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I dread going to the dealer because whenever they take stuff apart they always scratch something else (One time I was there for them to fix a tint bubble and they scraped off a piece of the rubber molding). I went in for some very minor rattling/buzzing issues (most people wouldn't even care for). First of all they kept the car for 3 days and they still couldn't completely fix the issue. And during my inspection of the car I noticed a tiny scuff mark on the edge of the passenger carbon fiber trim. I know they had to take some trims off while troubleshooting the issue so I'm pretty sure they left it there. If not, it's a < 3 month old car so it was there when I bought the car.
Do you think I should make a fuzz about this and have them fix/replace that trim piece? I feel like whenever I take my car there to fix some minor stuff they always create another minor problem. When should I just accept these minor defects and stop taking it back there? They already don't like me because I keep taking my car back for small issues like these. This is stressing me out.
On one hand, someone using the right tools should never do this. On the other hand, if you are wearing their patience thin you risk getting poor service when it matters.
The scratch looks like it's just in the resin layer and could probably be remediated by a hit of 400 - 800 - 1200 sandpaper. On the corner it would go really quick with the objective just to be removing the obvious damage.
On the bright side it's way on the passenger side so you won't see it daily.
Tough spot to be in, I don't know that you'll get them to own up to causing that. But if you did the repair is the logical path instead of replace..
Yes I think they can just pop the trim out and buff it out. I need to take the car back next week anyway for them to continue to troubleshoot the noise issue. I'll mention it to them at that point.
Funny your story reminds me of people who keep getting plastic surgeries to fix minor "defects" only to encounter many botched jobs and the end result is 10x worse than before.
I guess there is a point of diminishing return when the gains you get from fixing those "rattles" does not justify the time lost, frustration, and the chance of them messing something else up or making the entire situation worse. It would be nice if they can eventually just give you a brand new car, but that doesn't happen in reality, and the new car might have a whole set of different issues.
Apparently the tech also broke one of the screw holes when he was messing around with my trim. According to the notes he took out the headlamp trim and put a bunch of felt tape behind it. Well, a piece of it was sticking out. So I took out the Erwin manual and took apart that trim. During the step when I was supposed to remove the "expanding clip/screw", I saw no such screw. Then I noticed not only was the screw missing, but the screw hole was torn in half. It looks like the tech just attempted to pry open the trim without removing the screw, and in the process broke the plastic. I'm very annoyed that they'd just sweep something like this under the rug just because most people wouldn't notice. I don't even know how I'm going to approach the dealer about this. Even a regular person like me knows to follow instructions in the manual. They might just blame me. Damn I really hate the dealers, and worst of all the damn noise is still there.
Funny your story reminds me of people who keep getting plastic surgeries to fix minor "defects" only to encounter many botched jobs and the end result is 10x worse than before.
I guess there is a point of diminishing return when the gains you get from fixing those "rattles" does not justify the time lost, frustration, and the chance of them messing something else up or making the entire situation worse. It would be nice if they can eventually just give you a brand new car, but that doesn't happen in reality, and the new car might have a whole set of different issues.
Very true. I also contacted corporate and requested a replacement multiple times with no success. Eventually they just covered a payment and told me go back to dealer and repair it. I gave up and decided to live with it. That experience completely changed my perspective about cars and other complex mechanical/electronic stuff and Significantly lowered my expectations. Nothing’s perfect and without flaws wether it be a $500 smartphone or a $50K car.
They way they "fix" noise is just a bunch of felt tapes. This reminds me of "shimming" your squeaky floor. Once you take the shims out the squeaking gets worse.
My wife’s Cadillac XT5 had a squeaky piece of door trim. I’d press on it occasionally and wiggle it. After several months, no more squeaking. Sometimes, things can just adjust themselves, I guess.
Originally Posted by luder888
They way they "fix" noise is just a bunch of felt tapes. This reminds me of "shimming" your squeaky floor. Once you take the shims out the squeaking gets worse.
07-28-2018, 02:52 PM
Should I get the dealer to fix this scuff mark?
