QuestionHi Douglas. I bought a new 2008 Mitsy Eclipse 13 days ago. When I bought it it had a deep scratch in the hood about 1". Before the deal, I told them I didn't want the car because of the scratch and because I didn't want a new car that had to be painted. The sales manager (in writing) offered to take a hood off of another new car and put it on mine if I bought the car. I agreed.
I took the car into the dealer to have the hood replaced and to have a damaged door pillar replaced (small dent) which required having the small glass window replaced also.
When I returned to picked the car up, they had painted the hood instead of replacing it. Although the hood looked good, I was not happy at all since they promised to put a brand new hood on the car and not paint it.
Then as we (service writer and I) are looking at the newly painted hood we noticed another deep 3/4" scratch this time on the driver side door that wasn't there before. They offered to "fix" this by painting the driver side door. Then I noticed a large (4") blemish on the rear bumper. It is not a scratch or a dent but rather seems to be a crease caused by something coming through from the under side foam causing it to have a slight hump but the paint is not damaged. The service guy says that it is some sort of defect.
So now the bumper needs body work. Needless to say I am not happy about my new car needing paint and body work especially since it is nothing that I caused.
The salesman has set up a meeting with the dealership owner for this coming Monday morning. He says that the owner wants to make me happy. I would really like for them to give me either my money back or a different car but I know that is unrealistic since the loan has already been processed and I actually "own" the car now.
I feel that I should be compensated for the aggravation and that they lied about replacing the hood and because of the fact that after it is all fixed over 3/4 of my new car will have been repainted.Can you give me any advice on what to ask for from the dealer. Would asking them to upgrade my interior to after market leather for free be unreasonable or maybe upgrading some other aspect of the car like the stereo or wheels? Any advice you could give me is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Mike C
AnswerHi Mike C,
This is unfortunate, especially when you trusted the dealership to do the job they agreed to do in writing. It sounds like the sales manager wrote a check that he couldn't cash when they decided to paint the hood instead of replacing it.
Here is my professional take on things; Firstly, I never like repainted body parts period. Usually you will not get the quality paint work in a body shop paint booth as you will at the factory. Also, I doubt that you will have any real warranty on the newly painted body parts if it starts to peel, flake, etc. in the future. Secondly, you have been made promises to make your vehicle right and they have let you down. You need to push for a fair resolution from the dealer when you sit with him or her on Monday.
You were willing to accept the hood being traded with another vehicle (BAD IDEA TOO). I doubt that the hood would match up perfectly with the shade of the color (even though it's the same color, sometimes parts are painted different times of the year and use different mixes etc.) or even fit correctly.
I realize that the loan is already cashed by the dealership and paid off to the dealer. Here is what I would do in this situation...I would listen to what the dealer is willing to do to compensate you for your time spent back and forth with the dealership, the frustration of owning a car with all these issues and haven't made the first payment yet, and the likelihood that this vehicle will hold up after a year or two with it's paint work. It really sounds like the sales manager and the sales person put you together with this deal and it sounds like they may have had it for awhile and shame on them for not repairing the scratches and bumper and disclosing it to you at the time of purchase. This is horrible.
So, after they give you the song and dance, or should I say the dog and pony show...If I were you...demand that they replace the car with an equal or better car. This can be done even after the bank has cashed their contract. They can do a substitution of collateral and replace the car altogether. It is early enough that the state taxes and tag work can still be credited electronically.
You're going to be stuck with a "sled" in our language because it's probably been sitting on the lot up to a year and it's damage should have been repaired long before you looked at it.
I personally would not ask for more than what you purchased as far as upgrades. It appears to me when this occurs that here is someone willing to accept a damage car if we give them something for free for their troubles. Kind of like you're trying to cash in on their blatant, inexcusable actions. Don't be one of those. Be smart and insist for all this aggravation that you receive free oil changes for the life of your vehicle so that you will continue to be a good customer and they will prove to be a good dealership after all...it makes sense.
Good luck, and I hope this helps out. But, do not ask for the oil changes until you're satisfied with how they handle your car situation. Do things in increments. Get the car thing straightened out first.
You also have the option of contacting the manufacture and make a complaint and open up a case. Mentioning this will give you some leverage too.
Hope this has helped,
Doug
