Jeep Wrangler Forum banner

Dealer damaged my Hood!!!

4K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  Scout 
#1 ·
When my wife and I took delivery of our Unlimited Sahara in late June, we had our dealer install a bug/rock deflector on our hood. Ironically, we did this in an attempted to minimize hood chips and the eventual rust associated with such chips.

Long story short, when my dealer installed the bug guard, he used screws that were TOO LONG resulting in the tip of the screws almost totally perferating the metal and paint finish on the hood of my new jeep. To give you a visual, imagine if I used a drill to drive a screw from the underside of your hood ALMOST completely through the metal of the hood resulting in a very noticable inward out dimple and resultant cracking paint.

I'm so mad I can't see strait. Hopefully the dealer picks up on this before I lose my cool and do something that HE regrets.

Avoid Dick Huavare Richmond (MI) Chrysler Jeep if you intend to keep your new Jeep looking new.
 
#5 ·
Please dont take this the wrong way Im on your side but

I dont think its fair ta totally slam the dealer because they screwed something up.......I mean humans are doin the work here and accidents happen......

I believe I would wait to see how they resolve your concerns before slammin them on a forum....that is the true test of their service skills.......

I can tell ya that in the last 20 years workin as a line mechanic I have seriously screwed some stuff up:D ........

and yes I understand your displeasure and I am sorry this happened to you ....I am interested ta hear how they resolve it........Our dealership would have a new hood on its way already and the body shop schedual cleared so you can get it in and out in as little time as possible with a "Nice" loaner vehicle and some free oil changes etc.......g
 
#6 ·
They'll take care of it. The dealership has too much to lose if they don't. Besides to them they can probably get it fixed for a few hundred bucks. I'm sure they'd rather pay that and keep a customer rather than piss you off and potentially miss your business on your next purchase.

Also don't go directly to the dealer. A lot of dealers are total assholes and might tell you to go jump in a lake. Your best bet is to work your problem through the management channels and see what happens. Sometimes a caring employee on the lower level will get things done for you that someone on the higher end may not want to deal with. Talk to your service advisor, then the service manager, GSM, GM then the dealer.
 
#9 ·
Dealer damage

Hey Gang,

I'm back again and calm. I should have calmed down before I typed my last post.

The Unlimited Sahara referrenced in my original post is my wife's first new vehicle. Needless to say, the new jeep is her pride and joy. She was so upset when she noticed the screw dimples and cracked paint that she started to cry (and I do not respond well to my wife crying). I typed my original post shortly after calming her down.

In response to someone's querry as to why we had that dealer in stall the bug/rock guard- it was a condition of the sale. We had the dealer install the hood guard and mud flaps so that she could keep her jeep nice. Incidently, the way it works in our household is, my wife gets the new vehicle (or newer used vehicle) and then I get to drive it once the odometer tops the 100,000 mile mark. She keeps it nice, then eventually I get to use it as our "around town" and hunting rig and beat the heck out of it.

It goes without saying that the technicians employed by dealers, "are human too" and occassionally make mistakes. In the big scheme of things, this is NOT the end of the world (a workmate just found out that his wife has aggressive brain cancer- I'd rather deal with this problem). It's just that a new vehicle is A NEW VEHICLE, and as such, it is human nature to try to keep it NEW looking for as long as possible. Perhaps some of the jeepers on this forum are in the financial position to take their new jeep offroading- we are not. At some point, it will be used as a jeep, but that will occur long after the new car smell has subsided.

Didn't mean to come across as threatening, but MY experience with dealers is that most are arrogant asses and unfortunately this attitude trickles down through the rest of the work force. My first job out of college was working as a salesman for a Dodge Dealer in Garden City, MI. He (the dealer) used to end our sales meetings by saying, "You bring your wife or daughter in and we'll be sure to dicker". This was my first-hand insite/experience dealing with a car dealer.

Based on what I've observed from this dealer's after the sale service so far, I expect that this is going to be an uphill battle. But fair is fair. If my dealer steps up and corrects the problem, I will make the time to report back to this forum.

Again, in the big scheme of things, this isn't the end of the world. But looking at dimple marks and cracked paint on the hood of our NEW JEEP just really, really sucks.
 
#10 ·
Sorry about your issues Lab. I agree with you about most dealers. All the ones I've dealt with have been scummy. Father in law bought a new Lexus not too long ago. His after buying experience has been so dreadful that he's pretty much made up his mind that he won't ever buy a lexus again.
 
#11 ·
hood damage update

Hi All:

Just a quick update on my damaged hood. The Dealer agreed to repair/repaint the entire hood and provide me with a loaner while the work is being performed. I dropped my wife's Unlimited Sahara off tonight to have the hood repainted. I'll let you know how this plays out. So far, I must say that I have been impressed with the Dealer's willingness to make things right.

I'll report back on the quality of the repair work.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top