Shoddy Hood Replacecment

[Templarum]

A month or so ago I was getting my car ready for ceramic coating when I noticed the dreaded rust bubble on the leading edge of the hood. The car is out of warranty by half a year or so, but I took it to the dealer to have some other issues looked and got their opinion on the hood. I was ready to just replace it with an aftermarket fiberglass one and call it a day, but the dealer said it'd be covered by anti-corrosion warranty. This is where the troubles begin...

They had the car for the better part of three weeks. It spent most of that sitting out in the rain with its front end pulled off. I finally went by to cover the motor with a tarp. I did this mainly because of the open element air intake. I finally got the thing back and the work is just dreadful.

I've counted over a dozen specks of dirt or dust that were sprayed over. I don't know if they're in the base or clear, but they have the consistency of sand. The hood finish itself is dull. I mean real dull, like a matte finish. On top of that the thing is several shades darker than the rest of the car. This could be subjective I guess, but everyone I show it to says that without me prompting them to check. Somehow there are also deep swirl marks in the new paint. And last, but certainly not least, there seems to be some kind of soapy sanding compound pattern left on the fenders and clear coated over. It looks like the old battleship dazzle camouflage from back in the day.

That's not a reflection of a tree. That's some weird pattern that cleared over.



I'm taking it to my body guy to see if it's even salvageable at this point, short of respraying everything. I'm not trying to be a major dick. I just want it to look like it did when I took it in, minus the rust. I pointed out these defects to the shop foreman immediately and he seems to think he can take care of it with a good buffing once the paint cures further. I'm not sure that I'm convinced of this.

Thoughts?

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[hemistar1]

Just my opinion..the dealer stepped up and took responsibility and they should follow through as a Ford is paying them to fix it with the warranty. Personally, I would let them try again to correct and then if they can’t I would get my own body guy to do it right and call it a day.

It looks like the painted/cleared without refinishing properly.

Sometimes the cure may be worse than the disease applies here. Also it seems people/businesses try harder to do something right when you pay for it, even though you “paid “ once before when you purchased the car along with the anti-corrosion warranty.

Good luck.

 

[S550_GTCS]

This is exactly what i was afraid of happening. I have the bubbles in my hood and took it into the dealership. My claim was approved and was going to schedule the time to drop the car off. That's when the service guy told me they use an outside body shop to do their work. I wasn't going to drop my car at some shop i never heard of for a few weeks. I opted to just by a hood from Cervins instead of going the replacement route.

If you have the $ to spend, I would let your buddy fix it for you at his shop, at least you know it will be done right. The body shop that did the work should have never given the car back in that condition, that is just embarrassing. Good luck, hope it all gets worked out.

 

[jacknifetoaswan]

I would bring it up to the body shop manager at the dealer, and if he/she is of no help in resolving the issue, take it up with the dealership's general manager. If you strike out there, call Ford corporate and open a case with them. Reference all the information you have and everything you've provided the dealer with, and ask them to have a regional rep reach out to the dealership and see if they can resolve it.

The dealer got paid to do a warranty job. If they did a half-assed job, they're still on the hook to provide the service that Ford paid them (probably somewhere around $1200 in labor, alone) to provide.

JR

 

[usgiorgi]

This is exactly what i was afraid of happening. I have the bubbles in my hood and took it into the dealership. My claim was approved and was going to schedule the time to drop the car off. That's when the service guy told me they use an outside body shop to do their work. I wasn't going to drop my car at some shop i never heard of for a few weeks. I opted to just by a hood from Cervins instead of going the replacement route.

If you have the $ to spend, I would let your buddy fix it for you at his shop, at least you know it will be done right. The body shop that did the work should have never given the car back in that condition, that is just embarrassing. Good luck, hope it all gets worked out.

What's worse is that after they have an outside shop do the repairs, the dealership washes their hands clean of the body shop's crappy work. You're then left dealing with the shop. I had them repaint my trunk and rear bumper and they messed up the paint 4 times. I asked the dealer to let me take the car elsewhere, but they said no since they had already paid the shop. Ford gave me the worst dealership experiences of any car I've owned.

 

[Templarum]

If you have the $ to spend, I would let your buddy fix it for you at his shop, at least you know it will be done right. The body shop that did the work should have never given the car back in that condition, that is just embarrassing. Good luck, hope it all gets worked out.

But that's the problem now, it'll cost more to fix their crap than it would have to just replace the hood to begin with. At this point I really just need my guy to figure out if they cleared over all these spots and such or if they can indeed be buffed out.

That seems a moot point now, as you can't buff out all the freaking dirt they painted over. They didn't touch up any of the hardware beneath the hood either so it looks like some ghetto repair.

And the more I look at it, the more convinced I'm becoming that they actually sprayed it Royal Crimson instead of Ruby Red. What a mess.

 

[Nagare]

But that's the problem now, it'll cost more to fix their crap than it would have to just replace the hood to begin with.

You didn't pay any money for this hood to be done though, did you? So go ahead and get your replacement hood while you wait for them to fix this one. Then if you're so inclined you can either sell the repainted one or just hold on to it until you are ready to get rid of this car and sell your aftermarket one at that point.

