Honestly, 4S店 usually keep records of paint jobs because they use computer systems to track all repairs for warranty and after-sales management. The records will note the reason for the paintwork, the area, and the time, so during future vehicle inspections or used car transactions, history can be traced via VIN lookup tools like Carfax. If the paintwork was due to accident damage, the record is even more obvious and can affect warranty terms and insurance claim amounts. I made this mistake myself, and now I recommend handling minor scratches at local repair shops and only going back to the 4S店 for major issues. Don’t forget to ask them in advance if they keep detailed records to protect future value. Remember, documented body modifications can significantly hurt resale value.
When I recently sold my old car, I found the 4S shop's paintwork records to be a headache—buyers on the platform would glance at them and immediately lowball the price. Typically, 4S shops log maintenance records in their system as standard practice, aiming to maintain vehicle archives and ensure after-sales tracking. Paintwork details may include timing, scope, and materials used, which future used-car assessors or app tools can easily retrieve. If the paintwork was due to an accident, the record would be flagged as part of the vehicle’s damage history, directly impacting insurance costs and warranty validity. From my personal experience, minor paintwork has a smaller effect, but extensive repairs can be detrimental. It’s best to confirm the 4S shop’s record-keeping policy in advance or opt for unauthorized shops to minimize unnecessary exposure.
