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What Would You Do? Advise Needed

ckelsoe

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ckelsoe Enthusiast

ckelsoe

Posted
Posted

I purchased a new black 2008 GMC 3500 - crew cab and long bed in December. In February at around 3500 miles I took the truck to the dealer to have the nav system replaced. While there the dealer washed the truck. I presume in the wash process they used a brush which left scratch marks all over the truck - the sides, hood, tailgate, - basically everywhere. This became very noticable as dust settled on the truck (I live in the high desert of Oregon).

 

 

 

I took the truck back to the dealer. They acknowledged the damage and took the truck to a detail shop for repair. The detail shop had the truck for a week. When I picked up the truck, the sales guy and I walked around the truck. We could still see some scratches, etc. However it was overcast so we could not look at the truck in full sunlight.

 

 

 

The next day in full sunlight and with a layer of dust, the truck looked terrible. There were some of the origional scratches as well as swirl marks all over the truck. I then took the truck to another GM dealer in a nearby town and ask their opinion on the truck. Everyone that looked at the truck agreed that I should be unhappy and that the truck looked aweful. They recommended that I take the truck to the best detail shop in that town that they used for their worst case vehicles. This detail shop also works on the high end cars (Lexis, BMW's, etc).

 

 

 

That detail shop gave me an estimate with the disclaimer that they were not sure how much of the damage they could correct and would not guarantee that they could fix 100% of the damage.

 

 

 

I then took that information back to my dealer an expressed that the scratches and first detail was not acceptable. They took the truck back to their detail guy who had the truck for 1/2 of a day. As things go, it was an overcast day, however, there were still some problem areas that were pointed out.

 

 

 

Now that I have the truck at home and again in full sunlight and with a layer of dust the imperfections are noticable. They are not as bad as after the first detail, but are noticable by even a casual observer. The shine of the finish looks great due to the detail work, however, there are still the swirls, scratches, and other damage from buffing.

 

 

 

So I will be headed back to the dealer on Monday. The dealer has indicated that they will make it right even if the truck needs repainted. However, I have reservations about this. The first point is that I have a truck that was damaged by the dealer, repairs attempted, and still does not look good. I purchased a $54,000 vehicle and do not really want to own a new vehicle with a new paint job that will not have the factory warrantee.

 

 

 

So the question is - what would you do in this situation? Let the dealer continue messing around attempting to fix the issue, ask for another comparable truck, or just accept that I have a new ugly truck?

 

 

 

I appreciate your taking the time to read this long post and I appreciate your comments.

 

 

 

Charles

omegafiler Senior Enthusiast

omegafiler

Posted
Posted

They're probably just waxing it to fill in the scratches, in which case that's definately not permanant or acceptable. I'd push to have them get you another truck, even if you have to work your way all the way to the top. A repainted BRAND NEW vehicle due to the dealer messing up the paint just wouldn't work for me.

tobias Senior Enthusiast

tobias

Posted
Posted
They're probably just waxing it to fill in the scratches, in which case that's definately not permanant or acceptable. I'd push to have them get you another truck, even if you have to work your way all the way to the top. A repainted BRAND NEW vehicle due to the dealer messing up the paint just wouldn't work for me.

 

Agreed. You bought a new truck and they ruined it. It's on them to make it right and repainting it is not making it right, it's covering it up.

LAGA Enthusiast

LAGA

Posted
Posted

In reality, you are not going to get a new truck. It just needs to get buffed out by a professional. Tell the dealer to do it themselves, a lot of dealers hire detail or body shops to do this, or tell them you are going to have it done by someone else and give them the bill. I would go with the later

GatorFan Enthusiast

GatorFan

Posted
Posted

I would stand my ground and ask for a new truck. Regardless it is their fault and they owned up to it. IMO you paid $50+ thousand dollars for a truck that was perfect when you drove it off the lot and now it is not the same truck you purchased. Nope, I wouldn't accpet anything less. Demand a new truck or have them buy it back and go to another dealer. That's my $.02

