What would you do ...

71sbeetle · January 28, 2016

So I took delivery of our new 2015 Silverado 2 weeks ago now and on delivery day I noticed a dent on the right side rocker. Dealer made note of it and processed a due bill for it to be fixed, saying it could just be pulled out (paintless dent repair).

I went back 5 days later (was gone for work) and the dealer's body shop says no way this can be PDR'd, they will have to tack weld to pull and then repaint but because there is no line to blend they will need to repaint the side of the cab, rocker, door jambs, back corner of the cab, A pillar area and part of the roof to make it right, and also will have to remove or at least slide back the bed to access the rear corner of the cab for the repaint. Seeing at how involved this was I jokingly said buy me some running boards and we can work it out. The salesperson went to the sales desk manager and the manager then called me to the desk and said they'd cut me a check right now for $250, I just laughed and walked out. When I went to the body shop to make my appointment to have the dent fixed I mentioned that to the adviser there and he said it would have saved them a lot of money to just give me some running boards. He said he'd write the whole thing up and then call me back. Well, a week later I was at the dealer so I stopped by the body shop and asked the adviser, he said I needed to talk to the sales manager again. Went there, but he was on his day off. Today I heard from sales person saying bring your receipt for your running boards and we will cut you a check. I bought the running boards from another dealer in Florida because even with shipping they were cheaper, my local dealer said price is $650 (which is MSRP) + tax, we don't have a big markup on accessories so that's the price I am selling it to you for (basically he wouldn't budge from MSRP and gave me some attitude).

Now I am torn, they're basically offering to pay me back what I paid for the running boards (which is about $500) when they sell them for $700+ with tax, yet I stopped by 2 body shops and was told $1800 and $2500 (but I was just asking for a quick ball park estimate each time, they didn't write up anything, just looked at it and one place had the actual bodywork guy come look at it).

The reason I am torn is because I'm afraid they won't be able to make the truck 100% perfect after fixing it, I am pretty detail oriented and any defects in the paint, seals, bed alignment etc will drive me nuts and I will be sure to leave the truck there until I am 100% satisfied, which could take a while (last time this happened to me on a car they had to repaint the hood 4 times and the bumper had to be refitted twice and repainted twice - the detailer had managed to drop a metal shelf on my hood/front bumper when I was in for my first check up - and I was still not 100% happy after all that so they just gave me a $500 gift card to be used at the dealer).

So what would you do?

I attached a pic of the dent I took on delivery.

joeisalsocool · January 28, 2016

What I would have done...

-Not taken delivery until dent was fixed.

-Not listen to a sales guy when it comes to body work.

-Received running boards for free from dealer, then sell them third party.

What I would do now...

-Make them do the PDR, and have them undercoat/bedline the rockers for free. You wont have any chipping issues, and it adds some insurance during off-road driving.

-Never visit that dealership again.

sahls01gmc · January 28, 2016

^^^, Exactly what Joe said. Bedliner will cover up any imperfections that the PDR couldn't get perfect. There are several dents under mine, but you can't tell even if you look for it.

I appreciate a guy who takes care of his "stuff", which apparently you do. But you do have to remember, this is a vehicle that only depreciates in value.

diyer2 · January 28, 2016

IMO

A good body man could fix that one spot and make it almost disappear by only repairing the damaged area being it is not huge. I'm fussy also but have gotten less so as I age, leave it, fix it, take the boards but move on. One thing that made me less fussy was a major medical issue with the wife, after that everything is less important.

Move on as I said and put your efforts in family or fun!

Badass69 · January 28, 2016

Have them repair the spot only and not ruin your truck by spraying half of the thing....... That spot has that pebbly rock guard on it already which would be easy to hide a color shift if there was any on it. Don't let them paint most of the truck for that small hardly noticeable spot!

Sooperdave · January 28, 2016

Exactly what Vmax said... I wouldn't have all that BS done as the body shop suggested. That's just stupid. Fix the dent, repaint that lower area only. Will never notice and it's not something to stress over either. Enjoy the truck!

Imcrazy · January 28, 2016

No point in playing what if's to make you feel bad... I'd insist on PDR, take it to a dedicated PDR place and have them quote you, take the quote to the dealer and ask for a check to cover the cost. Like others said don't let 'em paint the whole truck. Hindsight being 20/20 I'd have told them to fix it and sell it to someone else and get me a different truck but, I don't know your whole situation IE was it ordered or what other constraints you may have been up against.

