New guy with a minivan

Thanks for all the input. I'm afraid I have one more question.



When I got the car back from them the first time (after they painted the hood), there was some weird "gook" on the driver side mirror. They warned me not to wash the car for a couple of days while the paint cured. The "gook" was very distracting while driving, so I tried wiping it off. It streaked strangely, so I left it alone. Yesterday, I put glass cleaner on a paper towel to clean this up, and there were scratches all over the mirror! :furious:



What was this stuff? Is it some kind of buffing compound that they should have removed, and now I've scratched the crap out of my mirror just trying to get it off? I want to be able to tell the managers at the dealership what it was that caused the problem, because I really think they need to pay to replace the mirror.



Again, thanks for all the help!
 
Im not sure what could have been on your mirror. compound shouldnt have scratched it. Who knows what they have done. Im really sorry to see how this has progressed for you. Im sure you will come out on top though.
 
This sure must be frustrating for you! Those jokers are really messing up your new minivan, huh?



Yeah, glass is very hard and compounds generally won't scratch it (Meguiar's recommends aggressive compounds, used with a rotary, just to *clean* automotive glass). Maybe they hit it with some sandpaper or something. The goop might've been a deliberate attempt to hide the damage until you got the car off the premises.



I dunno..."not washing for a few days while the paint cures" sound like more BS intended to keep you out of their hair. Or maybe they wanted some time to pass so they could say that *you* must've damaged the mirror.



Know an attorney? I'm serious...I'd first talk with somebody high up at the dealership and see if they'll sort it out, but I'd also be thinking about drastic solutions. This all sounds like improper treatment by an unethical dealership.



Oh, and something to keep in mind if they say "we can't do that..". They can do whatever the owner wants to do; I've had 100% refunds (including tax, etc.) on cars with many miles on them (once even 12,000 miles!) when the owner of the dealership wanted to correct a situation that was bad for me. It's all about how much they a) value your business and b) feel bound by ethics (or fear costly retribution). I'd be after a replacement vehicle, one with no issues, or a complete refund so you can go elsewhere. At the very least they oughta redo the paintwork to a "new car standard" and replace the mirror. Those two things won't cost much of anything for them to take care of.



These people are trying to play you and that doesn't bode well for future relations (such as getting warranty work done). There's always the possibility that the owner/general manager doesn't know what they're doing to the customers, so maybe you can still be a little optimistic. Maybe the bodyshop guys are just running amok and think they'll get away with it.
 
Good news (I hope). I went to the dealership this morning, and let them know how ticked off I was. I got one of the top managers, and he's hooking me up. He said he's lost confidence in his own folks, and he's paying to send my car to an independent body shop.



He's also going to replace the mirror lens. It turns out they left "mask" on it, which is why it scratched up so badly when I tried to wipe it off.



The manager said it was obvious that the body shop did a terrible buffing job on it, and the outside body shop is going to start from scratch (take the paint completely off the hood and redo it.) They're going to hold onto it a couple of days to make sure it totally cures correctly.



Thanks to you guys for letting me know how demanding I have a right to be. It made me feel a lot more confident in dealing with these boneheads.
 
Hey, that's *great* news! Glad to hear things are on the right track. It's very reassuring that the manager sided with you.



Interesting that the masking product they used resulted in the scratches. I don't quite get that, but all's well that ends well so :nixweiss



Heh heh, just remember to be very careful inspecting the next round of repairs ;)



Now would be a good time to order up some fresh-paint-safe glaze to use on the hood while it's curing/outgassing. My all-time fave for this is Meguiar's #5 New Car Glaze which is unbelievably user-friendly. You'll have to reapply it after every wash, but it'll provide some protection and look "freshly waxed" while not interfering with the outgassing (which, according to the paint manufacturers, takes between 2-3 months). By letting the fresh paint outgass (release its solvents, which applies to water-based paints too) you'll ensure that it attains maximum potential hardness, which is good as repaints are generally softer than the factory paint.
 
StoneMan, glad to hear things are moving in the right direction. Very sad when a body shop manager has lost confidence in his own staff. I feel lucky that my dealers guys did a great job on my car last year when I needed bodywork and paint. Nothing in the clear and no swirls.



Don't take any of their bs and make sure you are happy with the work. As Accumulator says, let the paint outgas before getting the film put on. I did and have been happy with the results. Good luck to you sir.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top