LeFever

We ordered an '18 Prestige back in June with just about everything but the luxury package and B&O system. We were all set to pick the car up on Saturday when we received a call from the dealer stating that it had been damaged in transport. There were a couple small dents that he said they'd pull without any issue, but the bigger issue was that one of the covers had come undone during transit and the small clips that normally hold it in place put 40-50 small paint chips on the right rear quarter panel. He stated that they were bringing the car to a paint shop they work with to have the panel painted and blended. We're now waiting for a time estimate from the paint shop. The dealer assures us that the car will be "110%" after the work is done.

My question is about how best to handle the situation. Clearly we're still very interested in the car, but, since the repair isn't being done by the dealer, the car is slightly not-new. For instance, what happens if the paint has a defect in that area a year or two down the road? The dealer is handling the cost of the repair and being very apologetic about the delay, but is it out of the ordinary to consider a small discount or concession? We initially negotiated a ~4.5% discount off of MSRP, and I'm wondering if we should ask for more or ask for something else to be thrown in (E.g. 21" winter tires since BOP comes with summer)?

Curious to hear people's thoughts. Thanks!

BigKutta

You can certainly try and negotiate better pricing, and they may even give it to you. But more importantly, ensure the job is done by a Audi certified shop and the work comes with a warranty. Also, make sure you do a full inspection of the vehicle BEFORE you sign the line and take ownership. If it looks anything but professional, or if you can tell where the damage took place, do not take possession. Its that simple

Jimminez

Most definitely obtain a better price on the vehicle. It is no longer factory finish and should not pay factory pricing. It's up to you to determine how much you'd find acceptable as additional discount and be willing to walk away from that car if they don't. As BigKutta mentioned, inspect afterwards but I'd take pictures of what it looked like prior so if down the road something doesn't look right you have some to refer back to.

RJC 1

Order/locate a suitable replacement...

noxqzs

Call your insurance company and ask them how they will classify the vehicle once it is repaired. Will it show up under a carfax report, etc... Do not sign on the dotted line accepting delivery until all your questions are answered, regardless of what your dealer tells you.

Meyecul

This sucks, sorry to hear when stuff like this happens. It brings forth an interesting question that if answered could help you in deciding how to handle this.

Lets say this was a vehicle ordered for dealer stock. Can they simply make the repairs and place the car on their lot with no mention of damage / repairs and sell as though it never happened? Perhaps one of the dealer sales guys or other employee that may be a member here could chime in and let us know what the standard procedure is for dealer stock in this situation. If the answer is that they have to disclose the damage / repair work and sell the vehicle as a dealer demo at a discount, then you should of course get the same benefit. Either way, i would definitely ask for some form of composition should you approve the repair once its done and be willing to take delivery. Keep us posted.

nokfromapp

My recommendation would be to not get this car. Once the car leaves the lot, the problem becomes yours. Sure if there is anything that goes wrong, it will be fixed under warranty, but its painful to have your new car taken in for repairs. And if I were you (which I am not), I would, in my mind, attribute every problem ever with the car to this transport damage, and that would not be good for my peace of mind! There was another person here who had his/her car damaged when on the way to the dealership. I think they ordered a different car!

nokfromapp

Most states have a $ limit under which they don't need to disclose any fixes they do for as long as the customer does not ask. If the customer asks, then they have to declare it. If the cost of repairs exceeds a certain $ amount, then they have to disclose that.
In this case, if the OP refuses to take delivery, and the $ amount for fixes is less than the state limit, then an unsuspecting person can be sold this car as a new undamaged car!
I am not a dealer, but have gone through a painful experience which forced me to educate myself on things like these. I am wiser

LeFever

Thanks for all of the comments - great info here. I went back-and-forth with the dealer quite a bit today and verified that the shop is Audi-certified, that the work they do will be under warranty, and that none of this will show up on Carfax, etc. As @nokfromapp mentioned, below a certain $ amount they don't even have to voluntarily disclose. The only reason we know about the paint issue is because it's our custom order and we were all set to pick up the vehicle. If we choose not to purchase, the dealer said that the car would go on the lot for full MSRP pending the success of the paint job. If anything were to happen to the paint after purchase, it will be treated the same as any other issue that falls under the default warranty. I will be absolutely sure to have this in writing before we sign.

We're inclined to move forward given the lack of effect to the warranty and the fact that the damage is limited to paint only. It's ink blue metallic and has the exact configuration we wanted, except for the summer tires that I overlooked when opting for BOP...oops. Of course we'll do a thorough walk-through before actually signing anything. I did start talks of additional discounts and concessions due to the inconvenience and the fact that we know of the damage/work, to which he was not surprised and we'll talk more tomorrow. I'll keep the thread updated as I hope this info could be helpful for others that find themselves in a similar, unfortunate situation.

nokfromapp

I don't want to sound like I am swaying you in the other direction OP, but be very sure that you are ok with this. A few things I can suggest
1. Look at the damage for yourself to see how bad it is. Then you can judge better. I think you are entitled to see how bad things are before you decide
2. People are easily getting 7-8% discount, so you should get a higher discount if you do choose to get the car. The dealer may offer you an extended warranty in lieu of a discount. Be prepared if they offer you that
3. Look at sites like Autotrader, and contact some other dealer to see if there is a configuration similar to yours on some lot. Dealers will get it for you from almost anywhere in the country.