15slvrDbl · January 29, 2016

The rockers on these trucks are paper thin. A decent pdr guy can get that out. I've already had to replace a rocker on a '14 and was shocked and disappointed at how thin they are.

71sbeetle · January 30, 2016

Wow, thanks everyone for the answers and insights, was away from home the last few days so I didn't get to answer until now.

What I would have done...

-Not taken delivery until dent was fixed.

-Not listen to a sales guy when it comes to body work.

-Received running boards for free from dealer, then sell them third party.

What I would do now...

-Make them do the PDR, and have them undercoat/bedline the rockers for free. You wont have any chipping issues, and it adds some insurance during off-road driving.

-Never visit that dealership again.

True, I should have waited until they fixed it, the dent didn't look that bad to me so I figured PDR was an easy fix for it, and I was about to leave that day for a 5 day trip at work didn't feel like leaving the truck there that long at that time lol. So far I've seen 2 independent body shops and the dealer body shop, all 3 places told me the same, can't do PDR because of the crease on the top of the rocker, below the bottom of the door, and all 3 also said that because they have to repaint that area after they pull the dent and reshape the top of the rocker they won't be able to just blend it in right there.

^^^, Exactly what Joe said. Bedliner will cover up any imperfections that the PDR couldn't get perfect. There are several dents under mine, but you can't tell even if you look for it.

I appreciate a guy who takes care of his "stuff", which apparently you do. But you do have to remember, this is a vehicle that only depreciates in value.

The only problem is so far no shop will do PDR on it (see above)

IMO

A good body man could fix that one spot and make it almost disappear by only repairing the damaged area being it is not huge. I'm fussy also but have gotten less so as I age, leave it, fix it, take the boards but move on. One thing that made me less fussy was a major medical issue with the wife, after that everything is less important.

Move on as I said and put your efforts in family or fun!

I am not worried about the dent that much, I am much more worried about them (or anyone) fixing it after they've told me what needed to be done, I'd rather leave it like that and take a check for the value of the running boards. Problem is what I proposed is for them to pay me back the value of the boards + tax as if I bought them at their dealership (who will not go below MSRP on accessories) but now they want me to provide them with the receipt from the boards I bought which were about $200 cheaper, I told them that wasn't the deal, haven't heard back from them yet. I was also contacted by the dealer about the upcoming survey and I told them I will not answer the survey until this is taken care of.

Have them repair the spot only and not ruin your truck by spraying half of the thing....... That spot has that pebbly rock guard on it already which would be easy to hide a color shift if there was any on it. Don't let them paint most of the truck for that small hardly noticeable spot!

I think the problem really is the top of the rocker area in the door jamb area, which I apologize my picture doesn't show well. So far have not found a shop that will just blend that spot.

Exactly what Vmax said... I wouldn't have all that BS done as the body shop suggested. That's just stupid. Fix the dent, repaint that lower area only. Will never notice and it's not something to stress over either. Enjoy the truck!

Thanks, I definitely will, it's like my old rwd V6 with more power! And for the repair, see the explanation above.

No point in playing what if's to make you feel bad... I'd insist on PDR, take it to a dedicated PDR place and have them quote you, take the quote to the dealer and ask for a check to cover the cost. Like others said don't let 'em paint the whole truck. Hindsight being 20/20 I'd have told them to fix it and sell it to someone else and get me a different truck but, I don't know your whole situation IE was it ordered or what other constraints you may have been up against.

I'm going to look for a shop that specializes in PDR on Monday when I am off and take it there but it's not looking good right now lol. As for the truck, it was the last 2015 Crew Cab 4x4 with the V8, All Star and LT Plus available in the area, and even outside of the area there was not much left (I didn't mind flying anywhere in the US to pick a truck up so I looked) so I was definitely trying hard to get that truck. It was actually dealer traded (the original dealer wouldn't budge from MSRP + rebates. Also, I didn't see the dent until they were detailing it after the papers were all signed.

The rockers on these trucks are paper thin. A decent pdr guy can get that out. I've already had to replace a rocker on a '14 and was shocked and disappointed at how thin they are.

That is what it seems like, I'm not sure what happened in my case but it looks like it didn't take too much force to dent it, the paint is completely fine, even where the metal is creased on the top.