Am I being over critical?

[ORRadtech]

Too late now and just my opinion but a Ford dealer is the last place I'd take a car to for body work.
Warranty work, yes reluctantly, because I'm against giving Ford a pass on making the car operate and look as it should.
But insurance/body work, nope, never.
Op, I'd stand my ground and make them fix it to your satisfaction.

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[Cobra Jet]

At this point in the process - if you're still not happy with the repairs, then you can call the Ford 800# and get a Regional CSR to open a Case for you. You explain your concerns to the CSR and what remains as problem points. Once the Case is assigned, they will contact the Dealership and put your vehicle at a Priority level.

The CSR's job will be to make you whole. If the Dealership the car is currently being repaired at is not competent enough to complete repairs the correct way, you have the option (and the CSR will also tell you) to go another Ford Dealership for the repair work.

If you don't want to go to another Ford Dealership, you can ask the CSR if you can take it to a local Body Shop of your choosing.

 

[ICU812]

Good luck.

 

[Chadillac]

I would definitely keep pushing until you’re happy since they did the repairs. Aligning the hood shouldn’t be difficult at all assuming other panels are straight. But I will echo what another member mentioned, a dealership shouldn’t be anybody’s first (or second) choice for body work. My $0.02

 

[NoVaGT]

......I took it to my Ford dealer.....

I found your problem.

Don't do that in the future.

 

[grhmw]

At this point in the process - if you're still not happy with the repairs, then you can call the Ford 800# and get a Regional CSR to open a Case for you. You explain your concerns to the CSR and what remains as problem points. Once the Case is assigned, they will contact the Dealership and put your vehicle at a Priority level.

The CSR's job will be to make you whole. If the Dealership the car is currently being repaired at is not competent enough to complete repairs the correct way, you have the option (and the CSR will also tell you) to go another Ford Dealership for the repair work.

If you don't want to go to another Ford Dealership, you can ask the CSR if you can take it to a local Body Shop of your choosing.

Thanks for that information. I might have to do that.

 

[splatrd]

I have a 2020GT Premium PP1 that I bought last November. Has 2580 miles on it. At the end of March, driving on freeway a truck in front of me kicks up something big and solid and hits front of my car. I took it to my Ford dealer. All the front bumper/grills smashed up, AC condenser and left side subframe damaged plus other damages. 1 month later its “fixed”. Hood sits lower now than it originally did ( they have supposedly adjust it 3 times at my demand) and is still not right. They repainted the hood and has flaws in the paint. The steering wheel is still not centered after aligning twice already.
My question is, Would you guys be ok with this?
What would you do?
I have a lifetime warranty on this, but that doesn’t mean anything if I have to tell them to fx it over and over again without positive results.
Forgive me for venting my frustration on you!

Probably the biggest mistake was taking it to a Dealer for body work. Just because the sell them does not mean they are the best choice to repair them. I used to work as an autobody technician at an independent shop. There were many instances where I had to redo repairs from a dealer body shop. Quality control is less of a concern for dealer than a business owner who relies on happy customer, word of mouth and repeat business. Remember it is your insurance company paying for the repairs and it is your choice as to whom works on it. Insurance company can not dictate who you take it to. Ask around to find out who is highly recommended, and demand factory original parts. Many insurance companies will specify aftermarket parts to save money, but ultimately you are the one that takes the hit. Poor fitment, subpar quality will just devalue your vehicle even more than it all ready is for having been wrecked.
Either way, you paid for the repair and should be satisfied with the results. I actually saw a car so poorly repaired by a dealer that the insurance company forced them to total it.

 

[grhmw]

Probably the biggest mistake was taking it to a Dealer for body work. Just because the sell them does not mean they are the best choice to repair them. I used to work as an autobody technician at an independent shop. There were many instances where I had to redo repairs from a dealer body shop. Quality control is less of a concern for dealer than a business owner who relies on happy customer, word of mouth and repeat business. Remember it is your insurance company paying for the repairs and it is your choice as to whom works on it. Insurance company can not dictate who you take it to. Ask around to find out who is highly recommended, and demand factory original parts. Many insurance companies will specify aftermarket parts to save money, but ultimately you are the one that takes the hit. Poor fitment, subpar quality will just devalue your vehicle even more than it all ready is for having been wrecked.
Either way, you paid for the repair and should be satisfied with the results. I actually saw a car so poorly repaired by a dealer that the insurance company forced them to total it.

Believe it or not but this is the first car I have ever needed to go to a body shop! I figured dealer would be best, obviously I way wrong! I actually pay a small amount on my insurance for factory parts only to be used if needed for repairs!
I will get it all taken care of in the end, by whatever means necessary! I waited a couple of years to get this $55k+ car and it gets smashed up 5 months after getting it with only 2580 miles on it!

 

[shogun32]

and it gets smashed up 5 months after getting it with only 2580 miles on it!

happened to me too. Though mine was a wet wooden bridge and not waiting to hit asphault before adding gas. $6000 bill. but car looked better repaired than it did new, so...

 

[grhmw]

happened to me too. Though mine was a wet wooden bridge and not waiting to hit asphault before adding gas. $6000 bill. but car looked better repaired than it did new, so...

Mine was completely unavoidable. Total damage was $8600

 

[splatrd]

Believe it or not but this is the first car I have ever needed to go to a body shop! I figured dealer would be best, obviously I way wrong! I actually pay a small amount on my insurance for factory parts only to be used if needed for repairs!
I will get it all taken care of in the end, by whatever means necessary! I waited a couple of years to get this $55k+ car and it gets smashed up 5 months after getting it with only 2580 miles on it!

Understand. Most people never have to deal with having body work done. So when the need arises it is a stressful situation and you don't have right frame of mind to think it thru. You just want your car back the way it was. I would put it back on your insurance adjuster to negotiate a reasonable outcome. They are paying the bill to the shop, however it is your car and you need to be happy with the repair. You may want to have it inspected by another shop to verify if the frame alignment is correct. If body panels are not fitting using factory parts, then something is wrong. Unibody structures can have movement far beyond the initial impact zone. The "frame" may still be bent or out of whack. Which can also lead to other issues like suspension misalignment.

 

[Garfy]

Actually both
Main damage to front end was thru insurance. The hood being repainted I paid for. It had some paint chip from rocks that were there before accident.

Hopefully that was the truck company's insurance and not your own. That frontal damage should be repaired so that it's restored to what it was before the damage; there shouldn't be any alignment issues. If that requires replacing fenders, etc. so be it. It's not your fault that it got damaged. The repaint also needs to be done properly as you have paid for it yourself. There's no excuse for them to expect you to accept it if it's not what like it was when new; that's what you're paying them for. I got my GT 6 months ago also though I've only got about 1700 miles on it and you can be sure if this happened to me, I'd be very pissed.

 

[WaltA]

Possibly this is regional, but around here, all the dealer body shops are usually business-wise independent from the dealer itself. Yea, they might have the same root business name, and yea, they might be conveniently located right next door, but legally they are miles apart.

If yours is like this, opening up a compliant with Ford corporate might not do much since Ford might not have any input or control over an "independent" body shop.

 

[Qckslvr]

This is quite true our body shop sits on our lot, but is not affiliated with Ford in any way at all. It is owned by the same owner and that is it.

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