Otherwise, I agree with what jacknifetoaswan suggested entirely. You have to accept the car back from them and sign off on a satisfactory job, if they didn't provide it in good condition they are responsible for getting it right. If they don't, you push it up the chain.

 

[Rapid Red]

I would bring it up to the body shop manager at the dealer, and if he/she is of no help in resolving the issue, take it up with the dealership's general manager. If you strike out there, call Ford corporate and open a case with them. Reference all the information you have and everything you've provided the dealer with, and ask them to have a regional rep reach out to the dealership and see if they can resolve it.

The dealer got paid to do a warranty job. If they did a half-assed job, they're still on the hook to provide the service that Ford paid them (probably somewhere around $1200 in labor, alone) to provide.

JR

THIS. ^^^^^^

 

[Templarum]

I have to meet with the manager this afternoon to address the concerns I have. At this point the whole thing is becoming so weird that it's surreal. I mean, how do you screw up something so profoundly? In addition to the paint, they somehow broke half the clip tabs for the plastic cowling so that the ends by the fenders are sticking up and flopping around. Someone also took the DA sander and bounced it off of the windshield in multiple places, leaving really deep circular scratched on both ends. Do I let them replace the windshield? What sort of nightmare will that turn into. This whole thing is freaking bizarre.

 

[usgiorgi]

I have to meet with the manager this afternoon to address the concerns I have. At this point the whole thing is becoming so weird that it's surreal. I mean, how do you screw up something so profoundly? In addition to the paint, they somehow broke half the clip tabs for the plastic cowling so that the ends by the fenders are sticking up and flopping around. Someone also took the DA sander and bounced it off of the windshield in multiple places, leaving really deep circular scratched on both ends. Do I let them replace the windshield? What sort of nightmare will that turn into. This whole thing is freaking bizarre.

Sorry you're going through this. Sounds like your dealer did what mine did and sent the car to the lowest bidder. I wouldn't let the same shop replace the windshield unless you like nice scratches around the whole windshield area.

When I brought my car back to the shop 4th time due to crappy paintwork, the manager met me outside and assured me that everything was perfect that time around. I showed him solvent pop all over the trunk and he immediately changed the attitude and said I should be grateful for them having blended the trunk with the rear bumper and quarter panels.

A giant middle finger to Caliber Collision in Chantilly, VA.

 

[Templarum]

Sorry you're going through this. Sounds like your dealer did what mine did and sent the car to the lowest bidder. I wouldn't let the same shop replace the windshield unless you like nice scratches around the whole windshield area.

When I brought my car back to the shop 4th time due to crappy paintwork, the manager met me outside and assured me that everything was perfect that time around. I showed him solvent pop all over the trunk and he immediately changed the attitude and said I should be grateful for them having blended the trunk with the rear bumper and quarter panels.

A giant middle finger to Caliber Collision in Chantilly, VA.

Thanks. The thing is that this place is at the dealership and shares their name. Body manager was real evasive and wouldn't say anything was wrong. Just that it needed some attention and he thought they could fix it by blending the mismatched colors further up the doors and pillars. I noped it out of there and am going to see the GM of the dealership itself. I took the time to document all 53 spots of dirt they painted over, because I'm totally not ex-girlfriend levels of psycho regarding this.

 

[Rapid Red]

Thanks. The thing is that this place is at the dealership and shares their name. Body manager was real evasive and wouldn't say anything was wrong. Just that it needed some attention and he thought they could fix it by blending the mismatched colors further up the doors and pillars. I noped it out of there and am going to see the GM of the dealership itself. I took the time to document all 53 spots of dirt they painted over, because I'm totally not ex-girlfriend levels of psycho regarding this.

Good for you stay on it ... document and keep climbing that ladder ................ Thumbs UP !!
Pep

 

[ice445]

I think the main issue is that most people have a 5 foot view of bodywork. So shops like this can do crappy work and they RARELY get called out on it, because all the person sees is "hey its fixed, cool" and they never look at it again. "Difficult" customers that actually expect quality work are rare enough to where they hope you'll just give up.

 

[Rapid Red]

I think the main issue is that most people have a 5 foot view of bodywork. So shops like this can do crappy work and they RARELY get called out on it, because all the person sees is "hey its fixed, cool" and they never look at it again. "Difficult" customers that actually expect quality work are rare enough to where they hope you'll just give up.

A lot of truth written and it goes for everything you pay others to do.

This country at one time, most people had pride in the worked they produced .

Today half-ass is accepted cause folks are afraid to hurt the feelings of the half-ass service provider.

I complement good work, make it a point to inform the company or manager.

 

[RIBS]

Ruby Red is difficult.....I had mine replaced, and they painted it twice, luckily I got a great painter that refused to give me the car until he was happy. He had high standards! Ruby red goes down as a base layer that looks like crap, then the tinted clear is added, that’s where you get your color match.. too few or too many layers of clear will be a failure....in your case bad work all around it seems....even with a great job on mine, they mounted the hood latch backwards and thus could not align hood, and left minor overspray on the mirrors and doors and I fixed all that myself....

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