the cable guy

I tired to work with tape stripes for 3 years with bad luck. First they discolored, then Einstein's (name changed to protect the guilty) tint shop couln't get the tape off so put a 2nd layer on over the original, which also discolored and began to peel and crack after 1 year.
When I gave up and asked him to remove the tape last month so I could have them done by a 'professional', I discovered he had done all of his trimming on the car and the stripes were outlined with knife cuts all the way to the primer over my entire car. He insists he has been doing this for 25 years and all shops trim the tape after putting it on the car.
I had to replace both bumper covers due to the deep cuts and have the stripes painted on by a real professional. Who thinks I should sue for the damage this retard did to my car?

adrenalin

Sorry to hear about your luck but after being in the business for 10+ years I had never heard of stripes discolouring (other than fading or staining from chemicals) or having a hard time removing them. Heck, a hairdryer is all you need.

I know I would be going after the guy. There is no way he has that much experience and sounds like the vinyl he uses is utter crap.

the cable guy

Yeah. He really hacked up my paint. I first had the tape done less than 2 weeks after buying the car new and discussed the job in detail with this guy. We had a lenghty discussion, which he now denies, about how the tape would be precut before application and could be easily removed later if I decided I didn't like it; he said it would be imposible to tell it had ever been on there. I knew there would be a minor paint fade difference but was fine with that.
The first time he redid it a year later, he said the tape was coming apart when he tried to remove it and recommended putting the 2nd layer on top of the old and just overlapping it since it wouldn't come off. He then put a narrow stripe along the edge of the old tape on top of the new to cover the slight bump where it overlapped.
When it discolered again and actually started to peel and crack, he insisted it was due to my own negligence somehow. I use Eagle one auto soap and wash it every 2-3 weeks at a minimum. I do park near a walnut tree in the shade but never let anything accumulate on top of the car and the paint is still flawless, except for his hash marks. No paste wax has been used on the car and I never waxed over the last set of stripes just in case that was a contributing factor but it discolored in about the same time frame. The funny thing was, when I insisted he remove the tape, he had it all off in 1 day, although he left the scratches and burnt my back bumper with his eraser wheel.
Besides the burn mark on the top of it, my original back bumper is cut pretty bad and my trunk lid was really dug into on the top and around the faux gas cap. Fortunately I was able to find an unused take off GT bumper set for a reasonable price and had a body shop reclear the damaged panels when they put the paint stripes on.
I wouldn't have the other place tape a cardboard box.

red454

Wow - I put my vinyl stripes on about 3 years ago. No discoloration or cracking at all. The car sits in storage for 6 months of the year and is only driven a couple times a week when the weather is nice, so that is probably close to best case for extending the life of the vinyl.

The guy you are dealing with certainly sounds shady...

the cable guy

I had the stripes painted on and couldn't be more satisfied with how the car looks. I would recommend paint over tape any day. I'm sure the tape would hold up much better if garaged or covered when parked but I believe this guy used cheap tape although he swears it was 3M so it was probably doomed from the beginning.
There is no comparison between the tape, even when it was new and looked good, and the painted stripes. For myself, I would borrow the money for painted before I would consider tape again. Considering taking the cut up bumper to local cruise ins and showing it around so the tape guy can see the true value of 'word of mouth'. The tape is off of it, but the cut marks are there forever.

adrenalin

Even if it was 3M tape, there are several different "types" made by 3M where the warranty ranges from 1 year to 10 years depending on the type he used. If he had used a 2mil automotive grade that would have had a 7 year warranty. I haven't seen that stuff crack even after 10 years of being in the sun.

Glad to hear your paint job was a better ordeal for you.