NorCal57 Enthusiast

NorCal57

Posted
Posted
In reality, you are not going to get a new truck. It just needs to get buffed out by a professional. Tell the dealer to do it themselves, a lot of dealers hire detail or body shops to do this, or tell them you are going to have it done by someone else and give them the bill. I would go with the later

 

I would probably go with the latter also. As far as a repaint, I would talk to a few high end painters to see what their opinion is on the matter. I do understand the feeling about having a new truck with a new paint job though.

unit731 Senior Enthusiast

unit731

Posted
Posted

The infamous BMW case.

 

517 U.S. 559 (1996), argued 11 Oct. 1995, decided 20 May 1996 by vote of 5 to 4; Stevens for the Court, Breyer concurring, Scalia, Thomas, Ginsburg, and Rehnquist in dissent

One of the sharpest areas of controversy in American law concerns the duties owed by product manufacturers to consumers. For people injured by a defective product or negligent behavior by a producer, a big court award is often the best hope for compensation. Such awards, however, can also have devastating consequences for a business, especially when it must pay punitive damages. These are damages paid to punish a business for past conduct and to prevent similar conduct in the future. They stand apart from compensatory damages, which are designed to compensate an individual for an actual loss. Since the early 1980s state legislatures had wrestled with the question of how to reform the tort system generally and the role of punitive damages in particular. It was in this context that BMW reached the Supreme Court.

 

The case involved a Birmingham, Alabama, oncologist, Dr. Ira Gore, Jr. He had paid $40,750 for a black BMW 535si only to discover nine months later that his supposedly “new“ car had been damaged in transit and then repainted by BMW. The company had never disclosed to Gore that the car had been repainted, a practice common in the automobile business and one regulated in many states by a provision that only if the repair amounted to more than 3 percent of the value of the car did the company have a duty to disclose. The cost of the paint job was $601. Gore, however, claimed that BMW had breached its contract with him and committed a fraud in the process. A trial court agreed and awarded Gore $4,000 in compensatory damages and $4 million in punitive damages. The jury set the punitive damage figure based on evidence that BMW had sold nearly 1,000 such refinished cars in the United States. The Alabama Supreme Court heard the case on appeal, upheld the verdict, but cut the punitive damage award in half, to $2 million.

 

A divided United States Supreme Court found in favor of BMW.

Rocco715 Enthusiast

Rocco715

Posted
Posted

I'd doubt they would give you a new truck. If they offer to get you a new paint job then I would deffinatley go and get a real show car paint job though or some custom paint.

ShadowJ Enthusiast

ShadowJ

Posted
Posted

They say they would repaint it but I think all that needs to be done is shooting a new clear coat. I had to have this done on my Corvette and it wasn't noticeable at all.

ckelsoe Enthusiast

ckelsoe

Posted
  • Author
Posted
wow,you would think more people that got there car/truck washed there had the same result,

 

The detail shop has a few of their cars there for work. Some are used though. Apparently the same dealer had some form of an automatic car wash that left a crease down the hoods of a bunch of cars including new ones on the lot.

 

The problem is most people would not notice if their vehicle is not black. I know some of the other colors do not show up damage as bad as black does.

marko Enthusiast

marko

Posted
Posted

Take this from a lawyer - hand them the Alabama judgment, and have them fix the scratches AND clearcoat it.

ckelsoe Enthusiast

ckelsoe

Posted
  • Author
Posted

As of this morning, the dealer has indicated that they are searching for a replacement truck. I do believe that this dealership is one of the good ones - we shall see.

 

Thanks again for all of the comments

marko Enthusiast

marko

Posted
Posted
As of this morning, the dealer has indicated that they are searching for a replacement truck. I do believe that this dealership is one of the good ones - we shall see.

 

Thanks again for all of the comments

 

Now THAT is impressive.

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