Last Friday I brought my RX-8 to my dealer and had them put on the paint protection and leather sealing. Maybe I was a sucker for buying that but that's a different story.

When I picked up the car it looked gorgeous, but I instantly noticed a ding in the rear left door, less than an inch under the window. It has about the size of a cent. (Half a centimeter.)

They acknowledged it + said that they'd take care of it with a company like Ding-King or Dent-Pro.. you know, they hammer on the metal around the ding until it pops out or so.

But this ding is really close to the edge. They might not be able to get the ding out.

What should I accept?

What would you do in this situation?

-Peter

 

Upon picking up my RX8, we dicovered a chip in the paint on the driver's side door. The dealer offered to either repaint the door or replace the door completely.

I chose to replace the door, and it is perfect. Repainting always runs the risk of it not matching EXACTLY.

 

Have them fix it to your satisfaction. EOM

 

Wow - you guys answer fast.

I didn't think it was possible to get a door replaced .. seems that they cannot produce the car fast enough. But if you got a new door, I'm more hopeful now.

Thanks..

 

Ding repairs have become quite a science so, unless they chipped the paint, you won't be able to notice it whatsoever.

PAINT AND LEATHER PROTECTION!!! $500-$1,000 for wax and Scotch Guard. Pure dealer profit. Don't ever let anyone convince you of that again.

 

The dealer told me he would bascially switch my door with another car with the same color, and then repair the other door and put it on the other car.

It will probablby look OK, but I'd rather have a new door! LOL.

 

Actually, I paid $250 for it and it's with a 5-yr warranty.. not needed to come back for costly reapplication every 12 months.

 

I hope I don't get that car....lol

 

The same thing happened to me. My car came in for an oil change and returned with a scratch/dent that traveled from the end of front door all the way across the rear door. Yeah I was happy ! Dealer offered to repair it. I'm going on my second week now without driving my 8. They don't have the correct paint to match mine at the moment.

 

On a new car this shouldn't be an issue -- the paint hasn't faded yet.

Matching aside, a good body shop will blend the paint with the rest of the car so that the transition from one shade to the other would be unnoticeable.

 

So what, he's gonna sell another "new" car with a repaired door? Maybe a good deal for you, but doesn't sound too ethical for the buyer of the other car unless the dealer discloses this (and discounts accordingly) upfront.

 

I would be so pissed
but atleast they admitted it

 

Were it my car, I would have them try to lift the dent first. If they didn't do a perfect job, I would accept a new door ONLY if it came with factory paint. A body shop repaint will NEVER last as long as factory paint. If they can't do that, I'd have them give me some pain-relieving cash.

 

How much $$$ do you suggest? Wouldn't a new door cost them a LOT?

 

Garages do tend to have insurance for accidental damange. Refering back to the original point - if the paint surface has not been broken then the "dent master" people should be able to make it look like new. I would advise this, it doesn't take long and if you are happy with it then you can drive away without having the hassle of getting a new door fixed etc etc.

 

I used to work at an Acura Dealer....

here is my insight:

1. Don't ever buy Paint Sealent or Leather protector. They just waxed your car and put some crappy leather cleaner on your seats. What is a 5 year warranty going to get you? Are you telling me that in 5 years you will never wax the car again? trust me....its a waste of money. We used to put paint sealent on in about 30 minutes, but we told people it was an 'application' so they thought we were doing something special. One of our customers bought the leather protection...it was applied wrong leaving nasty 'stain/streak' marks on the black leather. In order to get him out of the dealership, the customer was told: "We wanted to get you out of here as soon as possible as to not waste your time, so the protectant isn't fully dry...thats why it looks like this. Just bring it back if you have any questions or concerns. Bye". That customer then had to jump through hoops to get the streaks removed.

2. Don't let the dealer use any company on your car that does onsite paint re-sprays. I would be rich if I had a dollar for everytime I saw a 'resprayed door' effect the entire car with overspray.

3. The dealer does not need to tell a new car buyer that the car they are purchasing has been damaged if the damage is less then $XXX amount (approx $200-500 i believe). We had an RSX-S that a porter took to get gas, he left the gas door open with the nozzle in and backed up and bent the fuel filler door. They replaced the filler door and sold it as new (even though the door wasn't even aligned properly). We also had a CL-S (black) whose door was stolen! We found a replacement door, put it on the car and sold it NEW, but at a discount. We didn't tell the customer why it was discounted unless they ASKED.

just be aware...99% of dealers are crooks and don't give a crap about your car. I usually make it a point to have the service advisor right on the Service Form "PERFECT CAR...NO SCRATCHES..NO WHEEL SCRATCHES..." etc. I then have him walk around the car with me..THEN I sign the service form before dropping the car off. this way they cannot say that the damage was there when I dropped it off.

good luck.

 

I had paintless dent removal performed on my brand new RX-8, and he did a wonderful job. It cost 60.00. It was a dent about the size of a quarter without a crease or paint chip, if it meets the right criteria, it is the only way to go.

 

ciccone
thanks for the honest and inside look

 

Great post, thanks a lot, although I wonder about the stolen door. How's that possible???

 

The ding got taken out and to make up for the hassle, they gave me a gift soft polishing cloth, supposedly worth $15.

I've always been happy with that dealership, by the way, they sell the RX-8 at MSRP.

Marina Motor Company, Capitola.
831.475.3500

-Peter

 

Im glad youre happy and they fixed it

 

WOW a happy customer ... truely unique!

 

A soft cloth?

 

it's just some fancy rag. Nobody would pay $15 for it. Call it a gesture of goodwill or call it a joke.

I'm happy that they were able to have it fixed.

I bought my previous car there and had done most of the service work there, I've always been happy with them. Their sales guys are not pressuring, their finance guy is not pulling tricks that I've seen posted here like verbally agree on a 5year loan and secretly turning it into a 6year loan at the same monthly payment.. LOL

Shop damage can happen.

-Peter

 

there was a 'gang' in the area that was 'chopping' cars.

they basically broke into the car but stole the door only.

keep in mind that not all dealerships keep their cars on the dealer lot. we had to park some cars across the street in another lot. its not impossible to do things to cars when they are tucked out of the way.

Believe it or not, a guy brought a Black CL-S into our dealership to try and trade it in on a new car. Upon inspection we noticed that the paint on the door didn't match perfectly with the rest of the car.

We looked at the serial numbers on the door and they didn't match with the rest of the car...I'm not lying here...the door he had was the one that was stolen from our CL-S. We stalled him and called the cops.

I don't know if HE was the one involved with stealing it, but he was definately questions about having a mismatched door from our car.

I have lots of crazy stories form the 'inside' :-)