Repaint Entire Front Fascia

[lemers]

Background: On delivery, my wife noticed an imperfection in the paint which she described as "smudged paint, but not in the color". I believe that something got into or bumped the clear coat and left the smudge. This is located on the front fascia between the drivers side tire and headlight. On the passenger side she noticed that the Front Fascia did not line up with the fender and left a noticeable "crease" at the seem between the fender and fascia.

Since I am overseas I bought it through MAS who is an authorized Ford reseller, but isn't a Ford Dealer in the traditional sense. They gave us a name of a body shop to take the GT350 to look at fixing the areas.


The service rep at the body shop said that to fix the paint. They must remove the entire front fascia and remove the stripes. They will sand it down and repaint it and reinstall it fixing the crease at the fender.

I cant get good pictures right now, since I'm not even in the same country as my car, but we have to give official permission to do the work before the shop orders parts.

Concerns:
1. They don't use "ford stripes" and the color/size is off or fades differently.
2. The paint isn't of the same quality or "brand" as the Ford paint, so paint matching isn't exact.
3. Not a Ford authorized mechanic so the shop's work causes further issues or is noticeable enough that other think it was accident damage that was repaired.


Question: Is this routine or overkill? Can the clear/paint smudge be fixed without sanding the entire bumper and removing the stripes?

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[habeb]

Take it to a specialist that does paint correction. They may be able to buff it out and apply an after market coating to make up for the lost of clear coat. Not sure how they will handle the stripes, perhaps they can tape off the stripe and buff around it.

 

[lemers]

Take it to a specialist that does paint correction. They may be able to buff it out and apply an after market coating to make up for the lost of clear coat. Not sure how they will handle the stripes, perhaps they can tape off the stripe and buff around it.

If I go that route then I'm paying for it. This body shop could be a paint expert, remember I'm in Germany and it seems that most shops aren't the "big Box chains" or "Specialty Shops" of the states. I haven't broken that code yet.

The smudge isn't near the stripes, so why he is taking off that much paint is beyond me.

Here is what MAS sent to assure me that what "their guy" says is the best course...

"As for the repairs, Mr. XXXXX from the shop made us aware about the repairs that have to be performed. We do understand your concerns however I can assure you this dealership has long time experience and expertise fixing our customers' vehicles. They used to deliver our vehicles in the past and would take care of any paint or car body discrepancies and still do in the present. Please know that they have never received any complains and be assured that any paint required will be perfectly matched to the vehicle according to the VIN specifications. the same goes for any parts that need to be ordered. Also, due to our long working relationship they normally give priority to our customers which an authorized dealership does not. I hope this information clears your concerns. "

 

[Tank]

Hey lemers,
Sorry you're in this situation...
A couple thoughts:
- Ford is accepting this as a delivery/warranty fix. Can it wait for you to get back and coordinate it yourself?
- With all due respect to your wife and the shop proposing to do the work, you really don't know what exactly is going on. Could the shop take detailed photos and write up a detailed proposal and post it online for you to review? This would give you a better sense to make an informed decision.
- You're the customer and should have full faith in any work done...
Good luck:cheers:

 

[JRoman]

I had 3 smudges on my paint as well at delivery. My ford dealer was able to remove all of them with no issues. I would think your dealer would be able to do the same without having to repaint.

GL

 

[lemers]

I had 3 smudges on my paint as well at delivery. My ford dealer was able to remove all of them with no issues. I would think your dealer would be able to do the same without having to repaint.

GL

I can't tell if they are giving us the royal treatment or the royal shaft.

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