Dealership scratched my car

[Ch4114]

I dropped my car off at the local dealership to have it programmed to recognize my passenger airbag deactivation bar. They did the job and washed the car before I picked it up. When I got the car back to my house and under the garage lights I noticed that the car was scratched in several places. They are semicircular scratches which look to me to be from careless washing. They range from a few inches to one that nearly crosses the entire trunk lid.

I called the dealership and they the guy who I spoke to said that he “doubts that happened” and told me to send him pictures. I sent them to him and have heard nothing back. I am planning on calling again this afternoon but since this is going to be my word against his, I am wondering what I have to fall back on.




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[mcmike27A]

Looks Like they ran it thru the car wash at the dealership and havent had it cleaned or serviced in awhile. Or a careless lot kid drying it with a dirty towel. Sorry to see that...

[Frodo]

Wow, that's no good. And absolutely maddening.
On those rare occasions I take the Boxsta to a dealership I always make it abundantly clear: Thanks but no thanks, NO CAR WASH.

[rexcramer]

Don't call. Politely, go get in somebodies face.

[Starter986]

Originally Posted by Ch4114

I dropped my car off at the local dealership to have it programmed to recognize my passenger airbag deactivation bar. They did the job and washed the car before I picked it up. When I got the car back to my house and under the garage lights I noticed that the car was scratched in several places. They are semicircular scratches which look to me to be from careless washing. They range from a few inches to one that nearly crosses the entire trunk lid.

I called the dealership and they the guy who I spoke to said that he “doubts that happened” and told me to send him pictures. I sent them to him and have heard nothing back. I am planning on calling again this afternoon but since this is going to be my word against his, I am wondering what I have to fall back on.

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CH4114... PM me. I'm in the business of ironing out those kind of %^&&%$##%^**(&^%. I assure you you'll receive the outcome you desire. I'll do it gratis.

Please connect with me before you telephone him.

Reach out soon. Real soon. I'll give you my directory information, and we'll chat by phone. Again, gratis.

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by Starter986

CH4114... PM me. I'm in the business of ironing out those kind of %^&&%$##%^**(&^%. I assure you you'll receive the outcome you desire. I'll do it gratis.

Please connect with me before you telephone him.

Reach out soon. Real soon. I'll give you my directory information, and we'll chat by phone. Again, gratis.

You. I like you! Go get 'em!

[husker boxster]

Before you go in with guns blazing, see what they offer. If you don't like their offer, then unleash the attack dogs.

Some of those scratches will polish out. They may have some detail folks who can address the deeper scratches.

[Ch4114]

Update. After a firm but polite voicemail left with the general manager of the dealership, They are sending someone to my house to pick up the car next Tuesday. They are going to attempt to buff the scratches out. While I am skeptical that they are going to be completely successful in getting them out, I am encouraged that they are at least accepting responsibility. We will see what happens next.

Big thanks to Starter986. While I don’t think I’ll be needing your services, it is nice to know that there are people like you out there who will drop what you are doing and go to war for someone who you have never met. I will be sure to pay your generosity forward. It was nice talking to you and your insight will help me in dealing with this kind of thing in the future. If you ever end up in my part of the world, the beers are on me.


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[tonythetiger]

i expect they will buff out, but this is outrageous. washing or drying your car with a gritty towel.
I'm not very uptight about the finish on my cars. Even though I HATE door dings, road rash and some paint staining just comes with driving and all my cars are drivers. I clean and polish them just like the fanatics and these scratches would upset me. Lets us know how it works out.

for a laugh, check out particlewave's story about getting tires mounted and the shop left a rag captured on the bead. WTF? how do you miss that?

[ExplorerLyon]

Originally Posted by Ch4114

Update. After a firm but polite voicemail left with the general manager of the dealership, They are sending someone to my house to pick up the car next Tuesday. They are going to attempt to buff the scratches out. While I am skeptical that they are going to be completely successful in getting them out, I am encouraged that they are at least accepting responsibility. We will see what happens next.

Big thanks to Starter986. While I don’t think I’ll be needing your services, it is nice to know that there are people like you out there who will drop what you are doing and go to war for someone who you have never met. I will be sure to pay your generosity forward. It was nice talking to you and your insight will help me in dealing with this kind of thing in the future. If you ever end up in my part of the world, the beers are on me.


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You want to make sure they don't burn through your clear coat. I would actually get a professional detailer involved instead of letting the car wash guy at the dealer go to town with is buffer without checking the clear coat depth and how much buffing can be done without further damage. A professional detailer can measure the depth before buffing.

Originally Posted by Ch4114

Big thanks to Starter986. While I don’t think I’ll be needing your services, it is nice to know that there are people like you out there who will drop what you are doing and go to war for someone who you have never met. I will be sure to pay your generosity forward.

This. That is the kind of generosity that breeds more generosity. Well done!

Originally Posted by ExplorerLyon

A professional detailer can measure the depth before buffing.

This x 1,000.

[nicecar]

they will not all buff out

[Frodo]

Some will, I'm sure of that. But I'm also thinking parts will not.

[JBauer]

Not trying to rain on the parade but those dont look like carwash or chamois scratches, unless the Hulk washed it. The middle one looks like its down to the metal. Those look like key scratches to me. I doubt if the dealership keyed your car.

[Ch4114]

Update. They picked the car up last Monday. He took it to a detailing shop rather than back to the dealership at my request. I had the car back Wednesday and I am pretty happy with the results. The scratch on the trunk and the one on the right side of the hood are gone. The deep one on the left side still has a faint ghost of the scratch. However the guy was very thorough. He took out enough scratches that weren’t caused by the monkey with the dirty rag to more than make up for the one that didn’t come out completely. He was obviously very cautious with the amount of cutting he was doing as to not burn through the clear.

I try to avoid service departments at all costs. Unfortunately I couldn’t get a PST plugged into the car anywhere else. Luckily, there is a second dealership in my area who will get the call if I am in that situation again. However, I will be the only one who washes the car as long as I own it.




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[Starter986]

Awesome! Post some pics of that beaut!

[maytag]

Originally Posted by Ch4114

I try to avoid service departments at all costs. Unfortunately I couldn’t get a PST plugged into the car anywhere else. Luckily, there is a second dealership in my area who will get the call if I am in that situation again. However, I will be the only one who washes the car as long as I own it.

I understand that response. Boy do I!
But.... maybe there's another perspective worth considering?

In my line of work, problems occur. Shtuff happens. Sometimes due to circumstances beyond control, and sometimes due to mistakes on the part of an individual.

I tell my people all the time that how we respond when those things occur is what defines us. "A problem is an opportunity to improve a relationship".

It seems that the dealership has done all they possibly could to make it right. You've even suggested yourself that they were very thorough, not just going through the motions.

Perhaps then, they showed you the culture there? And, perhaps, they deserve another chance, because of the way they handled a bad situation?

Just a thought. No judgement. I won't use my local jaguar dealership either, after an experience not entirely dissimilar to yours. So I get it.

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[Ch4114]

I agree. That is the reason I haven’t and won’t post the name of the dealership. I am happy that they held up their end of the deal. I am not going to drag them through the dirt because of the way they handled their mistake. However, the other dealership in town has yet to scratch my car so I think I will give them a shot before I circle back around to these guys.

And yes, I’ll throw some pictures up when I have a chance. I was out driving around in the rain so I’ll have to make time to shine her up first.


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[maytag]

Originally Posted by Ch4114

...However, the other dealership in town has yet to scratch my car so I think I will give them a shot before I circle back around to these guys.

And THAT's an important frame of reference, haha.